Foley follows Colac lead
01 April 2007 Sunday Herald Sun
Ken Piesse
COLAC has produced another good one in emerging Tiger midfielder Nathan Foley.
The elevation of Jonathan Simpkin from rookie to senior squad status at Sydney sees him follow the footsteps of teammate Amon Buchanan and fellow Colac trailblazers Luke Hodge (Hawthorn), Steven Baker (St Kilda) and Nathan Foley (Richmond).
Simpkin, Hodge and Foley played with Colac Tigers and, says Foley, remain close buddies.
"We take a genuine interest in how each other does," he said. "People are so sports-minded in Colac. It's impossible not to do something, whether it's football, cricket, tennis or basketball.
"If you're lucky enough to go on and get an opportunity in your sport, the whole town is right behind you."
Foley says the achievements of Baker in becoming such a noted tagger, Hodge with his match-winning flair and Buchanan with his tenacity offer inspiration and motivation for him and other emerging Western District kids.
"You work hard to play your best football and these guys are doing it regularly," he says.
"From my perspective, being a smaller guy (177cm), seeing someone like Amon come through has been particularly helpful to help me realise that it could happen for me, too.
"Amon is two or three years older than me and is my size. We tend to play the same midfield positions, too."
In years gone by Colac has produced such notables as John Devine, a member of Geelong's last premiership team (in 1963), Bradman invincible Bill Johnston and, more recently, cricketer Liam Buchanan, Amon's brother.
Foley, 21, played 21 games with the Tigers last season, becoming renowned for his team-oriented example. He was among the three best tacklers at the club and among the top four or five handballers.
Coming off the best pre-season of his career, he was an automatic starter for this year.
"I was basically injury-free over the pre-season," he says. "It was always my aim to get as fit as possible. It's so competitive, especially for my position.
"You want to make an impact when you're on and get as much game time as you can."
He says the mentoring of Richmond champion Dale Weightman, himself pint-sized, allows him to believe in his abilities.
The example set by another Tiger legend, retired star Wayne Campbell, and senior teammates Mark Coughlan and Kane Johnson is similarly important.
"We have such a young list so we
really look up to guys like them," Foley says.
"There are more than 20 of us aged 21 and under, and when you're all around the same age and blending together, it automatically creates a bond. Hopefully, we can breed a really successful environment and grow with each other.
"If we can start to string some wins together, too, that'll really make the place jump.
"Our best side can be very competitive and while we won only one practice match out of four or five, that's what they were -- practice matches, which are all about trying out things and working on different game plans. With people like 'Richo' (Matthew Richardson) back and 'Browny' (Nathan Brown) hopefully back soon it provides goalkicking options and targets. Jay Schulz is another who has worked really hard and who can come through for us."
ONLY one senior list Tiger, Andrew Krakouer, is smaller than Foley , and while Foley says height is not a factor for him these days, it once was, especially around the time of the under-18 trials.
"It can be an issue, for sure, particularly at under-18 level when you're hoping to get noticed," he says. "Once you are drafted, however, if you are good enough, you'll play."
Emerging from the rookie list in mid-season 2005, Foley's first game was against Melbourne on the day star import Brown broke his leg.
He played six games in his first season and all but one last year, a genuine step-up in standard.
He says midfield rotations are part of AFL football these days and the best teams have a nucleus of nine and 10 to spread the workload.
"These days you just have to have a lot of runners," he says. "Look at West Coast -- they have great midfielders and terrific depth, too. It makes a big difference."
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