Western Jets prodigy Daniel Venables comes from impressive football bloodlines.
Johnny Lewis, his great grandfather, was a former North Melbourne captain-coach, 10-times Victorian representative, club best-and-fairest and twice leading goalkicker.
Fred Robinson, his grandfather, played for North Melbourne and came third in a VFA JJ Liston Trophy count with Brunswick.
Peter Venables, his father, moved over from South Australia as a youngster and made it onto the Collingwood under-19 list.
And while Daniel Venables is proud of his forefathers, he’s hellbent on making his own way in the game.
The 17-year-old from Taylors Lakes left an almighty impression on Vic Metro at last month’s under-18 national championships.
Not only did he walk away a champion after the Big V went through the tournament undefeated, but he collected All Australian honours for a consistent carnival. “I’m just happy that we ended up winning the carnival,” Venables told Star Weekly.
“I think we played four games in 17 days, with a trip to Adelaide as well, so it was pretty hectic and full on, but it was an awesome experience.
Venables made an impact in every game for Vic Metro. Even when he didn’t rack up a stack of possessions, he found a way to provide meaningful contributions.
“I just did the team thing,” he said.
“I take pride in not losing a contested ball and just going in hard, not backing down.
“If you’re not going to have your best game possession-wise, you can always impact the game by being physical, being around the ball and putting pressure on.”
The best moment for Venables came in game one. With Vic Metro trailing Vic Country by a kick, the ball was rushed into the forward line where Venables was there to mark.
“A lot of people dream when they’re young of kicking a winning goal, and I just felt relaxed, kicked through it and luckily it went through,” he said.
It went down to the last game before Vic Metro clinched the title. Metro had to beat WA at Simonds Stadium for the cup and, as with its previous three matches, it was a closely fought game.
“None of the games were easy,” Venables said, “but we knew that if we played our best footy we’d always have the legs to run home with it, and we showed that in all four games.”
Venables will return to the Jets and his school team PEGS a better player for this experience.
“I’ll take a lot of confidence out of representing Vic Metro and being all-Australian,” Venables said. “It’s a pretty proud achievement and something you can hang your hat on.”
But in the TAC Cup on Sunday, Western Jets missed their chance to jump into the top eight, losing a close contest to North Ballarat Rebels by 10 points at Stawell.
