No wind-up Jake!

By JARROD POTTER
AFTER being overlooked too often for representative duties, Jake Calvert finally gained his chance to play for Vic Country on Friday and made the most of the chance.
He was a surprise omission for the first three matches of the AFL under-18s championships – despite an impressive start to the TAC Cup season – but Calvert, 19, from Narre Warren, wasted no time making the right impressions at Simonds Stadium, Geelong, in Vic Country’s clash against Vic Metro.
Ever the joker and prankster himself, Calvert thought when he received his selection call-up that it was one of his mates getting one over him.
When he found out it was a legit call, Calvert couldn’t believe it.
“I found out on Monday morning,” Calvert said. “Leon Harris gave me a call and at first I thought it was someone playing a prank on me.
“I called him back and it was Leon and my heart was racing… it was one of the most exciting things that has ever happened to me.
“It was probably the best feeling ever and every night I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
Calvert took a while to find his feet before shifting the match in Country’s favour in the third quarter – kicking two crucial goals and snaring four massive marks.
“The first half I had like one touch and wasn’t really getting involved too much,” Calvert said.
“Went deeper forward and the third quarter I kicked two goals and had four marks.
“Last quarter again snared a few marks and then got pushed up into the ruck for a bit more of a chance to run around.”
Despite the quiet first half, Calvert thought his third and fourth quarters were strong enough to book his spot into tonight’s (Wednesday) final championship match against South Australia at Etihad Stadium.
“I thought I did my job… kick goals and I did what I had to do and just tried my best and enjoyed it,” Calvert said.
“Got a rough idea… pretty sure I’m playing on Wednesday… deep forward again and might go back into the ruck depending on how the midfield went.
“I’m pretty excited for that one.”
Vic Country kicks off against South Australia at 3.35pm today at Etihad Stadium, with the match also televised on Fox Sports.