Lamb's drafting a story of immense courage

WHILE the background story of many teenage draft candidates now receive widespread coverage, the tale of the Sydney Swans first pick in last night's national draft is far more unusual and far more moving than most.

The second youngest son of a family of eight children from the town of Yarram, in eastern Victoria, Jed Lamb has already suffered a setback that would shake the nerve and confidence of most young players.

When aged just seven, Lamb arrived home to be told that his father Colin,van cleef arpels copy necklace, then separated from his mother Kerrie, had been brutally murdered. The incident happened after Colin Lamb argued with a former friend, who returned later to his house and attacked him with a wood splitter. Lamb spoke about his memories of the incident before the draft including the fact that, had he gone to the house that afternoon as planned, he might well have found his father's body. Fortunately, a friend got there first.

It is a thought that still makes Lamb's mother shudder.

''It was awful, a really awful time. It was really hard trying to tell the kids and explain it,'' she said. ''There were a lot of stories in the local paper other kids would take the paper to school and show them things and it was tough for them because they had to think about things only adults should have to.

''We were living with an old lady at the time, and I'll never forget her saying to me a couple of days later: 'For God's sake, would you stop grieving and stop crying in front of those children?' So that was it, after that. I didn't have much time to grieve, because of the kids. I put all of my attention into them.''

Lamb's own memories of that day are hazy. ''I guess you hear about these sorts of things on the news, and then you realise it's actually happened to you,'' he said. ''I guess that's when the reality hits, but my mum's just been an inspiration,van cleef and arpels copy necklace, raising all us kids like she has. She did everything for us, and we all stuck together.

''Looking back, I can't even remember what I did or what I thought or even what mum told us. As I've grown up I guess I've understood more about it, but all I remember is how close we were. I think what we've been through has just brought us all closer together.''

The death of Colin Lamb meant Kerrie Lamb was left to raise the eight children with little support. Lamb was nicknamed ''half a job'' by his older siblings as a child because he was not always fully dedicated to household chores.

''They say if we were outside planting trees or something, I'd get halfway done and go back to the house because I couldn't be bothered any more,van cleef copy necklace,'' he said.

Football was an outlet for the family. As kids, Jed, brother Zeke, sister Kaylah and older brother Shaun played together in the same side. For a couple of years, Kerrie served as ''team manager'' of Jed's junior team. ''Mum used to wash the water bottles out, and on one morning she forgot to rinse them, so all the boys were drinking White King and water. They were all blowing bubbles and gagging,'' he said.

Each weekend, the family would cram into the back of their white van to go and watch Jed play. From an early age, he was quicker than the other kids better able to pick where the ball was about to go although it was only last year, playing his first season with Gippsland Power in the elite under 18 competition, moving to the forward line and starting to kick goals, that he believed he would be good enough to make it to an AFL team.

With his siblings watching on television in the local pub,van cleef arpels alhambra replica necklace, that ambition was fulfilled last night when the Swans, who had visited the family this week, made Lamb their first pick the 21st in the draft overall.

The Swans next picks were Victorian teenagers Luke Parker (No.40), a tough midfielder, and Alex Johnson (No.57) a versatile key position. They also used a late pick (No.73) to take 23 year old former West Coast defender Matthew Spangher.