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ANZ Premiership LIVE from 4pmMr Reliable: 250 up for Sydney's quiet country boy Jake Lloyd
Brendan Rhodes • March 7th, 2025 10:45 pm
Every club needs a player who just gets the job done without fuss or fanfare.
And Sydney has one of the best of his era in reliable half-back/wingman Jake Lloyd, the country boy who has been a plug and play option for now former coach John Longmire for the past 11 years.
Along with Dane Rampe, the unassuming No. 44 has been the glue that has held the Swans together for more than a decade, missing just seven games since he made his debut as the substitute in a 17-point victory over Fremantle at the SCG in round five, 2014.
That resilience is perhaps best described by the fact that even though he only reached his 200th match in the 2022 Grand Final loss to Geelong, Friday night’s Opening Round clash with Hawthorn will see him raise the bat for 250 and stamp himself as one of the most successful rookie list selections in AFL history – behind of course his new coach Dean Cox, indisputably the No. 1 rookie product the game has seen.
Taken from Horsham in country Victoria (where Swans superstar Adam Goodes also hails from), after having already won four senior premierships for the Horsham Demons, with pick No. 16 in the 2012 Rookie Draft, Lloyd, 31, earned an AFL Rising Star nomination in a first year that yielded 21 AFL appearances.
The Covid-affected 2020 campaign (during which he played all 17 matches and won the Bob Skilton Medal for the Swans’ best and fairest) aside, Lloyd has not played fewer than 22 games in a season since, averaging more than 20 disposals every year and peaking with 30.8 a game in 2019, plus 6.2 marks and 7.2 rebound-50s, a season where he had a career-best 42 possessions in a game twice.
Only twice since his debut campaign has he touched the ball less than 500 times in a season, and his kicking in from full-back and calm head in any situation has been a key part of the Swans’ slingshot footy over the past few years.
He also won the best and fairest in 2018, claimed two Adam Goodes Medals for runner-up in 2017 and 2021, and represented Victoria in the Bushfire Relief State of Origin game in 2020 on his way to being just the 294th man (out of more than 13,000) to play 250 matches in the competition’s 129-year history.
Lloyd is also within reach of a remarkable record as he closes in on becoming the most prolific ballwinner at the SCG in AFL history – he sits in fourth spot on 2633, behind only the now-departed Luke Parker (2874) and retired greats Josh Kennedy (2890) and Daryn Cresswell (2959) – despite being only equal 11th (with Dane Rampe) on the games played list.
It’s no wonder the titles of ‘Mr Consistent’ and ‘Mr Reliable’, which have both been regularly attributed to him, sit comfortably alongside his name, even though the man himself is happy to shun any publicity or accolades and just play his role.
In fact, Lloyd is seen in front of a camera or a microphone almost as rarely as former Richmond champion Dustin Martin – an easier task to accomplish out of the footy limelight in Sydney – and that suits him just fine.
So much so that his captain Callum Mills, who couldn’t have had a more contrasting path to the top in hailing from Mosman on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and coming through the Swans Academy to be drafted at No. 3, was a little taken aback when told of the impending disposal milestone, which should come at some stage in the next two seasons.
But he certainly wasn’t surprised once the news sunk in.
But he certainly wasn’t surprised once the news sunk in.
“He’s unassuming … you look at a resume like that, but when you see him work, you’re not surprised,” Mills said.
“His work rate is unbelievable, he trains really hard and gets the best out of himself, so there is no surprise it is what he’s become.”
Mills said Lloyd was an indispensable cog in the Swans’ machine and indicated how keen they would be to repay him with victory against the Hawks in front of a sellout SCG crowd – and given Sydney lost his 150th and 200th matches, there is no doubt they will be hungry to honour him in the best possible way.
“It’s an incredible milestone,” he said.
“He’s been an unbelievable player for his club and still is; he’s humble and a really loyal sort of player that we’ve had for a long period of time, and what he’s been able to do on the field is always team focused and team first.”
Entering his second year as sole captain after his first was destroyed by injury, Mills, 27, and with 162 matches behind him, said the ability to lean on the likes of Lloyd and Rampe was invaluable.
“His connection with the group and what needs to be done on game day is critical,” he said.
“He’s one of the best out there and he really is a glue for us, pulling people around where they need to be.
“He’s a leader, he rallies the troops, and the more we have of that, the easier it is for my role and the better we are as a team.
“He just likes flying under the radar and doing his own thing, but he’s a lovely bloke, and we all love him.”
