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61 - total number of games Roberts-Thomson has ever played
09 August 2003 AFL
DESPITE all the money, man-hours and marketing ideas the AFL has thrown at the Sydney market, the best promotion has come free.
Footy's new poster boy: the Lewis Roberts-Thomson decision to join the Swans must have rocked the rugby establishment.
Lewis Roberts-Thomson symbolises a massive leap forward for the AFL after a 20-year slog in Australia's biggest city.
It's a dream theme: richly-talented, handsome, articulate local boy from the private school system ? and with a strong rugby background ? joins the Swans.
In the words of Sydney coach Paul Roos, he's football's "poster boy" in its toughest market.
The Roberts-Thomson decision to join the Swans must have rocked the Rugby Establishment.
What needs to be understood is the cultural divide in Sydney. Roberts-Thomson is from of a well-heeled family living in grandeur in Mosman. He went to John Newcombe's old school at North Sydney, the Church Of England grammar school known simply as Shore.
Despite his three years in the 1st XV at a school steeped in rugby, he has defected to join the interlopers from the south.
As exciting, as heartwarming as the story is about Tadgh Kennelly, in a strategic context, even the Irish boyo is overshadowed by LRT.
There have been, believe it or not, more boys from Ireland than Sydney play our footy at the highest grade.
It's a wonder the AFL didn't take full-page advertisements to announce Roberts-Thomson as this week's National Rising Star.
Rarely, if ever, have senior league officials been keener to salute a Rising Star, Roberts-Thomson earning his nomination with a super second half against Adelaide last weekend.
He was thrown in against Matthew Clarke and Rhett Biglands, two giants representing 265 games. Sydney coach Paul Roos regards them as the most formidable ruck combination in the competition.
Roos said this week: "I thought he was terrific. It was a super effort for a kid of his age to carry the ruck for 60 minutes."
Roberts-Thomson is bemused by all the talk and interest in a young bloke with 10 games to his name.
"I thought I had a reasonable game, that's all," he said.
"I didn't think it was anything special, really, because Biglands and Clarke had, what, 60 hitouts."
He was "a bit embarrassed" to hear his name had appeared in newspaper votes for the first time.
"I just don't understand how they put me in the votes," he said, but accepted there will be times when he's not among the votes when he should be.
It's already a remarkable journey for the young man who grew up in Sydney.
Before joining the Swans, he had played 37 games of Australian football. In his life. At all levels. He's now played just 61.
As much as he loved the game and the freedom it offered him compared with rugby, his school commitments didn't allow any more.
There was rugby, basketball, athletics and swimming; oh, yes, a bit of schoolwork, too.
Had it not been for his parents, both of whom have a football background, he might have been lost to one of the other sports. He represented his school in basketball for four years and was captain of Sydney's Greater Public Schools team in his final year.
His father, Barry, grew up in Tasmania, later playing football in Queensland with Kedron and with Sandringham in the VFA; his mother, Victoria, grew up in Melbourne and had a keen interest in Carlton.
It was his father, deputy chairman of Hutchison Telecommunications of Orange mobile phones fame, who deserves much of the credit for sustaining his boy's interest. And that of another Shore boy gently making his way in the AFL, Geelong's Henry Playfair.
The high-powered businessman would drive to the school to collect the boys after basketball training, then spend an hour in peak traffic, negotiating the harbour bridge, to get them to Concorde for training with the Sydney-based contingent of the NSW-ACT Rams.
Roberts-Thomson and Playfair might have been Nick Farr-Jones and Ewen McKenzie down the track, but football won their hearts.
Roberts-Thomson snr says former Swans full-back Rod Carter had a major influence on his son's development.
Carter's support saw him named as the sole NSW representative in the 2000 AIS/AFL Academy Squad and resulted in a tour of Ireland.
The AFL's Andrew Demetriou, then with the players' association, recalls seeing a game in Ireland.
"This kid was just taking mark after mark, about 73 of them, in terrible conditions; it was Lewis Roberts-Thomson," Demetriou said this week.
His teammates on that tour included the Lonie twins, Ryan and Nathan, Alan Didak, Richard Cole, Barry Brooks, Chris Judd, Daniel Kerr, Kane Cornes, Andrew McDougall, Scott Thompson and Xavier Clarke.
Roberts-Thomson, a middle-distance runner and high jumper at school, stands 194cm and weighs 89kg.
He has missed just one game since making his debut against Geelong in Round 8, and that was through injury.
Despite the rave reviews he received after the Adelaide game, his first appearance remains his biggest thrill.
His first handpass led to a Nic Fosdike goal and he kicked a goal himself on the half-time siren after grubbing his first kick in the big time.
"When Nic kicked the goal, that was just huge," he said.
Robert-Thomson got his chance as a result of the injury to senior ruckman Jason Ball in the game the boy missed through injury.
"After the shock of seeing him go down, I thought `I've got a chance here if I can get up for next week'," which he did.
The moment of truth came just before half-time in Adelaide.
"They just threw me in so it was almost unexpected.
"The instructions were simple: if you can't get to the footy, hit their arms, do what you have to do to get the ball to ground; second and third efforts."
An hour later, he is a hero. Things just happen so quickly.
He remembers being struck dumb when told he would make his AFL debut.
"Roosy just came over and told me as I was getting strapped for training on the Wednesday before the Geelong game. I didn't know what to say. I was just thinking `are you for real'?"
He had a delayed start to the season after off-season surgery to remove bone chips from just under a knee.
It was the same knee injury that interrupted his 2002 season.
His progress this year has stimulated interest even deep into the rugby belt. There's an open invitation to return to Shore to speak to the students, while all the neighbours are anxious to know how he is going in that funny game of his.
61 - total number of games Roberts-Thomson has ever played
09 August 2003 AFL
DESPITE all the money, man-hours and marketing ideas the AFL has thrown at the Sydney market, the best promotion has come free.
Footy's new poster boy: the Lewis Roberts-Thomson decision to join the Swans must have rocked the rugby establishment.
Lewis Roberts-Thomson symbolises a massive leap forward for the AFL after a 20-year slog in Australia's biggest city.
It's a dream theme: richly-talented, handsome, articulate local boy from the private school system ? and with a strong rugby background ? joins the Swans.
In the words of Sydney coach Paul Roos, he's football's "poster boy" in its toughest market.
The Roberts-Thomson decision to join the Swans must have rocked the Rugby Establishment.
What needs to be understood is the cultural divide in Sydney. Roberts-Thomson is from of a well-heeled family living in grandeur in Mosman. He went to John Newcombe's old school at North Sydney, the Church Of England grammar school known simply as Shore.
Despite his three years in the 1st XV at a school steeped in rugby, he has defected to join the interlopers from the south.
As exciting, as heartwarming as the story is about Tadgh Kennelly, in a strategic context, even the Irish boyo is overshadowed by LRT.
There have been, believe it or not, more boys from Ireland than Sydney play our footy at the highest grade.
It's a wonder the AFL didn't take full-page advertisements to announce Roberts-Thomson as this week's National Rising Star.
Rarely, if ever, have senior league officials been keener to salute a Rising Star, Roberts-Thomson earning his nomination with a super second half against Adelaide last weekend.
He was thrown in against Matthew Clarke and Rhett Biglands, two giants representing 265 games. Sydney coach Paul Roos regards them as the most formidable ruck combination in the competition.
Roos said this week: "I thought he was terrific. It was a super effort for a kid of his age to carry the ruck for 60 minutes."
Roberts-Thomson is bemused by all the talk and interest in a young bloke with 10 games to his name.
"I thought I had a reasonable game, that's all," he said.
"I didn't think it was anything special, really, because Biglands and Clarke had, what, 60 hitouts."
He was "a bit embarrassed" to hear his name had appeared in newspaper votes for the first time.
"I just don't understand how they put me in the votes," he said, but accepted there will be times when he's not among the votes when he should be.
It's already a remarkable journey for the young man who grew up in Sydney.
Before joining the Swans, he had played 37 games of Australian football. In his life. At all levels. He's now played just 61.
As much as he loved the game and the freedom it offered him compared with rugby, his school commitments didn't allow any more.
There was rugby, basketball, athletics and swimming; oh, yes, a bit of schoolwork, too.
Had it not been for his parents, both of whom have a football background, he might have been lost to one of the other sports. He represented his school in basketball for four years and was captain of Sydney's Greater Public Schools team in his final year.
His father, Barry, grew up in Tasmania, later playing football in Queensland with Kedron and with Sandringham in the VFA; his mother, Victoria, grew up in Melbourne and had a keen interest in Carlton.
It was his father, deputy chairman of Hutchison Telecommunications of Orange mobile phones fame, who deserves much of the credit for sustaining his boy's interest. And that of another Shore boy gently making his way in the AFL, Geelong's Henry Playfair.
The high-powered businessman would drive to the school to collect the boys after basketball training, then spend an hour in peak traffic, negotiating the harbour bridge, to get them to Concorde for training with the Sydney-based contingent of the NSW-ACT Rams.
Roberts-Thomson and Playfair might have been Nick Farr-Jones and Ewen McKenzie down the track, but football won their hearts.
Roberts-Thomson snr says former Swans full-back Rod Carter had a major influence on his son's development.
Carter's support saw him named as the sole NSW representative in the 2000 AIS/AFL Academy Squad and resulted in a tour of Ireland.
The AFL's Andrew Demetriou, then with the players' association, recalls seeing a game in Ireland.
"This kid was just taking mark after mark, about 73 of them, in terrible conditions; it was Lewis Roberts-Thomson," Demetriou said this week.
His teammates on that tour included the Lonie twins, Ryan and Nathan, Alan Didak, Richard Cole, Barry Brooks, Chris Judd, Daniel Kerr, Kane Cornes, Andrew McDougall, Scott Thompson and Xavier Clarke.
Roberts-Thomson, a middle-distance runner and high jumper at school, stands 194cm and weighs 89kg.
He has missed just one game since making his debut against Geelong in Round 8, and that was through injury.
Despite the rave reviews he received after the Adelaide game, his first appearance remains his biggest thrill.
His first handpass led to a Nic Fosdike goal and he kicked a goal himself on the half-time siren after grubbing his first kick in the big time.
"When Nic kicked the goal, that was just huge," he said.
Robert-Thomson got his chance as a result of the injury to senior ruckman Jason Ball in the game the boy missed through injury.
"After the shock of seeing him go down, I thought `I've got a chance here if I can get up for next week'," which he did.
The moment of truth came just before half-time in Adelaide.
"They just threw me in so it was almost unexpected.
"The instructions were simple: if you can't get to the footy, hit their arms, do what you have to do to get the ball to ground; second and third efforts."
An hour later, he is a hero. Things just happen so quickly.
He remembers being struck dumb when told he would make his AFL debut.
"Roosy just came over and told me as I was getting strapped for training on the Wednesday before the Geelong game. I didn't know what to say. I was just thinking `are you for real'?"
He had a delayed start to the season after off-season surgery to remove bone chips from just under a knee.
It was the same knee injury that interrupted his 2002 season.
His progress this year has stimulated interest even deep into the rugby belt. There's an open invitation to return to Shore to speak to the students, while all the neighbours are anxious to know how he is going in that funny game of his.