Port Adelaide forward Jay Schulz goes from cagey tiger to lethal weaponEliza Sewell
From:Herald Sun
April 21, 2012JAY Schulz used to be Richmond's problem. Today, he will be Collingwood's.
Schulz will step on to Etihad Stadium as Port Adelaide's premier forward, a status he failed to achieve in seven frustrating seasons with the Tigers.
A challenging apprenticeship at Tigerland included stints forward and back, and, of course, Schulz lived in the shadow of Matthew Richardson.
Tigers fans couldn't swallow the No.12 draft pick's inconsistency and many couldn't wait to see the back of him when he was traded to the Power at the end of 2009. But Schulz said he was his harshest critic.
"They're very passionate people (Tigers fans), but I never felt it personally," he said.
"I was very sick of, towards the end of my days at Richmond, people asking me why I wasn't playing consistent football. I was very sick of people telling me that I was very talented and under-performing.
"Those were some of the things that were starting to take a toll on me mentally. (It) makes you think, 'Well s---, am I really that talented? I obviously mustn't be because I'm not able to do it'."
Schulz kicked 58 goals in 71 games in yellow and black, spending all but four games of his final year in the VFL.
In contrast, his first year at Port yielded 33 goals in 16 games and he backed that up with 31 goals from another 16 games last year and another eight in 2012.
Former Richmond coach Terry Wallace said Schulz was up against it from the start.
"I think he suffered a little bit from playing alongside Matthew Richardson for a long period," Wallace said.
"That wasn't Matthew's fault, but it's what would happen with Jonathan Brown, Nick Riewoldt, any of those real stars of the game - the ball gets directed in their direction 80 per cent of the time so you've only got 20 per cent to try to pick up the scraps.
"He kicked that six goals up in Brisbane early (2004), and that almost became the standard and everyone thought that's what you've got to deliver. I think he found that difficult to live up to."
Schulz said "growing up a bit" had contributed to his success at Port, along with being allowed to play permanently forward.
But he's also won the mental battle, with some help from an Adelaide sports psychologist.
"I'm more comfortable with my own abilities and believe in myself more to a certain extent," he said. "In my final year at Richmond, I started to realise - I don't want this to sound arrogant - but I shouldn't have been playing VFL, and I was starting to believe I was an AFL player.
"I was talking with people a lot more about my mental state of mind, trying not to ride my highs too high and my lows too low and just trying to be a much more level person, because it reflected the way I was playing.
"I still am my harshest critic."
In the end, the split with Richmond was amicable. Coach Damien Hardwick called him in and told him there were offers on the table and Schulz thought it was time to go.
Wallace said Schulz lacked confidence at Richmond, but he always thought he'd prosper.
"I wouldn't have let him go if I had have been there, I would have wanted to keep him," Wallace said."There were a lot of people at Richmond and I'm talking players as well, who thought he could play."
Schulz was caught drink-driving in 2005, an incident that cost the Tigers their TAC sponsorship, and Wallace said that contributed to Schulz's lack of success at Punt Rd, too.
"I think that put him into his shell a little bit," he said. "It was a combination of everything getting in his way."
Schulz said the episode was one of the toughest weeks of his life.
"It was always a harder thing for me because I wasn't playing consistent footy ... I couldn't repay the faith," he said. "It definitely took a toll, to what extent I couldn't tell you, but it was tough. I'm a better person now."
Schulz, now 27, and partner Amy are parents to Halo, who was born in August.
"No matter how I play on the weekend I always come home to a big smile," he said.
Wallace said he was pleased for his former project player.
"You want the best for those guys, you love to see them go on ... to see him thriving, it's a good story," he said.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/port-adelaide-forward-jay-schulz-goes-from-cagey-tiger-to-lethal-weapon/story-e6frf9jf-1226334814410
