By JARROD POTTER
So we enter the home straight of the Ray A Day series with the best draftable talent to come through Dandenong throughout its TAC Cup history. That might seem boisterous or boastful but if you have ever seen Jacob Weitering play, you will know it’s not. Even remotely.
JACOB WEITERING
CLUB: Dandenong/Peninsula School/Mt Martha
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 195cm/90kg
ACHIEVEMENTS: All Australian, AFL Academy, U18 National champion, Vic Country captain, TAC Cup Team of the Year, National Combine.
PREDICTION: Pick 1.
EVERYONE knows his name already.
His achievements have been plastered across every metro masthead, every footy-centric website and he boasts the unquestionable status as a number one draft pick in waiting.
Jacob Weitering’s level of fame already is big enough for his name to bring up 36,000 hits on Google … and he hasn’t even been drafted yet.
If months of speculation result in the logical choice on Tuesday, he will become Mt Martha’s second number one draft pick in four years and Dandenong’s fifth since the introduction of the TAC Cup club in 1992.
But this level of interest doesn’t come without reason; he is far and away the best player in this year’s draft.
Elite in every facet, every achievement imaginable in junior football and most importantly – the drive and focus – he stands as the complete package.
Wherever he has been stationed, Weitering has excelled. Forward, back, ruck, inside midfield or even on the wings.
He is the ultimate blank canvas.
Jacob could be the best defender to ever play in the TAC Cup and will immediately start his apprenticeship en route to becoming Carlton’s general at centre-half-back or even move into the midfield and redefine life in the centre. He’s just that unique.
Tuesday night will be a fantastic late birthday present for Weitering, who turned 18 on Monday, as he gets to start his second day as an adult with his new career path extended in front of his eyes.
While Weitering deservingly earned a place as an All Australian and in the TAC Cup Team of the Year, he was phenomenal in the national championships where he led out a power-packed Vic Country side.
The defensive architect of Vic Country’s success – one of the strongest teams ever assembled in national championships history – taking the helm of those lads stands as his greatest footballing honour.
“Individual accolades come along, but I’m a team man and that’s why I play a team sport,” Weitering said in July. “I’ve just loved this week and loved this group (Vic Country).
“Being with the boys is something I’ll look back on – it’s as simple as that – some of us have been together for three years, two years, others have been here for a couple of weeks or two months since we started the carnival.”
He also received the Ben Mitchell Medal – voted the most deserving among the AFL Academy squad to best represent the late Mitchell’s values – but his mind is squarely set on team tasks and living up to the roles required for the entire group, whether it is at Dandenong, Vic Country or onwards and upwards into the next phase of his life.
“It means absolutely everything – it’s been a privilege to lead a side like this (Vic Country) and it’s a quality side at that,” Weitering said. “It stems from the top – Leon Harris and Paul Henriksen – they’ve done a lot of work over the last two years, to get us from not even beating Division 1 teams a few years ago to going six-and- zero in a national championship is quite something.
“Henry (Henriksen) stated at the start of this week that we can be a championship team, but also we wanted to be a champion team every week and one that will be remembered. “
After school football ended up, he managed to get back to Dandenong and string together five superb clashes, including a starring effort in the Stingrays’ lacklustre preliminary final defeat to Eastern.
While the scoreboard looked lopsided, Weitering was among the best afield as a roaming defender and pinch-hitting forward late in the clash.
Lining up for goal at VISY Park – Carlton’s home base – in that final, it would have had Blues’ fans thrilled to see he can also mark strongly in the forward arc and slot the goals from all over the place.
Vic Country coach Paul Henriksen simply summed up his skipper – “he’s just going to be an AFL player.”
Weitering’s TAC Cup coach Craig Black was as effusive when describing the once-in-a-generation player – there just aren’t that many top-tier defenders to come out of the TAC Cup and be ready to face AFL challenges straight away.
““You surely don’t need anything on Weiters do you?” Black said laughing.
“He was fantastic, did everything right and was a player you didn’t need to check on and would do everything right.
“He would go about his business, show up and do the work necessary at the level required – from his point of view I think he would be looking forward to Tuesday night, then rolling up his sleeves and getting them dirty and getting into a pre-season.
“There’s been a lot of hype even during the year about it – so for him he’d be looking forward to being a number, starting again and earning respect at an AFL club and seeing how well he can play.”
He will certainly be a number on Tuesday night – and everyone in the football world would be shocked if it isn’t number one.
