Jake Kolodjashnij's former coaches reflect ahead of AFL Grand Final

Ten years down the track the Launceston export and Geelong defender is renowned nationwide for those attributes and will take them into Saturday's AFL Grand Final against Sydney at the MCG.

Former Tassie Mariners (now Devils) coach Adam Sanders mentored Kolodjashnij when he was playing as a defender in the under-16s and under-18s.

In 2013, Kolodjashnij's draft year, the Mariners won the national championships division two premiership beating out states such as Queensland and New South Wales.

As Sanders noted it was a strong period in Tassie under-18 footy with a host of young guns ending up on AFL lists, including Kolodjashnij's twin Kade and multiple Richmond premiership player Toby Nankervis.

Sanders described Kolodjashnij, who was taken by Geelong at pick 41, as a diligent and disciplined player who was determined to get better.

"One of the key things we wanted him and Nankervis to work on was their contested marking so they would pair up before training every night and do 40 to 50 one-on-one contested-marking efforts," he said.

"He was part of a good group that pushed each other along and he worked on his strength, size and power and what you see now is a product of his hard work as a 16, 17,18 year old."

Sanders said the Kolodjashnij twins displayed great resilience during their juniors.

"At the national under-16s he didn't do that well and he and his brother went away from those champs and instead of thinking it was too hard, they went to work and built their game from there," he said.

Sanders explained they didn't take up footy until their early teens but were prepared to do the work to catch up. "Jake was lucky to have a twin brother who was like-minded," he said.

"They used to do a lot of work together.

"The two boys and Toby (Nankervis) before the draft would do parkrun to get ready for the three-kilometre time trial at the combine.

"It was mainly for big Tobe to get him ready to break 11 and a half minutes for the 3k but the Kolo boys came along a couple of times as well."

READ MORE: Kolodjashnij family right behind Jake ahead of AFL grand final

Kolodjashnij's mum Sharon explained the boys started playing footy at Prospect Sharks (now Hawks) before progressing to Launceston Blues.

Scott Stephens, who was the Blues' skipper in 2012, also assisted Sanders at the Mariners.

He spoke of the twins playing in a State League-driven carnival which eventually led to them being involved in the Mariners' program.

Stephens said the twins joined the Blues in 2011 and played in a development league flag that year.

Anthony Taylor, who now coaches South Launceston, was the Blues' head coach in 2012 and gave Kolodjashnij his first senior game.

"The thing that stood out with Jake and guys of that era was when they weren't with the Mariners program they were always willing to come back to club level and be a part of our footy club," he said.

"Not only was he professional in the way he went about his individual development, he bought straight into our club culture and that was notable at a young age."

Stephens said the Geelong backman started to make an impact at State League senior level in 2013.

"One of his key attributes was his speed and the way he covered the ground," he said.

"While being a medium tall, he also had the ability to play on smalls.

"He adapted well to his positions and played a lot of footy down back as a centre-half back but did have the ability to go forward."

Brennan Savage, who coached Launnie in 2013, backed up Stephens' assessment and said Kolodjashnij was the Blues' player of the 2013 finals.

"His ability to play on talls and smalls has made him an important member of that Geelong side," he said.

"That was part of his uniqueness and versatility as a junior."

Savage said he even threw the teenager in the ruck against former Essendon big man Jason Laycock. He noted he more than held his own.

Otherwise, the twins displayed professionalism beyond their years according to the former Launceston coach.

"You'd undo their bags and everything would be folded," he said.

"They were elite preparers and had a lot of elite traits which served them pretty well when they got to the big time."

All four coaches have kept tabs on Kolodjashnij's career and Savage and Sanders pointed to the Launceston product's recent run of form.

"He had one of his better games last week stats-wise and I think he had career highs and in a lot of areas," Savage said.

"He gives them versatility and he's always been able to provide that in whatever he team he's played in.

"He's very coachable and got a bit of mongrel about him but he's very calm and a pretty focused young fella."

The defender, who has averaged 12 disposals across his 154-game career, had 13 kicks, 10 handballs and nine marks against the Brisbane Lions in the preliminary final.

He'll line-up in the back-pocket on grand final day and could match-up on the likes of Tom Papley and Errol Gulden.

Stephens would love to see his former teammate taste the ultimate success.

"Not too many people get the opportunity to (win a flag) and North Launnie we're lucky with Toby Nankervis over the last couple of years," he said.

"So for Jake to join that club as an ex-TSL player and premiership player would be a real feather in his cap and great reward for his hard work, determination and great attitude over the journey. Hopefully he's got plenty more footy left."

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