That philosophy could also be applied to young Freo recruit Lachie Neale, who made his AFL debut last weekend at Etihad Stadium.
The baby-faced midfielder stands all of 177cm and sometimes gets asked by teachers to board the bus back to school when Freo conduct Auskick Superclinics.
A bit like the aforementioned Yoda, who didn’t enter Star Wars until well into The Empire Strikes Back (or the second movie, which is the fifth movie), Neale had to wait until the third quarter to make his first appearance in Friday night’s epic on-screen drama.
The reason for that was the substitute’s vest, which, ironically, is coloured green like Yoda.
When Neale did finally come on, there’s was only one direction* he was heading in - straight towards anything that resembled a contest.
Like a member of MTV’s Jackass, the 18-year-old threw himself fearlessly into pack after pack.
In the quarter-and-a-bit he was on the ground, Lachie gathered a few bruises and seven handballs, which only equated to 17 Toyota AFL Dream Team points.
This leaves coaches with a bit of a dilemma. Neale has to play two more games before his price changes. His breakeven currently stands at 29, which he should get easily if he plays a full game.
The question depends on whether you have Lachie in your team or not.
If you do, you may as well stick with him and hope his game time increases. He’s shown in the NAB Cup series that he can score quite well.
If you don’t have him, the green vest has robbed Lachie of some early cash-making potential, so it may not be beneficial to get him in now.
One thing* is certain, judge him by his size, do not.
*Subtle attempts to throw in a ‘Lachie Neale looks like Harry Styles from One Direction’ reference
