AFL 2020: Junior coaches speak about Port Adelaide players ahead of Richmond final
Now they are household names across the country. But the writing was on the wall from a young age that this crew of Power stars were built differently. Find out exactly what they were like as youngsters.
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Every aspiring footballer has a coach to thank for their path towards the AFL.
So we went to the junior coaches of the Port Adelaide players set to face off against Richmond on Friday night to see what they were like as kids.
Check out the full profiles here.
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No. 1. TOM JONAS
Born: Jan 9, 1991. Junior club: Rostrevor College (SA). Drafted: #16, 2011 Rookie. Debut: 2011
Barrie Bryan, football coach Rostrevor College:
“My biggest memories of Tom are that he was a really hardworking, dedicated, disciplined player, but he wasn’t flashy. When they’re kids, it’s the flashy ones who tend to catch the eye; we used to have a lot of AFL scouts coming to our games and he wouldn’t have been one they had their eye on.
In some ways, he wasn’t much different then he is now.
Tom was very skinny, he would have been lucky to be 65kg, 70kg tops. He must be at least 90kg now. And not just that, when he was in Year 7, 8, 9, he would have been one of the shortest too.
When he got to Year 11 and 12 he played in our First XVIII and around that time I remember having a conversation with him; he was worried about not putting on weight and I said: ‘Mate, you’ve just got to be patient and put the time and effort in’.
It wasn’t until after school when he was playing for Norwood that he started to put on weight and that started interest from AFL clubs.
In 2008 Tom was vice-captain of our First XVIII playing across halfback. I’ve got this image of him doing what he still does now, even as a 17-, 18-year-old, of spoiling from behind, staying with his man, directing his teammates.
Tom was never the type to take a spectacular mark or kick a spectacular goal that’s going to stay in your memory – it was more that constant image of I have of him doing the disciplined, hardworking, unspectacular things that make him such a good player and good teammates and I’m sure everyone at Port Adelaide really respects him for that behind-the-scenes, those 1 per centres that sometimes people don’t see.”
No. 3. RYAN BURTON
Born: Jan 31, 1997, Junior club: PHOS-Camden/Sacred Heart College (SA). Drafted: #19 2015 (by Hawthorn). Debut: 2016
Robert Gill, football co-ordinator, Sacred Heart College:
“I coached him in Year 10 and I was also the football co-ordinator when Ryan was in Year 12 in 2014. He was obviously an excellent player, but I remember in Year 10 because he was so much better than everyone else and those players tend to play well wherever you put them, we put him at centre-half forward and he kicked a heap of goals for the season.
At the end of the season I remember him coming up to me and jokingly saying: “Not bad for someone who you’ve played out of position all year, ‘cause I’m a backman”. And it turns out he was right because that’s where he plays his footy now.
But throughout his time at the college he played mainly up forward and was quite a powerhouse figure for us in: in Year 12 in the State knockout final which we won against Prince Alfred College, he was awarded best on ground and I’m sure he kicked seven goals that game.
He always looked set for the AFL, but then he got injured in ‘14. Every year we play a fixture against Victorian school Assumption College and during that game he suffered a horrific knee injury which ended his season (in which his knee cap was displaced, and he fractured his tibial plateau, which required a metal plate and 10 screws to be inserted in his leg).
Up until that point he’d represented SA’s under 18s side who were victorious that year at national level and had obviously done really well for us in our First XVIII, but this injury was quite a significant one and were concerned he wouldn’t get drafted, but Hawthorn saw the same potential in him that we did.”
No. 4. TODD MARSHALL
Born: October 8, 1998. Junior club: Deniliquin Rams (NSW) Drafted: #16, 2016. Debut: 2017.
Chris Mitsch, junior coach Deniliquin Rams (NSW):
“I coached Todd in the under-17s, and that year he was also picked in the NSW under-17 cricket team and they had a tour of England coming up. He was obviously the star player in our side but the cricket team got a bit ansie about him possibly getting injured playing footy and not being able to do the tour. So we didn’t have him for about five weeks, which made life really difficult for us.
What stood out about him was that the kid was 6’5 at the time, and he could run like the wind. But he was also very, very good below his knees, which for tall players was almost unheard of. His ability to run and pick the ball up at pace below his knees was one of his outstanding assets, we used to just marvel at him at training.
Anyway, that season he won our goalkicking award even though he’d missed all those weeks on that cricket tour.
You wouldn’t get a better kid, in a sense he was really shy and you couldn’t get anything out of him, but he was a ripping kid to coach. He listened, he was probably the perfect kid, if there is one. I don’t ever recall him getting into any trouble, even on the field, he played the game properly, he never got into fights or did the wrong thing. He just always tried his hardest to do the best he could.
No. 5. DAN HOUSTON
Born: May 12, 1997. Junior club: Greythorn Falcons/Camberwell Grammar (VIC). Drafted: #45 2015 Rookie Elevation. Debut: 2017.
Richard Martin, secretary Greythorn Football Club:
“Dan joined our club in 2006 where he played the first of his two years with the under-10s. He continued with the under-10s in 2007 where he was joined by Jack Silvagni (who was drafted by Carlton).
Back in those days, Dan was very big for his age and somewhat bulky – nothing like he is now – and as is often the case in junior footy, the bigger boys dominate and Dan was no exception. This domination saw him win the under-10s league best and fairest award for 2007. His team did pretty well that year too, winning the under-10s premiership.
Greythorn was a small club and like all small clubs didn’t boast a great deal of on-field success so to some extent, Dan’s team was a bit of an exception and its talent saw it eventually playing in the highest division. Their success was repeated the following year winning the under-11s premiership with Dan and Jack dominating the grand final, kicking the entire score between themselves. I’m not sure they even realise that happened, but I can assure you it’s true.
Dan has a reputation at Port of being a booming kick and occasionally kicks a huge goal from a long way out; that skill was developed at Greythorn where he played on the forward line. His long kicking became a feature of his game, much to the parents’ enjoyment.
Our club has had a number of players in the VFL/AFL and naturally we are very proud of those guys. Unfortunately, none of them has ever been an AFL premiership player, in fact Dan recently became the only one to have played in an AFL final.”
No. 8. HAMISH HARTLETT
Born: August 14, 1990. Junior club: Edwardstown Football Club (SA). Drafted: #4, 2008. debut: 2009.
Andrew Homburg, junior coach Edwardstown
“When Hamish was a young lad he was just full-on football. It was basically his one passion and he was very, very good and for a 10-, 11-year-old to have the skills that he had with his kicking and marking and speed around the ball, it was quite remarkable to be quite honest with you. I hadn’t seen anyone like him.
That first year I coached him, I thought: ‘This kid is going to go all the way’ and he hasn’t let me down.
He was a very raw talent, like a pot of gold and in that first year, he played in a grand final in the under-11s which the side actually won and they played at West Adelaide’s Oval and in that game they played 18-minute quarters on the full-size oval, so it was about four goals to three at the final siren, but Hamish played a major part in getting those boys across the line.
In terms of the character and how passionate he was about the game, I recall at half time we were down by two goals and he was a bit upset – you could see he had tears in his eyes – which geared up all the rest of the boys and they all responded. He led the way in the second half and they won the game.
He had that real strong will to win and I don’t doubt he still has that same passion to succeed and so he’ll do things on the footy field that others wouldn’t be able to.”
No. 10. TRAVIS BOAK
Born: August 1, 1988. Junior club: Torquay Tigers (VIC). Drafted: #5 2006. Debut: 2007
Peter Raidme, junior coach Torquay/teacher, coach Torquay Primary School:
“He was the model student all the way through primary school. One thing that stands out was Torquay Primary School as it was then, went in the state schools championship and there were something like 2000 schools and you get down in the end to two schools and we won it in 1999 when Travis was in Year 5.
In that team there were only two Year 5s. The Year 6 boys are about to go to secondary school and the little Year 5s are not in their league, but Travis was in the team because of his ability and he played brilliantly, of course.
He was a standout among all the Year 6s. He shone. He wasn’t the Year 5 tag-along, he was one of our main players. He played with a big heart, like he continues to do.
But he didn’t say a word. He had his lunch and all the other kids would be mucking around, but he was probably just taking it all in and reflecting. I was his primary teacher but my mates who taught him in secondary said he was the same there.
I first coached him in Year 5. He was so balanced and no one could catch him. He was quite zippy. He’s obviously grown into a very, very able bodied man, but back then he was quite slight, quite small but he had pace and – his dad played like this too – balance, so no one could really tackle him and he was able to avoid players. His reading of the play was a standout in Year 5.”
No. 16. OLLIE WINES
Born: October 7, 1994. Junior club: Echuca (VIC). Drafted: #7, 2012. Debut: 2013
Rob Morris, junior coach Echuca:
“Ollie played in our under-16s in 2009, but broke his collarbone that year, so he only played about six games, but like all the good players in that age group, he was tied up in our state school boys’ competition and the TAC Cup, so locally (in Echuca), you didn’t see a whole lot of Ollie playing footy.
We had a really strong under-16s team and Ollie was among the group of kids that if we were belting other teams – we’d usually be 15 goals up at halftime – the boys would have to come and sit on the bench to try and even it up a little bit. But you could feel the pressure then, the seat would heat up, the boys were burning a hole in the bench so you’d move them off the ball and put them at full back or something, which wasn’t one of their favourite things to do.
What I remember of him most is that the size of him was pretty amazing. Most of the others were all little skinny kids, but Ollie had a man’s body at about 16.
I picked him up to take him to training and he got in the front seat with his footy shorts and a singlet on and I looked at him, and thought: ‘Jeez, look at his legs!’ He had these massive legs sticking out of his footy shorts and these big arms.
As a kid, he was always a competitive beast, as he still is. He was the sort of kid who always did something extra, so he was on the oval having extra kicks or runs with his dad.”
No. 18. ZAK BUTTERS
Born: September 8, 2000. Junior club: Darley Devils (VIC). Drafted: #12, 2018. Debut: 2019
Travis Edwards, then a runner, now male football manager at Darley FC:
“When he was about 16, if Zak didn’t play a game, I remember he’d come up to me as a runner asking questions about game plan and structure and I thought his willingness to learn and understand the game was really good and he always had a calmness and confidence in his own ability that he was always going to succeed.
He was so good that in 2016 when he was bottom age under-16s, he won the Ballarat League’s best and fairest Robert Allan Medal and I don’t think that had ever been done before. That year he was also best and fairest in the 2016 Metro Under 16 NAB AFL championship.
He played small forward and was really clean, dangerous and really hard to match up on because he was so good in the air for his size.
I remember coaching under-12s at about that time and someone said to me: ‘You’ve got to go and see Zakky Butters in the under-16s’ and you’d watch him take a hanger in the goalsquare or he’d get around people, he was great to watch at junior level.
Then he went and played senior footy as a 16-year-old at Western Jets, but in 2017 we got him back for finals, but we had to qualify him first which meant he had to take the field, so we went down to the under-19s and the under-19 coach’s instruction was: ‘Run on for a minute and don’t go near the footy, I don’t want you getting injured, just run on and run off’. But Zak couldn’t help himself and he went out and got the ball.
He qualified for finals and they won the 2017 premiership.
At the end of the game he did a backflip – it might even be on YouTube – when we won the game, he did a backflip in front of all the Darley faithful and it made Win News.
That was good for him too because he was a small body playing against men and that probably put him in good stead and helped him get drafted and then play senior footy in his first year.”
No. 19. MITCH GEORGIADES
Born: September 28, 2001. Junior club: Wembley Downs (WA). Drafted: #18, 2019. Debut: 2020
Kevan Sparks, junior coach Wembley Downs:
“I played football with his father at Subiaco and then ended up coaching his boy from Auskick all the way through to Year 12.
He was always very diligent, highly skilled and he understood the game from a young age, a lot of kids don’t understand the nuts and bolts of football.
One of the great things about him was he was always prepared to jump at the ball, which is unusual for a kid to lead up, hit up at the ball and be prepared to take a whack behind the ear, because most kids will jump from behind.
He was super respectful, intelligent and humble.
I have a vivid memory of him that once he got to Year 10, he played in a private schools competition, and they didn’t let him play too much juniors anymore. But I remember when his grandfather, Spiro on his father’s side, passed away Mitch charged down to the oval on Sunday afternoon and said: ‘I want to play, Sparksy, I don’t care what the school says’.
And I said: ‘OK, you can play and you’ll captain the team and you’ll come off at half time’ (so you don’t get injured). And he came to me at half time and said: ‘I’m not coming off’. Purely in respect for his grandfather. That’s the sort of kid he is.”
No. 20 CONNOR ROZEE
Born: Jan 22, 2000. Junior club: South Augusta (SA). Drafted: #5, 2018. Debut: 2019.
Craig Ritter, under-9s coach, South Augusta:
“The first time his dad brought him out, he was even too young to play in the under-9s, he was only about four, and his dad would have him on the oval there kicking left foot, right foot, left hand handballing, right hand handballing.
He was an unbelievable kid, always the smallest one of the lot, but he was just full-on at football, he’d just attack the ball, the footy had to be his and he’d chase really hard.
He was very gifted right from the word go and he’d always put up his hand to play in higher grades, so when he was under-9s he’d play under-11s as well, and when he was under-11s he’d play under-13s.
And he always had a cheeky smile, even now, you see him on the TV – and the TV seems to hone in on him a lot – and he’s always got that grin, he had that playing in the junior grades.
His skill level always made him standout. He might have been the smallest of the lot, but he was always the first pick that any of the other kids wanted on their team.
He was very easy to coach, he’d listen to everything you’d say and he’d never muck around at training or during games, he was a very serious young man, but he’d love to have that giggle and smile after the game, but during the game he was very serious. And he took losses on the chin.
Connor always had that aura about him that he was going to be successful. I’m just so proud that a lad from Port Augusta was able to make it at such a high level.”
No. 21. XAVIER DUURSMA
Born: July 7, 2000. Junior club: Foster (VIC). Drafted: #18, 2018 Debut: 2019
Dean Duursma, father and junior coach of Corner Inlet Stingrays:
“Xavier started Auskick when he was 4 or 5 and did a couple of years of that in Foster and when he was about 8, Auskick wasn’t doing it for him anymore; in their little games he would dominate and the dads would have to go and stand in the goalsquare so other kids could get a kick.
Beyond that there was no junior footy in Foster, so his mum Susie and I took him to Melbourne once every two or three weeks to play at East Ringwood with his cousin for under 9s, but by under 10s the travel was becoming too much for us because it was a two-hour trip. So I started a junior footy club in Foster with a friend of mine and we called it the Corner Inlet Stingrays and we coached that together. We started off with an under-11s and under-13s and it grew from there and that club is still going.
Being his dad, I was probably harder on him than any of the other kids. One thing we never had to tell him to do was to look for the kid struggling to get a touch. He’d run the ball down the field until that kid could get on their own and he’d handball it to them, so they could get a kick. He did a lot of that stuff, he was very inclusive.
He was always the best player and that’s not me being biased, a couple of years in a row at interleague, he won player of the carnival, and he was best on ground in a grand final in a losing team.
Then there were times when you just thought: ‘Wow, this kid is really tough’. In one under 11s game – the one bloody game of the season when he forgot to take his mouth guard – he copped an elbow to the face and it smashed his front tooth out. But all he did was spit it out and keep chasing the ball.”
No. 29. SCOTT LYCETT
Born: September 26, 1992. Junior club: Thevenard FC (SA). Drafted: #29, 2010 (West Coast) Debut: 2011
Brett Perry, junior coach Thevenard:
“I reckon he played under me from about 2003 until maybe 2008 and even then, Scott had the body of a footballer, but also the heart.
He was athletic for his size, he didn’t fall over a lot, he could mark and he could take body contact even at under-15s.
I remember playing Scott in our combined under-15s side when he was only a 13-, 14-year-old in the back pocket. I went through my notes on that game the other day I had written: “He saved us three or four goals playing there”.
I’m not a big fella, so in his formative years, I didn’t concentrate on his ruck’s craft – I left that to other people – instead I concentrated solely on his ground skills.
Being a big man I wanted him to be able to pick the ball up and handpass it first time, like a Justin Madden or Paul Salmon who was in the back of my mind.
I played him at full forward a lot and we did a real lot of goal kicking practice; on the run, set shots, everything, so that he wouldn’t have just one thing (ruck).
I loved his dry sense of humour, actually. I remember once at training we were coming out of the changerooms and the boys were arguing about everything and one of my lads said in a joking way: ‘Oh, Scott, I’ll put you six feet under the ground’. And Scott quickly came back with: ‘Yeah, we’ll I’ll still be six inches out the ground then’. He had a wit.”
No. 33. DARCY BYRNE-JONES
Born: September 20, 1995. Junior club: Camberwell (VIC). Drafted: #52, 20213. Debut: 2016
Gary Jackson, head of footy operations, Camberwell Sharks
“Darcy’s a great story, I reckon. He never won any best and fairests and never played in many rep squads all the way through his junior career until under 18s when then he was invited onto the list at the Oakleigh Chargers as under-18s.
A lot of these kids think they’re going to be AFL players when they’re 12, 13, 14, but Darcy wasn’t even on the radar and then he gets to 17, gets his foot in the door and puts everything into it.
A lot of these kids think they have to play in the midfield or up forward and kick five or six goals a game, but he was just happy playing anywhere and he was good in the back pocket.
I was watching him most games when I was recruiting for Collingwood and was impressed by his hard work and his concentration and he was a great runner as well.
Then he made that Vic Metro side and played on some really good players and away he goes. Now he’s All Australian!
It’s good for kids to know that you don’t have to be best and fairest and get in all the rep squads to end up in the AFL.
But his hair is bad. It does his mother’s head in.”
No. 36. BOYD WOODCOCK
Born: March 5, 2000. Junior club: Bute/Paskeville (SA) Drafted: #32, Rookie, 2019. Debut: 2020.
John Zuhringer, junior colts coach at Bute/Paskeville:
“Boyd played in the under-12s with me and in his second year in the team he was very talented and decided to stick them and play under-14s. But like many country clubs, we were so short on players, and he just played football all day.
While he was only small, he was like a bloody terrier. Teaching him to defend was the hardest thing because he wanted to play near the ball.
We had four players who were standouts and they took it in turns to play rover, centre, centre-half forward and centre-half back. And when Boyd had to play centre-half back one day he said to his opponent, if you want to get near the ball you’re going to have to follow me and he was running down in the forward line kicking goals from centre-half back! It was unbelievable: see ball, get ball.
He was a handful and he wasn’t backwards in coming forward. He was really driven, very skilful and quick.
At training we had a drill where we split them in two groups and they had to line up on the goalsquare and kick if from the corner into the goalpost, so you kicked it 10m the group that hit it the most won.
Boyd got really frustrated one night because he was a good kick but couldn’t hit the post. The irony is that when he played his first AFL game, he was denied a goal because he hit the bloody post!”
No. 39. JUSTIN WESTHOFF
Born: October 1, 1986. Junior club: Tanunda (SA). Drafted: #71, 2006. Debut: 2007.
Ron Bailey, junior coach, Tanunda FC:
“Justin played under-15s and under-17s before he went to Central Districts. As a footballer, he’s come a very long way and he’s never, ever been up himself. He’s just a true-blue, do anything for anyone and very much a family man.
He was playing under-15s in 2000 and we brought him up for the under-17s grand final, but we only brought him up to sit on the bench because we were short, poor bugger, he didn’t get a run and I’ve regretted that the rest of my life.
At a club function years later, someone asked him: ‘What do you think about Ron Bailey not putting you on in the grand final?’. And he was like: ‘Oh, well, we won the flag’.
If I had my time back I would have changed it.
He’s a real good person, and what you see is what you get and it’s never been about me, me, me. He’s always been about the club. I feel bad about not playing him in that final.”
No. 40. JARROD LIENERT
Born: August 5, 1994. Junior club: Murray Bridge Imperials (SA). Drafted: #42 rookie, 2016. Debut: 2018.
Steve Sumner, junior coach, Imperials FC:
“I coached him jointly in the under-12s in 2006 and again in 2009 in under-15s and what I remember is that he loved training, loved working hard and improving.
Actually he was one of my favourites to coach, because he was really attentive to what we were trying to do.
If I coached him now, I’d coach him totally different because I know and understand him.
I always played him at centre-half forward, but he was always a great outside midfielder. And he’s always had a massive kick … he’s been kicking 50m or longer since he was in under-15s.
I coached that group, which included Chad Wingard, for four years and we used to finish the night with what we’d call the funnel – we’d put a funnel out and see who could kick the longest and the straightest, and Jarrod was the epitome of it, he could do it with a drop punt or a barrel torpedo.
I’ve always found it interesting that Port play him down back, but I do remember one day when he took a ball from full back and launched it to centre – this was in under-17s and he was only 16 – we took the ball and within two kicks we were kicking a goal. He could launch those barrels all day.”
Originally published as AFL 2020: Junior coaches speak about Port Adelaide players ahead of Richmond final
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