Heard relishing League opportunity

AFTER a breakout SANFL Season, emerging defender Jack Heard said he is starting to feel comfortable at the level following his 14 League games in 2021.

Heard, a Norwood junior who featured for the Reserves throughout Season 2019 and 2020, was impressive as a third tall in defence this season.

Despite a small form slump throughout the middle of 2021, Heard found his rhythm again, playing Round 17 onwards including both finals.

“I was pretty pleased with my year overall,” said Heard

“Playing round one against Port Adelaide in front of a 5000 plus crowd at Coopers Stadium was a dream come true for me and I felt like a lot of hard work paid off.

“I thought I played well early on and then I had a bit of a lull throughout the mid part of the season which I think was definitely needed, but then to be able to return to the League team with the help of Twig (Jade Rawlings) and the other coaches I took some big strides forward in the second half of the year.

“I think it was a good start for me, I feel comfortable at the level now and hopefully moving forward with such a young team we will only get better.”

Heard went on to mention the cohesion in the backline, especially playing alongside good mates in Cam Ball and Jacob Collins who are all a similar age and have played a lot of football together at The Parade.

“It’s awesome playing alongside Cam Ball and Jacob Collins,” Heard said.

“Bally (Cam Ball) is a year older than me and Collo (Jacob Collins) is the same age. We have all played Under 18s footy, won a Reserves flag and hopefully, now we can play 100 plus League games of football together over the next few years.

“The three of us are still young and complement the likes of Brodie Carroll and Nick Pedro who are both around the same age profile.

“We’ve all come through the junior ranks as well which is a good sign for the club that our development pathway is working.

“I’m excited to get into another season with those guys, we showed a lot last year as a defensive group and moving forward we will only get better with experience.”

Heard made mention of Senior Coach Jade Rawlings’ known prowess to reward players who are adhering to the standards established by the coaching group.

“Twig rewards our form and it’s never about the talent, name or background,” said Heard.

“It’s about who is performing and whoever deserves to play will play.

“I think that brings a really strong culture, especially for guys playing in the Reserves or 18s knowing they are a genuine chance of playing League football.

“In 2021 there was probably 45 players who felt if they played well enough consistently, they were a chance to play at the highest level and I think that’s a pretty exciting football club to be at.”