Woodville-West Torrens Jack Slattery was one of the big winners from the Under-18s National Championships.
One of only three over-agers to play every game at the National Championships, he kicked 16.2 as a crafty Logan Morris-like forward establishing a reputation for himself as a deadeye in front of goal.
And it wasn't as though he was getting his shots in the goal-square, often threading needles with set shots from longer range or the boundary.
Remarkably, though, while he has been a forward his whole life, it was not until being immersed in the South Australian squad that he developed a trusty routine in front of the big sticks.
“A specific benefit was my goal kicking. In my two trial games and in the lead up to champs, my goal kicking had not been in sync,” Slattery told Zero Hanger.
“I had 6.8 at reserves level and 6.5 in the two trial games so I did work with Luke Reynolds the forwards coach and Tony Bamford around my goal kicking, trying to get more momentum through, really focusing on getting my head over the ball and continued working on it and it benefitted me.
“I continually work on my routine. You don't want to get complacent but confidence is at an all time high at the moment.”
The commerce student speaks with gratitude about his time in the South Australian camp, aware he had to overcome several stigmas.
There was the initial pressure to perform above expectation given his age. Then once he kicked five goals in game two, plenty of people reserved judgement, and then he backed it up with another four, then six.
Slattery is self aware about why the question marks come. At 192cm, he is undersized for a true key forward, he doesn't come and crash packs nor does he have the toe or vertical leap of other forwards.
SLATTERY'S COACHES ON RISING EAGLE
“After the second game when I kicked six goals I was talking to my Dad and he said ‘this could just be a good game rather than a good player',” Slattery said.
“I knew I had to show that I could do it again because as an overager you have to show you've got the extra year of maturity so I was grateful to perform in the last three games.
“I definitely don't have the athletic profile of other players and I'm a bit undersized and there's some overaged stigma so there's some people to prove wrong but I feel like you can't deny my output at champs and hopefully I can maintain my form for the rest of the season and show clubs what I'm capable of.”
Having now established himself as a player of interest to AFL clubs, it's mind-boggling to consider he probably only received the chance in a lot of ways because of circumstance.
Injuries to Port Adelaide-tied talls Dougie Cochrane and Zemes Pilot forced South Australia to scour for tall timber up forward, with Slattery receiving the call early in the season after solid, but unspectacular form in the Eagles' reserves side.
It came after he missed out last year with South Australia blessed with tall forward options as Cam Nairn, Aidan Schubert and Mitch Marsh, who all went onto AFL lists, occupied those positions.
Reaching the state program would likely have been a tough task regardless given it was his first year in the SANFL Under-18s system, having been cut in 2024 by Woodville-West Torrens, with all his previous experience being at local level.
“I used that as motivation and fuel and ended up playing Round 1 the following year,” Slattery said.
“I genuinely improved all aspects of my game. I got in the gym a little bit and put on some size and continued to develop my forward craft. That extra year of development playing school footy really helped me and boosted my confidence and I wouldn't change it.”
He kicked 15 goals in 11 games last year and averaged an unremarkable 12 disposals and three marks.
Playing senior footy at reserves level this year equipped him with some important tools which he used at the carnival as he learned to use his body and smarts in different ways to beat more seasoned opponents.
Marking drills with Eagles teammate, South Australian roommate and top 10 prospect Mitch Harris have also primed Slattery.
Without the structure of school this year, Slattery has focussed keenly on maximising the extra time he has.
“You can either put your heady down and work or get sucked into the partying environment a lot of teenagers do,” Slattery admitted.
“Once I got into the state program, I locked in, got in the gym a lot and worked on my craft. I want to make the most of my opportunity.
“You only get one chance at this so I just wanted to show them what I could do and keep that momentum going towards the end of the season.”
