Terlich to debut for Demons

By Peter Ryan for afl.com.au

Terlich, an attacking defender who was best on ground in last year’s SANFL Grand Final, has already provided his teammates with a lift ahead of the Demons’ battle for redemption that starts on the weekend.

His coach Mark Neeld was able to bring a few smiles to a few faces when he broke the news that Terlich was playing at a team meeting on Tuesday.

“He (Neeld) said the boys needed a bit of excitement,” Terlich said.

For Terlich, his excitement was tempered with relief as the 22-year-old acknowledged earning an AFL game was something he’d been trying to do for a while.

“It took some time to actually get there,” Terlich said.

Terlich played football for Osborne in country NSW – the same club that delivered Adam Schneider to the Sydney Swans and St Kilda – and represented underage NSW teams with players including Adelaide’s Taylor Walker, the Swans’ Craig Bird and Hawthorn’s Luke Breust.  

He was a forward when the Swans put him on the rookie list in 2008.

The country boy left the wheat, canola and sheep, his parents Garry and Helen (a local nurse) and two brothers, Sam and Ben, behind on the family farm and headed for the big smoke.

It was some transition for the youngster who grew up just up the road from the tiny town of Pleasant Hills (official population, according to Terlich, of 29) that is just a quick drive from Henty.

Now he admits he felt homesick most days in Sydney and failed to crack a spot on the senior list.

In many ways he was too young and looking back now he reckons his football education to that point was about two years behind his peers.

He described his football talent at that stage as “raw” and having had to travel so far to play in the TAC Cup had not had the same exposure to the system as others.

He says the experience in Sydney however was an eye-opener and allowed the man from near Henty to learn plenty. Terlich said it has also made the second time around with Melbourne much easier.

Importantly, his self-belief remained when the Swans told him he was no longer required. He asked the Swans where he should continue if he wanted to work his way back into the system and they suggested South Australia.

He had a few mates at Norwood so made his way there to play under former Melbourne and Adelaide player Nathan Bassett.
He did not contemplate returning to the farm.

“I just knew that if I was going to get back to the big league again going back to the country was not really an option, but I love it back there and still miss it,” Terlich said.

However relying on weather for your income was a bigger gamble than trying to make a career out of football.

Terlich continued as a forward with Norwood but after a couple of years he was just battling away.

He had trained with Port Adelaide at the end of 2009 in the hope of earning a spot on the rookie list. When he made the final three he thought he was a big chance but the Power could not find a spot for him and he returned to Norwood.

At the end of 2011, Bassett was not sure whether Terlich was what he needed up forward. He suggested a move into defence, having seen that his charge could read the play and run straight through the ball.

It was an inspired move and after playing the first game in the reserves, Terlich began to find his niche. He still needed to learn to defend but he was cutting up SANFL opposition with his run out of the backline.  

On Grand Final day, he collected 31 touches and won the Jack Oatey Medal in the Redlegs’ 49-point win over West Adelaide.

His house was full, as his family and girlfriend Georgia, had come to see him play in the big game and he just concentrated on what was ahead.

“[I] tried to stay as relaxed as possible as that is when I play my best footy when I don’t think about it too much,” Terlich said.

He pays credit to his teammates for enabling him to play freely in defence and his coach for the work he put in to find a spot that suited him.  

His effort raised his hopes again of an AFL spot but he had learned to manage them. His family had kept him grounded too and he knew that health and happiness were the number one priorities. As he had them nothing much worried him.

But hearing his name called out at selection No.68 was – one imagines – a similar mixture of relief and excitement as he felt on Tuesday.

Since then he has impressed. He had a knock to the head at training that sent a bit of a scare through everyone but he was fine.

The coaching group has given him confidence that he was recruited because they like the way he attacks the football. He hopes he can add some speed and flair out of defence. Teammates such as Daniel Nicholson have been working with him too, teaching him about winning one-on-ones and being at the drop of the ball.

Now he is about to test himself in a hot environment on a Saturday night at the MCG.

He was there when the Demons capitulated to Port Adelaide, sitting in the stands watching on.

His reaction says a lot about why he was recruited. He is a competitor.

“[It was] frustrating because you can’t do anything about it,” Terlich said.

Now he can.

Peter Ryan covers Melbourne and Collingwood news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter at @AFL_petryan