Another One? Third Brother Set To Follow Family Into The AFL

Footy families, eh? Just when you think one lot’s given enough to the game, another sibling rocks up and headlines a national carnival. That’s exactly what’s happened with this U16s All Australian squad, and the kid at the centre of it has got a surname every Swans fan already knows off by heart.

Now look, I’m a Collingwood person through and through. Always have been, always will be. But even I can admit when a story’s a ripper, and this one is.

The carnival that started it all

From what’s coming out of the champs, this wasn’t just a good week for the kid in question – it was an absolute carnival domination. You don’t headline an All Australian team by accident. You do it by being the best player on the park, week in week out, against the best 15 and 16 year olds in the country.

Talent id blokes don’t hand out these guernseys for fun either. Getting picked in that squad means the recruiters, the ones with the clipboards and the poker faces, reckon this bloke’s the goods. That’s not nothing.

And when your name’s already attached to two blokes on an AFL list, the pressure ramps up doesn’t it? Every kick gets compared. Every touch gets measured against what the older brothers are doing on the big stage. That’s a heavy thing to carry as a 15 or 16 year old, but by the sounds of it, he’s carrying it just fine.

Why footy families keep producing the goods

We’ve seen it time and time again in this competition. The Krakouers, the Daniher clan, the Silvagni’s – footy runs thicker than water in this game sometimes. Whether it’s genetics, upbringing, or just growing up kicking the Sherrin around the backyard with brothers who already know what it takes, these family produced players always seem to have that little edge.

Is it fair on the rest of the draft pool? Probably not. But since when has footy ever been about fair? Ask any Collingwood supporter about 2018 and they’ll tell you fair doesn’t come into it.

The reality is, when you’ve got older brothers already playing AFL footy, you get taught things other kids just don’t get taught. You get access to facilities, to advice, to blokes who’ve literally been there. It should’nt be underestimated how much of a head start that gives you.

What does this mean for the draft picture

Look, this kid’s still a couple of years off getting his name read out at the draft. That’s the thing people forget with these U16s carnivals – it’s a snapshot, not a guarantee. Plenty of All Australian U16 players have flopped by the time draft night rolls around, and plenty of blokes who weren’t even in the squad have gone on to be gun AFL players.

But you can’t ignore dominance like this. When a kid absolutely bosses a national carnival at that age, the clubs take notice early. Recruiters will be filing this bloke’s name away right now, marking him as one to watch through the bottom age and top age seasons.

• Carnival form doesn’t guarantee draft success, but it’s a big tick
• Family pedigree gives extra scrutiny, for better or worse
• Recruiters will track him closely over the next two seasons
• Comparisons to his brothers will be relentless whether he likes it or not

The Sydney factor

Can’t talk about this without mentioning the elephant in the room. Two brothers already at Sydney means there’s gonna be endless speculation about whether this kid ends up there too, or whether some other club swoops in to snap him up.

Personally? I reckon clubs love a family connection, but they’re not gonna overlook better talent just to keep three brothers together. The draft’s ruthless like that. If some rival list manager reckons another kid’s the better prospect, family ties won’t save you.

Still, you’d have to think Sydney will be watching closely. Wouldn’t be the worst story for the game either, would it? Three brothers, one jumper, one club. The commentators would lose their minds.

A word of caution from a Collingwood tragic

Now here’s where I’ll be honest with you. I’ve seen enough hyped up teenage prospects come through this competition to know that hype doesn’t always translate. We’ve had our own share of highly touted draftees at Collingwood who never quite got there, and we’ve had some who exceeded every expectation going.

The AFL system loves a story, and a third brother headlining an All Australian team is about as good a story as you’ll get in the underage ranks. But stories don’t win you Brownlow votes or premierships. Development does. Hard work does. Copping the hard knocks in the VFL or wherever he lands does.

So while I’m all for celebrating this kid’s carnival form, I’m not about to anoint him the next superstar just yet. Let him develop. Let him find his own path, out of the shadow of his brothers if he can. That’s when we’ll really know what we’ve got.

Final say

Look, footy loves a family story, and this one’s got all the ingredients. Dominant carnival, All Australian selection, two brothers already carving it out at AFL level. The narrative writes itself, doesn’t it?

Whether he ends up at Sydney, at Collingwood (a bloke can dream), or anywhere else in the competition, one things for certain – the recruiters will be circling this kid for the next two years like seagulls round a chip packet.

Carn the Pies, and here’s hoping our recruiters are paying just as close attention as everyone else. We could definately use a bit of family magic of our own down at the Holden Centre.