My interest and intrigue in Jasper Pittard started not long after he arrived at North Melbourne towards the end of 2018.
He was the “steak knives” thrown in to sweeten the Jared Polec deal the club made with Port Adelaide in the 2018 trade period.
To be honest, I didn’t know much about Jasper other than that North had unsuccessfully tried to bring him over to the club a few years earlier.
But the negative reviews from Port Adelaide fans are what truly sparked my interest.
“He’s a hack”, “He can’t hit a target to save his life”, “Turns it over at every chance”… few had anything positive to say.
I just couldn’t understand how North Melbourne could be so keen on such a “horrible” player for so long.
That’s where the story starts.
I figured that I’d keep an eye on Jasper and see just how “bad” he really was.
Jasper had a solid start to the 2019 season and while he didn’t set the world on fire, there was nothing so terrible about the way he went about his footy.
Each week, as he’d do a couple of special things here and there, I realised we had potential on our hands. He just needed to shake the whipping boy tag and get on with it.
And incredibly, it was facing his old side and supporters in round six that re-ignited his passion.
He was booed and ridiculed by Power supporters that evening and it wasn’t his finest performance, but he soldiered on.
And he’s barely put a foot wrong since that night.
It's almost as if, from that moment on, he's been determined to prove doubters wrong.
Week in, week out his numbers have been impressive.
Clean possessions, smart decision-making and fearless defensive work has become part of his regular game.
I’ve been told many times that I just need to “wait and see” what the “real” Jasper Pittard is like. That he’ll stuff it up at any minute.
Well…. I’m still waiting.
The thing with “whipping boys” is that they could do 10 good things and 1 bad in a game, but it’s that one thing that’ll be overanalysed.
Everyone has bad games; I’m not going to excuse him of that when it happens.
His performance in round six against Port Adelaide wasn’t crash hot and he made some really questionable decisions against St Kilda in round one of this year.
But he picks himself up and moves on.
The same way Ben Brown did after that putrid performance against Collingwood last year in round 15.
The same way Boomer Harvey did (yes, even he had a bad performance here and there) after he was kept to just six touches by St Kilda’s Clint Jones in round 2, 2010.
At the moment, his good completely outshines the bad. Within the walls of Arden Street, he's anything but the whipping boy now.
That’s been made very clear by the enormous amount of love and support he’s received from his fellow teammates, North Melbourne staff and supporters over the past 18 months.
It was also made clear by his efforts in last year’s Syd Barker Medal count, where he finished in the top 10.
Within six months of that, he was voted into the leadership group and he has become an integral part of the North Melbourne Football Club both on and off the field.
The best part about Jasper Pittard (if I am forced to choose one) is that in a world where everyone judges your every move and in an industry where everything you do, say and think is scrutinised… he just could not care less.
He is a unique individual and he owns it. Completely unfazed by what others have to say about him.
And he treats everyone with the same respect.
That’s an incredibly rare and special trait.
We are so lucky to have such a great role model representing our club and the more he puts himself out there, the more he is loved by North supporters.
And if you think our love for Jasper is overwhelming, try the love his teammates have for him and vice versa.
He’s the ultimate team player.
Have you ever seen someone run all the way from defence to congratulate every single teammate every time they kick a goal?
Many joke that he’s just trying to get him KMs up, but really Jasp is just keen to get around the boys.
And in his 150th game, we will get around him.
It’s been an eventful 18 months since 'The King' arrived at Arden Street, but seriously how good has it been.
While Jasp hasn’t spent his whole career at Arden Street, it’s safe to say that he hasn't needed a lot of time to make a massive impact.
He is a Shinboner now and forever.
And it’s a pleasure to have him represent the blue and white every single day.
Especially in Game 150.
