By Will Jeffares
There might not be as big of an improver in the Smithy’s VFL this season as Frankston’s Seb Quirk. The now full-time midfielder has taken his game to a whole new level in 2024, working alongside Trent Mynott and Tom Murphy to form an extremely consistent and diligent trio in the engine room.
The 22-year-old made the jump to Frankston ahead of the 2023 season from his native New South Wales after being a part of the GWS GIANTS’ Academy program and featuring for the side’s VFL team in 2022.
Born in Maitland, near the Hunter Valley, to parents from Finley and Wagga Wagga before growing up in Wagga Wagga and Leeton – football was always on the mind for Quirk with his dad playing the sport through his late teenage and early twenties in The Riverina area in country New South Wales.
Quirk would then move to Canberra, where he continued to ply his trade in football before getting an opportunity to be included with the GIANTS VFL side.
“I was born up in Maitland, up near the Hunter Valley, and then moved down to Wagga (Wagga) and was living in Wagga (Wagga) and a little town called Leeton, just outside of Wagga (Wagga), up until Year Six or Seven and then moved from there to Canberra and then played the rest of my junior footy with Marist College in Canberra,” Quirk said.
“Post-Year 12, (I) played two pretty COVID-interrupted seasons with (the) Belconnen Magpies’ first-grade side in Canberra. From there I got the opportunity to move up to Sydney and train on with the GIANTS side (and play) in their VFL team for a year.”
Being a part of the GIANTS Academy and an AFL-aligned program prior to featuring for the VFL side was something that Quirk enjoyed in his footballing journey. The GIANTS target several broader regions to form a development program of kids from a young age before narrowing down to their academy group.
“It was really good. They’ve got a development program that runs from Under 12s through to Under 14s. That’s just a big inclusion of as many kids as they can get, and you just go down and train one or two nights a week. Post that, they select their Academy squad,” he said.
“Because the GIANTS’ regions are so broad, there’s a training location in Western Sydney, one in Canberra, one in Wagga (Wagga), and I think there could be one out (in the) Bathurst area as well.
“It’s a bit different in terms of some of the other academies like Gold Coast’s (Suns), Brisbane (Lions), and Sydney (Swans) where everyone is training together all the time.
“You had all those different satellite training groups (at the GIANTS), which was good because you get to meet lots of blokes from different areas (who were) doing lots of different things in life.”
Through the Academy program, Quirk was able to play against some of the best young players in the nation during his time at the GIANTS, getting the opportunity to face their cross-town rivals Sydney’s Academy team while also being able to travel to Victoria to face a handful of NAB League sides.
“How the Academy works (is that) (in Under) 16s you just play against the Swans’ Academy in a little Academy series. Then it builds into (Under) 18s and my 19 year where we got five games in the NAB League, so it was a pretty cool experience,” Quirk said.
“It makes it really good (being in an AFL-aligned Academy). A lot of the boys are going up into the GIANTS VFL program now while they’re still 17 (and) 18 (and) it makes that transition way easier because everyone is playing the same game style and same coaching group.”
In 2022, Quirk made 10 appearances for GWS’ VFL side, coincidentally making his debut against Frankston in Round 2, where he averaged 11.1 disposals and 2.5 tackles a game across the year. Throughout the year, he was able to train alongside the main GIANTS group and pick the brains of several senior AFL-listed players.
Despite the limited playing time, Quirk said he “really enjoyed” the year and praised two coaches in particular for being big influences for him during his time in the orange and charcoal.
“I really enjoyed that year. I was training with the main GIANTS squad pretty much for the entirety of that year, one or two sessions a week, which was awesome,” he said.
“Just getting to learn off all the AFL-listed boys and some of the older guys like Stephen Coniglio, I went to school with Tom Green, so that was good to already have that connection there, and then (I) had a few mates doing the same thing which was awesome.
“In terms of the playing group and the coaching staff, Damien Truslove was a big one. He was the VFL coach at the time, I worked a lot one-on-one with him, (and) he helped me out a lot.
“Lloyd Perris (was another), who was the midfield coach at the time. He was awesome as well, lots of one-on-one, just real intent to help everyone get a little bit better each day which was awesome.”
At the end of that season, Quirk began exploring opportunities elsewhere in order to gain consistent senior football, with the prospect of maintaining a regular role within the GIANTS side looking more challenging with both AFL-listed and other emerging talents hindering the pathway.
The midfielder was in discussions about a possible move to South Australia, before contact between Quirk’s local side, Pennant Hills, and Danny Ryan, who was Frankston’s Senior Coach at the time, opened an opportunity in Victoria to play for the Dolphins.
“I got towards the end of the year with the GIANTS, I was thinking it’s a bit tough, with the AFL guys coming back and you’re in and out each week, to hold that spot and (I) just wasn’t really getting the opportunity I thought I deserved,” Quirk said.
“My position was different each game and there were a couple of games where I reckon I played every position on the field except in the ruck.
“I was looking around; I was chatting to a couple of clubs over in Adelaide in the SANFL as well. (I) then got in touch with Danny Ryan via my local football club in Sydney, Pennant Hills.
“He used to be up in Sydney helping out with Pennant Hills a while ago and they reached out to him. I got in touch with him, (and) he got me down (to Frankston) at the start of December for a week just to train and see how I liked it.
“I loved that, I thought the vibe of the group was really good, I really liked where they were heading and the playing group, lots of guys to learn off.
Quirk would play 15 games for Frankston in 2023, averaging 16.9 disposals and 4.1 tackles a game as he became more comfortable within the side as the season progressed after missing a large chunk of pre-season due to the interstate switch to Victoria.
“I moved down on Australia Day last year, So I missed the bulk of pre-season, so it sort of took a while to get my head around the game plan and get to know everyone a little bit better, which was probably reflective of my performance,” he said.
“It didn’t really start clicking until halfway through last year, where I started to play some good footy and then I think that’s carried on into this year as well.”
And it’s carried on and some in 2024.
With opportunities opening up the midfield, Quirk has played every game this year for the Dolphins, taking his career tally to 41 VFL games, as he’s announced himself in the competition as a consistent and damaging ball-winner who also loves the defensive side, with his tackle numbers backing up his ability to apply plenty of pressure on the oppositions’ midfield group as well.
To contextualize the leap Quirk has made this season, in his 25 VFL games across 2022 and 2023, he had just four games where he tallied over 20 disposals. This season, he has only dropped below that marker four times in 16 games to average 23.1 disposals and 5.6 tackles per game, including a career-high 31 disposal outing against the Northern Bullants in Round 16.
Ahead of the chance to move full-time into the middle, Quirk identified areas of improvement around stoppages and, working alongside midfield coach Tim McGibney, used the pre-season to knuckle down and strengthen his overall game to ensure he took his opportunity and became the important part of the Frankston set up that he has in 2024, alongside several other players who have made the step up to the midfield.
“I really saw an opportunity was up for grabs and I just wanted to take it with both hands. Just from the feedback I got from ‘Timmy’ (McGibney), he gave me some good, honest feedback at the end of last year on where to improve,” Quirk said.
“I just really needed to work on my post-stoppage work. We identified that I was pretty good and pretty consistent around stoppages, but it was what I was doing when I was getting the footy and then post-stoppage.
“I was too stationary, too reluctant just to throw it on the boot. Now we’ve worked on that explosion and taking the game to the next level where I’m able to be a lot more damaging with the footy when I get it.
“There was a big opportunity with a few blokes leaving but I think with ‘Murph’ (Tom Murphy) coming in, Lochie Reidy coming up into that midfield group, Lachie Riley, Taj (Campbell-Farrell) coming in, (that) the dynamic of the midfield this year is a lot more wanting everyone to get better, everyone’s working together to improve each other.
“It’s a lot more competitive and we’re really striving to push each other to the next level.”
Quirk highlighted the impact that McGibney has had on his time at Frankston over the past two seasons, working closely alongside each other and labelling the assistant coach as a massive factor in his decision to ‘run it back’ at Frankston in 2024.
“(He’s been) massive. ’Timmy’ was one of the biggest reasons that I came back with Frankston this year. I waited to see what he was doing and then when he sent me a text, ‘I’m signing on, what are you doing next year?’, I think I responded with, ‘It’d be rude not to run it back’,” he said.
“He’s been awesome. His dedication, not just to me, but to the whole midfield group and the whole team is awesome. (He’s) driving an hour and a half to get to training each session but he’s always there. If you need to call him or text, he’ll respond straight away.
“He’ll hang around and watch footage an hour after training. He’s been absolutely massive.”
Likewise, Quirk also praised the arrival of Senior Coach Jackson Kornberg at the Club, emphasizing Kornberg’s ability to connect with his team on a personal level and give them the confidence to raise their game as integral attributes in order to get the best out of the playing group.
“He’s been huge as well. A little bit dynamic, a little bit different coaching style to my previous coaches. (He’s) a lot more of a player coach in terms of the connections that everyone has with him,” Quirk said.
“I get along with him really well, but at the same time, I really like the way he challenges me and pushes me to get better each session.
“The biggest thing for me with ‘Jacko’ coming on board is just the confidence. I feel like when I’m playing confident footy, my footy is a lot better and he’s just given me the confidence to be myself and take the game on.
“Definitely the confidence aspect (is something that) he’s worked a lot with me on throughout the first three quarters of the year.”
With just two games remaining for Frankston in the home and away season, the Dolphins have enjoyed a successful season on the field, with the side coming off their fourth successive win after a 28-point victory over Coburg on Sunday afternoon to remain in 10th position on the ladder.
A tight battle to finish in the top 10 looms for many sides in the VFL this year as we enter the tail end of the campaign, and, while Quirk says he’d “love” to feature in the finals, he and the Club are still taking it one week at a time with two massive encounters against Port Melbourne and Footscray at Kinetic Stadium on the horizon.
“The year has been awesome. (There’s) still (some) ups and downs, and some inconsistency, but I think that’s expected with a brand-new game plan, lots of new players (and) new coaching staff,” he said.
“Then we’ve made some changes mid-year to our game style which always take a couple of weeks to click and get in, which is why we’ve seen some of those ebbs and flows.
“I think it’s just starting to click now and we’re playing some good footy.
“I haven’t really thought about (playing finals), to be honest, as of yet. I’m just focussing on whoever we’re playing next week because every game is a tough one.
“(I) would love to be there more than anything else at the end and get a couple of games, if not push further into the year, but (I) haven’t really thought about it too much, (I’m) more focussing on what’s ahead.”
Quirk and the Dolphins will face Port Melbourne on Friday night back under the lights at Kinetic Stadium in what shapes to be a huge night of football, with the first bounce at 7:35 PM (AEST).
