Moonlighting: Jayden Postafl.com.au
By Nat Edwards Sat 08 May, 2010JAYDEN Post was recruited to the Tigers as a 19-year-old in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft. Overlooked in the draft the year before, Post was lucky enough to be handed a second chance by the Western Jets in the under-19s where he proved his talent."I never really played football to be the best that I could. I always just played it because I enjoyed it and playing AFL was always a dream, but you never think it could be a reality. I suppose when I got to the Jets I probably didn't play as well as what my talent suggested. Then I started playing on a few good players who got through to that draft year and I got a second chance in the under-19s and I thought this was something that I could do, so I really gave it all that year."
Unsure whether he would get drafted as a 19-year-old, Post turned his focus to university but soon realised a career in football was what he desperately wanted."I started uni for six months doing a double degree in exercise science and human movement with sport and recreational management but I ended up deferring that to try and focus on footy. I had a 50-50 chance of being drafted and I thought a career in footy was best and what I wanted."
Local footy was a big part of Post’s childhood. He would spend Saturdays watching the Altona Vikings go around in the Western Region Football League and kicking the footy with his mates. "I would always be at the local footy on a Saturday because my uncle was a coach of the local senior team at the time and I would always be doing water or running the boundaries so I was always pretty heavily focused on footy. The people I played footy with then are still my best mates today and it’s those kinds of things you get out of it, not just the on-field stuff. I just love the game and enjoy playing it."
As a child, Post followed the rest of his family in supporting the Western Bulldogs, so it's no surprise that Chris Grant was his boyhood hero."I had Chris Grant’s number on my back and had all his posters on my wall so I was a big Chris Grant fan. He was always such a presence on the field. I suppose he was like the Rolls Royce of the Bulldogs and he came so close to winning a Brownlow so many times. He could go back, he could go forward, take screamers, kick goals, he just had it all."
Football may be a big part of Post’s life but it’s not his only passion. His love for music has inspired him to take up DJing and start mixing a few tunes."I really like music and a few of my friends were thinking about getting some equipment so I thought why not as it's something that is pretty enjoyable. A few of us went out to Dandenong to DJ City and bought three sets of equipment and for the first couple of months I had them I was on them three to five hours a day. I was always pretty independent, trying to teach myself. I'm not very good though, but I can at least mix two songs together."
The 20-year-old lives with new teammates Dustin Martin and Ben Nason and while they all share the cooking duties, Post claims he is the master chef of the house."My signature dish would have to be baked beef risotto. I probably make it every two weeks at least. I got the recipe out of one of the AIS cook books. I enjoy cooking and I've got a few dishes that are really easy and simple to make and don't take too long. We usually have got stuff for lunch also for the next day."
Master chef isn’t the only title Post holds. He is always looking for new rivals to take him on at FIFA 10 on PlayStation as Martin and Nason aren’t always willing. "Pretty much just FIFA 10, that's all we ever really play. I have to add in that I've got the crown at the moment. Ben pretty much refuses to play now because he can't get close to me or Dustin. But Dustin's got a really short attention span so he struggles to sit down for any extended period of time. He's always got to be up and doing stuff. I can never get him to sit down and play PlayStation for long."
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