Jack Dadd's presence was felt from his first game of footy in the senior competition and, for the commencement of the AFL North West season on Saturday, the 16-year-old was again in the thick of the action.
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Against the reigning premiers, Dadd kicked six goals for the Kangaroos to add to his highlights reel in his short senior career.
The Oxley High student kicked four goals in his senior debut against the Suns last year and bagged 10 against Inverell in round nine but he's not keeping count.
Dadd admits to not staying on top of those things when he's out on the field, he's just happy to be out there playing footy.
"It was pretty good. Good to get out and on the field again, good to see that our pre-season really paid off," he said of Saturday's win over Gunnedah at Wolseley Oval.
While he's no stranger to kicking goals in the junior ranks, it's become his main job with the move from the ruck into the forward line.
"I just try to feed the forwards as much as possible," Dadd said of his role in the Tamworth Roosters under 17s side.
He added: "It's good to have a run in the middle but it's always fun to kick goals."
While Dadd's season will be mainly "built around seniors", he will split his time between the junior and senior competitions.
The youngster savours every chance he gets to wear the Kangaroos jersey after following in the footsteps of his immediate family.
Father Jon, mother Sarah and sisters Maddy and Amelia have all worn the blue and white.
With the club so ingrained in his family, the lines between the two blur to an extent.
"I guess they're sort of like your family. We're a very tight bunch. They are just a good bunch of blokes," Dadd said of the Kangaroos.
A number of players he has come through the ranks with at the Roosters are also with him in the first grade side now.
Players like Luke Sing, Bill Tydd and, the youngest of the lot, Josh Vallender who made his debut on the weekend.
"It's pretty good [to play with other Roosters], especially with Bill. It's always good fun to play with Bill and he was very dominant in the backline on the weekend," Dadd said.
"Joshy kicked his first goal I'm pretty sure. Pretty proud moment for Greg [Josh's father] and the whole club."
The Tamworth Kangaroos season will continue this Saturday with another road trip away.
This weekend, the Roos will hit the road to take on the Inverell Saints at Varley Oval in round two of the AFL North West season.
Ben Jaffrey
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
