Mantis
13-05-2009, 01:51 PM
LET’S get one thing straight from the outset - while we are talking to a J. Roughead, this is Jordan Roughead, not Jarryd Roughead, the goal-kicking leviathan of the AFL.
Jordan, drafted to the Western Bulldogs just a couple of months after Jarryd played in the Hawthorn premiership last season, admits he’s gotten a little tired of the constant reference to his older cousin.
“Even some of the players at the club are calling me Jarryd now,” he says. “It gets a little bit annoying.
“Not so much the association with Jarryd, but when people are calling me Jarryd, it does get frustrating.
“I’ve just got to try and make a name for myself so everyone can remember mine I suppose.”
With such a unique name, not to mention the fact he has joined him in the big league, many have been quick to come to the conclusion Jordan and Jarryd are in fact siblings.
“A lot of kids will come up and say ‘oh, you’re Jarryd Roughead’s brother’ or something like that,” Jordan says. “I just correct them and move on.”
Their two families in fact live on opposite sides of Victoria. While both players entered the AFL ranks though the TAC Cup, Jarryd arrived via the Gippsland Power and Jordan via North Ballarat Rebels.
“I do know him pretty well,” Jordan says."We see them at Christmas, Easter ... Couple of times a year.”
“(But) We weren’t super close. We’re not as good mates as some people assume.
Without question though, Jarryd, who is among the leading goalkickers in the competition, has been an inspiration to the 18-year-old.
“He played basketball early on and went to football, and I did the same thing,” Jordan says
“Watching him progress and win a premiership last year, it sort of got the fire burning inside.
“Everyone wants to experience a premiership, hopefully we will get there one day.”
Always tall - he now stands 200cm - Jordan was an exceptional junior basketballer who was a regular member of Ballarat representative sides, before he turned his attention to footy.
“It was probably early 2007 ... and had just finished the under-18 Victorian Junior Basketball League championships. We lost the grand final and decided it was the time to go out,” he explains.
Quitting basketball for good, he jumped at the chance to be a part of the North Ballarat Rebels squad.
Jordan admits, while never truly concentrating on footy before - other than having a kick with mates at Ballarat’s Lake Wendouree Football Club - the transition had its difficulties.
“Being a basketballer I was always trying to avoid contact out on the footy field,” he says. “It took a lot of work.
“I never used to be able to read the game. I’ve still got to do a lot of work on that. Where the ball is going to go and that sort of thing.
“But, the coaching I’ve had at the Rebels and now at the Bulldogs has been really beneficial.”
Jordan proved a certified, albeit raw, talent out on the park in his two seasons in the state under-18 competition and signalled he would be one of the most sought-after young ruckmen in the state when he was picked, and then starred, for Vic Country at the 2008 National Under-18 Championships.
Jordan is now part of a massive-in-number and massive-in-size group of young players the Western Bulldogs have collected over the last couple of years waiting in the wings at Williamstown in the VFL.
“A lot of people say the Bulldogs don’t have a tall list, but we’ve got a lot of younger players in Jarrad Grant, Liam Jones, Ayce (Cordy), myself, James Mulligan, John Shaw and Jarrad Boumann who are all 195cm plus,” Jordan says.
“We’re just coming through at the moment, hopefully we can get out in the next few years and start making a statement.”
Jordan made his first appearance for the Seagulls in the VFL reserves last weekend, and impressed, after suffering an on-going shoulder injury. Three times now since being drafted he has torn the cartilage from the back of the shoulder.
“… it’s something that won’t heal itself,” he says. “I’ve just got to strengthen it up.
“Hopefully we can stay on the track for the rest of the year.”
Jordan says he would obviously love a senior appearance for the Bulldogs this year, but being a mature-minded, down-to-earth character he’s realistic about the future.
He’s already added 8kg to his frame - and now tips the scales at about 95kg - “… but there’s still a lot of work to be done before I even consider putting my hand up for a senior spot,” he says.
Long-term, all going according to plan, there would be little doubt the Bulldogs have earmarked Jordan to team with another 2008 draftee in Ayce Cordy in the ruck with stints forward beside a key forward in Jarrad Grant.
“I’d love to play both (forward and ruck),” Jordan says.
“I think I was drafted more as a ruckman than a forward, I’ve played there the last two years and really loved it.
“But, getting forward, everyone loves that, taking a grab and trying to kick ‘em straight.”
Dare we say it, like that other J. Roughead.
Taken from the Wyndham Leader (http://wyndham-leader.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/the-other-roughead-he-s-good-too/)
Jordan, drafted to the Western Bulldogs just a couple of months after Jarryd played in the Hawthorn premiership last season, admits he’s gotten a little tired of the constant reference to his older cousin.
“Even some of the players at the club are calling me Jarryd now,” he says. “It gets a little bit annoying.
“Not so much the association with Jarryd, but when people are calling me Jarryd, it does get frustrating.
“I’ve just got to try and make a name for myself so everyone can remember mine I suppose.”
With such a unique name, not to mention the fact he has joined him in the big league, many have been quick to come to the conclusion Jordan and Jarryd are in fact siblings.
“A lot of kids will come up and say ‘oh, you’re Jarryd Roughead’s brother’ or something like that,” Jordan says. “I just correct them and move on.”
Their two families in fact live on opposite sides of Victoria. While both players entered the AFL ranks though the TAC Cup, Jarryd arrived via the Gippsland Power and Jordan via North Ballarat Rebels.
“I do know him pretty well,” Jordan says."We see them at Christmas, Easter ... Couple of times a year.”
“(But) We weren’t super close. We’re not as good mates as some people assume.
Without question though, Jarryd, who is among the leading goalkickers in the competition, has been an inspiration to the 18-year-old.
“He played basketball early on and went to football, and I did the same thing,” Jordan says
“Watching him progress and win a premiership last year, it sort of got the fire burning inside.
“Everyone wants to experience a premiership, hopefully we will get there one day.”
Always tall - he now stands 200cm - Jordan was an exceptional junior basketballer who was a regular member of Ballarat representative sides, before he turned his attention to footy.
“It was probably early 2007 ... and had just finished the under-18 Victorian Junior Basketball League championships. We lost the grand final and decided it was the time to go out,” he explains.
Quitting basketball for good, he jumped at the chance to be a part of the North Ballarat Rebels squad.
Jordan admits, while never truly concentrating on footy before - other than having a kick with mates at Ballarat’s Lake Wendouree Football Club - the transition had its difficulties.
“Being a basketballer I was always trying to avoid contact out on the footy field,” he says. “It took a lot of work.
“I never used to be able to read the game. I’ve still got to do a lot of work on that. Where the ball is going to go and that sort of thing.
“But, the coaching I’ve had at the Rebels and now at the Bulldogs has been really beneficial.”
Jordan proved a certified, albeit raw, talent out on the park in his two seasons in the state under-18 competition and signalled he would be one of the most sought-after young ruckmen in the state when he was picked, and then starred, for Vic Country at the 2008 National Under-18 Championships.
Jordan is now part of a massive-in-number and massive-in-size group of young players the Western Bulldogs have collected over the last couple of years waiting in the wings at Williamstown in the VFL.
“A lot of people say the Bulldogs don’t have a tall list, but we’ve got a lot of younger players in Jarrad Grant, Liam Jones, Ayce (Cordy), myself, James Mulligan, John Shaw and Jarrad Boumann who are all 195cm plus,” Jordan says.
“We’re just coming through at the moment, hopefully we can get out in the next few years and start making a statement.”
Jordan made his first appearance for the Seagulls in the VFL reserves last weekend, and impressed, after suffering an on-going shoulder injury. Three times now since being drafted he has torn the cartilage from the back of the shoulder.
“… it’s something that won’t heal itself,” he says. “I’ve just got to strengthen it up.
“Hopefully we can stay on the track for the rest of the year.”
Jordan says he would obviously love a senior appearance for the Bulldogs this year, but being a mature-minded, down-to-earth character he’s realistic about the future.
He’s already added 8kg to his frame - and now tips the scales at about 95kg - “… but there’s still a lot of work to be done before I even consider putting my hand up for a senior spot,” he says.
Long-term, all going according to plan, there would be little doubt the Bulldogs have earmarked Jordan to team with another 2008 draftee in Ayce Cordy in the ruck with stints forward beside a key forward in Jarrad Grant.
“I’d love to play both (forward and ruck),” Jordan says.
“I think I was drafted more as a ruckman than a forward, I’ve played there the last two years and really loved it.
“But, getting forward, everyone loves that, taking a grab and trying to kick ‘em straight.”
Dare we say it, like that other J. Roughead.
Taken from the Wyndham Leader (http://wyndham-leader.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/the-other-roughead-he-s-good-too/)