Suns AFL: Davies, Harbrow in changing of the guard moment
As the curtain closes on the AFL career of one Cairns footballer, another is set to open.
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As the curtain closes on the AFL career of one Cairns footballer, another is set to open.
Manunda Hawks junior Alex Davies will make his AFL debut when he lines up for the Gold Coast Suns in Saturday afternoon’s clash against the Sydney Swans at Marvel Stadium.
In a changing-of-the-guard moment, the 19-year-old will play his first game alongside fellow Cairns product and Suns legend Jarrod Harbrow, in the retiring 33-year-old’s farewell match.
It’s a poetic end to Harbrow’s 262-game career, with the Cairns games record-holder to share the field with Davies, who represents the next generation of Far North footballers.
Harbrow’s brother, Marc, coached Davies during the rising star’s formative days playing for the Hawks in the AFL Cairns competition.
The Hawks club president said Davies’ talent could be seen “almost instantly” as a junior, and it wasn’t so much a case of if he would get to footy’s biggest stage, but when.
“I think that was the easy part – the talent,” Marc said. “It didn’t take long and it wasn’t hard to see that Alex had all the attributes of playing the highest level in the country.
“Second to that, he’s got the family to support him – they are highly supportive, and a great family at that.”
Marc said that while it seemed “all the stars were aligned” for Davies on his journey to the AFL, he had done the work to deserve it.
“When he was in Cairns, he did all the one-percenters, the recovery stuff, everything you’ve got to do to make it to the highest level,” he said.
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“I got the opportunity to coach him as a youngster in senior footy and he did not look out of place.
“He didn’t say too much at first – he’s sort of a quiet young fella by nature – he’s got character though.
“When he got comfortable around the senior boys, he had a bit of a joke and a laugh, and the senior boys around him at the time were very supportive – and protective – of him.
“I think they were all just really excited that Alex was in their team.
“It was very clear that he had that X-factor and he had that edge over many players – senior players at that – at the age of about 15 or 16.
“I think we all knew he was going to play high-level footy then.”
Suns coach Stuart Dew said Davies’ selection was a reward for how hard he had worked this season.
“He’s a big boy, so when you see him physically he doesn’t look like a first-gamer – and he certainly doesn’t play like one,” he said.
“We think he’s ready, we’re not just giving him a token game at the end of the year, he’s earnt this game, his (VFL) form’s been really strong.”
Dew said the first thing Davies said after he was told he would make his debut was how excited he was to be able to play in Harbrow’s last game.
“I think that’s the measure of him – he didn’t want any fuss made at all because he just wants to play in the team and do his job,” he said.
Marc said there were similarities in the way his brother and Davies approached their footy – not least their determination.
“Jarrod was the same – we knew he was going to play at a higher level, just his determination to get there was second to none,” he said.
Marc said he was proud of his brother’s achievements on the footy field, but more importantly, the work he had done away from the field.
As a proud Yirrganydji/Kuku-Yalanji man from Far North Queensland, Harbrow has had a colossal influence on the club’s Indigenous and cultural education programs.
He is an AFL Players’ Association Indigenous Advisory Board member and has been a respected mentor to fellow Indigenous teammates Sean Lemmens, Izak Rankine, Malcolm Rosas Jnr, Jy Farrar and Joel Jeffrey, as well as many former teammates.
Dew said Harbrow had been a “fantastic role model” for the club.
“He’s a club man, we love him, he’s been a great ambassador for Queensland footy – not just south east Queensland but north Queensland where he originates from,” he said.
Marc said he would be watching the game from the Manunda Hawks Bar at Cazalys Stadium, with the Hawks to host North Cairns Tigers in round 18 action on Saturday afternoon.
“Me, Mum and Dad were at his (Jarrod’s) first game – against Richmond at the MCG – and we wanted to be there for his last but Covid sort of makes that a bit harder, so we’ll watch his last on TV in Cairns,” he said.
Harbrow has been with the Suns since the club’s debut season and was the first player to be inducted as a life member of the club in 2018.
He retires after 192 games for the Suns and 70 for the Western Bulldogs.
Davies was added to the Suns’ primary list as an Academy pre-selection in December 2020, but was rated as a player that could have gone in the first round of the 2021 draft had he not been linked to the Suns.
He was earmarked as being a prospect for the Cairns Taipans NBL club, which also had him in its academy, before deciding to pursue Australian rules football.
Davies has been a consistently strong inside presence for the Suns VFL side in recent weeks, winning large amounts of contested ball and providing spark out of the middle.
Averaging 21 disposals in the last four rounds has seen the Academy prospect shoot to the front of the queue for AFL selection.
Originally published as Suns AFL: Davies, Harbrow in changing of the guard moment
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