Jayden Davey was supposed to make his mark this year.
Alongside twin brother Alwyn jnr, the gifted sons of ex-Bomber Alwyn Davey snr planned to race up AFL draft boards, even though they were always destined to join the red and black as father-son prospects.
But their journeys took a drastic turn when Jayden suffered a second ACL rupture in his right knee, on their 18th birthday of all days.
Alwyn Davey jnr (right) has nominated Essendon as his club of choice under the father-son ruling.Credit:AFL Photos
It was February 26, and Jayden – 2½ years removed from his first major knee injury – tried to sidestep an opponent while playing touch rugby. His right knee paid the price.
“I tried to be a bit too flashy and ‘step’ someone and the knee obviously gave in,” Jayden told The Age from Darwin, where he is soaking up rare family time before the draft.
“I’d heard so many stories, like Kaine Baldwin’s [Essendon footballer who suffered two ACL injuries] and other draftees, so those kinds of things kept my hopes high.
“But, obviously, there were times when you think, ‘Is this the end?’”
Fortunately for Jayden, it wasn’t.
The support of his parents – mum Janelle and father Alwyn snr – his siblings Alwyn jnr, 18, Alijah, 15, Cruz, 10, Charlize, 6, and Layla, 2, his Xavier College boarding school pals, and even Eddie Betts helped ward off those thoughts.
Jayden (left) and Alwyn Davey jnr (right), with their mother Janelle.
Jayden’s first ACL tear came in a Northern Territory Football League under-18s match in October 2019, when a late decision to try to dodge an opponent he didn’t initially spot ended in disaster.
It was near the end of his first year at Xavier College in Melbourne, and he had flown back to Darwin during school holidays to see family and friends and play some footy.
Unknown at the time were the lockdown horrors to come in the next two years.
As the COVID-19 situation worsened, the Davey twins’ parents had to weigh up whether to bring their boys home – they would have had to suffer through hard quarantine first – or let them stick it out in Victoria.
They chose the latter despite knowing how difficult it would be for everyone to be apart for so long.
“Keeping us there was the best decision the family has made,” Jayden said.
Alijah is at Xavier College now, too, as well as their cousin, Waylon Davey, son of one of their dad’s brothers, Russell. Both are showing plenty of promise on the football field.
The original call to send their eldest children to Xavier came after returning to Darwin from Melbourne in 2014, and coming to the belief there were “so many steps backwards” in opportunities in the NT compared to the southern states.
“We saw their development had slowed down, so to give them the best opportunities, we felt they had to go down to a Victorian school,” Janelle said.
“The boys wanted to pursue this. They wanted to play in the AFL, so we had to try and look at some avenues that would support that pathway.
“The change in them, not just with the football side, but at school and their personal development, are completely opposite ends of the scale.
“That’s what I’m most impressed with – their life skills and the people they have become. They’re leaders for the people around them and their younger siblings and cousins. I would never choose a different path for them.”
Meanwhile, Alwyn jnr fulfilled his and Jayden’s plan for this year.
He starred for Xavier, Oakleigh Chargers and Vic Metro at the national under-18 championships as an elusive midfielder who could also make an impact up forward.
The twins agreed in October to nominate Essendon and become father-son eligible. The suggestion is that a rival club could place a bid on Alwyn jnr as early as late in the first round or, at worst, in the 20s.
Jayden Davey (left) and twin brother Alwyn jnr at Xavier College.
Jayden, a speedy goalsneak in a similar mould to his father, seems likely to join the Bombers via a late national draft pick on Tuesday.
While overjoyed at Alwyn jnr’s steep rise, Janelle noticed Jayden sometimes being forgotten as he diligently completed his rehabilitation.
That was despite Jayden performing an integral, behind-the-scenes role in Alwyn jnr’s success.
They would speak before and after every game, setting goals for Alwyn jnr to complete, from goalkicking to how many tackles he would try to lay, then discussing where he could improve.
“It was really hard because, being twins, we want everything to be equal, of course,” Janelle said.
“Jayden is a really good player as well … I didn’t cope very well when it was all very one-sided and Jayden was missing out, but we had to teach him that his path would be different.
“They’re getting the same outcome [joining Essendon], but he just has to go about it a different way.”
In the coming days, the Daveys will realise dreams many years in the making.
Alwyn jnr (left) and Jayden Davey as kids.
They attended Essendon Primary School, located opposite the Bombers’ spiritual home, Windy Hill, and Janelle remembers them running amok in the AFL change rooms as kids.
“We would get them from school, and it was like a bribe – if they behaved and did their readers, they were allowed to go over to Windy Hill afterwards,” she said.
“Usually, the players had meetings or massages, so the boys got to go out and pretend to be Essendon players, kicking goals. They would run around giving each other high-fives and believing they were the stars.”
It is too early to call the Daveys 2.0 stars, but they have never been closer to those formative days, when their imaginations ran wild, becoming a reality.
Janelle, who was there for Alwyn snr’s entire 100-game AFL journey, doesn’t think her boys fully comprehend the physical and mental exhaustion that is on their horizon.
But she is already putting work in to ensure they remain “grounded”, just as they join a Bombers team that hopes it will soon take off.
“Putting the mum hat on, it’s just constant conversations about what the expectations are and when you get in your own house and what you need to do,” Janelle said.
“What’s important to me is to try to keep them grounded, and for them to know what’s important.
“This is only a short part of their life, so make the most of it, but stay humble and stay focused on what their dreams are and what they want to achieve from this.”
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