During the curtain raiser VFL match that saw the Box Hill Hawks and Footscray draw over the weekend, young Footscray defender Reuben William received advice from veteran player Jarryd Roughead.
The 21-year-old said he sought after guidance when the opportunity presented itself.
"How to play on a big pretty much, it was just sort of me asking the question," William told AFL.com.au.
"I'm always willing to learn and he's always happy to give back, so we were just having a back and forth conversation. He gets into such good spots. When my back's turned and I'm not looking at him he's really crafty."
The conversation, captured on national television, saw the pair pointing up and down the field during different points of conversation, followed by a smile and friendly tap of the chest from Roughead.
In his first omission from the senior side since 2012, Jarryd Roughead responded with class. The tall forward added an abundance of experience to the side and put on an impressive performance that saw him boot five goals.
William admired Roughead’s humility and was grateful for his willingness to help.
"He was kind enough to tell me to keep going at it. He's a great guy, one of the best opposition players I've played on to be honest and you can see he's got great character," William said.
William was drafted to Brisbane in the NAB Rookie Draft back in 2016 where he played three games before being delisted in 2017. The young defender has nominated for the 2019 mid-season rookie draft as he continues to work towards his AFL dream.
"For me personally, obviously I'm still 21 so I've still got a lot of ambition to get back and play AFL football. I do think I've got the ability and the skill set so just little tips like that help," William said.
