But the Swans defender who grew up with rugby union isn’t alone in his appreciation for the sport.
Housemate and fellow New South Welshman Paul Bevan has strong rugby league ties being a grand nephew of one of the code’s greatest players Brian Bevan.
And the newest addition to their household certainly hasn’t diluted their rugby affiliations.
Queensland recruit Jake Orreal, whose sporting background boasts participation in everything other than AFL, is now lodging with the pair.
“It will make it interesting when rugby league state-of-origin comes round because there’s a Queenslander in the house and a couple of New South Wales boys,” Roberts-Thomson laughs.
While ‘LRT’ enjoys talking about his interest in rugby and his joy in “educating his team mates” about the game, he is becoming a little bit jaded with constant commentary regarding how his rugby-dominated upbringing affects his AFL playing style.
“Sometimes it gets a little bit tedious when people mention rugby union and that being my background and whether that comes out in my game,” he says.
“Because on the footy field everyone’s on an even playing field and there are no excuses.”
The 2005 premiership star is on the comeback trail after a frustrating 2007 season. A foot injury meant he spent the majority of the season on the sidelines and then had a short spell in the reserves before clocking up just two senior games.
However, he expects that his return to the fold and the arrival of new recruits such as Martin Mattner from Adelaide will see a change in the team dynamic.
“I haven’t seen much of him (Mattner) play but people are really relating him to a kind of Malceski which will be really valuable to us in our attacking options,” he says.
“When you lose key personnel like we did last year and have to throw your structure around a little bit, it becomes difficult.
“And there’s a lot more pressure on the players who aren’t injured.”
For now though, the 24-year-old is enjoying a full pre-season after injury prevented him from participating last year.
“It (missing a pre-season) gives you a real perspective of just how valuable pre-season is when you’re gearing yourself up for AFL footy, just for getting that initial fitness base, with all the running that you do.”
“It’s tough at the time but when the season comes around, if you don’t have that, you’re behind the eight ball from the start.”
The “hyphenator”, a nickname he has earned due to his double-barrelled surname, says he’s not the only one enjoying the pre-season regime with several of the younger players excelling.
“There are plenty of young guys who have had personal bests in time trials, the likes of Heath Grundy and Tim Schmidt are two that spring to mind. Ed Barlow’s also having a really good pre-season.”
But for Roberts-Thomson, this pre-season is more about making sure his body is 100 per cent ready for the competitive season.
“I think that people under-estimate a foot injury,” he said.
“It’s almost a 12-month injury because there’s such a load going through that area of the body.
“And I think that people just don’t understand how serious an injury it is.
“When it comes to trusting your body again, especially with a footy injury, you can’t push it too far or you’re going to break down again.
“So you really need to treat lightly and take small steps.
“I’m pretty confident with it now, I haven’t had any issues with it.
“It’s just a matter of trying to condition the rest of my body to the hard, gruelling pre-season training.”
