GRAEME Twaddle’s time in football has taught him a simple lesson when it comes to rejection at representative level.
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“I think it can do one of two things to young people who miss out – they either withdraw or they use it as motivation,” he said.
The North Warrnambool Eagles co-coach watched with pride as one of his charges chose the latter.
Sam McLachlan is two years removed from the disappointment of missing out on the North Ballarat Rebels’ list and on the cusp of an AFL career.
“I think Sam has used it as motivation to show people, locally and at TAC (Cup) level, that he was probably wrongly overlooked,” Twaddle said.
McLachlan played 60 of a possible 62 Hampden league senior games in his three seasons at the Eagles, winning their best and fairest in 2015.
He relocated to Geelong, made the Cats’ VFL list and slotted into their midfield with ease, booting 11 goals from 17 games.
An AFL state combine invite followed, as did interviews with clubs as interest in the 187-centimetre, 84-kilogram midfielder increased.
McLachlan’s rise has come as no surprise to Twaddle.
“He is competitive. He hates being beaten. I think his skills are sensational,” the coach said.
“For his height, he is a particularly good overhead mark.
“He can play both roles in the midfield – inside and outside.
“He pushes forward, he kicks goals both sides of his body.
“He’s proficient on both sides of his body and certainly there were times this season watching VFL where he was kicking goals on his (non-preferred) left foot from 50 metres out.”
McLachlan arrived at North Warrnambool at 18, having relocated with his family – parents Tony and Rebecca and four siblings – from Colac.
The move didn’t faze the quietly spoken teenager, who quickly settled into year 12 at Emmanuel College and immersing himself in a new football club.
McLachlan, who made his senior debut for Geelong league club Colac at 16, made an immediate impression at the Eagles.
Twaddle worked as a recruitment officer before signing on as co-coach for the 2015 season and knew the club had found a gem.
“He certainly doesn’t get full of himself or caught up in the hype. He leads by example,” Twaddle said.
“His actions are the loudest thing about Sam.
“He’s pretty relaxed. He doesn’t let things get too on top of him.
“I think he took everything in his stride.
“And he’s a pretty popular boy at our footy club as well.
“He certainly settled into the footy club and had lots of friends.”
A rich vein of form propelled McLachlan to greater heights last season.
He caught the attention of Geelong after making his Hampden interleague debut.
Four Bottle Green players – Ben Dobson (Essendon), Sam Dobson (Geelong), Jack Williams (Camperdown) and McLachlan – joined VFL ranks last season, a testament to the region’s history as a football breeding ground.
McLachlan, who is away in Thailand with friends from North, named Colac as his affiliate in 2016 after making the Cats’ list.
He found a company to take him on as an apprentice plumber – a trade he started in Warrnambool – in Geelong as he juggled the VFL training demands.
But he remained invested in North Warrnambool Eagles’ fortunes.
Twaddle said McLachlan was in the crowd as the Bushfield-based club played in its first senior grand final in September.
The Eagles, who fell to powerhouse Koroit, also featured in the reserves and under 18.5 deciders.
The seconds’ success was the club’s maiden premiership under the North Warrnambool Eagles’ banner.
“It is good to have him around the club because the younger blokes at the club aspire to him,” Twaddle said.
“They see what he’s done with his football in a short amount of time and we certainly say to a lot of our boys who miss that TAC level, just keep the right mind frame, be positive and keep playing good footy because TAC is not the be-all and end-all.
“People mature and develop at different stages.”
Twaddle knows McLachlan developed during his time at North too.
“He is so driven to do well and I think North have been a part of his journey because we provided that opportunity for him to play through the midfield and hone is skills for that role,” he said.
“He was lucky enough to play through the midfield at North with some really competent players, such as the likes of Matthew Wines, Jye Bidmade and Jarryd Lewis, and those type of players, so he’s been able to learn from some pretty handy footballers.”
McLachlan started at Colac and District league club Western Eagles as a junior before jumping to Colac Tigers, during their Hampden junior competition days.
The McLachlans returned to Colac this year when dad Tony, a police officer, was posted to Camperdown.
Tony said his second oldest son had an innate ability on the football field, rating his resilience one of his greatest traits.
“I can’t speak on his behalf but I think it’s surpassed his expectations,” he said of McLachlan’s 2016 VFL season.
“He’s always been a strong overhead mark but he was a shorter junior player, hence the reason he probably missed Rebels.
“He shot up and ended up six-foot-two and now looks like a big midfielder.”