How ‘mature, high character’ Banks continued Richmond’s Tassie connection

A few years ago Tassie youngster Sam Banks was rapt to simply get a picture with Jack Riewoldt. Come Thursday, they’ll be peers when he debuts for Richmond at the MCG. SPECIAL READ >>

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 05: Sam Banks of the Tigers takes part during a Richmond Tigers AFL training session at Punt Road Oval on July 05, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Around the same time each week for the past month, Laurie Banks’ phone has buzzed with son Sam’s name lit up on screen.

Each time, the Richmond youngster has let Laurie and his mother Jo-Anne know he’s been named as an emergency for the AFL side. So close but no cigar, yet again.

That month of frustration eventually ended on Monday, when the 20-year-old rang to break the news he’s making his debut against Sydney at the MCG on Thursday night.

“We were hoping (he’d say he’s selected). He’s been so close for a long time. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster,” Jo-Anne said.

Laurie added: I only just held it together mate. He usually rings around that time each week, but we didn’t know if he was in or out.”

Laurie played over 500 games for Clarence, Sorell, Mangalore and finally, at Woodsdale.

Woodsdale can’t be classified as a town. The rural community begins and ends with a few farms and a town hall - about as far as it gets from the spotlight and huge crowd which awaits Sam on Thursday.

Woodsdale's football ground.

The football team plays on a ground rivals call the ‘sheep paddock’. Probably because it is effectively that - a paddock with a noticeable slant at one end of the ground, complemented by a couple of corrugated sheds.

It’s where Sam started developing his love for the game accompanying his father, a rover who played around 220 games for the Lions, to training.

“I wasn’t playing at that stage but I’d take him down to Woodsdale training when he was five or six, him and a few other young boys would get out and train with them (senior team),” he said.

“I actually finished my career out there. One of my old coaches asked me to play at Woodsdale, I met up with Jo-Anne and the rest is history.

“When Sam was 14 he said ‘I want to concentrate on footy dad.’ He was pretty good at cricket too.”

Richmond debutant Sam Banks with Tasmanian and club legend Jack Riewoldt during his under-12s days at the Devils.

Sam grew up at Whitefoord, a tiny town of just 60-odd people, where Richmond great and AFL Hall of Fame Legend Royce Hart also hails from, but his family now resides at Pontville.

He played his junior football at Sorell and Clarence, played some senior games at the Kangaroos, and was captain of the Tasmania Devils under-18s.

Those who have overseen his progression say it’s for good reason. ‘High character’, ‘mature’, ‘strong leader’ are words often used to describe him.

He was mature enough to make the difficult decision to undergo wrist surgery in his draft year of 2021.

Banks missed Clarence’s finals campaign as well as representing the Australian under-18s, but had amassed enough credits to be taken by the Tigers at pick no.29.

The half-back/wing’s kicking and decision making is elite, complemented by a huge endurance engine which powers his two-way running.

Sam Banks with parents Laurie and Jo-Anne after receiving his AFL Academy jumper in 2021.

“He quite often played above his age group. That’s probably why he’s mature for his age, because he’s quite often socialised with kids who are a bit older than him,” mother Jo-Anne said.

“He’s handled it (move to Melbourne) really well. He’s quite a social kid, has a lot of friends and has seemed to fit right in over there.

“They were really good with him, made him feel really welcome and there’s a few Tassie boys (at Richmond), which is good.

“It was harder for mum when he left. We’re a pretty close family and live in a pretty close knit community.”

Tasmania has become a major target area for Richmond scouts in recent years. Jack Riewoldt, Toby Nankervis, Rhyan Mansell and Seth Campbell are the other Apple Isle products currently on the Tigers’ list.

They all look after each other and haven’t forgotten their roots. When Tasmania’s under-16s played Northern Territory at the Tigers’ Punt Road base recently, they all made the effort to show their support.

Richmond’s Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin and Sam Banks during a running session in December. Picture: Michael Klein

“All the Tassie boys came down to see them train and say hello. There’s a really good connection there,” AFL Tasmania’s southern talent operations manager Mathew Armstrong said.

In under-12s playing for the Devils, Sam Banks was wide-eyed with excitement as he posed for a picture with Riewoldt.

Come Thursday he will be one of his peers, and Armstrong isn’t surprised by his progress through the grades.

“I used to have a footy academy and teach 12 year olds how to kick. I remember him being in one of the first lots to come through it and he was a quality player then, even at a young age,” Armstrong said.

“He was a class above the rest of the young fellas at that time, and held that together all his junior years.

“He’s a good leader and a fantastic character kid, people follow him I think. He’s a born leader like that, that’s why we made him (Devils) captain.

“Kids looked up to him, the way he went about it. That’s probably why he got there (AFL) in the first place.

Sam Banks playing for the Devils in 2021. Picture: Linda Higginson

“He’s a very mature young man for his age, has good morals and standards and that helps with his footy.

“With Sam it was probably more his body size. He would have had to put on a few kilos because he probably wasn’t physically ready to play AFL footy.

“They’ve taken their time with him and he’s obviously been playing good (VFL) footy because he’s been emergency for the last five weeks.”

Sam was a huge Hawthorn fan growing up, idolising the likes of Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin, Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell.

He once met Buddy at a clinic in Tasmania, and will make his debut at the MCG when Franklin likely plays his last game at the venue.

Sam Banks with twin sisters Jordyn (left) and Mackenzie (right)

“We had a Hawthorn membership and went to Launceston watching their games until it got to hard with the all the kids’ sport to get up there,” Jo-Anne said.

The Banks are a very sporty family. Sam’s sister Mackenzie currently plays for the Devils under-18s, while she and twin sister Jordyn are also handy netballers who have played at state league level.

They’ll all be at the ‘G on Thursday night watching Sam realise his dream.