Leo Lombard is doing what every young player new to the AFL has to do…make their mark.
He’s making the challenging transition from standout junior, where he enjoyed a ‘see ball – get ball’ freedom, to AFL role player utilised in an entirely different fashion to his junior days.
And he’s been rewarded with a three-year contract extension ahead of what shapes as a long and illustrious career in Gold Coast SUNS colours.
If coach Damien Hardwick was looking to demonstrate why the SUNS had quickly committed to the 19-year-old excitement machine after 13 games he could easily point to the SUNS statistics from Saturday night’s win over St.Kilda in Darwin.
Not because Lombard’s contribution of 12 possessions, one goal, three tackles or four score involvements jumps off the page but if Hardwick pointed to a more detailed version of the stats it would hit you between the eyes.
Because right at the top of the ‘pressure acts’ column is Lombard. He had a game-high 19, to head teammate Alex Davies (18), St Kilda’s Hugo Garcia (17), Sam Flanders (16) and Max Hall (16) and the SUNS’ Bailey Humphrey (16).
Lombard, who joined the SUNS via pick #9 in the 2024 National Draft when the SUNS matched a bid from St Kilda, ranked #44 among 418 players for pressure acts across the competition in Round 9.
And it wasn’t even a career-high. He had a career-best 31 pressure acts against Hawthorn in Launceston in Round 7, when he and Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell ranked behind on Fremantle’s Andrew Brayshaw (35) and Sydney’s James Jordon (32), and 21 against GWS at People First Stadium in Round 7.
Lombard is focussing strongly on one of the things Hardwick has asked him to make a priority.
On an average basis across the first nine rounds of the season Lombard is ranked #58 overall and #3 at the Suns at 17.4 pressure acts per game, behind Rowell, who is #8 overall at 22.8, and Davies, who is #51 and fractionally ahead at 17.7.
For perspective, West Coast’s Jack Graham heads the competition averaging 27.0 pressure acts per game from Sydney’s James Rowbottom (24.3), Collingwood’s Ned Long (23.9) and Brisbane’s Josh Dunkley (22.8).
Other SUNS in the top 200 are #73 Wil Powell (16.7), #77 Noah Anderson (16.4), #80 Christian Petracca (16.1), #82 Will Graham (16.1), #97 Touk Miller (15.0), #186 Daniel Rioli and Ben Long (12.7) and #192 Humphrey (12.5).
Lombard is one of 13 SUNS players to have played all nine games this year after he played four games in two stints last year – Rounds 12-13 and Rounds 19-20.
At 18 last year he was the youngest player in the SUNS side in each of his four games.
And this year at 19 he has been second-youngest seven times in nine games, behind Zeke Uwland or Lachie Gulbin, and third-youngest twice behind Zeke Uwland and Gulbin.
