UPHOLDING the family legacy.

It was a key focus for teenager Jesse when he walked into IKON Park just over 12 months ago, and if his first year is a sign of what’s to come, he’s well on the way to doing just that. 

Taking stock of his first full season in the AFL environment, Motlop - speaking to Nine News - said 2022 marked a year where he has “grown heaps”, both on and off the field.

This time last year, Motlop was entering a sense of the unknown. Despite having family ties in the AFL dating back to 1999, Jesse was yet to write the first chapter in his senior career. 

Now, with 12 games under his belt, he has cast an eye forward to what’s to come.

“Dad, uncle Shannon, uncle Steven and uncle Marlon have all had their careers,” Motlop said.

“I’m really here to carry on the tradition and do the name proud.”

The Motlop family would’ve been watching on with a fair amount of joy and pride throughout Jesse’s 12 games in 2022, breaking through in the second half of the season to form a key part of Carlton’s forward setup.

Averaging a goal a game and playing in some of the Blues’ biggest games of the season, the experience will no doubt hold Motlop in good stead heading into year two and beyond. 

Not that it’s solely about ticking the goals column over, of course.

“Sometimes as a small forward, you’re not always going to be in the game,” he said.

“What can you bring when you don’t have the ball? I always found my way was pressure, to not only get the team up and about, but to get myself up and about.”

And while he may be part of what’s been dubbed a new age of the Carlton mosquito fleet, Motlop revealed there’s another name doing the rounds at IKON Park for the entire forwards group.

“We call ourselves the ‘carnies’ — it’s a circus act down there,” he said.

“Ash Hansen is the forwards coach and the ringleader who created the name: it has stuck ever since.”