If your surname is Robinson and you play in the ruck for Merrigum's senior football side there are a set of expectations that would weigh heavily on the shoulders of any individual.
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That is the position Merrigum vice-captain Kellan Robinson finds himself in this season as he has become the go-to for the rucking duties at the club which sits eighth on the Kyabram district senior football ladder entering the latter stages of the season.
The 24-year-old is the middle son of premiership ruckman and best-and-fairest, Col Robinson, who dominated the Kyabram district competition in the mid-to-late 1980s.
He was also a star with Stanhope in the Heathcote league, where he was a member of another premiership-winning team.
His two other sons, 36-year-old Keegan and Aidan, 23, have both experienced similar sets of expectations in their football careers. Keegan is now retired, but Aidan continues to be compared with his father.
Those comparisons are now starting to sway in favour of the next-generation Robinson as he has this year accepted the captaincy responsibility in several games for Kyabram's senior Goulburn Valley League team.
Kellan, meanwhile, described himself as "a bit of a makeshift ruckman", not afraid to admit he has never been a massive fan of the ruck.
"I've found myself playing there more and more as I get older. I’m slowly coming around to the idea that it is my position," he said.
A surveyor with Civil and Structure Engineering company CAF Consulting, Kellan is the latest Robinson to be representing the Bulldogs.
"Keegan played at Merrigum back in the day, including a thirds flag coached by Hally (current senior coach Leigh Hall)," Kellan said.
Keegan runs a small business, 3B Small Engines, in Kyabram where his brother Aidan is also employed.
Robinson the senior splits his time between watching games at Kyabram and Merrigum.
"Dad mainly watches Ky and is pretty involved around the club, but always comes out to watch Merrigum when he can. Mum comes out to Merrigum quite a bit and is always happy to help out," Kellan said.
Kellan played briefly at Kyabram, a decade ago, in the under-16 competition before kicking 34 goals in 20 games and playing in a premiership in his first season at Merrigum.
He played in another grand final, this time a losing one, the following year when the team was undefeated in the home-and-away rounds, but lost the grand final by a point in the last minute of the game.
Forty-two reserve grade games in four seasons between 2018-21 followed, before his first taste of senior football (two games) in 2019.
"It took me a bit to develop when I was out of thirds. I was probably down on confidence and didn’t really see myself as a senior footballer.
"I probably didnt do myself any favours and could’ve pushed harder, but that’s all in hindsight. We had some great players already filling the roles that I played in; Jake Ross in the ruck and Josh Smith down forward.
"Even when I did get into the seniors I was definitely lacking some confidence and that took a few games to develop," Kellan said.
His confidence has developed significantly in the past two seasons. He played 11 games in 2022, then 15 last season when he was in the best players on seven occasions.
This year that upward trajectory has continued.
"Hally and Darc have been great at getting the vibe up around the club and getting everyone motivated to play their best, something which has rubbed off on me as well.
"The team, as a whole, has definitely helped with my confidence and they all back me in, as I do them," he said.
The vice-captaincy was a surprise, but Kellan has enjoyed working as a leader with a young side that has a lot of new faces.
"It’s taken us a while to gel together, but Hally and Darc have done a great job. If we can clean up a few small mistakes the wins will come," he said.
Kellan said the standouts this season, for him, had been midfield bull Brad Taylor, Jake Gascoyne, Joel McCarten and captain Zak Parkinson.
"Jake has been fantastic for us up forward and even when he isn’t kicking goals he’s doing plenty around the ground to help the team. Zak has continued his form last season and Joel has been terrific coming back from a year off," he said.
As for his younger brother, Aidan, the Bulldogs ruckman does have hopes of one day playing in the same team.
Aidan was in the under-14 team with Kyabram when Kellan was playing under-16 football and when Aidan played one under-17 game for Merrigum in 2017, Kellan was out with a knee injury.
That is the only time Aidan has worn the Merrigum colours in a game for premiership points.
"We have never played together, in either junior or senior football. I’d love to run out with him one day and it would be great to do that at Merrigum," Kellan said.
The family connection of the Robinsons to Merrigum flows through a range of cousins also, while Leanne Robinson (Kellan's mother) played in a few A-grade netball premierships at Merrigum.
"I still have cousins playing in the netball sides now," he said.
Robinson said, of the players he had seen in his time at Merrigum, a close friend and multiple best-and-fairest winner Jack Sinclair was probably the best he had seen.
"Especially considering his age and how young he was when winning his best-and-fairests. Jake Ross and Jake Parkinson were also very handy players I was lucky enough to play with early on," he said.
He said he saw his long-term football future in red, blue and white.
"There's a great vibe around the club and I’ve got plenty of good mates here, so I don’t have any plans to move," he said.
As for his opposition ruckmen he refrained from naming names, but said he tried to tackle each game on its merits and focus on his own game.
"Ruckmen who are strong in the contest and play the game fair are ones I enjoy coming up against. I try and play the game in the right spirit," he said.
Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor