Jarrod Witts is a born-and-bred Sydneysider. He’s from Normanhurst, attended Barker College on the North Shore and played for the St Ives Aussie Rules Club.
But after just two games of AFL, at the age of just 15, Witts was signed to the AFL’s highest profile club as a NSW scholarship player.
Almost five years on and after years of painstaking training and hard work, the now 20-year-old Witts made his AFL debut for Collingwood against St Kilda in Round 6.
“Bucks (Nathan Buckley) called me in this morning ... I thought I was actually an emergency, but he called me in and said I got a game,” Witts told collingwoodfc.com.au’s The Club.
“I couldn’t really get the smile off my face to be honest; I was really excited, just happy to tell the family and my close friends.
Witts is a rare commodity, 209cm tall and 113kg, who began playing AFL to keep fit for Rugby.
“When I first saw Jarrod play he was a 15-year-old I think, from memory it would have been his second game of AFL football,” said Collingwood’s National Recruiting Manager Derek Hine.
“He was a bit of a hybrid player in that he would play basketball or cricket or Union on the Saturday and then, as with a lot of the NSW boys, they’d play football on the Sunday.
“It was at Glebe Oval and I think we signed him on the Tuesday or Thursday of the following week.”
Witts was signed to Collingwood while still at school and playing local club football, and with no promises of a spot on the Magpies’ list, he trained extra sessions at Macquarie University in the hopes of one day making it in the AFL.
Grandfather Graeme took Witts to the SCG as a kid to watch the Swans play, and was a big part of his journey to the top.
“I was very keen for him to play AFL because my grandfather was an AFL player many, many years ago so I encouraged Jarrod and I used to take him to training,” he said.
“When he got his scholarship with Collingwood and had to do his scholarship training at Macquarie Uni and other places, I’d take him because Peter and Karen (Witts’ parents) have got two other boys that they have to take to their sports, so I filled the gap until he was old enough to get his license and drive himself.”
Witts joined Sydney University AFC in 2009 and 2010, playing in the Under-18s side and captaining them to the 2009 Under-18s Premiership.
He completed pre-season at Sydney Uni in 2011 before representing NSW as an over-age player at the Under-18s National Championships, winning his state's MVP for an outstanding performance at the carnival.
Three years after being linked with Collingwood, Witts headed to Melbourne, playing three VFL matches towards the end of the season before he was placed on the Collingwood senior list as a pre-listed NSW scholarship holder at the 2011 draft.
Injuries restricted Witts in his first season last year but he worked hard, had a huge pre-season and was pushing for selection when the 2013 season came around.
“It’s been about a five-year project now because when he first came into the program he was obviously foreign to the game,” Hine said.
“Quite often I would have these conversations with Jarrod; I said ‘You really are an Irishman because you really hadn’t played the game’.
“Jarrod comes from a state that’s heavily dominated by League and Union and he had no real understanding of the game prior to coming down so he’s basically started from ground zero so it’s a credit to Jarrod and his persistence to be able to learn the game and develop his body as well.”
Fellow Magpies ruckman and mentor Darren Jolly presented Witts with his senior Guernsey before he ran onto the MCG on May 3.
“It’s fantastic, the way you’ve gone about pre-season, the way you’ve attacked this year,” Jolly told Witts.
“Clearly you’re hungry for a game and it shows. Dominating reserves, exactly what’s been asked of you and exactly what we want, so enjoy the night.”
The entire Witts family, including his two younger brothers and 19 other family members, flew from Sydney to watch him make his debut.
Witts had five hit-outs and took four marks in the Friday-night clash before being subbed out for fellow-debutant Ben Kennedy.
“I really enjoyed my time out on the field, the guys were really good to me and directing me where to go and giving me support when I did certain things during the game and stuff like that,” Witts said.
“To get the win is a great feeling and to get in the middle of that circle pouring Powerade on you, as much as it was freeing, it was a great thing to be a part of.
“Playing just gives me that hunger, I’ve had a taste for it now and now I just want to build on it, get more and more games in and really push for a spot each week.”
Last Modified on 23/05/2013 15:43
