Northern Knights captain Josh Iacobaccio is the first to admit the start to his final year in underage footy hasn’t been what he wanted.
“So far it’s been a challenging start to the season,” he told Star Weekly last week.
“The team is not getting the results and we always want to be better.
“Myself, I’ve had a slow start, but in the past few weeks I’ve stepped up a bit.
“There’s a lot of external pressure. I’m just finding my feet and starting to find the ball.
“You can always be better. Nothing is perfect and my form can improve.”
The 17-year-old is captaining not only the Knights but his school side Parade College.
“It’s a great honour to captain both. That sort of responsibility is something I’m comfortable with, and I have great support with other people there to help pick up the slack.
“You can’t stagnate in these roles; the team is bigger than the individual.”
Just as Iacobaccio started to find his feet, he tore his hamstring playing for his school side, Parade College.
“I did it at school footy last Wednesday [May 14] and it’s the first hamstring injury I’ve ever had,” he said.
“I’m on the sidelines for at least six weeks, but with byes I should only miss three TAC cup games.”
Iacobaccio is hoping to be back for the final of the Associated Catholic Colleges senior division 1 competition if his school makes it that far.
The other aim is leading the Knights to a finals series.
“We’re only percentage out and it’s a big aspiration of mine,” he said.
“Last year we were in a similar position and won eight or nine games on the trot. Hopefully we can string a few together this year.”
Iacobaccio believes his injury and non- selection in the Vic Metro under-18 side won’t derail his aspirations of an AFL career.
“With Vic Metro, you want to strive to be there for it.
It would have been nice to play in the carnival, but you can’t control the selection process.”
