Richmond’s somersault man Seth Campbell was not always this exuberant.
In his first year at the club, he didn’t say a word. As one of the last players through the door at Punt Road at the end of 2022, the rookie-listed Campbell thought it was best to keep a low profile around the champions of the club.
Seth Campbell celebrates in style.Credit: Channel Seven
“It was frightening coming into a club that’s done so much under a coach like Dimma [Damien Hardwick] that’s got that big record, one of the best coaches there is,” Campbell said.
“Just having Dustin [Martin], Jack Riewoldt, Trent Cotchin – I came into the club a bit shy. It’s so hard to come in and be so confident around guys who have done so much in the game.”
The changing of the guard, as painful as it has been for the Tigers faithful, has helped Campbell find his voice. He’s gone from being as quiet as a church mouse to becoming a self-described “pest around the club” who celebrates match-winning goals with somersaults and backflips in front of 80,000 fans.
“I bring a lot of energy, and that’s what I pride myself on,” Campbell said.
Seth Campbell celebrates.Credit: Getty Images
The football world might know him best for his acrobatics in round one against Carlton, but there’s more to the boy from Burnie than that. He can also play a bit.
In the misery of last year, Campbell was a shining light for the Tigers, playing in 21 games and winning the club’s best first-year player award. Seven goals from three games so far this year has him on top of Richmond’s goal-kicking list. Yes, it’s a small sample size, but Tigers fans just want to see promise.
Campbell has taken the path less travelled on his way to the big time. His story shows the value of perseverance and self-belief.
In 2022, Campbell was on a building site when his NAB League coach at the Tassie Devils, Jeromey Webberley (who played 16 games for Richmond between 2010 and 2012), informed him he had not been invited to the draft combine. The news flattened Campbell.
“I want to play footy, so I was thinking to myself, ‘What am I going to do now? Footy’s done,’” Campbell recalled.
The Tigers were leaping for joy after causing a boilover in round one, and no one leapt higher than Seth Campbell.Credit: Getty Images
The next day, Webberley had better news for him: clubs wanted to see him. Campbell’s time of 2.98 seconds for the 20-metre sprint and a top-10 finish in the two-kilometre time trial showed he had the rare mix of speed and endurance that recruiters look for.
“I was up and about because if I knew I could get to the draft combine I could show my traits and show what I’m good at,” Campbell said. “I’m a pretty good runner. I could show what I’m good at.”
Campbell’s was not one of the 59 names read out in the national draft, but Richmond had seen enough to take him with pick No.10 in the rookie draft. Two days later, he was on the mainland crashing at Tim Taranto’s place.
Young Tiger Seth Campbell.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Being drafted at the age of 17 brought its own hurdles. Taranto needed a working with children check to take him in. At the club’s Christmas break-up, he left early “because I couldn’t drink”. New to his P-plates, he’d never driven alone in Burnie and now had to navigate unfamiliar streets in Melbourne traffic.
“I was rattled,” Campbell said.
Osteitis pubis struck in January, and he couldn’t run. His 2023 season consisted of one half of footy. Campbell took up Pilates to strengthen his groins. He’d never heard of Pilates before. He now visits a personal trainer twice a week (including before games) who helps him stretch.
“I had no idea what a reformer machine was,” Campbell said. “We did it in a heat room. What I was getting out of it, it triggered little muscles that I wouldn’t even know existed. I feel, if I put time into them little things, good results will come.
“It’s shown me this year if I can get my body right I can play at the highest level.”
Campbell seems to have a natural nose for goals. He booted 54 one year while at primary school, and another half-ton in under-14s. As a 17-year-old against men, he bagged 10 for North Launceston in Tasmania’s state league.
One of his teammates that day was Lachie Cowan, the Carlton defender whom Campbell overhauled inside 50 for his memorable goal. Cowan and Campbell are good friends, having spent hours carpooling around the island state to get to training and games.
Amid the headlines and hoopla, there were moments when Campbell wondered if he had celebrated too hard at his mate’s expense. Cowan, he said, seems to have taken it alright, though the Blue would prefer someone else to be the fall guy.
“I felt a bit bad,” Campbell said. “He sent me a message other day. He said, ‘Can you do something crazy just to get this backflip out? I’m sick of seeing me when you do it’.”
Like his appetite for goals, somersaulting has been in Campbell’s repertoire since he was a child, even though he was not formally trained in gymnastics as it did not suit his “free-for-all” style. He’d do them off park benches at school. He even showcased his work to Instagram, though Campbell does not want you to find the account. An accident in grade 6 briefly tempered his enthusiasm.
“I used to be a show-off,” Campbell said. “I remember once on a school camp in grade 6, I’d done a double backflip in the air off the trampoline, come down and smacked my knee on my head. That’s when I stopped doing it for a bit.”
It’s now saved for special occasions – and not just limited to the climax of big games in front of 80,000-plus at the MCG. To the amusement of his teammates, he pulled it out on a summer fishing trip when he caught his first fish just as everyone was packing up to leave.
As for the next time he will produce the backflip? Maybe the next time he kicks the winning goal.
“I don’t think it will come out too much,” Campbell said. “Unless there’s a time like that.”
