Will Gould had to wait a long time to make his highly-anticipated AFL debut – 1233 days, to be exact, after he was drafted by Sydney.
But when he was finally called up this week to Sydney’s senior line-up, he almost wasn’t ready.
Six days earlier, Gould was pulled from match simulation after just one quarter due to a sore foot. By the end of Saturday, he was walking around in a moon boot. He’d also “struggled”, according to coach John Longmire, in the Swans’ VFL loss to Casey the week before.
Gould’s chances of a debut against Richmond appeared slim.
But as the boy from Lucindale told foxfooty.com.au post-game, “the stars sort of aligned” for him.
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As his foot issue improved, teammates were going down around him. Paddy and Tom McCartin were both ruled out of Gather Round due to concussion, as was Lance Franklin with a knee issue and co-captain Dane Rampe with a neck injury.
With Matt Roberts elevated into the starting 22, a sub spot had opened up. And it would be Gould’s.
The 22-year-old was told he would debut as the Swans’ sub minutes before the club’s captain’s run at St Peter’s College in Adelaide. But because clubs don’t officially name their subs until one hour before the bounce, there was no fanfare or emotional calls to family released around Gould’s exciting news.
Gould handed over ticket allocation responsibilities to his mum, with a big contingent driving from Lucindale to Adelaide on Friday, while his grandparents flew in from Port Lincoln.
“They (the Swans) left it late. I told everyone (friends and family) to keep it quiet (on Thursday) night and ran out here today,” Gould told foxfooty.com.au after Sydney’s 44-point win over Richmond on Friday night.
“It was nice actually keeping it out of the public for a little bit. Perhaps a few less nerves.”
When Gould’s debut was made public and official on Friday night, fans were stoked, as many have followed the Glenelg product’s journey ever since being drafted by Sydney with Pick 26 in the 2019 draft.
Gould entered the AFL system with a body frame and the leadership seemingly ready-made for senior footy. Yet he went three and a bit seasons without a senior game due to, initially, inconsistency at VFL level then a lack of opportunity.
That was until Friday night, when Gould was injected into the game early in the second quarter after Joel Amartey suffered a hamstring injury. He’d finish with nine disposals and, more importantly, his first AFL win.
“It was unfortunate there were a couple of injuries last week, but to come home to Adelaide, my home state, and play in front of friends and family – it’s pretty special” he said.
“It was just an awesome experience and it’s an absolute pleasure to play for the club.”
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Asked if he’d ever thought a debut wouldn’t come, a diplomatic Gould said: “That’s just the highs and lows of footy. Unfortunately it’s taken a while, but I’ve learned a lot along the way and it’s held me in good stead.
“The message (from coaches) has always been consistency and to be ready, because you never know when it’s going to happen – like this week. It took a fair bit to go wrong for me to run out, but always being ready. Last year was the same: Compete and just be ready.”
Gould had played at Adelaide Oval several times before Friday night’s match though elite-level junior matches and SANFL games.
He described running out onto Adelaide Oval’s turf as “special”.
“Even going out there in the warm-up, soaking it all in – it was nice to be back home,” he said.
“It was a surreal feeling running out with the guys.”
Longmire pointed out that Gould was one 15 Swans players aged 24 or under for Friday night’s match for the Swans.
Despite the significant number of injuries – and, consequently, the amount of whiteboard reshuffles required – the Swans coach was able to make it work.
And Gould wants more.
“One little taste – you can’t get sick of that,” Gould said with a big smile. “It’s an incredible feeling from the warm-up, finding out yesterday, running out and then obviously a good win to top it off.
“It was a phenomenal week.”
