Nicholas Francis had his heart set on following in his parents’ footsteps and forging a career in physiotherapy, and then he met Jonathan Bowlby.
The Bond University Class of 2006 law graduate was teaching legal studies at his old alma mater Xavier College when Francis walked into his classroom at the start of Year 12 in 2023.
The pair shared a love of AFL football and as the term rolled on, Bowlby ignited a passion for the law that would guide the College captain on the same journey north to the Gold Coast that he had taken almost twenty years before.
Both my parents are physios and I was following that path,” Francis said.
“Then I started legal studies in Year 12 and my teacher had studied law at Bond and through conversations with him I became really interested in the law and started to think that could be a cool future.
“We went on an excursion to the courts one day and it was awesome. I said to myself, I want this.
“And Mr Bowlby painted such a great picture of Bond I was determined to come here.’’
Bowlby said while it was flattering to hear his star student acknowledge the part he had played in his high school academic success, the reality was Francis was the type of kid who would flourish in whatever field he chose.
Francis didn’t take the first two Legal Studies units in Year 11 which meant he was giving a fair head start to his classmates when he made the switch for his final year.
“Everyone else had a year of learning legal terminology and case studies and how to find examples. Nick wouldn’t have known any of that,” Bowlby said.
“But he quickly put himself out in front of everyone from the first assessment and he ended up topping the class which speaks to his incredible work ethic. We saw it in his academic studies and his sport.’’
However, he is happy to take some credit for steering him towards his old stomping ground at Bond University.
“I don’t know if it was the academics or talking to him about campus life,” he said.
“We did talk a lot about how Bond has that American collegiate style approach to its sport which really interested him, and he was also excited by the international flavour of the student cohort.
“And the extra semester and the work hard, play hard ethos that exists at Bond really appealed to him.”
Like most footy-mad Victorian kids Francis harboured a dream to be an AFL footballer.
A series of hurdles may have forced him to reshape his ambitions, but they have made no impact on his attitude.
The Covid-19 lockdowns in Victoria ensured there was no football played when he was in Year 9 and he played only four games in Year 10.
When an injury kept him out of all football in Year 11, he was overlooked by the Oakleigh Chargers, who compete in the elite Under 18s Nab League from which the majority of AFL footballers are drafted.
Not to be deterred, he set his sights on a strong year for Xavier College under coach Jobe Watson, the former Essendon skipper.
“I worked my backside off over that pre-season to make sure I could get a role in the ones, so I was happy with that,” he said.
“And to learn from someone like Jobe Watson who has won a Brownlow was incredible.
“I had an alright year; I wasn’t in contention to get drafted but I was keen to explore any option to become the best payer I can be.
“I had heard great things about Bond, the footy program and the law school so I applied for the Riewoldt Family AFL Excellence scholarship.”
At the same time, his Year 12 form had been strong enough for the Chargers to invite him down for pre-season under competition rules that allow TAC Cup clubs to select five over-age players.
He performed well in trial games and over a six-week summer training block until the Bond scholarship offer arrived in the mail, forcing him to make a decision.
“I had to come. Shaun Hart, Andy Lovell, Maxy Kennedy - these are some of the best coaches going around in Australia,” he said.
“To learn from them and develop my footy was an opportunity that was too good to pass up.’’