Maric's path from making pizzas to the big time; Voss 'clear' on way ...
Marc McGowan
From making pizzas and stacking shelves at Woolies to the AFL big time.
The mid-season rookie draft’s top pick, Gippsland Power forward Ryan Maric, will fly into Perth on Thursday afternoon, and is expected to play for injury-ravaged West Coast’s WAFL team against Swan Districts on Sunday.
The 18-year-old didn’t think it was realistic mere months ago for him to even contemplate being drafted by mid-season, after undergoing a physical transformation that saw him shed 24 kilograms in two years.
In fact, Maric had never completed a pre-season in an elite pathway until the Power invited him this past summer. But he improved so much and generated enough interest that he may have been a second-round pick in this year’s national draft, if he waited.
The mid-season draft’s No.1 pick, Ryan Maric, with his mother, Jedda Tyson.Credit: AFL Photos
“I just wanted an opportunity – and if that meant not getting picked up in the mid-season [draft] but still pushing for the national, I’d be happy with that as well,” Maric said, the morning after his AFL dream was realised among friends and family at Drouin Football Club.
“It’s pretty surreal. I feel like I’ve got so much upside. I’ve been in the Gippy Power program for only one pre-season ... I had glandular fever at the start of last year, so I was off for, like, three months and that rocked me quite a bit. Being able to focus on footy, and push all the [other] work stuff away and maybe uni for a bit [will help me] to refine my craft.”
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Maric, who is 195 centimetres tall, weighed 107 kilograms in 2021, when he was kicking goals for Drouin. At that stage, him losing weight was more about his own health than chasing an AFL contract, given he was not even part of the Power program.
His brother Josh’s own weight-loss journey, after also tipping the scales at triple-digits at one point, proved the impetus for Maric’s health kick.
Maric was still playing for Drouin’s under-18s team last year, but by this season was a dominant force for the Power and made a seamless transition in two impressive matches for VFL club Box Hill.
“I felt like every time I’ve stepped up; I’ve been pretty confident – from Drouin footy to Gippsland Power to Box Hill, so hopefully I can just keep levelling up and be confident at the level,” he said.
Maric impressed for Gippsland and Box Hill.Credit: AFL Photos
West Coast’s seven first-year players, including ex-Gippsland Power player Coby Burgiel, all plan to pick up Maric from the airport on Thursday as his AFL career begins, after coach Adam Simpson rang him on Wednesday night.
The No.1 pick in mid-season drafts has somewhat been cursed in the past three editions, including Jai Culley suffering an ACL rupture this year, but Maric hopes to become the next smash hit.
“There are some unreal success stories, like Marlion Pickett, John Noble and Ash Johnson, so it’s pretty crazy to look at,” he said.
“Then training with Hawthorn and seeing where [Jai] Newcombe’s come from and how he is such a leader at the club now – it’s pretty crazy. Hopefully, one day, I’m that proven player at the level.”
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Key forward Harry McKay has faced further scrutiny over his ongoing goal-kicking woes and captain Patrick Cripps hit back at critics questioning the team’s culture.
Injuries have struck down ruckman Marc Pittonet (broken hand), Corey Durdin (knee), Ollie Hollands (shoulder), Nic Newman (hamstring) and George Hewett (concussion).
But Voss said the Blues will continue to support each other as they seek a form spike to reignite their finals hopes, starting in Friday night’s crunch clash with Melbourne at the MCG.
“Keep flipping rocks, but the reality is we’re pretty clear on what we need to be able to do next and what it’s going to take to make sure that we turn it around really quickly,” Voss said.
“My focus is to ensure that we get out tomorrow night and we play good football. All this sort of stuff is fine and [you can] keep turning over the rocks, but we’ve got a game to play.
“Where the focus lies for us is on that performance and making sure we get the best version of ourselves.”
Cripps this week took to social media to blast a report on Nine’s Footy Classified that claimed he and Sam Docherty stayed away from the team hotel on last week’s trip to Sydney. Voss was not surprised with Cripps’ response and backed his captain’s approach.
“He’s a fantastic leader and while you’re going through a little bit of a lean time you find out a little bit about what you stand for,” Voss said. “He well and truly stood his ground and so he should.”
Melbourne have lost their last two matches but pose another huge challenge for Carlton, particularly in the ruck, where imposing duo Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy lie in wait.
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The Blues will turn to inexperienced ruckman Tom De Koning with support from part-timer Jack Silvagni in the absence of recently re-signed big man Pittonet.
“They’re a good footy team and they’ve been proven performers over a long period of time,” Voss said of the Demons.
“They’re pretty disciplined the way they go about it but those two [Gawn and Grundy] in particular have been a really significant difference at their respective clubs.
“Talking to Tom, he’s up for it. He can’t wait for the night and we’ve just got to support him as best we possibly can.”
Roy Ward
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has “no idea” if and when his club will be completely clear of the racism controversy which has engulfed it for more than eight months, despite the AFL closing its investigation this week.
The coach steadfastly steered the conversation back to on-field matters, and his young, rebuilding side who face Port Adelaide on Saturday, when questions about the saga have surfaced and so it was again on Thursday.
Hawthorn president Andy Gowers said on Wednesday there were mixed emotions at the Hawks after the AFL investigation had ended and Mitchell echoed those sentiments while deflecting questions about any fines or draft penalties, which would hurt his rebuilding plans for the Hawks, back to Gowers and the club.
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“There is a lot of conversation before you get here [to the club] with newspapers and you guys [media] but Wednesday was the players’ day off, and they come in today, and we’ve had the mid-season draft and they have two new teammates,” Mitchell said.
“So within the football program you move on quickly, you know there are significant things happening on the outside and not to downplay them in the slightest, but if I’m a 20 or 25-year-old young man and I’ve got two new teammates, that is the thing I would be talking about when I turn up to work.
“We had their families in and telling stories about them, so they got a few laughs out of the boys to start the day - I think young men are pretty quick to move on.”
When asked if the club could have handled this matter differently, Mitchell declined to comment and went to the next question.
The Hawks selected Clay Tucker from Eastern Ranges and Brandon Ryan from Northern Bullants in Wednesday’s nights mid-season rookie draft.
Mitchell’s Hawks have won two games in a row and are playing their best football of the season but face a red-hot Port Adelaide in Adelaide on Saturday with the Power on an eight-game winning streak and without a loss since April 1.
Hawks captain James Sicily starred in his side’s win over St Kilda last round with 43 disposals but was suspended for one-game for rough conduct after making high contact with St Kilda forward Anthony Caminiti.
Mitchell said he hadn’t “growled” at Sicily for getting suspended and sometimes, under tighter rules around high contact, players were sometimes unlucky.
“There are a lot of those [incidents] and I think the AFL is doing the right thing in protecting the head at all costs,” Mitchell said. “A while ago, suspensions were an undisciplined act, but now they are sometimes in the wrong place, wrong time, where you just get things a little bit wrong in that instant. He didn’t get growled at.”
Fyfe locked in at Freo until end of 2025AAP
Nat Fyfe’s sights are firmly set on helping Fremantle win their maiden premiership after spurning free agency to re-sign with the club for a further two years.
Fyfe was due to come out of contract at the end of this season, and his uncertain future was becoming a big talking point given his injury struggles, change in role, and the loss of the captaincy.
The two-time Brownlow medallist was slated to spend this season as a permanent forward, but he has managed to play a hybrid midfield/forward role since returning from a foot injury.
Nat Fyfe has signed a two-year deal with the Dockers.Credit: AFL Photos
The 31-year-old looms as a key cog in Fremantle’s premiership push, and insists the thought of leaving the Dockers was never a serious consideration.
“I was never going to play footy anywhere else,” said Fyfe, who is now locked in until 2025.
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“It’s been an interesting previous contract for me, where we basically went through a complete list turnover and rebuild.
“I haven’t played finals since 2015 and I feel there’s been a lot of investment into the club and the club has invested in me.
“I like to play long games, I like payoffs in the end and I’m really hopeful that at the end of this there’s a really good story.”
That payoff is a shiny premiership cup. Fyfe, who missed Fremantle’s finals campaign last year due to injury, was part of the Dockers’ losing grand final side in 2013 and the star veteran craves team success.
“It’s every club’s goal, to try and win a premiership and for us to be part of the first premiership adds a little bit extra, I think,” Fyfe said.
“The last two years has been pretty challenging for me, but I feel the support from the fans has only grown for me and for the club.
“I would never have played footy anywhere else other than here and I’m hopeful [the fans] can be part of a pretty special couple of years coming up for our club.”
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