MAX GAWN is a five-time All Australian, so it’s fair to say his career is going alright, but he can’t draw comparisons with this year’s NAB AFL Rising Star.

“In my second year I played four games, all of them not to a standard I would call AFL,” Gawn told Melbourne Media.

“I got absolutely smashed by Robbie Warnock against Carlton one day.

“I got smashed by Tom Bellchambers, David Hille and Paddy Ryder – they triple teamed me.

“And I got beaten by Jonathon Griffin at the MCG.

“So that’s just showing you where most 19-year-olds are at with their ruck work.”

Luke Jackson, who took home the prized award for best young player in the league on Thursday night, has played 27 games in his first two seasons, far exceeding the expectations on a youngster at 199cm.

And as strange as it sounds, he’s assisting his skipper’s development, too.

“He is ahead of where he should be,” Gawn said.

“What he’s doing for me, he’s been able to help my role.

“We can trick some ruckmen sometimes, we can trick some backmen, we can play in different roles.

“I train against him – it was an absolute prick of a pre-season for me.

“I go from the strongest person on the list in Majak (Daw), and then if he needs a rest, Luke Jackson comes in and runs around.

“Selfishly, they’re both great for me to be able to excel my game.

“I’ve picked up a lot of my ground ball and clearance work this year based on wanting to get better because he’s good at it, and vice-versa Luke’s worked on his marking and his ruck work.

“He’s an incredible human in terms of how he operates with his running, his fitness and his agility.”

While Jackson has shown enormous growth since being drafted with the third pick in 2019, there’s still plenty for him to learn in the coming seasons.

“He is raw, but he is getting stronger, and he is learning his craft very, very quickly,” Gawn said.

“It’s amazing how quickly he has learned how to play AFL.

“Everyone knows how to play footy, but AFL is a different kettle of fish.

“You’ve got theory of AFL – who would’ve thought you’d spend an hour just watching vision and watching it in a completely different way?

“And Dogga is starting to learn that bit, which is the hardest part, especially for a tall forward/ruck.”

Versatility has been a key aspect of the Western Australian’s season to date, kicking 18 goals up forward and acting as an additional midfielder when spending time in the ruck.

And Gawn doesn’t see any reason for him to need to settle in one particular role going forward.

“I’ve used this joke a few times: I’m going to push him towards other positions to keep my contract going into the back-end,” he said.

“At the moment the double ruck seems to work, but one day they’re going to go, ‘He’s better than him, so let’s just play Luke.’

“I don’t understand why someone has to go full-time ruck or full-time forward when they’re dominating forward/ruck.

“It’s a position that’s not going to go away, so why can’t he just be the best forward-ruck – he’s very good at it.

There’s no doubting Jackson’s on-field future will be bright, but it’s his off-field presence around the club that has made him such a popular figure among his teammates.

“There haven’t been many rucks that have come through the Melbourne Football Club that haven’t been a character,” Gawn said.

“We’re all just genuine characters and extraverts – maybe because we were tall at school we learned these values – but he is one of them.

“People look up to him and he will know how to lead at some point – we’ve got another leader.

“He’s got a bit of character and he can play footy.”

It’s a great combination to have, and one that will hold him in good stead for his Qualifying Final debut on Saturday night.