Melbourne defender Jake Lever lifts lid on how Demons reacted after Conor McKenna’s COVID-19 positive test
Melbourne defender Jake Lever has lifted the lid on how the club reacted to Conor McKenna’s COVID-19 positive and the news their Round 3 game would be postponed.
Melbourne
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Melbourne defender Jake Lever was sitting on his couch playing NBA 2K20 last Saturday afternoon when a text message brought a significant change to his team’s weekend structure.
Lever was having a rare unwind after earlier that morning as he finished preparations for the scheduled Sunday clash against Essendon.
“I was on the couch playing Xbox and my wife (Jess) was upstairs feeding our son (Jace) when she text me,” Lever told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“I’m on Instagram, but not on Twitter, and neither is Jess. But someone text her and said an Essendon player has got it (coronavirus).
“I thought it was a joke. I instantly thought, ‘That’s not good for the player’ (Conor McKenna), but I didn’t think we weren’t going to be playing.”
Within 15 minutes, Lever came to a realisation the game would be postponed and rescheduled.
It was the third time in this bizarre 2020 season that the spectre of COVID-19 has impacted on the Demons.
“With the (Round 1) game against West Coast, we were the only game that hadn’t been played after the AFL announced the shutdown,” he said.
“In Round 2, we had two guys (Charlie Spargo and Kysaiah Pickett) who unfortunately broke protocols.
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“Then we obviously got word that the (Essendon) game was postponed.
“As a player, you want to know what is happening, but in the same sense ‘Mahns’ (football manager Josh Mahoney) and ’Goody’ (coach Simon Goodwin) were finding out at the same time as us.”
Lever said AFL players, normally so used to certainty and structure are learning to become more flexible and adaptive to change in this most unusual of seasons.
Dealing with the pandemic — and the protocols allowing the game to continue — has brought the players even closer together — albeit in a social distance sense — which was highlighted by the Demons’ intra-club match at the MCG with the entire playing list last Sunday.
“As disappointed as we were not to play Essendon, we fronted up on the Sunday with a good attitude and got to play the practice match at the MCG,” he said.
“At the moment we are in the best position we’ve been in for some time in terms of injuries. We had 20 play 20 in the practice match, so that’s 40 fit guys.
“The pressure is on for spots, which is awesome.”
While he missed footy during the shutdown, it allowed the new father to spend more time with his son — who is now four months old — and with his wife during the isolation period.
“It was like I was a professional football from 7am to 12, and then after that I was a full-time father,” he said.
Lever has played 10 AFL games since his serious knee injury in mid 2018 — eight late year and two this year — and is beginning to feel comfortable again in his own capabilities and his connection with teammates.
“In my comeback game in the VFL last year, I hurt my ankle and it sort of bugged me for the rest of the year.”
“I am not making excuses for last year, but for me, this year was about making sure I was right to go.
“It taught me a lot of lessons and as a 24-year-old I know what my body needs in terms of training.
“I had a bit of a hiccup when I came back (from the shutdown). I was really sore … but that was me not necessarily understanding how much of a jump it was going from isolation to basically three quarters of footy.
“I’ve felt great ever since.”
Now he and the Demons back half are working on their chemistry.
“We want to become one of the best defensive groups in the comp,” he said.
“I’ve no doubt we have the talent to get there, but now it is about that continuity and chemistry.”
He can’t wait to take on Geelong at the MCG on Sunday, saying the Demons want their first quarter form against Carlton to be their benchmark.
“We want to prove we are a side improving each week. As a group, we’re hungry for success.”
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