You had been training down at the Kangaroos before we picked you up. What sort of game plans were they working on and did you share these with Pagan?
North Melbourne were working on running, running and running! They were also doing a fair bit of work on taking risks and backing themselves. Denis and the rest of our coaching staff weren’t too worried about what the Kangas are doing, they are concentrating on our own game plan and getting our own strategies in place.
Draft day is always full of surprises, and you had been invited to train with the Blues, but was it still a surprise to get drafted by Carlton?
Yeah it was a bit of a surprise, you never really know what is going to happen. I had three clubs that had called up to speak to me, and I was happy to go anywhere. I knew that the chances were slim to stay in South Australia as there are a lot of good young ruckmen there and I just wanted the chance to play AFL as soon as possible. In the end I was more than happy to come over to Melbourne and play with the Blues.
Its an interesting time to have joined our ruck division. What can you tell us about each of our new ruckmen, Cloke, Hampson and Ackland?
Cloke and Ackland are different compared to myself and Shaun Hamspon, we are both a bit taller and can jump in a bit more but the other boys have got us covered in the strength department. I’m one of the taller types of ruckman going around, I’m about 200 centimetres and I hope I’ve still got another couple of centimetres to add which will be a real advantage competing against some of the smaller ruckmen.
If you can't push Sandilands in the back to get him out of the way, what are you supposed to do?
I think you’ve just got to keep on the move, keep jumping into him and keep trying to hurt him. The contact is part and parcel of being in the ruck, you just grow up with the physical nature of the position. But it is certainly going to be different with the new rules in place this season.
Are you trying to gain more weight and build more muscle, or work on endurance? What kind of training regime has the coaching staff given you for 2007?
I’ve been concentrating on building muscle and improving my skinfolds, and I’ve been doing a lot of running and lost a bit of weight when I first came to the club. I’ve been dealing with our dietician on a regular basis, and just getting used to the rigors of AFL and the training that goes with it. My aims for the season are to get leaner and stronger and so far I’ve been doing ok with some hard work on the track.
Now that I’m at an AFL club I have to watch what I eat a lot more and do plenty of running to keep in shape. As a first year player we do around 3 ball work sessions a week, do a lot of recovery work, and extra sessions on a Tuesday or Thursday. The training is pretty full on and sometimes we have a bit of a power nap during the day to keep us going!
Gary Dempsey won a brownlow and a lazy 7 best and fairests at VFL/AFL level, what is it like working with such a legend of the game?
At first it was intimidating getting introduced to big names that are coaching at the club, but its been great for me and Hampo to be working with such a legend of the game. We do a lot of body on body work with Gary, he’s getting on a bit and got some work to do to catch up with us! But seriously we are lucky to be working with someone with that stature.
In your younger years you played with a few guys who are now making some headway in the AFL, can you tell us a bit about the standard of footy in the Yorke Peninsula?
Coming from the country there are fewer players in the smaller country towns so I had to compete against older blokes at a young age. Also with the smaller numbers of players you end up playing two games a week, one in your own age group and one in the seniors.
This was a great learning experience, particularly playing against men and playing against them a lot earlier than normal. It definitely toughens you up, there are no TV cameras at the country games and only two umpires so you really have to look after yourself and your teammates.
It is clear from the interview that the prospect of lining up against giants of the game such as Sandilands, Cox, King and Lade does not intimidate Jacobs, and he is relishing the opportunity to test himself against the AFL big men.
You’ve recently injured your finger, can you tell us how the injury is coming along?
Its coming along slowly but surely, and I’ve got about another four weeks until its right to go. I did it during a Saturday session, we were doing slips catches with some of the other big blokes and it just got me in the right spot. I’ve got a bit of catching up to do now as the other guys are really coming along in their pre-season training whilst I’ve been doing less due to the injury.
It makes it a bit harder as I’m living with the boys (Michael Jamison and Shaun Grigg) so we are always talking about the game, and it really hits home that I’m not out there doing as much as I want to in my preparation.
You decided to stay with the Woodville-West Torrens squad instead of going to the draft camp last year and you initially missed being drafted. Was that a case of putting the team ahead of your individual ambitions?
Yeah it definitely was, I was really keen to have the chance to play in a Grand Final with the Eagles (Woodville-West Torrens) and it would have been perfect to get a game. But I’ve got no regrets, my philosophy has always been that if you try hard enough you will get your opportunity, and hopefully I can take the opportunity that Carlton has given me.
You are with Flying Start player management. What kind of things do the player managers do for young guys like yourself?
Flying Start has been fantastic and my Manager has really looked after me. It can be a challenge coming over from interstate, and he has helped me to settle in to a new club and a new city. He’s also going to look after my parents when I get a game, and help get them across from South Australia to watch me. Flying Start have got their own box at Telstra so my folks can enjoy a bit of the hospitality when they come over.
You mentioned you are living with Michael Jamison and Shaun Grigg, how have you settled into the shared household with them?
Its been going really well, we all do our bit. We started off just cooking for ourselves but now we all pitch in and organize things a bit better. We share the chores and if there’s washing to do we just ask the other boys if they want anything done at the same time.
But the worst part about it is that the boys are always walking around the house without a shirt, flexing their muscles and trying to show off their guns. I’m not sure who they are trying to impress but its sure not doing anything for me!
Being in their 30s, Mike and Dan are not ‘hip to the lingo’ of Generation Y and are pleased to find out that the guns that Jacobs is referring to are in fact bicep muscles.
You are from Ardrossan, which has a few huge silos there. Ever tried to kick a footy over one of them?
I’m usually back in Ardrossan helping out my old man over harvest, but I’ve never tried kicking over one the silos as they are so tall, I just wouldn’t get near it!
There’s about 800 people in the town there, it’s a small tourist town but it’s a fantastic place to live. There’s plenty of crabs and plenty of seafood there for those who like fishing and boating, and I can tell you that everyone there really loves their sport. I really recommend it as a place to visit, and I love giving Ardrossan a plug at every opportunity.
Mike and Dan note how much Jacobs spoke with pride about his home town, the local community there, and the Yorke Peninsula Football League where he first came to attention.
Here’s your opportunity to pay out on any of your teammates. You’ve been accused of paying too much attention to your beauty regime, so anything you want to say about any of the guys on the list?
Well first of all I’ve got to give my housemates a bit of a serve for spending too much times looking in the mirror and checking out their figures. I’ll give some of the senior guys a wide berth on this question as I might cop it, but I’ve been copping it anyway for having such white skin.
I’ve also got to say that Bentick and Blackwell go unnoticed a lot and slip under the radar, but they are pretty sly, they came around to our place recently and tried to give us a bit of a scare.
Being on the rookie list, what do you realistically think you can achieve in 2007?
I would love the opportunity to get elevated to senior list, but in the short term I want to play well for the Bullies and prove my ability in the VFL. After that hopefully a few cards will fall my way, and I can aim to crack it for a game in the seniors.
Whilst being realistic about his goals for the 2007 season, Sam Jacobs is determined to compete against the premier ruckmen in the league sooner rather than later. Under the expert tuition of Gary Dempsey, we look forward to seeing Jacobs develop his game and earn a place on the senior list. With his powerful physique and shock of red hair, this fearless rookie is sure to be an imposing presence on the field once he returns from his early season injury and competes regularly at a senior level.
