Richmond defender Liam Baker’s journey from country WA to the bigtime
From Pingaring to the MCG, it has been quite a journey for Liam Baker. And his teammates say he adds spark on and off the field. He sheds light on his move to defence, his mullet and living with two Tiger teammates.
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Liam Baker grabbed a dish cloth and started scrubbing.
But the footballer with clean hands on the field struggled to perform at the sink.
With clean-freak housemate Jayden Short observing, Baker was deemed unfit to wash the dishes.
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“He runs a tight ship with keeping the house clean, which I was bad at — but I’m getting better,” Baker said.
“What was messy? Everything! I was a grub, and I probably would still be if it wasn’t for Shorty.”
The Northcote property has suddenly become a crowded house. Six weeks ago premiership forward Dan Butler and his girlfriend, Sarah, moved in.
Does Baker, 21, have a girlfriend?
“I’m single mate — put that one in there as well,” he said.
The cramped abode is a far cry from the 10,000 acres Baker grew up on at the family’s wheat and sheep farm in Pingaring.
The town lies about 50km north of Lake Grace, which Nat Fyfe single-handedly put on the map.
Baker is the small boy from the tiniest of towns, with Pingaring’s population listed at 76 people (15 families) in the 2016 census.
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Baker misses the farm “big time”. He wants to return after footy.
With Baker’s Tigers polo at home, he looked more like the kids selling records rather than a bloke preparing to play in front of 95,000 in tonight’s preliminary final.
So, who is this little punk that’s muscled in on the best team’s best 22?
“He’s just a tip-rat,” teammate Shane Edwards said.
“You can just tell by his haircut — you don’t know what’s going on or what he thinks. He’s just a different kind of person.”
If you wander past Baker’s cluttered bedroom and into the courtyard you’ll find the makeshift defender’s makeshift barber shop.
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Every now and then Baker takes a pair of cordless clippers outside and tidies up his mini-mullet.
“I do it myself and what I think looks good, no one else thinks looks good,” Baker said.
“I’ve had it for about three years now. I don’t grow it too long, I just sort of play around with it.
“I had it for a bit at school, but not for too long. I didn’t get away with it.”
Baker’s school fight to keep his flap of hair goes to the heart of his football story.
It hasn’t come easy, and it’s not hard to see why.
At just 173cm Baker looks up to almost every player in the AFL.
Playing as a forward alongside Liam Ryan in Subiaco’s 2017 grand final side, he was snapped up by the Tigers in the 2018 rookie draft and then in a shock Round 18 move this year was sent to the Tigers backline.
“I never really thought I was a good defender, but it came naturally reading the ball and trying to be physical with my opponent first,” Baker said.
Edwards reckons it was a “no-brainer”.
“He’s so good at ground balls and so good below his knees and really courageous in the air,” Edwards said.
“It just seems like a match made in heaven.”
So, which small forwards has Baker played on?
“I can’t even name them,” he said.
“You play on five or six blokes and I often get a resting midfielder.”
He’s right.
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Baker spent 45 minutes on West Coast’s Jack Petruccelle in Round 22, collecting nine disposals to the Eagle speedster’s three touches and no goals, in the only lengthy duel of his defensive career.
Baker might be behind the ball, but he is more of a starter than a stopper.
He is there to rebound and create, fitting into Richmond’s aggressive back six.
Forward pressure was the hallmark of the 2017 flag but coach Damien Hardwick’s hopes are now built around ball movement from the back.
Baker is averaging 16 disposals, seven intercept possessions and a healthy three score involvements as a backman.
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In that time he has endeared himself to Tiger fans.
Remember in Round 23 when he stood under a hospital handpass from Bachar Houli and was hurtled into the MCG turf by Dayne Zorko?
Baker was close to crying on the inside, but got up laughing.
“I sort of like getting a nice hit like that,” he said.
“As long as it doesn’t hurt too much, which it did a bit but I pretended it didn’t — I didn’t want Zorko to think I was in pain.”
Inside the Tigers and he’s as popular as prawns at a buffet.
“He’s just a funny guy,” Edwards said.
“He’s smiling non-stop, he’s always got some cheeky look on his face. You don’t know if it’s guilt or he’s gotten up to something just before you’ve seen him.
“He brightens the place up so much. He walks into a room and all of a sudden everyone’s either laughing or they’re excited that he’s in there.”
Captain Trent Cotchin said: “For a little, little man he’s got a big heart”.
Coach Damien Hardwick penned Baker a letter for his first game, in a week where he gave every player a vinyl record.
“Mine was by Eminem,” Baker said, with Hardwick feeling that if Baker had one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything he ever wanted, he would capture it, and not let it slip.
“It was a reference to the way he sees me, which was pretty good,” Baker said.
“I’ve still got that stashed away and I’ll have that forever.
“It’s in my room. I’ll get it back home to Mum and Dad’s place one day so I don’t lose it.”
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