Congratulations toJosh Lai who continues the run of former Zebbies to make their AFL debut in 2026. Josh played his junior football with the Zebbies alongside his twin brother Sean (now Richmond VFL). Prior to joining the Zebbies, the twins were born in Singapore and raised in Beijing until moving to Melbourne in 2012. Soccer was the initial sport of choice until thankfully joining ESJFC to try footy with their friends. On-field Josh showed a lot of promise spending time with the St.Kilda NGA academy and having some interest from the Dragons. In addition to the Zebbies, Josh also starred for Mentone Grammar in the AGSV.
What makes Josh's footy story really impressive though, is that he was essentially drafted on the back of 14 games of local senior footy; with no Talent League or VFL appearances. By chance, Port Adelaide recruiter Brett Anderson returned home on a weekend off to watch his former club Cheltenham take on Bentleigh in the SFL. In only Josh's second game of senior footy he dominated and in doing so impressed an important onlooker. Over that season Brett returned with fellow Port Adelaide recruiters another five times to secretly watch Josh play. This included the 2024 SFL Grand Final where Josh earned best on ground honours. They were convinced and Port Adelaide would select Josh in the 2025 Pre-season draft. After a successful first season in the SANFL, Port Adelaide liked what they saw and extended Josh's contract through 2026. Yesterday, in Round 3, one of Josh's footy dreams came true with an AFL debut against the West Coast Eagles.
Congratulations from the Zebbies and we look forward to a Powerful future.
