Richmond’s Toby Nankervis grabbing his opportunity after trade from Sydney Swans
RICHMOND’S new No.1 ruckman isn’t aggressive by nature, but a “bit of mongrel” has made him a hit with Tiger fans. Lauren Wood caught up with the Toby Nankervis.
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THERE’S two very different sides to Toby Nankervis.
Richmond’s new No.1 ruckman has had an immediate impact in his first two outings as a Tiger — powerful, uncompromising and aggressive.
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New teammate Sam Lloyd declared in the preseason that the former Swan has “a bit of mongrel in him” once he crosses the white line.
They are attributes that have led to the former Swan being lauded as the pick of the season, but his on-field persona couldn’t be further from the “other” Toby — quietly-spoken and about as unassuming as a 199cm big man can get.
“I definitely don’t think I’m an aggressive person by nature,” Nankervis says.
“One of my strengths is how competitive I am — I definitely hate losing. It’s a strength I’ve always had in every sport I’ve played.”
And there’s been a few.
The Tasmanian was a top fast bowler as a teenager, once claiming the scalp of Australian cricketer Ashton Agar.
As has been the case for many AFL players, there came a time to choose.
“I love playing sport in general, and took cricket a bit more seriously,” he says.
“I had to make a decision there and footy sort of chose me in a way. I got given the opportunity to play at the (Tassie) Mariners in the Under 18s and I just loved that.
“I could feel myself improving and loved playing footy. It’s just what I enjoyed more.”
Upon reaching draft age in 2012, Nankervis was overlooked.
Named the under-18 competition’s best ruckman in 2013, the now-22-year-old was jagged by Sydney with pick 35 and it was off to the harbour city.
He spent three years on the Swans’ list, playing 12 games in that time, including last year’s semi-final before being named as an emergency for the Grand Final.
With the likes of Kurt Tippett, Sam Naismith and Callum Sinclair ahead of him, there wasn’t much opportunity. It was all he wanted — he made that known — and eventually secured a trade.
“I didn’t have any (contract) talks with Sydney during the year and put it off until the Grand Final, because obviously I was doing everything I could to get an opportunity in that,” Nankervis says.
“After the Grand Final ... I definitely had to make a decision. I was really upfront with the Swans in saying I was going to assess my options.
“I gave everything I had at the Swans — I definitely didn’t leave anything to chance up there. I worked my a--e off. We were both happy at the end of the day. There was nothing behind their back.”
A lengthy chat with Damien Hardwick — who this week lauded the ruckman for his work around the ground — was the catalyst for Nankervis to determine Punt Road was for him.
There was a slight connection to the Tigers, he soon realised, with his dad, Kingsley, born in the same town — Penguin — as Richmond forward/ruck and now-chief executive Brendon Gale.
When Nankervis moved to Melbourne to make a start in yellow and black, he “didn’t know anyone”.
His parents have shifted from Tasmania to Point Cook — where they lived when the ruck was younger — to help support their son, and he’s moved back home to help ease the transition.
“It’s a bit weird, actually — I haven’t seen much of them for three years or so,” he smiles.
“I’m pretty close with my parents and my brother, so it’s good to be back with them. It certainly makes my transition a lot easier, having people around me.”
Melbourne itself has taken a bit of getting used to, also, with the tall running out onto the MCG for the first time in Round 1.
“It (Melbourne) took me a bit to get used to — especially the love of footy,” he said.
“It’s all rugby league in Sydney and I didn’t mind that. It’s a footy heartland down here and you’ve got to embrace that. The good thing about it is, you run out and you’ve got 70 or 80,000 people (there). That’s unbelievable.”
Nankervis has met experience tapmen in Carlton’s Matthew Kreuzer and Collingwood’s Brodie Grundy in the first two rounds, and said he made an effort to be a sponge against both.
He was confident going into both clashes having performed strongly throughout the preseason competition, but improvement remains top of his to-do list.
A lot has changed for both Nankervis and Richmond over the last few months, with the likes of him, Dion Prestia, Josh Caddy and a number of new assistant coaches walking into Punt Road.
Change can be good, he says.
But unless he and the Tigers can continue to evolve, it will count for little.
“From what the boys have said, it’s a completely different look this year, which is exciting,” he says.
“It is only Round 3 — the coaches keep saying that to us. We’ve had a good preseason and a good start to the year but that’s nothing if we can’t keep playing like we want to.”
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