Kako doesn’t have parents.
He was conjured up by a genie wish !
■■■■ yes, what a start
Kako joins Lloyd as a player to kick a goal without ever having taken possession of the footy.
5 Likes
Was that his little nephew that ran out with the team
I think the club found a lookalike during the Family Day and had him run out. Was cute.
This will be my sanctuary this season
2 Likes
Gee, if he hits that easy hit up to Langford, then no injury occurs. Otherwise he shows good signs.
2 Likes
Was pilloried for the last year or two of his career, became an early internet meme with a page dedicated (mostly in jest) to how ■■■■ he was. Assume that was the genesis of him walking away.
Was extremely bright, got a 99.95 ATAR I believe, did Medicine, then Investment Banking, then… went to Essendon FC as Head of Strategy.
Essendon young guns Isaac Kako and Nate Caddy have promised to bring energy, a level of excitement and high-end work ethic as they prepare to live out their schoolyard dream of playing in the same AFL forward line in Friday night’s MCG blockbuster clash with Hawthorn.
Kako will become the 1200th player to wear the Bombers’ colours when he makes his AFL debut, while his good mate Caddy will be running out for his 11th game after making an impressive start to his AFL career last year.
The pair, who couldn’t be any more different in size, background, hair styles or personality, have forged an extremely close friendship since playing football and sharing classes at Parade College.
“I’m obviously very excited to be playing round 1 in front of a big crowd,” Kako told the Herald Sun in an exclusive interview.
“I can’t wait to debut alongside the boys, and obviously alongside Nate as well.”
Caddy said the pair had been thinking about this opportunity – and this moment – ever since he was drafted to the Bombers with pick 10 in the 2023 draft, knowing Kako had always been likely to become an Essendon player, having been a part of the club’s Next Generation Academy squad since he was 13.
Kako was taken at pick 13 in last year’s draft after Richmond bid on the kid who was considered the best small forward in the draft.
“We obviously thought about it as kids … the fact that we now get the chance to live out our dreams alongside each other is great,” Caddy said. “Hopefully he (Kako) can put some magic on.
“We will be in the forward line together so hopefully he can get a few snags and he can make a couple of good plays, and we can have a win. It will be pretty electric at the ‘G.”
Asked what sort of advice he would give his mate, who is eight months younger than him, Caddy said: “I wouldn’t tell him too much, to be honest. There will be things he will learn out there, but I think if you think about it too much, it will get to you.”
“He just needs to play it like a normal game and he will get the best out of himself.”
Kako, who turned 19 earlier this month, will become the first AFL player of Iraqi heritage when he runs out for the Bombers against the Hawks.
But one of the great inspirations of his life, his mother, Samiya, won’t be there.
She will be watching the game on television from afar in San Diego, in the US, where she is visiting Kako’s sister Lisa, who has just had a baby.
“My sister (Lisa) lives in America and she had a baby the other week,” Kako said. “Mum is over there helping her out.”
“It’s not ideal but at the same time we’re so happy for my sister, so it is ideal from that (perspective). She will be trying to watch it.
“But I will have heaps of family there (on Friday night).”
Laith spent a decade in the Iraqi army before he and Samiya sought a better life for their children, leaving four years before the US invasion in 2003.
Kako was born in Australia in 2006, and he has pledged to make his family proud, forever appreciative of the hard work and sacrifice they made to give their kids a better chance.
“I’m obviously very proud of what my parents have been through,” he said. “It has instilled a heap of work ethic in me, and I have never taken that for granted.
“They have worked so hard. It would be a waste if I didn’t give it back. I want to get out there (on the field) and have some fun, but I also want to make them proud.
“They were searching for a better life … and Australia gave them that.”
Kako no longer has any relatives in Iraq, but wants to be a role model for the Iraqi community in Australia, and perhaps even inspire a few more young kids to take on AFL footy.
“At family events and stuff, everyone used to ask me why I don’t play soccer,” he said. “But (footy) was the thing that interested me.
“My brother was playing and I started taking some steps (in that direction). It really doesn’t matter where your parents are from … hopefully we can get more people involved now.”
Kako was a teenager when he was identified by Essendon as a potential Next Generation Academy player within its region in the northwest corridor of Melbourne.
He followed one of his older brothers into becoming a Bombers’ fan, and as a budding small forward, he took a liking to Essendon’s Leroy Jetta at a young age.
The Bombers have made a long-term commitment to ensuring young multicultural and Indigenous talent is afforded the chance to thrive in the northwest region.
They see Kako’s development and pathway into the AFL as the perfect example of what it wants to achieve.
Parade College coach and former Bomber Ricky Dyson, who also works with Essendon’s VFL squad as an assistant coach, has seen the Kako and Caddy chemistry at close quarters.
The pair met when they first attended the school in Year 7 and they developed a close relationship on the footy field and in the classroom over the years.
Dyson said: “They are two different kids but they really complement each other.”
“Nate seems like he is a bit more confident and Isaac is a little quieter but when you get Isaac one-on-one you can see him relax and be more confident.
“To see them bounce off each other in a school setting was great.”
Caddy’s football pedigree is well-known. His uncle Josh was a two-time premiership player with Richmond, who also played with Gold Coast and Geelong, while his father Saul was also a very talented footballer.
“Its funny how football brings people from all walks of life together,” Dyson said. “It doesn’t matter where you come from, when you sit next to someone in the locker room and pull on the same jumper, you become one very quickly.
“And these boys have formed a really strong friendship and that shows out on the footy field.
“Look, it is only Issac’s first game and Nate’s second year of AFL footy. But over the next couple of years, we will all get to see how strong their connection is.”
Dyson said Kako and Caddy had already volunteered to keep helping out the Parade College side whenever they could.
“They have both reached out wanting to be a part of the program (this year),” he said.
“I’m pretty confident I won’t have to coach them (in the VFL) this year.”
The Bombers have two other former Parade students at the club – Jade Gresham and last year’s draft pick Zak Johnson.
Asked about their on-field chemistry, Caddy said their Parade experiences will stand them in good stead.
“(At Parade) if he was playing half forward and I was playing full forward, I would be the first person he would look for and I would probably look for him if I had the ball and was too far out,” he said.
“We’ve got better and more experienced players here (at Essendon) … but hopefully we can rely on that chemistry a bit.”
Key forward Caddy showed great potential in his 10 games last season and will be even better in 2025, while Kako put the spotlight on him with four goals in the Community Series clash with Geelong last month.
Managing the expectations will be a challenge at times, but both Caddy and Kako say they are hungry to learn from their more experienced teammates and to ride whatever wave comes.
Asked about how he will deal with the extra attention, Kako explained: “I think the spotlight is a good thing. It will mean we are doing something right.
“We just have to keep working hard to get better.”
Caddy agreed: “Sometimes people think it is a bit tacky when kids come out and say they are going to go all right. I don’t want to put any extra pressure on Isaac.”
“He is about to play his first game and I have played 10 games. We are not the most experienced in the league but we want to be players who try to be the best we can be.
“The best way to put it is that you have to prepare for the best and you have to prepare for the worst. We are going to have games when we are not going to be as good.
“Putting pressure on ourselves to perform is a good thing. But when we don’t play as well as we would like, we will have to live with it and learn from it.”
Kako added: “We just want to go out there and have a crack every week.
Both couldn’t be happier with their experiences so far at Essendon, with Kako a well-known face given he has spent a lot of time at The Hangar in recent years as part of the NGA and James Hird Academy.
Caddy said: “I feel like the club is in a good position with the young talent we have. If you look at our list, we have about 10 23-year-olds. When they are going to be 26 or 27, they are going to be stars of the competition.”
“I think we are all optimistic about the future. I feel like the club is in the good spot with young talent.
For the moment, though, the only attention both players have is on Friday’s clash with Essendon’s long-time rival Hawthorn, and hopefully getting off to a strong start to the season.
6 Likes
Thanks!
Most players who debut would try and pick the ball up and risk getting tackled instead Kako just kicked the ball mid air and goaled.
There was another play might have been the 3rd qrt where he saw two free Essendon players in the forward line and he kicked the ball off the ground to his team mates advantage.
He’s already one of our smartest players in the team.
1 Like
That was the one where langford did his hammy.
See - he’s already helping us get closer to those pointy end picks.
Standing up like a proud dad in the crowd when his son kicked the goal loved it.
Whilst I am of course delighted to have both in the side I feel sorry for them because there’s been so much hype and so much is expected of these two very young boys to carry the load of our forward line
1 Like
Isaac is on Swysh. He has a video there where he says his last name. Sounded more like Kakew to me can anyone with better hearing have a listen and give some feedback on what his name sounds like?
1 Like
Don’t feel sorry for 2 young blokes living the dream and having the confidence to admit it.
1 Like
What the fark is Swysh?
1 Like
It’s pronounced Kako.