GEELONG Cats skipper Joel Selwood wears a wry smile as he says AFL footy “should be a bit of a breeze” for Heywood export Jamaine Jones.
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The former Portland Tiger achieved his goal of making an AFL list in November after a journey which included a stint in a group home before entering foster care and later moving to Heywood.
Now, the 18-year-old rookie is looking to forge a career with the powerhouse club.
“‘JJ’ has been good. He’s got a little hiccup at the moment, just with a foot injury, but it won’t keep him out for too long,” Selwood told The Standard.
“It’s been a hell of a story for the kid that’s come from nowhere. He’s lived a thousand lives, nearly, already.
“To get where he is, (he’s) probably been through the hardest part of it. AFL footy should be a bit of a breeze to him.
“But we have high expectations of him and we’ll try to make him the best footy player we can.”
Selwood was one of a dozen Cats players who made the trip to Warrnambool on Thursday for the start of the club’s two-day AFL community camp.
The star midfielder was front and centre at a leadership seminar for Brauer and Warrnambool College students in the afternoon, alongside Harry Taylor, Jed Bews and Tom Stewart.
Selwood said the Cats were embracing the return of footy following their opening pre-season clash against Hawthorn last Friday.
“The boys were a little bit sluggish this week coming off a game, whereas they’ve been usually pretty sharp for the pre-season, but that’s just part of footy and getting back into it,” he said.
“(It was) great for a few young guys to get experience. We had about eight-to-10 new guys in Geelong colours, so we look forward to giving them another couple of chances over this pre-season period.”
The Cats have once again recruited cannily and shaken things up a little as they look to correct the deficits that saw them go down to Sydney in their preliminary final last season.
A more permanent move to full forward for skilled swingman Harry Taylor is one idea that has been floated this pre-season, and the dual premiership player said he was enjoying the new challenge.
“I’ve still got a lot to learn, a lot of things to work on,” Taylor said.
“(It’s) great to be able to play against some quality opposition to test a few things out. The next few games, for me personally, is just trying to learn as much as I can and give myself the best chance to help the team going forward into the home and away season.”
The players will run a super clinic for Warrnambool area schools at Friendly Societies’ Park on Friday morning.
Check out The Standard’s rolling coverage from the Cats’ visit here.