They played their underage rep footy alongside each other, were drafted to the Lions together and in 2021 Deven Robertson and Jaxon Prior continued their parallel journeys by becoming regulars in Chris Fagan’s senior side.

Robertson debuted in Rd 1, 2020 but it remained his only AFL game for the season.

However, in his second year at the Club he played 16 games floating through the midfield and spending time out on the wing.

His breakout game came in a bruising encounter against Carlton at Marvel Stadium in Rd 6.

It was a game many remember for the loss of Darcy Gardiner to a concussion, the extreme act of courage from Mitch Robinson that saw the veteran winger require a set of staples in the head to stem the flow of bleeding, or Brownlow medalist Lachie Neale playing through an ankle injury that would eventually rule him out for six matches.

Amidst the carnage the teenager showed he could handle the tough stuff as he stunned the Blues with an 18 possession, six tackle and two goal performance.

His 19 disposal effort against GWS and another 18 touches in the Q Clash with the Suns were his other most productive games.

However, it was his competitiveness and tackling ferocity that signaled he was a player of the future as he twice recorded eight or more tackles in a game.

Prior also became a regular, featuring in 18 games mostly on the wing.

With his penetrating left boot, he quickly caught the eye and in just his third game against Essendon in Rd 5 he booted two goals from his 10 possessions.

His most productive outing of the season came against GWS in Rd 11 where he collected 16 possessions and booted a goal.

He went on to record ten double figure possession games and boot six goals in an encouraging start to his AFL career.

Season Averages

Deven Robertson:

Disposals - 13.1

Kicks - 6.9

Handballs - 6.3

Marks - 3.3

Tackles - 4.2

Jaxon Prior

Disposals - 8.9

Handballs - 2.4

Kicks - 6.4

Marks - 2.5

Tackles - 1.3