In 2014, AFL.com.au's Going Places series tracked four players through the year on their way to the draft. This week, we check in to see how each has handled his debut season.
Fremantle did not allow Lachie Weller to be interviewed for this piece.
JUDE Weller found it hard to concentrate on the game. Fremantle was playing Greater Western Sydney, but for the first three quarters, she spent most of the time looking at the bench.
Her youngest son, Lachie, was in the Dockers' substitute vest, and she could tell he was desperate to get involved. "The number of times he warmed up, stretched and got his calves rubbed, I thought he'd get out on the ground and collapse," Jude said.
Instead, he ran. He got a mark, then a handball and then a kick within seconds of getting on the ground, the home crowd greeting his entrance with cheers. In fact, each one of his eight disposals inspired a roar.
He knew people were interested in his footy. Since being drafted last year by the Dockers with pick No.13, the classy midfielder would often go somewhere in Perth and have a Freo fan come up and ask, 'When are you going to get a game?' He didn't quite know the answer or how to respond.
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He wanted to say "as soon as possible", because Weller had wanted to play in the AFL since he started dressing up in Richmond gear as a five-year-old, commentating himself as he kicked goals in his backyard in Tasmania. And when the time finally came for his first game, two weeks ago, he was ready.
"He was so calm before it," his mum said. "We went to breakfast with him and he knew what he had to do. Afterwards, he just said 'I loved it, I loved every part of it'."
Weller is rarely daunted. The past few years he has closely watched older brother Maverick navigate the challenging AFL world – he’s joined a club, been delisted, and then found another.
Since being cut by Gold Coast, Mav has established himself in St Kilda's midfield, and he offered Lachie some advice for his first few weeks as a Docker.
"I said, as a leader at the Saints, I want young kids to come in and be grounded. I want them to be really confident on the training track but in the back of their mind, they have to come in and earn respect," Mav said.
"Lachie didn't really need to hear that, because he's such a level-headed kid. He was always going to work really hard and not say too much."
Lachie Weller didn't fear moving interstate to pursue his footy. He grew up in Tasmania before moving to the Gold Coast, so he knew there was every chance he would not be staying home.
Three days after the Dockers chose him, Jude drove him to Coolangatta airport as he started his footy adventure. "That car ride was awful. It was so quiet, we barely spoke," Jude said.
"But he was ready to go. He wasn't disappointed one little bit. He had mates who didn't get picked up, so he was happy to move wherever."
Lachie Weller leaves the field after his AFL debut. Picture: AFL Media
He found training levels higher than he had previously encountered, but that didn't worry him. He was already very fit; when the Dockers measured his skinfolds upon his arrival, he was in the best handful of players. The club placed a big emphasis on Weller putting on weight, and he did, gradually, adding five or six kilos in time.
His footy was good, and in the WAFL for Peel Thunder he showed the zip and foot skills that made him an early choice. He did well in the midfield, was used across half-forward, and at times at half-back. The Dockers liked his work ethic, and determination to push himself.
But Fremantle is reluctant to gift games, and the Dockers have held top spot for the majority of the season. Weller knew it wasn't going to be easy to sneak into the line-up.
"He didn't get frustrated by having to wait," Mav said. "It's been a great apprenticeship for him. He earned his stripes and then got a crack at it."
Last week, in his second game, Lachie played against his brother, who managed to cut off his second kick, intended for a leading Freo forward. The moment left Lachie feeling like he was in the backyard again.
Off the field, he has found his first year away from home a breeze. He spent a few weeks living with teammate Lee Spurr, before joining fellow draftee Ed Langdon in a host family set-up organised by the club.
A couple of months ago, Weller, Langdon and another first-year Docker, Connor Blakely, moved into their own place closer to Fremantle.
Weller misses his family – his parents now live in Melbourne near Mav, and his eldest brother Tyson is based in Queensland – but he likes Perth and his girlfriend Nicola will soon move over.
"He was ready for that bit of independence, and the opportunity came up to move out with Ed and Connor, and the club was fine about it," Jude said.
"They've got a table tennis table out the back so there's a bit of a challenge going on there most nights, and wherever they can scab a meal they do, sometimes even taking the leftovers from the Fremantle cafeteria.
"They have a big whiteboard up with a roster for who's cooking and cleaning, and if it's your turn to cook you need to have started by 6pm, otherwise they start eating too late," she said.
Weller already had a pretty clear picture of what an AFL career would involve, how consuming it would be but also how satisfying it could be. Year one hasn't disappointed.
"We speak every day," his mum said. "I can hear in his voice that he's really happy."
