There’s many a player whose life has been forever changed by a single phone call, however Angus McLennan wasn’t expecting his to come on the Sunday morning of game day.
The 20-year-old defender knew he wasn’t far off a senior berth having been named as an emergency for three straight weeks, but with Ryan Byrnes coming down with illness the morning of St Kilda’s clash with Brisbane, the time for it was coming far more suddenly than he anticipated.
While the eventual 85-point loss was far from the dream debut scenario, McLennan nevertheless stepped up to task on debut with 14 disposals at 93 per cent, seven marks and three intercepts.
“I got on the phone to mum and dad and let them know pretty quickly,” McLennan told saints.com.au.
“My parents have been huge for me. All throughout juniors they drove me everywhere, and I guess it’s pretty cool to pay that back in a way and let them experience today with me.
“It was obviously surreal, especially to play with the backline group. The likes of Callum Wilkie, Webby’s (Jimmy Webster) been really, really good in my development as well as Liam Stocker.
“Just at training, they’re giving me tips and watching some vision with them, so it helps to already have that rapport with a lot of the boys which makes playing a lot easier.
“The team as a whole, the way we’ve been performing the last six, seven, eight weeks, I think the culture’s really building and it was pretty easy to slot in with them being so vocal out there. It definitely helped me a lot.”
McLennan’s journey to from Category B Rookie to debutant has been rockier and far more worldly than others his age.
Born in Australia and raised in Cairo for six years (his dad spent a lot of time working abroad), McLennan eventually picked up the Sherrin upon returning to Glen Iris in his Under-11s year.
A promising trajectory towards the highest level was dashed multiple times however, first through a serious shoulder injury while playing for Scotch College — which saw him bypassed in his draft year — before COVID-19 made it impossible to stamp his claim as competitions closed down right across the nations.
A getaway to Barwon Heads following that year’s draft gave the time for McLennan to reset, have the necessary conversations and reassess his football ambitions.
“I took some time to think about what I wanted to do in life. I probably wasn’t going to go down the football path, but I spoke to a few people (about what to do),” McLennan said.
“Shoutout to Jackson Kornberg (former Sandringham Dragons coach) who was absolutely huge in my development and my final decision to give it another crack. I went back to the Dragons and was fortunate enough to get picked up by the Saints.”
McLennan was eventually picked up as a Category B Rookie via the club’s Moorabbin Airport Next Generation Academy, however had his first year effectively wiped out after detecting stress fractures in his back.
His subsequent build-up via the VFL under the watch of development coach Jake Batchelor has taken time, but it’s one that has made the breakthrough all the more meaningful.
“I think the resilience I built through with the shoulder and then back injury held me in really good stead for this year and my debut as well,” McLennan said.
“I’m glad I stuck at it.”
