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On the last day of school holidays, Lucas Robinson has a tradition.
The 16-year-old jumps in the farm ute with one of the dogs, and heads off. He drives the perimeter of his family property in Tarin Rock, just west of Lake Grace, in south-west Western Australia.
It's a property he may well end up working on — if he doesn't follow in the footsteps of another famous person from the region.
"My hero growing up was Nat Fyfe," Robinson said.
"Obviously, being from Lake Grace, he'd always come home and I'd see a lot of him, and he's just a really great person.
"I like to think that I play a little bit similar these days as well."
Nat Fyfe is the most famous footballing product from Lake Grace, and he's an idol for an emerging talented teen. (AAP: Gary Day)
It's easy to draw comparisons between dual-Brownlow Medallist Fyfe and Hale School boarder Robinson, beyond growing up in farm country.
Robinson is already 188 centimetres tall, and moved into the midfield for Hale this season, where he has excelled.
He was named WA's most valuable player at the recent AFL under-16 national championships, where he averaged 24 disposals, six tackles and almost nine clearances across three matches.
"I like to use my size around the contest. I think it's a big advantage. Being a bigger midfielder, just been able to get over and get the ball out to the outside runners," he said.
He's also on the books at Fremantle as a Next Generation Academy player, which he qualifies for through his dad's heritage.
"Both my dad's parents were born over in Zimbabwe, and Dad grew up in Zimbabwe until he was around about five or six," Robinson said.
"They then moved out from Zimbabwe to South Africa, and that's where he spent the majority of his life before he met Mum."
Swapping West Coast for Freo
Before being on the radar of the Dockers, Robinson was actually part of West Coast's NGA, having being approached by the club. He was even playing for Claremont in the WAFL.
Lucas Robinson (right) grew up farming, but wants to join a growing list of AFL footballers to come out of WA's Great Southern. (Supplied)
But Fremantle and WAFL club South Fremantle investigated where the Robinson farm is, and realised he was in the wrong program. So he was switched to the Dockers NGA.
"Freo reached out, and so did South Freo, saying 'no, he's meant to be with us. He's not meant to be with you guys'. So they kind of got me from West Coast," he said.
"I played a few NGA games, and I've got a few looks from some of the [Eagles] coaches.
"They were nice and all, they recognised me. But they were like 'what are you doing over there?'.
"I don't think they quite knew that I'd jumped ship."
Balancing act
Robinson is a boarder at Hale School in Perth's western suburbs, where his sporting talent has not gone unnoticed.
He played rugby union for a year when he first started boarding, and had to tell a disappointed coaching panel he was returning to Australian Rules the next year.
Lucas Robinson (right) grew up driving headers with his brother and cousin. (Supplied)
As a 15-year-old, in year 10, he played in the school's First XVIII side, something a former coach knows well.
"He's always been a talented footballer since he came to Hale back in year seven," said David Bourne, who is Hale's head of senior school and coached Robinson in year 9.
While Robinson's rise has been rapid, it hasn't all been smooth sailing.
After winning the fairest and best in year 9, he was struck down by a stress fracture in his back.
"I think [it] really was a setback at the time, [but] has probably set him up for greater success in the future," Bourne said.
"He had to work through that, rehabilitate, get a lot stronger. He grew a lot through that period as well, just physically.
"That sort of led him to state [under] 15s selection, and then again this year as a state [under] 16s captain, and also MVP of the national titles."
Robinson is a boarder at Hale School in Perth, where he played in the first 18 football team at just 15. (ABC News: Richard Hudon)
Bourne believes being a boarder stands Robinson in good stead for any sporting career that comes.
"Moving away from home is difficult at any age, and for Lucas and others to do that at the age of 12 and come to boarding in Perth, the independent skills that they have built over time to actually be able to manage that," he said.
Robinson admitted he struggled with homesickness when he first started at Hale, but said he had learnt a lot from the experience.
"It's taught me to be resilient and pretty independent," he said.
A young Lucas Robinson pats his pet sheep on the family farm in Tarin Rock, west of Lake Grace. (Supplied)
While football is Robinson's immediate focus, he's got farming in his blood — much like his idol Fyfe.
"I love going back to the farm every holiday, I look forward to it. It's a good break," he said.
"It gets you away from the city for a bit, and just refreshes your mind for a bit.
"I love the every day [things] on the farm, doing something different. It's never the same job.
"From such a young age I've been out helping on the farm with dad doing sheep work or on the header machines and all that sort of stuff."
Robinson will be eligible for the 2026 AFL draft.
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