Demon stoked for HBL

Waroona Demons centre half-forward Jack Strand could have been in last year’s Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault premiership-winning team.

Strand departed HBL after losing his passion for the game and deciding he needed a change. His former club then went on to win the flag, after going undefeated all season.

However, the light-hearted footballer only had well wishes for his former team and said he was “stoked” for his mates.

“I was watching the game and it was great to see them win,” Strand said.

“It was hard knowing that I possibly could have been in that team, but it is what it is and I have no regrets.”

The 21-year-old grew up at HBL and saw out his junior career with the club.

However, he described feeling “flat” towards footy and needed to regain his momentum. “I just needed something fresh so I joined the Waroona Demons and the club has been amazing,” he said.

“The atmosphere around the Demons is unreal, I have a lot of good mates here,” he said.

He said he looked up to his teammate Ben Wright, who showed great leadership on the field.

The centre half-forward said he also received a lot of support from his coach Matt Templeton.

The Waroona footballer said he was keen to play football post-COVID-19 and said the boys looked strong during pre-season.

“I think we can go all the way this year,” he said.

He has won a flag in colts and reserves and said league was next, especially after missing out on HBL’s success.

A tall-bodied footballer himself, Strand said Lance Franklin was his sporting idol and he admired the way he played.

“He’s so agile and he looks good in front of goals,” he said.

Strand is not a bad shot on goal himself, he loves to run, hit the contest hard and push up around the ground.

He said his favourite quote during the half-time spray was “it’s not the size of the dog in a fight, but the size of the fight in the dog”.

When he’s not playing football, the Binningup man enjoys surfing at his local beach.

“I love the water, surfing is a great way to keep fit,” he said.