Natural talent. You can't buy it, rent it or borrow it.
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And while Liam Herbert reckons he's only played "30 to 50" football games in his life, the 18-year-old clearly has that magic asset in spades.
The South Warrnambool product was last week picked in Victoria Country's under 18 boys squad set for the AFL national championships in June and July - an ideal place to get noticed by AFL clubs.
"It's definitely opened my eyes to what can be achieved and how real it all could be," Herbert told The Standard.
But in a past life, Herbert was a point guard for the Warrnambool Seahawks and played elite junior basketball with his Roosters teammate Jay Rantall.
The pair represented Australia at the 2018 FIBA Under 16 Asia Cup in Foshan, China, but Herbert came home injured and wasn't able to butter up again for the FIBA Under 17 World Cup in Argentina in June.
And with no further top-level basketball opportunities on the horizon, the year 12 Emmanuel College student decided to put his hoop dreams on hold and code-hop, as did Rantall.
This saw them make the Greater Western Victoria Rebels' NAB League side before they got a Vic Country squad call-up, along with Camperdown's Toby Mahony and Terang Mortlake's Isaac Wareham.
The four Hampden league products went on a football camp with Vic Country at Windy Hill on Friday, before the group toured Collingwood's facilities on Saturday and then beat the Allies by one point in a trial game at IKON Park on Sunday.
But the camp, in Rebels talent manager Phil Partington's words, also gave them a chance to "speed-date" with several AFL clubs.
"Getting picked up would mean the world to me, given all the hard work we put in - it would be a huge relief to know it's all paid off," he said.
Herbert counted South Warrnambool junior development coordinator John Atchison among his greatest football mentors.
And while Atchison said Herbert needed to fix his "casual" kicking motion, the teenager reminded him of Scott Pendlebury, perhaps the AFL's greatest ever basketballer-turned-footballer.
"Liam has that real awareness of where to be in traffic and it's amazing how he can find his way out of it," Atchison said.
"If he has a really good carnival, I have no doubt he'll be in the draft conversation because he just moves so well when he gets the footy."
Herbert agreed there was plenty of room for improvement.
But he said having Rantall ride shotgun with him in his sporting transition would make a world of difference.
"To do it with one of my best mates and be by each other's side is a blessing and we're very lucky," he said.
"It certainly makes everything a lot easier."
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