Son of a gun breaks through

GETTING a regular spot in a winning Brisbane Lions outfit has been anything but a smooth ride for small forward Sam Sheldon.

The 20-year-old admitted he suffered a serious dose of home sickness after a nightmare run of injuries cruelled not only most of his first two seasons, but his enthusiasm as well.

Sheldon suffered a broken leg early in his first season, then osteitis pubis destroyed most of his second, but he battled through and has now played the last 13 games for the club and proved a valuable contributor whether playing back or forward.

Sheldon comes from great footballing stock, being the son of three-time Carlton premiership player and former St Kilda coach Ken.

He was drafted by the Lions in 2006 and said moving to Brisbane as a 17-year-old and breaking his leg in just his fifth game in reserves was difficult to overcome.

"It took the sting out of me and I questioned what I was doing a bit," he said.

"I was tight with my family and friends back home and you're sitting around thinking about it and not being able to do anything, and I wanted to go home.

"Leigh Matthews was great and told me to go home for a few weeks to sort myself out and come back ready to go.


"Then I got the osteitis pubis and it took me a while to get over it.

"Now I'm back to where I want to be. I had to change my walking style and do a lot of core strength, but everything's going better than ever."

Sheldon said playing his first game for the Lions was as much for his family and friends after their support over the years.

One of his biggest supporters is his father Ken, who the former Oakleigh Charger said had been "a massive influence" on his career.

"I speak to dad all the time but he makes a big effort to not interfere and he likes to look on from the outside and let me go about it my own way,'' Sheldon said.

"I'm best mates with my old man and he's the first bloke I turn to when I have a question.

"He goes to all the games, even if I don't see him beforehand, he's there. I didn't think he was at Subiaco (when the Lions played Fremantle) but he was there. He gave me a call afterwards."

Sheldon could have been snapped up by Carlton under the father-son rule, but the Blues overlooked him.

The 183cm utility said he had no hard feelings towards the team he grew up supporting and said he was thankful just to get an opportunity in the league.

And it's working out just fine at the moment, with one of his boyhood heroes Michael Voss coaching in his first season in the senior team.

Sheldon has even taken over Voss's iconic No.3 Lions guernsey.

"I loved watching Vossy. Every person that loves sport would love watching Vossy though because he was so good, one of the best.

"He's a very good coach. To step in straight away and do what he's done is a very hard thing to do.

"Players like Jonathan Brown and Simon Black look up to him. I look at him with an aura and so do they. Just his feel of the group is very very good and I think that's why he's been successful so far."

Sheldon has slowly found his feet in the top flight, with his courage and hard-nut attitude exactly what the coach looks for.

He said moving between back and forward was not a problem.

"I'm working hard to get my handball and kicking to that next level," he said.

"The hardest thing I've found is having to rock up every week and be at your best and I think I have to go up another level. I have to keep building that work rate and doing the one-percenters and staying involved."