Queensland U18 player, Lachie Weller, gives us his insight into the 2014 season.
My parents have always been a massive support for me.
They’ve done everything for me, raced around everywhere, always taken an interest in what I do and they’re always there to help out.
They’ve got their own business – Australian Portable Toilets, which is a bit funny I guess, but everyone needs a toilet.
I have a really good relationship with my family and spending time with them is a great way to get away from footy a bit.
You can get so worked up with footy and it brings you down so quickly, mentally.
It’s a good thing to have fun with your family and to just cruise around with them.
They’re usually pretty busy but we’ll go for bike rides or just go down to the beach for a swim.
Probably the toughest thing they’ve helped me through is moving up to Queensland.
That was partly so we could be closer to my brother, Mav, who was playing for the SUNS and they brought their business but they had to sacrifice a bit leaving behind family and friends.
I’m not really a loud person – I always had my group of mates in Tassie and I never really expanded on it.
So, you come up here and you’ve got to remember a bunch of new names and meet new people – I think it’s helped me come out of my box a bit.
It’s been pretty easy to adapt to the environment up here, though, and being involved with footy helped as well.
My parents are pretty honest with me – if I have a bad game or something, they’re the first ones to tell me.
Sometimes, Dad will bring out the whiteboard and go through a few things with me at home.
He’s a bit old-fashioned but he still knows his stuff and he’s done a bit of coaching so he’s got some good things to say.
Mum doesn’t go into as much depth as Dad, but she grew up with footy and she loves it.
They’re really good with organising me a bit and giving me direction, having dinner on the table, which is great when you’re starving hungry after getting home from training.
Every now and then, Mum will mention that I could be living on my own next year, so I have to cook or something, so they’re slowly preparing me for that too.
They’ve had the experience through Mav so Mum and Dad know how to deal with things like that.
It’s not just me – Mum and Dad have always been there for us – last weekend they were in Melbourne to see my brother, Mav, play his first game for St Kilda, and my dad and I will stay down a couple of days this weekend to watch him against Carlton.
My eldest brother, Tyson, recently ruptured his ACL wakeboarding and after going back to work this week, found out he had blood clots in his calf so he couldn’t fly back to Tassie.
So, my dad had to drive up to Gladstone and pick him up, he was up at like 3 o’clock in the morning and Tyson’ll be living with us for a few weeks, which should be good.
Mum and Dad are always there to help us when we need.
