By Jonty Ralphsmith
At first, Kade De La Rue targeted one week.
Soon, it took him only a night.
A relentless worker who runs hard and acted as Dandenong’s forward half link for much of 2023, he set himself the task of doing 1000 ground-balls at home outside of training week-to-week.
It soon became a no-fuss 20-minute weeknight matter of formality for Kade, a prospect for next week’s AFL draft, and Dad, Ben, a former Springvale Demons VFA player.
“His repeat efforts and ability to get up and down the ground is sensational and he’s clean around the footy,” Stingrays coach Nick Cox says of his footy.
“He’s strong at the contest and he stands up and he’s got some real attributes that can hopefully give himself an opportunity.”
The extra touch is one example of the extra work the Beaconsfield teenager commits to ready himself for life at the next level.
During a 2021 on the sidelines due to a ruptured ACL, De La Rue remained process-oriented.
He put on more than 15 kilograms, sat in the Beaconsfield coaching box every week to strengthen his understanding of the game and tapped into the networks and resources his Dad was able to provide him.
Prior to the injury, junior coach Steve Paterson recalls De La Rue’s diligence.
“I’d be forever driving past Holm Park and he’d always be down there,” Paterson said.
“People would always ask why he got lots of the footy and I always said ‘well he works harder’.
“Kade was such a consistent performer, a workhorse who accumulated the footy.”
Having grown into the half-forward position since arriving at the Rays, De La Rue comfortably led all Victorian players in hard acceleration efforts at the national championships and has recently looked to couple that increased pace.
A Stingrays mainstay in the last two seasons, De La Rue reached out to the club’s high-performance coach Ben Benson in 2021, just prior to being listed.
“I feel I’ve got a bit more time now that gives me an extra split-second to make a good decision which is probably due to being clean and multiple factors,” De La Rue said.
De La Rue is expected to get selected about midway through the second night of the AFL Draft, held from 20-22 November.
