ARTICLE COURTESY OF SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
BY DAVID SYGALL
These days, where you grow up has little impact on where you end up playing at senior level. But Kieren Jack revealed on Wednesday he was concerned his brother Brandon's early teen days spentaround Cherrybrook in northwestern Sydney could have made him a Giant instead of a Swan.
"I was a little bit worried when my brother was coming through because he could have fallen into the GWS zone," the co-captain said.
"Luckily he fell with the Swans." All at the club would agree after the younger Jack, in his third senior game, contributed to the 31-point, round-15 win over Melbourne with four goals. On Sunday, the brothers will team up to confront the club on what was once their childhood doorstep and, while Kieren says all the public niceties his job requires him to, a glint and a smirk suggest little love will be lost.
"They haven't won a game this year but they have been very competitive.
They're starting to build and their bodies are starting to getbigger, so we're up for a challenge.
We're hoping for a big crowd out here and we want to welcome them onto the SCG quite nicely."
Quite nicely?
"They're the cross-town rivals and I know for a fact that they reallygear themselves up for matchesagainst us, the derby, so yeah, we'llbe welcoming it head on."
A monstering of winless GWS by the Swans' hardheads would hardly be a shock. But another big game from Brandon Jack might be.
Even Kieren is surprised, although Brandon is just the latest of several youngsters who have been calledon to replace the infirm and doneas required, including Jed Lamb, Tom Mitchell and Dane Rampe.
Jack, 26, did not expect Brandon, 19, to play senior football this year. "He was very skinny, a very
raw kid. Athletically he was sound. But he improved over probably two or three months his fitness ability and his skills. He's come a long way really quickly."
Brandon has learnt by watching a lot of football with Kieren, as well as working closely with forwards coach Henry Playfair and JudeBolton, his mentor. Jack said his younger brother was absorbing a
lot of information and had a lot of improvement in him to go with his "raw skills" of speed and awareness of what was happening in the game.
Brandon has probably warmed the spot for Lewis Jetta, who is stillsidelined, and would be best suited
to the half forward-wing area with a little more work on jumping atthe ball. The co-captain, as are others, is pleased with what he's seen.
"I knew he had talent but he's certainly surprised me the way he'scome in and been able to adapt andlearn the game plan and the structureso quickly. He is a smart kid.
He really listens and he does what the coaches want from him. On theweekend he was super."
And didn't he let his older brother know it. "He thought he went a bit better than me," Kieren said of the family dining-room chat after the Melbourne triumph. "I've never kicked four goals in a game. I said to him straight after the game my record was three - he's beaten that in three senior games."
Last Modified on 11/07/2013 20:09
