AFL Origin: WA chairman of selectors Glen Jakovich ‘blown away’ by level of desperation among stars to play

Western Australian chairman of selectors Glen Jakovich has revealed the level of desperation players showed to earn a spot in the Sandgropers squad to take on Victoria in the resurrected AFL Origin on Saturday. And it’s this level of passion that has lead Jakovich to put the “Big V” on notice, declaring they shouldn’t expect to come to Optus Stadium looking for an easy win. The home side will start as underdogs against a powerhouse Victorian side assembled by Jakovich’s counterpart in Melbourne great Garry Lyon. A lot of the visitors’ strength is set to come from their star-studded midfield featuring the likes of Nick Daicos, Caleb Serong, Marcus Bontempelli, Zak Butters, Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson. The Sandgropers will be lead by dual Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps and will be spearheaded by stars in Chad Warner, Jake Waterman and Sam Taylor who have all expressed their excitement and desire to represent their state. Jakovich said he’d been blown away by the passion that the West Australian players across the AFL had shown to make the final squad. “I’ve spoken to virtually everyone of the squad members and I’m just blown away how excited, passionate they are and that they cannot wait to sink their teeth in,” he told The West Australian. “If I can draw a parallel, I played in the last three origins that WA played in and players were finding every excuse not to play and if they did play, they were just collecting a pay cheque. “Whereas nearly 30 years later, I’ve got players and managers ringing me to ask me ‘what do I need to do to get into that team?’ I’ve had text messages. That to me is an overwhelming sense of pride that they respect the jumper. “We’re going to turn up. That’s our responsibility, that’s the players’ responsibility and they’ve already shown their intent. Victoria are going to be very good and going to be hard to beat, but don’t take us lightly.” While Jakovich acknowledged the strength of the Victorian outfit, he had no doubt they’d picked a squad to represent the Sandgropers that could win. “We’ve anticipated who they’re going to pick — Bontempelli, Rowell, (Max) Gawn, Anderson, Daicos — you go right through it, their forwards. They’re all highly talented,” he said. “We have picked a side with obviously the best talent but we’ve picked a group of guys who we believe can match up with them, hold them and challenge them in the contested area. “WA has always had skilful players, so we’re going to base our game on obviously winning the ball but have the players attack on their instincts and play on their instincts. “With Shai Bolton, Charlie Cameron, Kozzie Pickett — a lot of those guys can give out a chop in the midfield as well as we’d like them to kick a bag of goals between them. They’re not one trick ponies and we have a few of those players that cause Victoria are a few problems.” Get a FREE WA AAMI AFL Origin Guernsey worth RRP $130 when you sign up for a 12-month subscription to thewest.com.au Subscribe now from just $6 per week. T&Cs apply, limited time only. https://www.thewest.com.au/footypack