Kieren Jack is continuing a proud family tradition at the SCG, but with a Sherrin instead of a Steeden, writes Daniel Lane. When Barry Hall describes his Sydney teammate Kieren Jack as "courageous" he's referring to a lot more than the midfielder's willingness to put his body on the line to make tackle after crunching tackle.
Hall, who is well aware of Jack's pedigree, insists the 21-year-old's decision to swear his allegiance to Australian football 10 years ago when he was only 11 took plenty of ticker.
"Mate, he's a hard little nut," Hall enthuses. "He does the job for us every week, and his career is coming along very well.
"But he's gutsy, too … Kieren comes from a rugby league family, so to do what he did and choose AFL as his preferred sport is not their tradition - it's not what his dad did - so, he's not just a great player, he's a great story."
Jack, whose father Garry represented Australia in rugby league and whose brother Rhys is an up-and-coming star with NRL club the Bulldogs, is the prize the AFL is craving in its battle to win the hearts and minds of western Sydney - a goldmine of sporting talent the two rugby codes have long taken for granted.
"He's one of the best tacklers in the game," Hall says. "I have no doubt that goes back to when he was a kid because in AFL we don't tackle that much. We kick goals and mark but in rugby league most of the game revolves around tackling, and that adds another dimension to his game."
A talented junior league player, Jack became hooked on the "foreign" code after his first playing experience. He represented his school in the final of the Paul Kelly Cup at the SCG - the sacred turf where his father helped NSW secure their first State of Origin series win against Queensland in 1985 - and deemed it a great "buzz".
"I was spoilt," he says of that first taste. "I was 11. I had no idea of the history of the Swans or even AFL, but to run out on the SCG was very special because I knew my dad had played there for Australia. It was fantastic, and to cap it off I shook Paul Kelly's hand after we won the competition."
While his father occasionally still shakes his head and despairingly asks aloud, "Why AFL, Kieren, why?", he is adamant he won't be the last son to defy family convention and cross codes.
"I think rugby league has a lot to be worried about by the AFL threat," he says. "For the AFL to really have a hold in Sydney it needs a second team and they're really pushing for that to happen.
"I think they're being very smart in what they're trying to do. They've picked the right time to try to expand; they have a scholarship program where they're enticing talented athletes to come across and train with an AFL club, and hopefully that'll lead them into the draft. And it's working because I understand they are leaving their sports to try AFL."
Jack's management group, Titan, has traditionally been strong in representing rugby league players - its stable includes Karmichael Hunt, Paul Gallen, Israel Folau and Craig Fitzgibbon - but even it has conceded Sydney's potential as an AFL market is too strong to ignore.
"The Swans have shown the way, and the AFL as an economy and as a league is very strong," says Brett Hollitt of Titan Management.
"With Sydney's population, you'd have to expect it can grow, and that'll give more youngsters from NSW more of an opportunity to play."
For all the raps Jack has so far received, the midfielder says he is only now starting to control the butterflies that have been known to riot in his stomach before kick-off.
"I vividly remember my first game in Melbourne last year," he says.
"I was in a room by myself at the Crown Casino, and I didn't get much sleep because I kept waking up throughout the night; I was sweating and I was worrying about different things that could happen in the game … the different scenarios.
"And that first game lived up to everything I was worried about. Those scenarios that kept me up during the night definitely did happen. I can remember how quick the play was; the intensity was a different level to what I was used to; the roar of the crowd was incredible.
"I'd never heard anything like it before - it was a long way from the Canberra competition where we [the Swans reserves] played in front of a couple of hundred people.
"But I loved it, and it has become a little bit easier because I know what to expect, and I'm prepared for it."
Two old hands have taken it in turns to nurture the rookie Swan, and he is benefiting from their hard-earned lessons and wisdom.
"Brett Kirk took on the job this year of mentoring me, and previous to that I had Jared Crouch," he said. "They're two players I respect enormously. They're great, but they aren't the two most naturally talented players about and I'm in that category .. but what they've both taught me is the value of dedication, commitment and backing up week in, week out. That's been great for me."