Jackson Payne signs a one-year extension with Brisbane to remain at the club until the end of 2020.
Payne spent most of his childhood chasing track and field dreams.
But aged 13 he caught the eye of a talent scout – despite just “mucking around” in a game at St Andrew’s Anglican College on the Sunshine Coast – and was signed to the Lions Academy.
“I never really followed AFL. I just played a couple of games with school.”
When he was 17, he decided to give athletics away, despite having represented Australia in the Oceanic Games for discus.
Payne knew AFL was where was his future lay.
“I saw some of my mates get drafted that year (2016),” he said.
“They were a part of the academy as well. It made me want to have a real good crack at it.
“I wanted to be around the team environment. Going through athletics, it was all about yourself ... to be around good mates 24/7 was what won it for me.”