GENES get you only so far.
The sons of former Port Adelaide footballer Peter Burgoyne – older brother of evergreen Hawk Shaun – are all-too-familiar with variations on that line.
Trent, 16, Jase 15, and Rome, 12, are all treading the same path as their father, who played 240 games for the Power from 1997 to 2009, including a starring role in the club's 2004 premiership.
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They are all eligible to be father-son draftees in the years to come, with Trent potentially first up next year.
Trent was part of the extended South Australian under-18 squad, but narrowly missed the final cut, while Jase represented the indigenous Flying Boomerangs and the state's under-15 schoolboys in recent times.
They're both midfield speedsters and also capable of playing across half-forward or half-back.
"If people say I left a mark or my brother's left a mark, well, that's for other people to talk about," Burgoyne told AFL.com.au.
"But for my kids coming through, for them to carry on that legacy – I don't want to pump their tyres up too much – if they could do that, that would probably be the proudest day of my life, other than when they were born.
"My dream would be for my three kids to all make it. I don't know what the odds are like, but they're all talented kids in their own way.
"The No.1 thing is you've got to work hard. They've got the surname, but to play AFL, whether you like it or not, you've got to become a fitness fanatic and you can't take any shortcuts."
Peter Burgoyne, with Daniel Motlop, feels the pain of the 2007 Grand Final loss. Picture: AFL Photos
As if the Burgoyne name isn't enough to live up to, these Generation Next footballers are also related to Eddie Betts, Lindsay Thomas, Danyle Pearce, Mathew Stokes, Graham Johncock and Harry Miller.
Miller was one of Jase's Flying Boomerangs coaches and Stokes is part of the same program.
"There's pressure to live up to the last name, but I've got the last name now, so I just have to keep going. I try not to think about it and just focus on my footy," Jase said.
"My dad, Shaun and my other uncles know most things about AFL, so I just try and take in what they say for my own game.
"Hopefully, my older brother will be playing AFL by then (when he's draft eligible in 2021), so we'll be in the AFL together if we both make it."
Jase praised the Flying Boomerangs program for offering Aboriginals another football pathway, especially for the kids from remote communities who otherwise found it difficult to progress.
In that same side were Preston Cockatoo-Collins (son of former Bomber Che) and Blayne O'Loughlin (nephew of ex-Swan Michael).
Everyone loves the romance of family members following past star relatives into the AFL, but Burgoyne has prepared his children for the possibility of them not playing for Port Adelaide.
"Put it this way, my boys have been told from day one they're Port Adelaide through and through," he said.
"But, at the end of the day, it's more than a game – these days it's treated like a business – so my sons will go anywhere to get the opportunity to play AFL.
"If that doesn't come to fruition with Port Adelaide, then hopefully it does somewhere else, but if I could have them all playing in the same team, that would be the ideal scenario."
Peter Burgoyne walks from the ground with his children after playing his last AFL game. Picture: AFL Photos
As for Burgoyne's brother and Power premiership teammate Shaun re-signing at Hawthorn for another season – his 19th in the AFL – he was delighted.
He urged his sibling to play for as long as possible, admitting he was "mentally shot" at the end of his own AFL playing days.
"Me and my brother, when it comes to footy, were never competitive against each other, because how we saw it, my success and his success is our success," he said.
"As a kid, Shaun lived with me for five years and I took him under my wing and showed him the ropes at Port Adelaide.
"The longer he plays and keeps going, that's going to, in a funny way, keep me going too … once you stop there's no coming back."
