The arrival of Adelaide’s newest recruits has brought back fond memories for Jake Lever.
It was only 12 months ago that Lever and fellow draftees Harrison Wigg, Mitch McGovern and Harry Dear joined the Crows, along with rookies Reilly O’Brien, Keenan Ramsey and Anthony Wilson.
Over the past week, Wayne Milera, Tom Doedee, Paul Hunter and Jono Beech started their journeys at the Club. This followed the introduction of Trade Period pick-ups Dean Gore, Paul Seedsman, Curtly Hampton and Troy Menzel, and also Category-B rookies Hugh Greenwood and Alex Keath.
Lever said he could empathise with his new teammates.
“I feel for them a little bit. They’re all sort of a bit quiet and I understand exactly how they’re feeling,” he said.
“I saw the video of the boys at the airport arriving and I got tingles down my spine because I remember that feeling last year, the excitement and just looking forward to training on that first day. I think a couple of the boys had to run the 2km time trial on Monday. Fortunately, I didn’t have to run a time trial the first day I got here!
“They’ve seemed to fit in really well and I’m looking forward to getting to know them.”
Watch the interview with Jake above as part of our ‘Recruits’ video series
Lever has a lot in common with Doedee.
Like Lever, Doedee is a Victorian, a first-round pick and a defender. If they haven’t already, the pair will also soon discover that they share the same thirst for competition, and loathe losing.
Lever, 19, was quick to reach out to the Geelong Falcon.
“I rang Tom the night he got drafted. I reckon if I could’ve seen him through the phone, his smile would’ve been from ear to ear,” Lever said.
“He couldn’t stop laughing on the phone and was just so up and about. That’s exactly how I was. I got around him early on in a group situation and he’s been really good.
“I’m looking forward to, hopefully, playing alongside him.”
Lever also got to know Adelaide’s first selection in the 2015 National Draft, Central District livewire Wayne Milera, on draft night.
“I don’t think Wayne has stopped smiling,” Lever said.
“On draft night, I had dinner with Wayne and his family. I’ll tell you, when he woke up the next morning he would’ve had very sore cheeks from all the smiling!”
Lever and his fellow ‘second-year’ players are incredibly close. The group holidayed together in Bali over the break, and McGovern, Dear and O’Brien recently moved in together.
“Playing with those guys early on last season, you really get to form bonds and especially the Victorian kids, like Harry Dear, Reilly O’Brien and myself,” Lever said.
“You’re sort of in the same situation. Then you’ve got blokes like Keenan Ramsey and ‘Wiggy’ who have that support base in Adelaide, which you can live off a bit as well.
“We’re a really tight-knit group and I think the first-year players at the moment are seeming like they’ll form that same sort of friendship as well.”
