“Weirdly enough, I think the part where I got committed was through COVID.”
You’ve no doubt heard people say things like this about, say, knitting or making banana bread — in other words, activities people took up when there was nothing else to do during the pandemic’s harshest stages.
How often have you heard someone describe committing to chasing the aspirations of playing the highest level of football possible during a time where barely anyone could play at all?
For 19-year-old half-back Jake Torney, who is plying his trade at Kyabram in the Goulburn Valley League this season, a switch simply flicked while he was in Queensland four years ago, stuck at home for the most part.
By this stage, as a 15-year-old, Torney was already more than two years into a stint with the Brisbane Lions AFL Academy, a program not long out of its infancy at that stage.
Even in the midst of that opportunity, he was unsure if this was the path that was destined to work out.
“Footy was social to me; I was training twice a week and from 13 years old until about 16, it’s similar to that (in the academy),“ Torney said.
“Around 16-17, you have to dedicate yourself properly or else you lose your spot.
“Sitting there and having footy taken away for a bit made me realise how much I did enjoy it, and I realised it might be time to take it more seriously.
“I was going for runs and getting into the gym, and I came out on the other side a much better player and keeping my place in the Lions program again.
“It was difficult to deal with, but it helped me catch up to the people who were already training seriously.”
Having first joined the system at 13 after impressing at a representative carnival, this was a path Torney gradually felt more assured in taking.
That initiative in the face of adversity would obviously benefit the half-back flanker, as did Queensland’s accelerated return to outdoor sport compared to the southern states.
Eventually clearing the academy following a six-year stint, something very few would have had the chance to do in a relatively new program, the question was then over what came next — and how that became here.
As it turned out for the long-time Queenslander, family matters.
“I just wanted to play the highest level of footy that I could, and I felt like country footy in Victoria was very high, definitely an appealing thing,” Torney said.
“The only connection I had to Ky in particular was my old man playing here as a junior, and later as a senior.
“It worked out to be a good spot where I had some family support as well as that connection, and the rest is history.
“I only played socially as a kid, but both my mum’s side and my dad’s side enjoyed it, and then coming up at Brisbane, you develop that passion for wanting to test yourself and make those sides every year.
“It’s something I really enjoyed and it’s stayed with me after that. That brought me here looking for the highest level possible.”
Besides his Lions commitments, Torney took on club experience in the QAFL, taking time to reflect on how Queensland’s premier division compares with Goulburn Valley standards.
“It’s definitely a higher pressure game here,” Torney said.
“You have less time with the footy and less time to make decisions.
“In the QAFL, the ball pings around a bit quicker, but there’s pressure on the footy at all times here.”
Now more matured and stepping out into independent football for the first time in his career, having ventured all this way almost for that sole purpose, life here is working out well for Torney.
Through five appearances with the Bombers, he averages 20.8 touches, three rebound-50s and 6.8 intercept possessions a game, ranking inside the competition’s top 20 for the latter.
With a significant amount of football ahead of him, what might Torney go on to achieve when his prime years arrive?
The young Bomber is primarily focused on what he can achieve with his new club in the here and now, he explains.
“My first ambition is obviously to win a flag here,” Torney said.
“I’ve made a few grand finals and lost, so it’s an itch I really want to scratch at a successful club like Kyabram.
“I’d love to play at a VFL level at some point, but I think if I just focus on helping Ky out, then whatever comes from that comes from that.
“Whatever level I’m at after some success here is fine by me.”