The handy mid-fielder started is senior football career in 2014, playing in a combination of reserves and senior games and won the reserves' best and fairest award in his first senior football season.

In 2018, Folkes played in the Horsham and District Inter-league team and is part of the squad for selection in 2019.

Despite winning a number of trophies Folkes said there was no better feeling than running around on the field with "your mates".

"It's something to do on a Saturday and two hours twice a training - running around with the best bunch of people - there's nothing quite like it," he said.

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"I like the freedom of the midfield and if you're lucky enough you can snag a goal if the opportunity is there and fall back and help out the last line of defence when needed."

Pre-game, Folkes has some quirky rituals he follows each week.

"I make sure I eat a ham and salad roll before each game and have a Powerade," he said.

"From half-time of the reserves, I listen to music and when I'm in getting changed it's both headphones in and I turn it right up.

"I focus and try and think about the thing I am going to do in the game. Where I am going to run, where I can help out and make it a lot easier on the rest of the side."

Playing most of his football alongside his older brother, Damon, it is an opportunity Folkes said he feels privileged to do.

"We've never exchanged words on the footy field with each other," he said.

"We get along both on and off the field - I'm pretty lucky to have played 14 years of football with him."

Around the same time, Folkes made his senior football debut he also started growing and creating the now famous dreadlock hairstyle.

"It's now become part of me and I would be pretty hard now, to get rid of them," he said.

"I had thick curly hair which was hard to maintain - so I just decided to make them and since then just kept up the maintenance."

Folkes began playing football in the under-13 competition at Central Park.

"Playing for the Bulldogs and the Tigers was a great start to my football career," he said.

"You learn the basic skills and the importance of what it means to play as a team."

Folkes won his first best and fairest trophy while playing for the Tigers as a top age player.

"I played for Swifts for a couple of years for under-14s and then moved to the Warriors for a year," he said.

"In that year I won the premiership and then moved back to the Swifts for under-17s."

Folkes also won the best and fairest in the Swifts under-17s during his last season in the age group.

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