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WIMMERA footballers Adam Goodes and Jake Lloyd will chase AFL football’s ultimate prize at the MCG on Saturday.
Horsham products Goodes, 34, and Lloyd, 21, will play for Sydney in the AFL grand final against Hawthorn.
Goodes – a 350-game veteran and winner of dual Brownlow medals – is no stranger to big occasions, having played in winning grand finals in 2005 and 2012.
He also played in a one-point loss in 2006.
It is Lloyd’s first grand final appearance in his second season with Sydney.
However he has played in five consecutive premierships – four with home club Horsham from 2009 to 2012 and one with Sydney’s reserves in the NEAFL eastern conference in 2013.
The hard-working midfielder, who was overlooked in two national drafts before being picked up by the Swans in last year’s rookie draft, said playing in a grand final was a dream come true.
“I definitely didn’t imagine I’d come this far,” Lloyd said.
“At the start of the year I just wanted to play a game of AFL football. I was given that opportunity in round five and I guess that’s all it was for me.
“I just wanted to grab it with both hands and I’ve been able to do that up until this date.
"I’m really excited for the weekend. It’s another game of football but there’s obviously a lot more on the line.”
“I just wanted to grab it with both hands and I’ve been able to do that up until this date.''
- Jake Lloyd
Lloyd made his AFL debut in round five and has kept his place in the side since, while Goodes has not missed a game after returning from injury in round six.
The Swans have lost two of 20 games since Lloyd debuted and will start as favourites on Saturday.
The sides have met twice this season. The Swans triumphed by 19 points in round eight, before the Hawks responded with a 10-point win in round 18.
Lloyd said he was up to the challenge of performing on the big stage.
“You sit around home when you’re younger and you watch these grand finals, and I think I’ll be able to handle it,” he said.
“I think I’m just going to have to swivel the head a little bit more this week because I’m not going to be able to hear the boys around me too easily.”
Lloyd wants to continue what he has been focusing on throughout the year – playing his role for the Swans.
Goodes, the AFL’s indigenous games record-holder, will look to pick up where he left off at the weekend after booting three goals in the Swans’ thumping preliminary final victory against North Melbourne.
The tall forward is expected to line up alongside fellow talls Lance Franklin, Kurt Tippett and Sam Reid in a star-studded Swans forward line.
Both Goodes and Lloyd hope to add to their families’ collections of premierships this year.
Goodes’ brothers Brett and Jake both played in premiership teams.
Brett starred in Footscray’s VFL triumph and Jake played in Swifts’ Horsham District league victory.
Lloyd’s brother Billy played in Horsham’s senior Wimmera league win, while sister Paige played in the Demons’ A Grade netball victory.
The AFL grand final starts at 2.30pm.
