Fourth time lucky? Jake Lloyd out to sink grand final hoodoo
Pia Lloyd has a favourite number, and it’s a big one for a two-year-old: her dad Jake’s 44. Ahead of his grand final, he tells LACHLAN MCKIRDY about family, freedom on the wing and aiming for redemption after three losses on footy’s biggest stage.
As Jake Lloyd wanders through an Eastern Suburbs park with his daughter, Pia, he proudly claims the two-year-old has a new favourite number.
“It’s 44,” he says.
To those well-versed in Lloyd’s story, they would know it is the number he wears proudly on the back of his guernsey every time he plays for the Sydney Swans.
It’s a number he could have switched many times throughout his career, usually reserved for fringe members of the squad.
Like Robbie Fox and Lewis Melican who sit alongside him in the Swans’ changeroom in the numbers 42 and 43 respectively, they love the idea of creating a history and legacy at the club that they’re in charge of. Something that will outlive them.
But to have Pia already recognise its significance is something special. And in a season that already has a chance to finish with a career-defining premiership, he’s had more perspective than ever on what is truly important.
“She’s Two-and-a-half now and pretty vocal,” Lloyd said. “She’s great and she loves her time when she is around the footy club.
“She loves getting around all the boys, but win, lose or draw, you come off the ground, and it’s great to see her there with a big smile and giving you a hug.
“And you know she’s got no idea what’s happened out on the field, and it really puts things into perspective for us.”
A key part of the Swans’ incredible campaign has been their youthful exuberance. Players like Errol Gulden, Nick Blakey and Chad Warner are nowhere near the prime of their careers and producing All-Australian calibre seasons.
But Lloyd represents almost the antithesis of that. The 31-year-old is set to be the only father who takes to the field for the Swans this Saturday against Brisbane.
It’s not something he reflects on regularly, but that stability outside of footy has clearly brought the best out of him on the field. Combined with the new challenge in 2024 of playing on a wing, Lloyd is having just as much impact this season as he has had in his 12-year career.
“I was fortunate to play along some great players, Joey Kennedy for example always had his young fella in the rooms running around,” Lloyd said. “So, it’s great that I’m in that position to do that with my little daughter.
“We never spoke about (playing on the wing) early in the year, but it was the way the team was tracking, the way guys have stepped up in the backline. I was really open to that experience. I had to adjust a few things, but I feel like our team’s in a better spot with the positions that we’re playing now.
“If I sit back and think about it, I was pretty set in my ways down back. I loved that position and found a home there among that (defence) group. But I feel like this has really reinvigorated my career. I see the game a little bit differently now.”
Saturday’s grand final will be Lloyd’s fourth.
He admits he was “young and naive” when he played in his first in 2014 as a fresh-faced 20-year-old in just his second year on the list.
The heartache didn’t get any easier in 2016 or 2022 when the Swans had to watch on as the Bulldogs and Cats, respectively, lifted the premiership cup.
But he knows it has helped him get to a point where things feel clearer this year. He understands what he needs to take care of to give his team the best chance of victory.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned is to stay present,” Lloyd said. “Enjoy each day for what it is. Teams are away on their off-season, and we’re still in here together, working together.
“We’ve had some chats as a group. We’ve got a lot of players with experience like Luke Parker and Dane Rampe, trying to get things off them to help the boys out.
“A lot of our guys have been there and played in ‘22. The feeling certainly is a little bit different. We feel like, I guess as a group, we’re probably a little bit better placed this time around from all the experiences we’ve faced.”
The theatre of grand final day always throws up a few extra variables. Lloyd admits one of them might be sneaking out to see a bit of Katy Perry’s pre-game show – “I think Chaddy Warner might be halfway out the race having a look”.
But his pre-game routine will be the same as ever. He’ll spend the final few minutes deep in conversation with his best mate, Harry Cunningham, before he prepares to leave everything on the line.
He is desperate to finish on the winning side. To feel the ribbon of that premiership medallion around his neck after what will be his 249th AFL match.
Not just for Cunningham, or his family and Pia, who would love that extra, shiny toy to play with. But for a coach in John Longmire, and a footy club, who have had such an influence on the man he has become today.
“Harry, he’s always the last to run out with me,” Lloyd said. “I like to spend a bit of time with him before we run out on the ground and have a chat, so we’ll tick that one off.
“The club means a lot to me. I’m just so grateful to be given the opportunity. I missed out on two national drafts and then was given a chance by the Swans on the rookie list.
Then the people I’ve met along the way, they’re the things that help shape me into the person and player that I am.
“And ‘Horse’, he’s someone you want to play for. Before a game, when you run out and he’s standing there in the race, he just makes you want to play for him.
“I’ve been so fortunate to have only one coach my whole career, and it speaks probably to how good of a coach he is. He’s been there and done it, and he’s doing everything he can to get the boys over the line on Saturday.”
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