Former Melbourne high-flyer Shaun Smith says his his son Joel will fill the void down back left by emerging defender Jake Lever, who last week ruptured his ACL.
22-year old Joel Smith will get his chance to cement a place in the Demons' back six when his side takes on Collingwood in their blockbuster Queen's Birthday clash on Monday.
And there are big shoes to fill, as Lever was recently back to his brilliant best, which coincided with Melbourne's hot streak of form.
โIโm rapt for him. Iโm actually quite nervous, because itโs obviously a huge game,โ Smith snr toldย The Age.
โHeโs put a lot of hard work in, heโs obviously had a breakout year last year playing his first game, then he also had two really bad injuries [shoulder and knee].
โHeโs been knocking on the door for the last month. Because Melbourne are going so well, heโs just hung tough. I think itโs been good for him to play all that footy down at Casey, just to get his confidence up.
โI think heโll be OK. He proved last year he can handle that level. Obviously it goes up another notch. I suppose itโs the closest thing to a grand final.โ
Smith snr played 109 games for North Melbourne and Melbourne between 1987 and 1998, and took a grab dubbed by many as 'Mark of the Century' in Round 22, 1995.
Meanwhile, Joel only managed three games from his debut season in 2017 after being heckled with injuries.
โObviously Jake Lever, you donโt want to see anyone get injured but obviously him going out of the team [has opened up] Joelโs spot,โ Shaun said.
โJake Lever gives you a bit of run off the back line, and I suppose Joelโs a runner as well.
โHeโs been playing some really good footy at Casey. Just playing his role well, and done some lock-downย jobs as well. Heโs ready to go.โ
