Jack likes to occasionally remind me that Mr. Damian Hardwick is a student of Kevin Sheedy. That is to say, he is a bit of a sly dog not above a touch of psychology, symbolism, or emotional manipulation - at the right time and used sparingly, of course.
If you were coach of a team that some might think is a little satisfied, lacking in motivation, and you had in that side a fellow who had had to work and scrap and fight just to get a chance to get a chance, and had shown through that work and the success it eventually brought him, what hard work, discipline and persistence can achieve, and that bloke was playing his 100th game, you might use the occasion to remind your group just how lucky they are to be doing what they do, to be playing the game they love for a living, even if they are about to be asked to take on the terrible burden of staying in five-star accommodation on the Gold Coast for a month in the middle of a Melbourne winter. You might even bring in a similar scrapper for his debut, just to underline your point.
I don't think it's a coincidence Jake Aarts is debuting in Kane Lambert's 100th game. Mr. Damian Hardwick is sending his team a message. In a few hours we'll find out if they're listening.