WHEN Nyah-Nyah West United host Balranald in Round 10 this year, there will be two young men keeping a close eye on proceedings, albeit from some 800km away.
Bragging rights will be on the line between Brent Daniels and Jason Gillbee, the two young Central Murray stars who were linked as AFL team mates at the GWS Giants after Gillbee was picked up as a category B rookie selection in last year’s draft.
While it will be Gillbee’s first year in the AFL system, 2023 also shapes as a defining one in the career of Daniels, who is hoping to cement a regular senior spot after battling persistent hamstring injuries last season.
The early signs are promising for one of the shortest players in the AFL, with Daniels not only being selected to play in Round 1, but impressing with two goals in the Giants’ 16-point win over Adelaide.
Daniels said the past 18 months had been a challenge, but also an experience that taught him some valuable lessons along the way.
“Last year was really tough injury wise, plus I had a few hamstring issues in 2021 as well,” Daniels said.
“What probably made it tougher was that the club weren’t going too well on the field either, so to not be able to contribute made it even worse.
“But at the same time it’s not the end of the world – yeah it sucks to be injured, but there’s definitely worse things going on in life and I suppose that’s the perspective that you have to keep at times when things aren’t going your way.
“You have to keep that balance – I’ve got great family and great friends up here and they all keep me in check and moving in the right direction.”
One of those mates is Gillbee, who despite having been on the Giants list for the past four months, has certainly made an impression.
While the 18 year-old Balranald product is set to pay his dues coming up through the reserves, he is willing to bide his time and continue working on his game – just as Daniels did in his debut season.
“At this point it’s just about getting some more experience against bigger bodies and getting used to the contact and speed of professional football,” Gillbee said.
“A lot of people probably think you have to dominate in the reserves to get a game in the seniors, but it’s so not like that – you just have to lock down your role and play that perfectly and then the opportunities will come.
“Hopefully at some stage this season I’ve done enough to get a game (in the AFL), but for now I’m happy just playing in the reserves and earning my stripes.”
Both Daniels and Gillbee are prime examples of where hard work and dedication can get you.
Both moved away from home to pursue their footballing dreams while still at high school and both were made to earn their spot on an AFL list. Daniels, widely labelled as being too small to play, proved that size is no substitute for heart – while the naturally skilled Gillbee was forced to sit through both the National and Rookie drafts before finally being selected by GWS post draft.
So, for two country boys living their dreams in the nation’s biggest city, the question is, what does the life of an AFL footballer look like?
“I always say you miss out on a lot – especially when I was younger,” Daniels said.
“My mates 21sts, family birthdays, you just don’t get to go to them and I guess people don’t understand that you really do have to sacrifice a fair bit.
“It’s a life that looks great from the outside and it’s an awesome job, don’t get me wrong, I love doing it, but you do have to sacrifice a lot at the same time.”
It’s a similar sentiment for Gillbee – and although both he and Daniels wouldn’t change it for the world, it has still some adjusting to.
“Do I miss the farm? Yeah, sometimes – but I definitely wouldn’t call myself homesick,” Gillbee said.
“It’s more just missing doing some things that you’ve done your whole life and not being able to do those things you enjoy on your days off.
“Sometimes when you’re sitting around not doing much, I’ll think ‘gee, it’d be nice to be back on the farm helping dad right now,’ but I’m certainly not missing it in the way that I’m homesick – far from it.”
In fact, Gilbee has seemingly settled into city life like a duck to water, along with his house mate and good friend – number one draft pick Aaron Cadman.
“I think it’s awesome being up here, to be honest,” Gillbee said.
“‘Caddy’ (Cadman) and I talk about it a fair bit – for someone like him, with the profile he has, you can walk around town and nobody really knows who you are, even people like Toby Greene don’t even get pestered that much and he’s about as big a name as there is in the AFL.
“He’s (Cadman) a great housemate, he’s pretty neat and tidy and likes everything perfect, so he’s always onto me and Max (Gruzewski) about that.
“I’m not saying I’m messy by the way, just maybe not as tidy as he is – and he does tend to keep us in line a little bit more because he’s a big boy and you don’t want to him to get angry.
“We’re certainly going through a fair bit of food at the moment because of him that’s for sure.”
In fact, Gillbee’s diet – or in particular, his penchant for milk — captured national media interest.
For the man now affectionately known as ‘the Milkman’, it was an early look into life in the limelight, with a throwaway comment in a team meeting picked up by a journalist in the room and circulated nationwide. But for Gillbee, it was all a storm in a tea cup – one with plenty of milk in it no doubt.
“It was crazy honestly – I was doing a bit of work with the media team and they couldn’t even help me that much because it was such a random thing to happen,” Gillbee said.
“We were away on camp and I saw a couple of messages but didn’t have much service, so I didn’t really know about it until I got my phone back, but for two or three weeks it just went crazy.
“It was a bit of an eye opener to the world of media, but I enjoyed it I just went along with it.
“All I said in the meeting with the boys was that I drink a lot of milk instead of water because I just prefer the taste and everyone had a bit of a laugh – it all started from there basically.”
While 2023 is shaping up to be a career defining year for the pair of former locals, it’s fair to say they are both looking forward to that one Central Murray game on June 24.
“I’ve always kept a close eye on the Nyah boys,” Daniels said.
“I managed to get back and watch a few games last year, which was good – I hadn’t really done that for a long time and it’s something that I really miss, is being around the football club.
“I keep a close eye on them and how they’re going, especially with Corey (Daniel’s brother) coaching.”
“I reckon there will definitely be a bit of a friendly rivalry when they meet (NNW United and Balranald),” Gilbee said.
“I’ll definitely be tuning in when they play each other and I’ll be watching Balranald pretty closely all season because I think they’ll have a pretty successful year by the looks of it.”
