Cannons Player Is Son Of A Gun
The Age
Wednesday July 28, 2004
Jesse Smith, the highly rated son of former North Melbourne defender Ross Smith, will begin his own AFL story later today when the Kangaroos announce they will draft the teenager under the father-son rule in November.
With Smith and the Roos already coming to terms, the Calder Cannons midfielder is the first of an outstanding crop of father-son candidates this year.Mitchell Morton, the son of former Claremont champion Noel Morton, is expected to sign with West Coast, while David Cloke's third son, Travis, is likely to join his brothers Jason and Cameron at Collingwood.All three juniors are considered genuine first-round picks in the November draft. After impressive performances at the recent under-18 championships, Smith and Morton are considered to be among the best five young players available, yet the Roos and West Coast will only have to give up a third-round pick to secure their services. Smith starred in the two games he played for Victorian Metro in the recent carnival and won the Larke Medal as the best player in division one.His father played 224 games for the Roos in a 13-year career that ended in 1996 and is remembered as a courageous and loyal defender at the club who was unlucky to miss out on the 1996 grand final. Throughout his father's career at Arden Street, Jesse Smith was a regular at training, with Ross telling The Age earlier this month that the young Jesse was already familiar with procedures at the Kangaroos. "On some days in the coach's room there would be 22 players, the coach - and Jesse," Ross Smith said.In fact, Smith's first coach at the Kangaroos will be his father's former teammate Dean Laidley and his first captain will be Adam Simpson, another of dad's old teammates. The younger Smith could also play alongside other former contemporaries of Ross, including Anthony Stevens and Glenn Archer. While Jesse Smith has already spent some time on the training track with the Roos, he has a finals series to focus on, with the Cannons sitting second on the TAC under-18s ladder, the reigning premier almost certain to make the finals in September.Ross Monaghan, the regional manager with the Cannons, described Smith as a skilful player who was still willing to learn."He has got a number of strengths," Monaghan said. "He has got a very athletic frame, which will be ideally suited for AFL footy, he can really run."His agility and evasive skills are terrific and he has got plenty of courage . . . He reads the play really well and he is a penetrating kick. But he is a young kid still learning the game."
© 2004 The Age