Moves like Jagga
If you haven’t heard of Jagga Smith by now, write the name down. You’re going to get used to it.
With a name like a rock star and skills to match it, the 17-year-old Scotch College student is already being talked about as a top-five pick in next year’s national draft.
And it seems Haileybury – coached by Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd – had done their research when the two teams came head-to-head last Saturday. Haileybury made no secret in their desire to stop Smith, with Lloyd sending a tagger to him from the first bounce.
And didn’t things get spicy! The move didn’t go down well with the Scotch parents, nor with the young man, who was left frustrated by the treatment.
Jagga Smith (left), playing for Vic Metro last month.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images
Tempers also flared off the field, with one particular Haileybury dad drawing the ire of several of his Scotch counterparts, due to some of the comments he was directing to players and students in the crowd.
Enter Scott Maginness, premiership player at Hawthorn who has one boy (Finn) playing at the Hawks and another (Ned) on the way, who was playing on Saturday alongside Smith for Scotch.
“I got up and went and stood right next to him, it wasn’t threatening,” Maginness said. “I just stood next to him and observed. I said, ‘come on mate, be the adult.’ ”
A Scotch spokesperson told The Scoop: “Scotch College believes in the values of tolerance and respect for all members of the community. The behaviours exhibited on the day were contrary to this, and we are liaising with the other school to resolve the matter.”
Haileybury was contacted for comment.
While both schools have complained to the Associated Public Schools, the governing body, both teams have shrugged it off and have already moved on.
Haileybury won the game easily, by the way, and face Caulfield Grammar, also undefeated this season, this Saturday. The match is effectively a schoolboy footy grand final.
Worth the big Bucks
No one was more disappointed when Nathan Buckley tore his hamstring eight minutes into his long-awaited football return than the man himself.
Playing for Nilma Darnum, who were trying to break a 35-game losing streak in their game against Catani, Buckley grabbed at his lower left hamstring and limped off the ground early in the first quarter.
But, knowing that his body may be an issue – he turned 51 on Wednesday – Buckley made the 90-minute trip east earlier in the week to spend some time with the locals.
On the Thursday, Buckley knocked on the front door of a local home. Inside was a mum and her children who had recently lost the husband and father of the family to pancreatic cancer.
Later, he joined in training and then stayed for a beer, a pizza and a few yarns from back in the day.
Rain, rain, stay away
If there’s one thing you can’t do in Melbourne in July, it’s to rely on the weather for anything.
So, the MCG is hoping the forecast of rain on Friday is wrong. Because if it is, there could be more than 90,000 fans packing in for the blockbuster between Collingwood and Carlton.
The Melbourne Cricket Club has told The Scoop the latest prediction had around 87,000 fans coming through the gates.
But MCC boss Stuart Fox said that was likely to be impacted by the weather. “Rain could be a bit of an issue,” Fox said.
“There is a little bit of inclement weather predicted, but hopefully that doesn’t impact turning up and enjoying the game.”
There have only been 15 home-and-away games where the crowd has been above 90,000.
Last year, a tick over 88,000 packed into the MCG for Carlton and Collingwood’s clash in round 23, where the Blues had to win to play finals and the Pies needed to win to receive a double chance.
If things stay dry, Fox is hopeful that number will eclipsed on Friday.
“We’re going to get really close,” he said.
