JED Lamb has plenty to play for. Out of contract at season’s end, it’s not overstating the point to say that the boy from Poowong North is playing for his football life.
But Jed is nothing if not resilient. As the second youngest of eight children, he has learned to live with deep personal hardship – none greater than at age six when his father Colin was brutally taken, leaving Lamb’s mother Kerrie to somehow fend for him and his seven siblings.
The game of life has demanded infinitely more of Lamb than the game itself – and yet the 25-year-old, now at his third club after stints with Sydney and GWS, is mindful of his football mortality more than most.
While he’s not one to be trawling Twitter or the like and he contends that he does carry a thick skin, Lamb does not underplay the adverse impact of social media upon League footballers generally, particularly when it’s personal. He saw it happen with his old Sydney teammate Adam Goodes and as he said: “I’m only human, I feel it as well”.
But football very much remains the focus for the bloke in the No.13.
“By no means do I think I have cemented my spot in the team,” Lamb said. “I’m out of contract this year, but I’m not too worried about that. All I can worry about is playing good footy week in week out. I’m looking forward to giving it a crack these last few weeks and the rest can take care of itself.”
For, Lamb family and friends are his safety mechanism, as is Carlton. “At the end of the day the only people I care about is the people who think of me – my family, my partner, her family and people within the four walls of Carlton,” he said.
But there is also someone else within Lamb’s close circle. A kid named Willy who Jed took under the wing when he was going around for the Swans.
Lamb met Willy at a footy clinic, gave the boy a little of his time “and like most kids do (with footballers) the young bloke just clung to me”.
On learning that Willy was experiencing difficulties at school, Lamb resolved to help if and where he could. Willy in turn followed his favourite player on the journey, from the SCG to Spotless Stadium, and on to Ikon Park.
“I’m in regular contact with Willy and his family – they’re really nice people,” Lamb said. “I chat to Willy about school because he gets bullied a bit which is really sad. He looks up to me so I try to help him. He’s been down to a few games to see me and I’ve got him down to the rooms.
“He’s a good little kid and it’s nice to give something back. I remember when I was a little kid the Carlton footballers used to come down - Kade Simpson and Setanta o’hAilpin amongst them.”
Jed Lamb with his young friend Willy in the Carlton rooms. (Photo: Supplied)
It is here that Lamb’s softer side comes through - and with it his genuine empathy for others - like another old Swans contemporary Gary Rohan and his partner Amie who lost one of their infant twins, and are never too far from his thoughts.
A further moment in time impacted on Lamb also, as he revealed in volunteering the name of his last book read, The Diary of Anne Frank.
“I went to Amsterdam four years ago now with my then teammate at the Giants Tom Downie,” Lamb explained.
“We found the house where the Frank family hid and tried to survive in incredible circumstances during the war. I bought the book on the flight on my way home and it’s the only book I have really.”
Lamb’s selfless attitude is not lost on those with whom he shares locker room space, in a football calendar year which has proved trying to say the least.
“We’re a tight-knit group and even though everyone, media included, is coming after us it’s going to hold us in good stead. We’re up and about, we love coming to work and the plan is to get a few wins on the board and to smile after the game . . . and we want to have a bit of fun out there as well.”
Jed Lamb, pictured embracing Kade Simpson, says the Blues are a tight-knit group. (Photo: AFL Media)
So it was, out on the dewy deck at Metricon on Saturday night, that a good time was had by all - J. Lamb included - in that meritorious 35-point victory over Gold Coast.
In the company of Curnow, Dow, Marchbank, McKay, O’Brien and Weitering, old heads like Lamb are first-hand witnesses to the emergence of Carlton’s department of youth. He’s been around long enough to understand the pain experienced by supporters who commit week in week out to a 154 year-old institution rich in history, but he reminds that the players to a man are unwavering in their commitment to return the Club to the competition’s upper echelons – so count him in.
On the eve of this Sunday’s match with his former club at Etihad Stadium, Jed Lamb responded to the following series of questions put to him.
First memory
My first memory would have to be kicking a footy in the backyard with my brothers and sisters in Poowong North.
Country life
I loved country life and I still love getting home to be honest. I’m a country boy at heart. Mum said that when I was a kid I was always the one with gum boots on. I loved playing in the mud and I always had a footy in my hand. I grew up on the farm in Poowong North and I was always out and about there planting trees and doing whatnot.
We lived on this 165-acre property called Mountain View with windy roads and big cliffs. We looked after race horses and Clydesdales. I also remember going camping at Barmah State Forrest, catch brumbies and bring them back home. My brother and I used to jump on the back of them to try to break them in.
A best mate of my Mum’s partner at the time had a horse and cart business down in Melbourne and as a young kid I used to come to Melbourne and spend a night with him on the carts in the city. A funny story, a couple of the bloke’s mates used to glue a two dollar coin to the footpath in Swanston Street and you’d sit there all night watching people trying to pick it up as they walked past.
Do you take an interest on the number on your back?
There’s some names on the No.13 locker – some good players who have gone before me like Vin Gardiner, ‘Chooka’ Howell, Graham Donaldson and Mil Hanna. But I’m still trying to make the No.13 my own to be honest and the number is something I’ll reflect on when I’m not playing anymore.
Funniest moment seen on a football field
I was playing VFL earlier this year against North Melbourne at Werribee when Harry and Ben McKay met each other between each team’s huddle at quarter-time and no-one knew what they were doing. What happened was that I’d earlier knocked Benny in the eye and somehow dislodged his contact lens. Now Ben didn’t bring any spares and was obviously having trouble seeing, so Harry, who also wears contact lenses, retrieved a couple of spares from his bag in the visitors’ room and ran back out to hand them to him. Me and the players reminded Harry that he cost the team an advantage in doing that, but blood is thicker than water I suppose.
If you had to best describe yourself as a footballer what would you say?
Pest. Team player.
And as a person?
Family-oriented, one of eight.
Best mate at Carlton?
Sam Kerridge or Harry McKay. I lived with Harry for a couple of years and babysat him, so maybe I was a bit of a mentor to him. He moved in with me in a house in Caulfield after a couple of years with his host family. He couldn’t cook or clean but he was a good fellow to have around the house.
Most underrated Carlton player?
Ed Curnow. I love the way he goes about it. He scraps, does all the team things really well and he’s a hard-at-it bull in the midfield.
Best player seen in the game?
I’d have to say Adam Goodes. I saw how explosive he was and how he could turn a game on its head. I’m probably a bit biased, but having played with him I just liked the way he went about it
Can you mention something we don’t know about you?
As one of eight brothers and sisters I have 18 nieces and nephews – and I’m the only one of eight who doesn’t have a kid. I became an uncle when I was about five.
Any superstitions?
I always tape my left wrist. I don’t know why, but I did it when I was younger, played a good game and stuck with it. I usually include the words “Tackle”, “pressure” or “chase” – the typical one percenters I go with every week.
Last movie seen?
Love, Simon. A drama, quite heavy in part, but uplifting at the end.
Have you ever delved into your own family history, of where your people originally came from?
No I haven’t and wanting to find out absolutely interests me.
Where do you want to be 12 months from now?
Definitely still at the Carlton Football Club, particularly after the past two or three hard years we’ve put in. Although the year hasn’t gone according to plan I’m still determined, I still love coming to the Club and I still enjoy being part of the Club family.
Got a gag?
Actually I do have one, and it’s football-related. “Why can’t a car play footy? It’s only got one boot”.
