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WESTERN Bulldogs father-son selection Lachie Hunter has the potential to be three times better than his father.
So says the father himself, Mark Hunter, who played 130 games - including six as acting captain, and three finals - for the Dogs from 1988-96.
Mark Hunter, now 47, spoke to AFL.com.au as he dropped Lachie back at school in Williamstown on Monday afternoon, soon after the youngster was snapped up by his beloved Bulldogs with their third-round selection in this year's NAB AFL Draft (currently pick No. 46).
Lachie is the same height as his father (181cms) and is already a kilogram heavier (78kgs) than his playing weight.
Asked whether he sees much of himself in his son as a player, Mark Hunter said: "He's a different type of player, but he's got a lot of advantages over his old man. He's a left-footer, he's got good goal sense and he kicks a lot more goals than I ever did; whereas I was a right-footer and played mainly down back.
"He also won the agility test at the draft camp, which I would never have done.
"I hope he's bloody three times the player I was."
The proud father was "rapt" that his son would follow in his footsteps to Whitten Oval. But the process wasn't without its stresses. If a rival club had made a bid for Hunter and the Bulldogs weren't willing to take him with their next pick, he would have gone elsewhere. So Monday's news was met with great relief among the Hunter camp.
"The Bulldogs always expressed interest in him, so you hoped he'd end up there," Mark Hunter said. "And because they had a pretty ordinary season, they had early picks, so the way the draft (order) fell, there was a good chance he'd go there. But just to hear it and have it confirmed was a big relief."
The teenager is already familiar with the inner sanctum at Whitten Oval, having spent several training stints there as part of the club's father-son program.
"They've been great with him along the way and I'm sure it will help his transition because he knows a lot of the staff and quite a few of the players, and he's seen them train in pre-season so he knows how hard it'll be," his father said.
Mark coached Lachie at Williamstown juniors from under-9s to under-16s, for all but the 2006-07 seasons when he was a runner for the Bulldogs.
"We've got a great relationship, especially when it comes to footy," Mark said. "As his coach, I obviously spoke to him about his game along the way, and he's a really good listener.
"We always have a chat in the car on the way home. If you suggest something about his game that wasn't so good on the day, he never arks up and says, 'That's rubbish'; he might say, 'What do you mean by that?' and you explain it and he goes away and works on it. That's one of the traits that will hold him in good stead for his AFL career."
Much like his father, he won’t be going out of his way to attract attention.
"He doesn't say a lot; he's fairly reserved. He's not someone who'll be trying to grab headlines. He's well aware of his weaknesses and what he needs to improve, and I've seen him work on those things bit by bit. He knows it's only the start and that he needs to keep improving."
So will young Hunter make his AFL debut next season?
"That would be an absolute bonus," his father said. "You see under-18s and you realise how far they are away from AFL football, and I think it takes a while for them to get used to the system - unless you’re a higher draft pick like a Mitch Wallis or a Tom Liberatore."
With his son joining these Dogs father-son selections, Mark Hunter is enthusiastic about the future.
"It's great to watch the 'Libba', Wallis and Cordy boys," he said. "They're certainly the future of the Bulldogs and I look forward to sitting in the stands with their fathers and having a beer together after games."
WESTERN Bulldogs father-son selection Lachie Hunter has the potential to be three times better than his father.
So says the father himself, Mark Hunter, who played 130 games - including six as acting captain, and three finals - for the Dogs from 1988-96.
Mark Hunter, now 47, spoke to AFL.com.au as he dropped Lachie back at school in Williamstown on Monday afternoon, soon after the youngster was snapped up by his beloved Bulldogs with their third-round selection in this year's NAB AFL Draft (currently pick No. 46).
Lachie is the same height as his father (181cms) and is already a kilogram heavier (78kgs) than his playing weight.
Asked whether he sees much of himself in his son as a player, Mark Hunter said: "He's a different type of player, but he's got a lot of advantages over his old man. He's a left-footer, he's got good goal sense and he kicks a lot more goals than I ever did; whereas I was a right-footer and played mainly down back.
"He also won the agility test at the draft camp, which I would never have done.
"I hope he's bloody three times the player I was."
The proud father was "rapt" that his son would follow in his footsteps to Whitten Oval. But the process wasn't without its stresses. If a rival club had made a bid for Hunter and the Bulldogs weren't willing to take him with their next pick, he would have gone elsewhere. So Monday's news was met with great relief among the Hunter camp.
"The Bulldogs always expressed interest in him, so you hoped he'd end up there," Mark Hunter said. "And because they had a pretty ordinary season, they had early picks, so the way the draft (order) fell, there was a good chance he'd go there. But just to hear it and have it confirmed was a big relief."
The teenager is already familiar with the inner sanctum at Whitten Oval, having spent several training stints there as part of the club's father-son program.
"They've been great with him along the way and I'm sure it will help his transition because he knows a lot of the staff and quite a few of the players, and he's seen them train in pre-season so he knows how hard it'll be," his father said.
Mark coached Lachie at Williamstown juniors from under-9s to under-16s, for all but the 2006-07 seasons when he was a runner for the Bulldogs.
"We've got a great relationship, especially when it comes to footy," Mark said. "As his coach, I obviously spoke to him about his game along the way, and he's a really good listener.
"We always have a chat in the car on the way home. If you suggest something about his game that wasn't so good on the day, he never arks up and says, 'That's rubbish'; he might say, 'What do you mean by that?' and you explain it and he goes away and works on it. That's one of the traits that will hold him in good stead for his AFL career."
Much like his father, he won’t be going out of his way to attract attention.
"He doesn't say a lot; he's fairly reserved. He's not someone who'll be trying to grab headlines. He's well aware of his weaknesses and what he needs to improve, and I've seen him work on those things bit by bit. He knows it's only the start and that he needs to keep improving."
So will young Hunter make his AFL debut next season?
"That would be an absolute bonus," his father said. "You see under-18s and you realise how far they are away from AFL football, and I think it takes a while for them to get used to the system - unless you’re a higher draft pick like a Mitch Wallis or a Tom Liberatore."
With his son joining these Dogs father-son selections, Mark Hunter is enthusiastic about the future.
"It's great to watch the 'Libba', Wallis and Cordy boys," he said. "They're certainly the future of the Bulldogs and I look forward to sitting in the stands with their fathers and having a beer together after games."
We could even send our players to the Olympic village every four years with dodgy contraception. How's that for taking initiative?
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