Jake Rogers will debut against Sydney in round 6

After watching Jed Walter, Ethan Read, Will Graham and Sam Clohesy all debut in recent weeks, the final academy graduate from the 2023 draft crop will step up to debut against Sydney.

The final piece of Damien Hardwick’s Suns Academy puzzle will slot into place on Sunday when Jake Rogers makes his AFL debut against the Swans at the SCG.

Rogers, 18, is the final academy graduate from the 2023 draft crop to earn his senior stripes after watching Jed Walter, Ethan Read, Will Graham and Sam Clohesy all debut in recent weeks.

“Seeing the other boys debut just made me want it even more,” Rogers told this masthead.

“Certainly I was over the moon to see them play and play well, but it certainly lit a fire in me because I wanted to be out there with them as well.”

It wasn’t a want for talent that delayed Rogers’ AFL debut.

Last year’s No.14 selection missed the first half of pre-season with a lower back injury he picked up while playing VFL – perhaps ironically – at the SCG late last year.

The silky skilled 172cm midfielder’s delayed start to life as a Sun kept him out of the frame for an early season debut, but Rogers wasted no time getting to work once he was fit and firing.

Jake Rogers will debut for Gold Coast this week. (Photo by Chris Hyde/AFL Photos)

After two strong performances in the VFL he was pulled into Hardwick’s office this week and told he was in the frame for selection.

“The last couple of weeks I knew I was in for a chance,” Rogers said.

“Dimma pulled me into his office on Wednesday and told me I was a chance this weekend, so I knew I had to put my head down and get after it.”

Livewire small forward Malcolm Rosas Jr’s hamstring injury against Hawthorn last weekend left a hole in the Suns’ forward 50 that Rogers was perfectly suited to fill.

Considered by many to be the cleanest player of any in the 2023 draft class, Rogers’ small stature belies his class as a crafty mid-forward hybrid capable of winning his own ball and using it with damaging effect.

In the lead-up to last year’s draft he was likened to fellow Broadbeach Cats product Dayne Zorko and Suns skipper Touk Miller, for their clean ball use and competitive instincts.

He will be put to work on Sunday in the roaming small forward role that Rosas Jr played so effectively to start the season.

In the blink of an eye Rogers will start in an AFL forward line alongside his great mates and fellow Suns Academy graduates Walter and Read, with Graham feeding them the ball from midfield.

Rogers is yet another Suns Academy graduate to make his AFL debut. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images via AFL Photos)

“We’ve all talked about it for a long time, playing AFL together, pretty much since U16s,” he said.

“For it to finally happen and three of us be in the same forward line will be pretty special.”

If you need an example of the Suns’ impact in rugby league heartland, look no further than Rogers.

His entire family became foundation members of the club when they moved to Queensland.

There is even a photo of a young Rogers with Jarrod Witts and Gary Ablett almost a decade ago.

Now the academy product will share the field with Witts, one of his childhood heroes, on Sunday.

“I’ve wanted to play AFL my whole life … this is going to mean a lot,” he said.

“There’s a photo of me and Wittsy from when I was just a little tacker so it’s pretty special to now run out on the field with him.”

Originally published as Jake Rogers will debut against Sydney in round 6