Like most seven years olds, Jaensch told his Dad he wanted to play football at the elite level and he pursued the dream through his junior years.
But an off field incident three years ago saw Jaensch dropped from the State U18s side and he then missed out on getting drafted that year.
A solid pre-season and faith shown from Sturt senior coach Luke Norman last year enabled the 20-year-old to be selected by Adelaide in the 2009 rookie draft.
Jaensch’s debut in Showdown XXVIII was the just reward for a lesson he had learnt throughout the journey.
“I think if you want something bad enough you get it, and that has always been a goal of mine. I have always wanted to play AFL and I wanted it bad enough, so I got it,” said Jaensch, who became the sixth Crow this year to make his debut.
“There was a bit of doubt in my mind but I just tried to work hard and I sat down with some people that were pretty important to me and I just set out some goals and just worked really hard on some things off field and on field.
“I have corrected them now so obviously I just keep working hard and hopefully I can hold my spot in the team.”
Upgraded two weeks ago off the rookie list as a cover for the injured Patrick Dangerfield, Jaensch was an emergency for the round six clash with the Bulldogs after a number of dominant performances for Sturt in the SANFL.
He gathered 11 disposals and seven marks against Port Adelaide in an encouraging debut and is a chance to retain his place in the side.
He admitted to some nerves during Saturday’s clash and rued some mistakes during the third term but said he was better for the experience.
“I was pretty nervous and in the third quarter made some uncharacteristic mistakes. My skills are something that I like to think I’m pretty good at and to make those mistakes was disappointing and I made one after the other and that built the pressure.
“But it was a great experience to be out there and I live and learn and next time I get a game whether it’s this week or in a few weeks time hopefully I have learnt from it.”
