Nobody can deny the Northampton Football Club has bred some of the finest footballers in the country, from key forward Josh Kennedy to speedster Jamie Cripps.
Also hailing from the Rams is two-time All-Australian Harry Taylor (Geelong), and AFLPA MVP Patrick Cripps (Carlton), giving the Mid-West outfit some strong credibility when it comes to producing AFL stars.
But this leaves many questioning how they do it; could it be their lush green oval overlooked by rolling hills? Their strongly-instilled community values? Or perhaps there’s simply something in the water…
“People say lead,” President of the Northampton Junior Football Club, Chad Smith, laughed.
“But nah, not really, a lot can be stemmed back to the Cripps family, sort of trace a few of them back through there, like the Lockyers (Andrew) and the Cripps, stuff like that.
“They love footy and are farmers, built tough and love to play the game.”
And he’s not wrong, with Jamie Cripps and Josh Kennedy carving out stellar West Coast careers.
“’Crippa’ was good, and he was always going to be good,” Smith recalls.
“I said to him when he made AFL level he had to wear the number four, which was my number at that stage, he always said he would and he didn’t,” he laughed.
“But he was unreal. He’d just run down the wing, and had a work rate that was unbelievable, his defensive forward was there as a kid, he never shirked the contest, he went hard and he could kick it from anywhere.
“Give it to ‘Crippa’ and you knew he was going to kick it, even as a kid stepping up into league, so it was unbelievable playing with him.”
Kennedy and Cripps also treasure their Northampton days, relishing the opportunity to give back to the community whenever possible.
Both players filmed a pre-recorded message which was played at the club in front of a 50-strong group of very excitable children.
Later, Kennedy and Shannon Hurn dialled in live, to give players and parents alike the opportunity to have a chat with two of West Coast’s most prominent figures.
“It’s pretty special, the kids here are used to ‘JK’ (Josh Kennedy), they see him down at Horrocks at Christmas time and stuff like that, it’s pretty special for them to look up to a guy who’s been exactly where they are now, and follow him through,” Smith said.
“He’s such a humble bloke, he’ll talk to any of them, give any of them some time, so it’s going to be great that they get to sit there and have a small interaction with him and ‘Bunga’ (Shannon Hurn) on the screen."
“I sent the text out yesterday and we just had overwhelming people want to come see West Coast, we’re a West Coast town.”
The image mirroring that of Geraldton which produced Eagles small forward, Liam Ryan.
“I think Liam’s a great story, because even though he didn’t finish school, he found his pathway through,” Director of Geraldton Clontarf Academy, Karl Pirrottina said.
“He caught up with a few of our staff while he was still playing down in ‘Subi’ (Subiaco), they helped him get some structure in his life as well.
“He’s fantastic, obviously he’s got a lot of family here in ‘Gero’ (Geraldton), the boys love watching him and if he does come to town we try and get him here to tell his story, because I reckon it’s a great one.”
Jamaine Jones also joining in the conversation with the students of Geraldton Clontarf, in a live question and answer session which provided insight into his regional upbringing and Eagles debut.
“Having someone like ‘JJ’ (Jamaine Jones) to come in and just show them that you can be really confident, and set your goals and reach your dreams,” Pirrottina smiled.
“He was a crack up, you can see he’s got a bit of spunk about him as well, it’s just good to have that personal interaction for blokes and for him to send that message to the boys is great.”
