Jarman Impey bounces into the conversation as though rebounding across half-back.
Before a question is posed, he’s asking how my day has been.
Soon enough he knows how many children I have, how old they are and how long I have written about football. It’s not your typical start to an interview with a player.
Impey (left) celebrates a finals win with coach Sam Mitchell and new co-captain Jai Newcombe (right). AFL Photos No wonder Sam Mitchell once described the car-loving, family-oriented Impey as an energy-giver at Hawthorn.
It’s a description Impey doesn’t dispute as he heads into the Easter Monday clash against Geelong for his 150th match at the club he joined for family reasons way back in 2018 after 75 matches in four years at Port Adelaide.
“I just have this positive outlook and I just connect with people and put smiles on faces and it probably comes from my upbringing and going through adversity in my life,” Impey said.
“We have got a pretty good job right? We train outside, we get to play in front of a great fan base, football clubs breed amazing people and you are getting fit, you work hard in the gym and all the time [you’re] trying to build something special.”
His father Glenn, who raised Impey and his younger sister Paigan in Shepparton, died at the end of 2016 after battling cancer. Impey was in his third season at Port Adelaide and after one more year at the club, decided with Port’s support to return to Victoria.