Swans to win it all on a pair of Jacks

Kieren Jack ducks and weaves with the ball during a Swans training session at Lakeside Oval. Source: Getty Images

THEIR backyard footy games were brutal and would almost always end with Brandon Jack in tears.

"Head high contacts were in,'' Kieren said. "You could tackle on the pavement. There was no ref.''

So a bruised and tearful Brandon, usually after the first try, would run inside to his mother, while big brother would run down the street in fear.

"Because I knew I would cop a verbal serve from mum,'' Kieren said. "(She would say) you're a bully, Kieren. You should look after him.''

The two brothers sit at ANZ Stadium now and laugh about those old rugby league games in the backyard. These days, both are playing AFL for the Sydney Swans and living a very different dream.

"It is incredible,'' Kieren said. "It rarely happens that brothers play top-line sport together, let alone the same club.

"I feel like I can mentor Brandon a little bit, but he is going to find his own path.''

Kieren Jack is a premiership player, a club champion and was named co-captain of the Swans last week. The 25-year-old has served as an inspiration to not only 18-year-old Brandon but for all aspiring young AFL footballers.

As a teenager, Kieren was often told he wasn't good enough and remembers one representative coach telling him to give up.

"If I had listened to what people told me throughout my childhood, I would not be playing AFL,'' he said.

"There were so many people who told me I was never going to be good enough. They told me I was too short. They told me my skills were no good.
 
"But I just used it as fuel to motivate me. My first couple of years on the Swans list, I was a fair bit behind the rest of the pack. I was on a one-year rookie list deal. I had to work my butt off to stay at the club.

"I had this vision, I wanted to get there. It was brutal, but I wasn't going to let anyone tell me I couldn't (make it)."

Brandon has endured a similar path to the Swans' rookie list.

The 1.82m teenager is blessed with the same speed as his brother, but he was also rejected by representative teams.

"I didn't take much notice because I knew if I worked hard, I could get there," Brandon said.

"It is just great I have got on the list and I will try to do everything I can to get a first-grade game."

Brandon's determination not only saw him break into the club last year but earn sufficient marks to study combined law at the Universityjlof NSW.

Kieren marvels at his brother's ability to balance his academic goals with football.

"To be honest, he has been extraordinary the way he handled school and football. He is in a very fortunate position now where he can do whatever he wants," Kieren said.

"The silly bugger wants to play football."

The third part of this football dynasty is father Garry.

The former rugby league legend always speaks with pride about his boys, but there is no shortage of debate as he tells them he could have made it in the AFL, too.

"Brandon and I tell him he didn't have the skill and the fitness to play," Kieren joked. Brandon added: "I tell him he's a has-been. And he replies, 'Well, at least I was'. He still holds that over me.

"He says he will listen to us when we play as many first-grade games as he did. Kieren is about halfway there. I have 244 to get before I can tell him to shut up."

Kieren last week also signed a three-year deal with the Swans and sponsors are flocking to him. ANZ Stadium have made him an official ambassador, as have AFL NSW. He has also recently signed deals with Umbra, Rebel Sport and Nokia.

So what about those old days in the backyard?

It took around 10 years, but Brandon recently got his revenge on Kieren.

"There was a sparring session (at training). They call it a bar-room brawl, where everyone is in - it is a free-for-all and there were about 20 players down there," Kieren said.

"I was sparring with Lewis Jetta when I copped a big roundhouse punch from behind into my stomach. I turned around and it was little Brandon with a big grin on his face.

"His punches have certainly got a bit harder from when he was a seven-year-old kid."

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