It’s been a surreal week for Lachlan Earles, an 18-year-old Collingwood Magpies Sport & Business Program student.

Like all Magpies fans, he’s been swept up in Preliminary Finals fever, with a front-row ticket to the chaos and buzz that finals footy brings.

Earles has been out on the track with the team one day a week since July this year, assisting the club’s AFL athletes, football coaches and staff during main training sessions, while gaining valuable industry experience.

A part of his studies in the one-year dual Diploma in Sport and Business program, powered by SEDA, the students is expected to participate in 80 hours of work-integrated learning.

And the players seem to have loved his involvement so much that’s he’s become their “good luck charm.”

The program offers students the chance to learn while gaining experience in a high-performance sporting environment, by blending classroom learning with practical opportunities.

The Sport & Business Program student got up close to the action this week, helping players like Patrick Lipinski and Lachie Schultz with their fundamentals ahead of their Preliminary Final against Brisbane.

“I think they were taking it a little bit easy on me,” Earles told 9News Melbourne.

Students like Lachie, don’t just study sport and business — they live it.

While Lachie is still testing out his interests or considering a university pathway next year and beyond, he’ll always remember the time the Pies got around him as they prepare to take the stage this Saturday evening.

MAGPIES SPORT AND BUSINESS | Learn more about the program here.

Collingwood Football Club works in collaboration with SEDA Group RTO: 22503 on marketing and promotional services relating to the recruitment of prospective students for this program. The program consists of SIS50321 Diploma of Sport and BSB50120 Diploma of Business. In 2025, some of this training is delivered with Victorian and Commonwealth Government funding. The RTO does not guarantee employment.