JAKE Lever played 56 matches for the Adelaide Crows from 2015-17, after making his AFL debut against the Gold Coast Suns in round six, 2015. An outstanding young defender, Lever was named in the 2017 All-Australian squad at just 21 years old. After playing in a Grand Final with Adelaide, Lever crossed to Melbourne in the recent NAB AFL Trade Period. Now back in his native state, Matt Burgan caught up with Lever last Friday at his family farm in Lancefield, north of Melbourne in the Macedon Ranges. He spoke about his journey from Romsey, south of Lancefield, to joining Melbourne today …

THE PAST TWO MONTHS

MB: Jake, welcome to the club – it’s great to have you at Melbourne. We find you back on the family farm today – not quite two months since playing in an AFL Grand Final, joining a new club, getting engaged and travelling to Europe. How do you look back on that period?   

JL: It’s going to be a tough year to follow – I told my partner, and now fiancé, [Jess]. We were away for about 39 nights, so it was a big trip. But we’d been planning that for two and a half years now. It was a fantastic trip and to be honest, I did not plan one little bit of it. She did everything for us, which was great. We got over there and it was all smooth sailing. Credit to her, but it’s been a big couple of months and I just can’t wait to move on from this year and start a new one.

MB: You chose Melbourne as your preferred club, when you decided to leave Adelaide. Why Melbourne?

JL: I was out of contract [at the end of] last season, and myself and my partner had to make a decision on what we wanted to do. Me, as a person, I like security, and the next contract I was going to sign was probably going to be a longer one. Then I thought to myself, and spoke to Jess, about what decision we wanted to make. In the end, it was to come home and be closer to family, but also have that security for our future family. I chose Melbourne because we had a little bit of a connection [with national recruiting manager Jason Taylor] through the draft. I think they were very close to taking me in that draft. They didn’t and I went to Adelaide, but speaking to Melbourne throughout the year – the connection that you make beforehand, just made it so much easier. I was so blown away by how much they’ve changed over the last couple of years – even when I’ve been in the system. The game style they play is super exciting.

MB: Who else were influential figures in you coming to Melbourne?

JL: Meeting Goody (Simon Goodwin) – he’s a fantastic fella and Jack Viney as well, so they’re probably two influential people around the footy club. To see what type of people they were was probably just a decision that was made then – as soon I met those two. Team success – there hasn’t been too much at Melbourne, but I can see it’s very close to coming.

MB: How difficult was the decision to leave Adelaide – and dealing with the speculation?

JL: I probably consider myself mature. I probably don’t act 21. I probably act a little bit older and sometimes my mates take the mickey out of me for that. The pressure was always there and I thought I handled it pretty well with how I played. I tried not to take any notice of it – any of the media stuff. I had a radio gig every second week, which made it really hard, because I always knew I was going to be questioned about it. Once I hadn’t signed by round 20, it just got heated even more and that’s when I stopped the radio gig and really just focused on footy. At the time, Adelaide was sitting on top of the ladder and we had the chance of making the Grand Final. That was probably the hardest thing. Making the decision was hard and it was a difficult week definitely after it got announced.

MB: How did you deal with the scrutiny, once the trade happened?

JL: You see these days, there is a lot of social media on everything and no matter what you do on your phone – if you’re just having a look at your phone, it always pops up. My family and friends were reading it and probably getting a little bit annoyed and a little bit angry at everything that was happening. It was when I was flying out of the country on that Sunday and I got to get away from everything. I sat in Amsterdam for five days and I actually didn’t look at my phone, except for the last day when the trade went through. That was when the trade finally went through and I got about 1000 messages from my mates and the Melbourne footy club boys, which was fantastic. My manager rang me three or four times and I hadn’t answered, so I woke up to that at 3am, Amsterdam time. I was just glad I was overseas and wasn’t here experiencing it all, because it is a tough time, as much as players try and act strong and say they don’t read stuff. They’re always going to see something, because it’s just everywhere we go now – social media. It was a really hard time for myself, my partner and my family, but now that we’ve moved to Melbourne, I’m super excited. It’s been great to be back.

MB: What did you make of your former skipper Taylor Walker’s criticism towards you leaving the Crows?

JL: I think it got blown out of proportion a little bit. ‘Tex’ is a passionate person and I’ve known that for three years I’ve spent at Adelaide. He’s a passionate person about the Adelaide footy club. It’s quite funny, I was thinking about it the other day and I probably would’ve been more disappointed if he wasn’t annoyed at it. It speaks volumes that he wanted me to stay at the footy club and he values me as a player, and as a person. I made that decision to come back home, a little bit selfishly for myself and my family. Looking back, it was definitely blown out of proportion, but he’s a passionate person and you can understand a captain being angry. I haven’t got any problem with Tex and I’m sure if you asked him the same thing, he might have a little problem with me, but not too much.

MB: Grand Final day didn’t pan out the way you hoped, but what was the experience like for you?

JL: Winning the prelim, you then imagine yourself playing in the granny. To come to Melbourne on the Thursday night, and then Friday have the Grand Final parade – that’s when it started to hit me and I’d be playing in a Grand Final. You had 150,000 screaming Richmond and Adelaide fans – while you’re in the car – yelling at you and cheering for you. It’s an experience I hope to experience again and it was just a mind-blowing two days. Definitely, the Friday, and then [playing at the MCG on] Saturday in front of more than 100,000 people, was something I’ll never forget. You always hear people say that you can’t hear the person next to you talking – and communication is a massive part of [playing in the] AFL these days. You cannot hear the person talking next to you, so that’s probably one thing I’ve learnt – you can talk as much as you want, but the person next to you is not going to hear you, especially when the crowd is roaring and you kick a goal. It was a big couple of days and it obviously didn’t go to plan, but as a player, you’re always better for that experience.

GROWING UP IN ROMSEY

MB: What was it like growing up in the Macedon Ranges?

JL: I classify myself as a Romsey boy. I lived here all my life, until I moved away when I was 18 [years old]. It was fantastic growing up here. I loved it on the farm – we’ve got about 15 acres and I used to love riding the motor bikes and kicking the footy in the paddock. My old man built me a cricket net out the back too, which was great. It’s a fantastic community feel around here. My girlfriend [and now fiancé, Jess] always used to laugh at me, every time I went down to the shops with her. I used to say hello to every second person in the supermarket. It’s a community feel.

MB: You’re quick to classify yourself as a Romsey boy.

JL: Romsey and Lancefield have a pretty fierce rivalry. It probably stems from the football. The footy teams – definitely, when I was growing up – were always pretty good and at the top of the ladder. There were a lot of grand finals between the two teams, especially when we played each other during the regular season. There was always a couple of biffs, but it’s all in a bit of fun. You always meet some of the guys your age, who are from Lancefield, and you always get along with them. But it’s just that footy feel and a bit of rivalry.

MB: A few sporting names live or hail from Romsey and the surrounding area, including one of your new teammates: Pat McKenna.

JL: Patty is a Gisborne boy. I played a few interleague games with Patty, when he wasn’t donning the wicket-keeping gloves. But it was fantastic to grow up here. BT (Brian Taylor) and [former Australian cricketer] Dean Jones are two pretty big names in the world, so to be able to share your town with them – it’s pretty special. I reckon BT thinks he’s more accomplished than Dean Jones, but I’m not sure about that – I think Dean Jones might just have him.

MB: How do you reflect on your junior footy days at Romsey?

JL: I used to love playing at Romsey. It was really good because Romsey was probably one of the better grounds around the Riddell District Football League. We always used to play the finals there and the Grand Final’s now there with the new clubrooms they’ve just built. Going back there – it’s quite funny, because around Christmas time, I go down there and run laps and you always see little kids running around. It’s quite funny, because coming from a little country town, the kids start to know who you are. They have a footy card, which is just amazing because probably 10 years ago, I was one of those little kids running around hoping to just talk to one of the senior players who played at Romsey. It’s pretty special to be able to come back here, especially at Christmas time and to be able to run laps around Romsey, where it all started.

MB: And then you played for the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup, but it could’ve been different.

JL: I think I’m about three kilometres away from being a Bendigo Pioneer player. I got zoned to the [Calder] Cannons and I loved playing at the Cannons for the three or four years that I was there. I had some pretty big influences on my career with the people there, like Ian Kyte, who is still the regional manager there. Growing up here and playing here – it’s pretty special.

MB: Tell us about your family?

JL: Mum and Dad have had a pretty big influence on my life, especially my football career, early on. When you live out in the country, you’re always going to have to drive a little bit to get to training, especially when I played at the Calder Cannons, which was a 45-minute drive. Mum and Dad used to finish work early all the time for me and drive me there. I have two brothers and a sister, all younger than me. To be able to share my career now with them, especially being back in my home state – I’m pretty excited by it. It’s always good not having to organise flights over to Adelaide and them being able to watch me most weeks, playing at the MCG.

MB: Who did you support growing up?

JL: I was a mad Sydney supporter – 2005 was probably one of the best days of my life, winning the flag. It was quite funny, the year after we lost by a point, I spent the next couple of hours crying in my bed. It was pretty sad. I was a huge Barry Hall fan, so I loved big, bustling Barry. I’ve got a few photos with him. I’ve got a bit of a connection with Roosy (Paul Roos). When I was in my draft year, I met with Melbourne and he was the coach. I bought in a photo of me and him when I was three weeks old. He was holding me at a Sydney family day … so to meet him and see the photo – that I didn’t remember – was quite funny.

MB: Have you met Barry Hall?

JL: I’ve met Barry Hall. He played at Broadford (east of Romsey) and it was the year that I did my ACL [in November, 2013], so I used to come back and watch him kick bags of 10 every single week and treat the other players like little boys – he was a big man out there. I’ve met him a couple of times, but he’s probably my most favourite player.

NOW IN RED AND BLUE

MB: How did you rate Melbourne’s 2017 season, watching on?

JL: I think it was a progressive season for Melbourne this year. It was disappointing to fall at the last hurdle and miss out on finals, but I think it’ll be better off for the players, as much as it hurts now. It’s a good experience to miss out on that and want something so bad that you come back to pre-season and you’re pumped to get better and improve on 2017. I’m glad I’m going to be a part of that and some of the boys are going to teach me a few things, and hopefully I can teach some of the boys a few things as well. I’m super excited to be part of the Melbourne footy club this year.

MB: Do you have many Melbourne connections?

JL: I went through the AIS [Academy] with Christian [Petracca], Billy [Stretch] and Angus [Brayshaw]. Christian’s a bit of a character and I can’t wait to get stuck into work with him – hopefully he makes me laugh throughout the whole pre-season. I know Billy, and I was pretty good mates with him through the AIS. He’s an Adelaide boy, so when he came back for pre-season, he was always running around the same oval that I was running around. It’ll be good to be doing the same program as him.

MB: You’re set to become an important part of Melbourne’s backline. How do you rate it?

JL: The Melbourne defence, I watched them closely this year. I was pretty excited from what I could see. Michael Hibberd was All-Australian and he’s a top player, so I look forward to meeting him. [I’m looking forward] to getting stuck into some of the forwards during pre-season. He’s (Hibberd) a fantastic player, as is Neville Jetta. I went through draft camp with Oscar McDonald, so it’s good to see him developing so well, and Sam Frost as well. He played really well against us at Adelaide Oval, when Melbourne came over to play Adelaide. He was fantastic. The other guys in the backline are pretty good players and I’m looking forward to playing next to them.

JL: Do you feel much pressure entering your first season at Melbourne?

MB: Coming over, you’re always going to have a little bit of pressure, moving clubs. The other thing I can do is play consistent footy. The thing that I bring to the table is helping out others in terms of game day and off-field. I feel I can really help my teammates around me, especially when you get into a habit of being in a group with the backline. I’m looking forward to playing with the backline and hopefully my individual performance is based on the team stuff that we are going to be able to produce, hopefully, in September. You do feel a little bit of pressure, but I’m just focused on my consistency and helping others.

JL: How far can Melbourne go in 2018?

MB: I’m sure all of the fans and definitely all of the players are going to be hoping to play finals – and aiming to play finals in season 2018. Over the last couple of years, anything can happen. You saw the Bulldogs in 2016 win it from seventh, so it doesn’t really matter where you finish in the finals – it’s depends on getting there and what you can do in September. Richmond, as well this year, was a really good team throughout the year, but really hit their straps in September and performed on the big stage throughout those four weeks. If Melbourne can make finals, then that’s when we’ve got to be hitting our straps and hopefully we can produce something that’s pretty special.