By ADEM SARICAOGLU
THERE’S a reason so many people in football harp on consistency.
Without it, the end result never seems to come your way.
But if you’re lucky enough to find it, more often than not everything will soon fall into place.
More than halfway through his final year of TAC Cup footy, Western Jet David Iaccarino seems to have bottled that formula required to play consistently good footy.
The 18-year-old Williamstown boy has turned heads with his TAC Cup form so far this year, regularly gathering 20-plus disposals and snagging eight goals from his 10 games as part of the Jets’ midfield brigade.
A regular game in the blue and gold has been something Iaccarino has craved for in recent years, after a shoulder reconstruction kept him out of action for the entirety of his bottom-age year in 2011.
Last year, he got back onto the field but only made 10 appearances for the Jets as he juggled his on-field commitments with Geelong Grammar.
Though he battled to regain full match fitness coming off the reconstruction, Iaccarino did enough to garner some attention from AFL clubs.
His lack of consistency, however, was his only downfall come draft time.
“Last year, I had a little bit of interest, but not too much,” Iaccarino said.
“The clubs that said they had interest in me wanted me to play consistent footy this year, and that’s what I’m trying to do.
“Obviously, I didn’t get to play the full two years that I wanted to play, and I thought I still had a lot to offer.
“But I didn’t feel like I had really reached my potential through the games that I played last year.”
Now out of school, nothing has held a fit and healthy Iaccarino back in 2013.
His consistency in the TAC Cup earned Iaccarino a VFL debut with Williamstown in May, where he adapted nicely into a forward role and kicked two goals in a big win over Bendigo.
“I was very nervous, but the boys got around me and the skills there are just incredible,” Iaccarino said.
“It was a lot easier to get on the end of the ball and, I guess, I got a bit lucky with a couple of goals down forward.”
Iaccarino now believes he is playing the best footy of his life, and is hopeful those same recruiters who cast their eye over his talent 12 months ago are taking note of his new-found consistency.
“It’s just about getting that consistency now, which I think I’ve just got through match fitness,” he said.
“I’ve been able to cope a lot better in matches and actually been able to play four consistent quarters, so I think that’s the main difference.”
