""On draft day, I did my hair because during the year I've dyed it blonde, black and then red and back to blonde - I turned up draft day with it black after dying it a couple of nights before,"" Laycock said. ""He (Sheedy) sort of said `What the friggin' hell have you done to your hair now, son? I thought he was picking on me already and getting into me and then he went away.""
A few moments had gone by after the rising ruckman was taken aback by the comments made by the 521-game coach, when he was also made aware of his place in the pecking order in the great game they call the AFL. ""He then came back and started laughing about, so obviously he was joking. But I sort of couldn't tell if he was joking about it."" The former Tassie Mariners TAC Cup player witnessed the world of Sheedy at his vintage best. But he had better get used to the fun and games as they have only just begun.
Since that moment, Laycock describes Sheedy as the perfect coach and does not care whether he picks the bones out of his game. ""He is great now, at training he will pull you out of drills and tell you what you're doing wrong,"" Laycock said enthusiastically. ""That is what you have got to have. I haven't had that before. Normally they just let the drill go and at the end of training they tell you what you're doing wrong when it's too late to fix it.""
The fresh-faced young gun is having trouble settling into his new environment and admits he misses his friends, in particular his girlfriend Allison. ""I'm getting a little homesick now,"" he said. ""My family rings up and tells me what is going on down there (in Tasmania), it just makes you want to be down there as well.""
A long-time Geelong supporter, Laycock was hoping to ply his trade at Skilled Stadium and get chosen with pick 22 - not the lofty position of 10. ""Geelong said they'd take me at 22 and I'd been a Geelong supporter all my life - I was thinking `you little ripper',"" he said. ""Then (Essendon recruiting manager) Adrian Dodoro rang me up on the Saturday night and said that they were thinking about taking me with their first pick if I was still there. I didn't think I'd rated that highly and to go at number 10 was great.""
The youngster got his start in football with Reece High School in Year 9, before moving on to play in the Northern Tasmanian Football League (NTFL) for East Devonport - where he was earmarked as a quality junior rising through the ranks. Having been selected from NTFL representative teams, Laycock joined the Tassie Mariners TAC Cup team, but suffered a setback when he broke his left wrist in February '99.
About that same time in 2000-01, he suffered the same fate. When he came back into the fray after his injury, he was sparked him into action as he played senior NTFL football and grabbed 22 marks in his first game. He followed that up with five goals in a match and then pulled down another 20 marks a week later. His performances in those three weeks had his mates talking about AFL possibilities. ""My mates expected me to get picked when draft day came,"" Laycock said.
The gargantuan knows he could not have come to Essendon at a better time, as David Hille is the only experienced young ruckman at the club and Steven Alessio is on his last legs. Working closely with the Tasmanian is former Geelong and Essendon player and media prankster John Barnes. ""It is a huge opportunity, perfect timing,"" Laycock said.""Barnesy follows me around at training and points stuff out. He is pretty much the same out of the media as well.""
During the pre-season practice matches, Sheedy has used his first draftee as a centre half-forward, changing with Alessio in the ruck against Hille - an assignment Laycock has found tough to warmto. ""It was hard because I didn't know whether to run with Hille or to let him go and play my own game - you have got to run with him or else he'll get too much of it."" While all eyes and expectations from the coaching staff will be on the Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder, Laycock does not feel any added pressure of being the club's number one pick and just wants to take his opportunity when it is presented. ""No, not at all, we are all equal. It doesn't matter where you get picked up, we are all here just to play,"" he said about the expectations. ""Obviously an aim would be to play at least one senior game - that would be great. Just when I get my opportunity I want to take it.""
Story courtesy of Community News - Lance Jenkinson.
