Home and away: Twins embrace ‘big change’ as new life apart begins

JACK and Matt Whitlock knew they’d have to move from home, regardless of where they were drafted.

They also anticipated they’d be separated, given it was highly unlikely a single club would have the ability and need to draft both the 200cm key forward/ruck (Jack) and 197cm key back/forward (Matt).

But they weren’t quite prepared for just how quickly things would move after North Melbourne selected Matt with pick No.27 – the last selection of night one – and Port Adelaide read out Jack’s name with No.33, six picks into the second night of the Telstra AFL Draft.

The Whitlocks hail from Shepparton, a country town about 200km north of Melbourne.

Jack had around three or four days’ grace before having to move to Adelaide.

The timing of the draft in late November meant he was only over there for three weeks before returning home for the Christmas break, and the full-blown move didn’t happen until January.

Port Adelaide put up the 2024 draftees – Jack, Murray Bushrangers teammate Joe Berry and Eastern Ranges’ Christian Moraes – in an AirBnB for their first week, before Jack moved in with Port Adelaide players Lachie Jones and Dante Visintini.

“It was a nervous and exciting couple of days, not knowing where I was going. It could really have been in any of the states, so I wasn’t really too sure, but it’s a childhood dream,” Jack said.

“You’ve been wanting this for like your whole life, so once it happens, it’s pretty surreal, and you’re just happy to go anywhere.

“Once my name was called out that night, I had a few calls. I didn’t really get back to a whole lot of them straight away, because my phone was going off.

“Paul Stewart, Justin Westhoff, and even Ken (Hinkley) gave me a ring. So they’ve been pretty good with the move.

“And then (national recruiting manager) Geoff Parker helped as well, he lived with me for the first week, so that was good, but they’re all pretty good about it, helping with getting all my bedroom set up, and moving and just introductions to the club and what a day in the life looks like.”

Stewart and Westhoff – both former Port Adelaide players – are in the club’s welfare team, and part of their job is to help settle new recruits.

The Power often draft from the Vic Country region, with 10 of its current 44 players hailing from the area.

“We were only there for three weeks (to begin with), so I just packed the essentials, like clothes, obviously boots and training stuff. I didn’t really get too much time to think about it,” Jack said.

“I tried to take as much as I can. I ended up buying a bed here, and we get some good deals for living away from home and allowances. I just took the necessities from home and then branched out when I got here.”

Despite having moved different distances – Jack qualifying as an “interstate relocated player” and Matt as a “regional relocated player” – both can claim “reasonable” relocation costs through the CBA, and a living allowance of up to $16,500 for household items or living expenses, to be ticked off by their respective player development managers.

North-bound Matt – along with fellow Roos draftee Finn O’Sullivan, who hails from Koroit in Victoria’s south-west – has landed on his feet with a host family in the leafy Melbourne suburb of Glen Iris, which can be a 40-50min drive from Arden Street across town in peak hour.

Host families are common across the country and work with clubs to provide a stable and comfortable environment for first-year or young players and ease the transition for those moving interstate.

Some players stay for six months before moving in with teammates or friends, others for two years, and the host families often open their door season after season for new players to roll through.

“Melbourne’s such a big area, just the scale of things. The traffic is crazy,” Matt said.

“Pre-Christmas, I was staying with Toby Pink (for a few weeks), then I moved in with my host family in the new year. It’s quite a nice house, I get looked after quite well there, it’s pretty good.

“It’s quite a quick change. The draft was on Wednesday, and I was at the club on Monday ready to do a 2km time trial, so it was quite a quick turnaround.

“It’s pretty crazy. I was lucky to stay in Victoria, whereas the interstate boys are a bit different. You’ve got to be ready to go. I was prepared to go that week, but I packed everything up pretty last minute, to be honest. But Shepparton’s only two hours away, so I could go back if I’d forgotten anything.

“Corey Maynard is our PDM (player development manager), and he looks after us quite well. I met him on draft night and he takes care of us. He keeps us all in check.

“It’s all the little things you’ve got to do, even a ‘Working with Children’ check, forms you have to fill out. Becoming an adult now, and Mum can’t fill it all out for me.”

Days at footy clubs often start and finish early.

Coupled with the heavy physical and mental demands of an AFL pre-season at 18 or 19, it means the lure of an afternoon nap is strong. If you’re living at home, there’s usually a parent or sibling who can whip up some dinner.

But Jack’s had to learn how to “adult” as an elite athlete – with all the fuelling and sleep that’s required – very quickly. Interestingly, he’s found life a little easier now he’s not also juggling school, homework and long-distance travel for training.

He half-joked the most surprising thing about living out of home is the expense of everyday life.

“It was very tiring for the first week, knowing what foods to buy, because you do your own groceries now – like, you can’t just go on the pantry and there’s just food for you already,” Jack said.

“I’ve found ‘Bushies’ (Murray Bushrangers) from the past few years has set me up pretty well with training. I haven’t missed a session or drill yet, which has been pretty good. I feel like my body’s adapted very well, and it’s a lot easier now.

“I can go home and relax, whereas throughout my draft year, I’d only have an hour to myself, with year 12 and footy and all that.

“It’s actually a lot easier to get that recovery in. I was finishing school at 3.20 and then I’d quickly heat up a meal and jump in the car for an hour to get to training (in Wangaratta), train and get back at 9:30 at night.

“So they were pretty big days. But now, I get back at four, and I have the whole afternoon to myself to make my own dinner and that, so it’s actually a big relief compared to what I was doing, which is surprising.”

In Jack’s words, cooking is “a work in progress”.

“We chip in cooking once or twice a week (in the sharehouse). I actually cooked with Dante’s girlfriend recently, and it was actually pretty good, like, stir fry and that, but I’m usually not too bad.

“Usually it’s just like, chicken, pastas and stuff that I can sort of meal prep and eat up again and eat for lunches throughout the week.”

Matt’s different living conditions have allowed somewhat of a luxury when it comes to cooking.

“It’s been a pretty big change. I’m pretty lucky with the host family, they cook for us most nights and take good care of us,” he said.

“You get pretty tired after pre-season training, most of the time I’m buggered. I don’t have to cook for myself just yet, so that helps out a lot.

“I know the basic meals, but when it starts getting a bit more complicated, then I need some help. We’ve had a cooking lesson already (at the club), so that’ll help.”

When it comes to separation, the twins keep in touch through messaging, group chats and online gaming, with NBA 2K one of the current favourites.

They say even without footy, they were likely to have gone their separate ways this year, with Jack accepted into a Bachelor of Secondary Physical Education and Health. Matt has also been accepted into a similar course, but isn’t yet totally enamoured with the idea, and will use his year to consider his options.

Both have deferred their courses – which will be done part-time – until next year, when their football lives are a little more routine.

“It’s a little bit weird when for 18 years, you’ve done everything together, we have the same friendship group too,” Matt said.

“But it hasn’t been too bad, bit of a change and we can have our own lives, a little bit. We’ve always played in the same teams, been in the same classes at school. It’s not too bad, but a little weird at the same time.”

Moving away from home also means moving away from family, their golden retrievers Max and Millie, and their partners.

“Matisse is at uni at the moment, so we’re long distance, and there’s actually quite a few boys who do it, Dante is one of them. She’s actually got some family here, and it’s a 45-minute flight, so it’s not that bad,” Jack said.

JACK and Matt Whitlock knew they’d have to move from home, regardless of where they were drafted. They also anticipated they’d be separated, given it was highly unlikely a single club would have the ability and need to draft both the 200cm key forward/ruck (Jack) and 197cm key back/forward (Matt). But they weren’t quite prepared…