By Jonty Ralphsmith
West Coast Eagles WAFL coach Rob Wiley has compared ex-Dandenong Stingray Jai Culley to a young Chris Judd.
Wiley, who Judd has previously said had a great influence on his career as midfield coach during his time at the club, drew comparison between the pair’s work ethic, after Culley arrived at the club in June via the mid-season draft.
“I think the first couple of weeks were a real learning curve for him but he’s a quick learner, a great listener,” Wiley said.
“His willingness to learn and get better reminds me a little bit of when Chris Judd came to the club – his dedication and want to become the best he can.
“His development in playing against men and improving his game, he’s got all the right attributes to become a good AFL player because of that determination.”
“Chris was very diligent, he was always at the club, he was always looking to get better in areas he knew he had to get better at and I see that in Jai in his early stages, this determination to become the best footballer he can.”
Foot skills and touch have been the focuses for Culley since arriving at the club, to enable him to keep up with the quicker pace of AFL-level when an opportunity arose.
According to Wiley, the number one pick has been quietly going about his business, watching extra vision, enhancing his fundamentals and taking on feedback, gaining respect from coaches and teammates in the process.
Culley averaged 15 disposals from four WAFL games as an inside midfielder/forward and demonstrated his attributes, leading to an AFL debut.
“His strong body over the ball in a contest – he never shirked an issue, he was a good user of the ball but also defensively laid some great tackles which was probably the area that impressed the AFL coaches,” Wiley said.
“What he showed against Hawthorn was that he’s a quick learner and adapted very, very quickly to that level.”
The 19-year-old made his debut last Sunday afternoon against Hawthorn in an impressive display at the MCG.
The mature-bodied youngster made his way into the centre bounce on 14 of the possible 31 occasions and stood tall in treacherous conditions.
To three-quarter time, he had already stuck 10 tackles and finished with a game-high 11 from limited minutes.
“I love the contest, probably the biggest attribute that I’ve got (is) the physicality side and aggression – it’s what I like about footy.”
In his mid-week press conference, Eagles coach Adam Simpson praised Culley on an impactful debut.
“He played to his strengths,” Simpson said.
“His fifth game against men. We just let him play. There’s some upside there, really good signs.
“We tried some things in the last 10 minutes which didn’t work…we dropped off a little bit and we got hurt,” Simpson said of the Eagles shallow finish to the match.
“Jai Culley came in for his first game, had 12 tackles and seven clearances… we’ll take that, it’s a good opportunity to play at the MCG.”
Culley’s debut performance wasn’t enough to seal victory for the Eagles, as the Hawks out-muscled the visitors in the wet, 15.12 (102) to 12.5 (77).
Culley said the positivity surrounding his performance took some adjusting to.
“It was weird,” he said.
“I didn’t know I had 11 tackles or seven clearances, I was just going out there and playing footy and trying to get the boys a win so to come out with 11 tackles and seven clearances sort of took me by surprise.”
The following week, the former Langwarrin resident got his first go in front of a parochial home crowd at Optus Stadium against St Kilda and slotted a late goal.
Although it was another loss, this time by 28 points, Culley’s defensive work rate once again shone through.
Alongside 19 disposals, seven tackles and a team-high five score involvements, Culley had 26 pressure acts – the second most of any player on the ground.
