Article and photo courtesy of Sydney Morning Herald
BY ANDREW WU
BALMAIN great Garry Jack might have another reason to don the red and the white at the SCG next year after Tuesday's rookie draft.
Sydney are set to recruit controversial forward Kurt Tippett in the pre-season draft but it's the rookie draft minutes later that could further entrench the Jack name at the Swans. That's when teenager Brandon Jack will find out whether he will follow in the footsteps of his brother Kieren by making it to the club's rookie list.
Brandon has trained with the Swans during the pre-season in the hope of being thrown the same opportunity Kieren was handed seven years ago. The 18-year-old - a product of the Swans' academy - is no stranger to the club, both on and off the field, having played for the Swans at reserves level this year.
At 182 centimetres, Brandon is slightly taller than his brother and has also been blessed with the speed that has helped Kieren become such a vital part of Sydney's midfield in recent years.
''It's unfair to compare them. Whilst they're brothers, they're different players,'' Swans coach John Longmire said. ''Brandon's still finding his feet because he's only been playing a short period of time. What he has got is genuine speed, which certainly helps him.''
The Swans are yet to finalise their selections in the rookie draft, which in previous years has netted them future premiership players such as Nick Smith, Heath Grundy and Mike Pyke, but they like what they have seen so far from Brandon.
''He's showed some signs but it's very hard to pick 18-, 19-year-old kids,'' Longmire said. ''Even in the elite system with our recruiters in the national carnival they find it very difficult to pick - and they watch them all the time. It is a challenge to see how they turn out.
''We've seen a little bit, and think he's OK, but he's still got a lot of development to go.''
The same applies to youngster Xavier Richards, the brother of another grand final hero, Ted Richards. Like his All Australian sibling, Xavier, at 195cm, is tall and has pace for a player his size but was overlooked in this year's draft, and is relying on having his name called in Tuesday's lotto in order to have a crack at the big time next year.
''Teddy took a while before he was an established AFL player, he took a number of years. It doesn't mean Xavier will take the same amount of time if he gets the same opportunity,'' Longmire said.
''But they're both key position players and they can both run. We haven't seen enough of him to make the call on what player he may or may not develop into.''
The Pre-Season and Rookie Draft will occur tomorrow morning. Stay tuned on the AFL Sydney website, Facebook and Twitter for updates.
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/another-jack-out-of-the-box-as-swans-rookie-pick-20121207-2b0wa.html#ixzz2Eb9lXDhk
Last Modified on 10/12/2012 10:01
