Emerging Brisbane star Will Ashcroft will put sentiment apart on Saturday when the Lions bid to bounce again from their last-gasp loss to Melbourne by beating Geelong, the membership he supported as a boy.
Despite Ashcroft’s father Marcus having received three premierships with the Lions, Will was a Cats followers rising up.
His love for the present premier happened after Nigel Lappin, a flag-winning teammate of Marcus’s who turned a Geelong assistant coach, despatched him a Cats guernsey when he was younger.
“I loved (Geelong great) Joel Selwood when I was really young and he (Lappin) sent me a Selwood jersey … and that was it,” Will stated.
“I’ve always had a soft spot for the Lions, but I followed Geelong all the way through.”
However, 19-year-old Ashcroft – who has had a memorable debut AFL season after becoming a member of Brisbane by way of the father-son draft rule – will put his love for the Cats to 1 facet this weekend on the Gabba because the Lions try to make amends for final week’s one-point loss to Melbourne, who fought again from 28 factors right down to stage a exceptional final-quarter fightback.
“(It’s about) just making some little changes to our plan … but (it’s) just sticking to what we know,” he stated.
“Especially for the midfield group, (it’s) just getting back to what we do best and trying to bring that blueprint. When we play well we know what we want to do.”
It’s a “blueprint” that additionally consists of Ashcroft’s housemate and fellow father-son draft choice Jaspa Fletcher, whose dad Adrian performed for the Lions and earlier than that the Brisbane Bears.
While Ashcroft has performed AFL soccer all season, wingman Fletcher didn’t get a top-flight alternative till spherical 14 however has now performed 5 successive matches.
“It’s been awesome to play alongside him,” Ashcroft stated of Fletcher.
“I’ve seen him grow throughout the whole year. I’ve loved every second of it seeing his progression from coming back off a few injuries … and really taking the opportunity with both hands and playing really good footy in the AFL.”
He stated the pair saved “footy talk” to a minimal when at house regardless of being teammates and having fathers who additionally performed on the prime degree.
“Little things are thrown around here and there, but both of us are very focused on our own careers and forging our own journeys and trying to do the best we can for ourselves and each other,” stated Ashcroft, who has been blissful together with his personal progress this season.
“There was always a little bit of expectation coming in, but all the way through I haven’t really read too far into it.
“I’ve always talked about just sticking to my processes, doing everything I can in my power, and controlling the controllables to get the best out of myself.”
Originally revealed as Lions star Will Ashcroft eager to assist Brisbane bounce again from shattering loss to Melbourne
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
