Leek Aleer on Harry McKay battle and GWS Giants defence

Leek Aleer was barely off the ground when Harry McKay finally got going. The Blues forward’s cheeky quip is set to light a fire for the five-gamer after his AFL return, writes LACHLAN McKIRDY.

Leek Aleer finished with 13 spoils against Carlton on Saturday, the third most by any player in 2024. Picture: Michael Klein

It was the five-minute stretch that turned the Carlton-Giants encounter on its head.

Halfway through the third quarter, the returning Leek Aleer found himself on the sidelines as Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow tipped the game in the Blues’ favour.

They combined for five of Carlton’s seven goals in the term as they opened up a lead that the Giants couldn’t run down.

As Aleer finally returned to the ground, his direct opponent, McKay, had a cheeky message for him.

“He said, ‘You were gone for five minutes’,” Aleer recalled. “That was basically all he said, I don’t know what he was implying, but yeah.

“It’s definitely frustrating. When you’re playing on a forward like Harry McKay, it’s a battle and you want to win the battle. You want to do your best to nullify him to have as little effect on the game (as possible).

“It stings when you’re on the bench (and he kicks a few), but at the end of the day, you can’t really do much about that. It’s just my competitive nature.”

Aleer didn’t leave McKay’s side for most of the game. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The result might not have gone the Giants’ way, but it was hard for Aleer to not feel some sense of positivity after his first AFL game in 609 days.

The 22-year-old finished with a game-high 13 spoils, the third-most by any AFL player in 2024, including one that nearly took the roof off Marvel Stadium.

And despite having such a long stretch out of the game, he knew he had the trust of his coach and teammates to do a job against one of the best forward lines in the competition.

The spoil from Aleer and the goal from Cottrell 🤤#AFLBluesGiantspic.twitter.com/sb9QLGP5os

— AFL (@AFL) April 20, 2024

“The first (spoil) felt good,” Aleer said. “Looking back I probably could have marked it. But going out there, I’d spoil 100 times if that’s what I’m required to do.

“Losing never feels great, so regardless of whether you played well, it stings a bit. But if I’m to take anything out of it, I’m just glad to be back out with the boys again and playing some footy.

“For Kingers (Kingsley) and his team to have that belief and faith in me that I can get the job done on arguably one of the best key forwards in the comp, it really gives me a lot of positive confidence. It shows they believe in me and what I have to offer to the team and the football club.”

Reflecting on the past two years, Aleer admitted it was a tough mental challenge building his body up to be ready for the rigours of the AFL again. Rather than one big injury, several incidents contributed to keeping Aleer on the sidelines for all of 2023.

The 22-year-old has worked tirelessly on his body to get himself back to AFL level again. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“It was a pretty big rollercoaster ride how the year panned out,” he said. “I had a pretty solid pre-season and I was in for round one.

“I wasn’t able to make it to that game and play that weekend. Then I came back after a five-week rehab stint to play half a game and got injured again. Another 10 or 11 weeks later, I had another setback that ruled me out for the rest of the season.

“It was quite harsh, but that’s footy and that’s life. It taught me a lot of perseverance, a lot of resilience and I just put it on my shoulders and identified it as a year of growth. Hopefully from here on out just keep going upwards and onwards.”

Despite his impressive match against Carlton, Aleer knows nothing is guaranteed this season.

Kingsley is relatively set on his best back seven that helped carry them all the way to last year’s preliminary final. The former number 15 draft pick only came into the side as a result of Sam Taylor’s concussion and will have at least one more chance to make it permanent against the Lions on Anzac Day in Canberra.

Another impressive performance against Brisbane could give Kingsley some selection headaches ahead of the Sydney Derby. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

However, Aleer knows that learning his craft alongside some of the competition’s best defenders will only make him a better player in the long run. And with Jack Buckley in particular, he has the perfect role model of a player who pushed through adversity to make the most of an opportunity later in his career.

“As much as it’s extremely difficult at times, particularly last year and early this year to crack into the side, it gives me a lot of confidence because I’m competing against guys that are the best at their craft,” Aleer said.

“I take a lot of learnings from them and how hard they work, their dedication to their craft and their desire to be the best. That’s something that’s rubbed off on me.

“Something we all have in common as a backline group is resilience. A guy like Bucks, he’s had to persevere through a lot. You can tell by the way he plays, he’s very precise and he goes 100 per cent at everything.

“Regardless of whether I’m struggling to make the team, I try to make myself better each day because these guys are the best at what they do. For me to be on par with them, I need to always be on my A-game to be the best I possibly can be.”

Originally published as Leek Aleer on Harry McKay battle and GWS Giants defence