Nick Evans: Son of a gun
Accompanying image courtesy of Jenny Owens
The father-son dynamic of Australian rules football has always been one of the most romantic elements of the great game and Box Hill produces another chapter of father-son history in 2015, with young-gun Nick Evans joining the team over the pre-season.
Evans, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Monday, is the son of former Box Hill Hawk of 48 games and current AFL Football Operations Manager Mark Evans.
“He loves to think that he was the heart and soul of the club when he was here,” Nick Evans said.
“He was here for a four-year period from 1992 until the end of the 1995 season and wore number 13, which I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on as well.”
Despite Mark’s prospering career off the field, Nick says his old man still harbours fond memories of his time at the club and still keeps actively involved.
“He still has a bit to do with the place and likes to come down and watch.”
While his father has become an immense figure in the footballing world, Nick is just starting his own football journey after joining the Hawks permanently this season.
In 2014, Evans split his time between the TAC Cup with Eastern Ranges as a 19-year-old and Box Hill, where he ultimately remained.
“The plan (last year) was that I play the first six games at Eastern Ranges, then have a good stint here (at Box Hill) during the middle of the year, then potentially go back to Eastern at the end of the year.
“As it turned out, I was really enjoying it here so I elected to stay here and I think it was the best thing for my development too.”
A 178-centimetre inside midfielder who is also at home up forward, Evans has enjoyed a successful start to the 2015 season, having played three games in the senior side and another three with the development team.
“It’s been really good this year, I’m really enjoying it.
“It’s also good to have had a good pre-season as well so that’s also helped.”
Outside of football, Evans rarely has a moment to himself, working five days a week and studying at university on top of his football commitments.
“I’m working at Woolies (Woolworths) five days a week in one of their warehouses which is pretty full on and I’m studying Exercise Management and Business Management.
“I’m just getting into exams now so there’s plenty of studying going on.”
On the field though, Evans is eying off a strong finish to the season with both teams sitting in excellent positions after seven rounds.
“Both teams are sitting pretty nicely at the top of the ladder, so I’ll try and build on my form, play consistently and hopefully play as many games in the ones as possible.”
Evans will feature in the development team this Saturday against Port Melbourne, with the game commencing at 9am.
