Perseverance pays off: Dane Rampe, raised in Sydney, is becoming a highly valued member of the reigning premiers' back six. Photo: Wolter Peeters
Dane Rampe is not the first, nor will he be the last, footballer to reach the top via the path less trodden but, through naivete then perseverance, he finally had the chance to live his dream.
It was only last year Rampe was sitting in the SCG stands with a few mates, having a quiet beer watching Sydney play, but he is now becoming an increasingly valuable member of the reigning premiers' back six.
But before the Swans noticed the player right under their nose, Rampe, born and raised in Sydney, had to spend three of the longest years of his life in Melbourne, completing an apprenticeship that had no guarantees of leading anywhere.
At an age when most prospective AFL players are cutting their teeth in the national under 18 competition, Rampe was shooting hoops and kicking a round ball.
By the time he had finished school in 2008, Rampe had played at under 7s and 8s, a season in year 7 to keep in touch with primary school mates and a brief kick in year 11 because athletics would have interfered too much with his studies.
That, however, did not stop Rampe, who scored 95.5 in his HSC, from moving to Melbourne and trying his luck in the VFL with the hope of being drafted. What's more, he thought it was a goal he could have achieved in a year.
''It was naive to think that but that's what I thought,'' said Rampe, who turns 23 on Sunday.
Rampe had juggled two other sports yet was still good for his age, so it was only natural for him to think of the improvement he would make when football became his sole focus. What he did not consider was the different attitude to the game in Melbourne.
''Everything's about footy and they're training all year round. That was the biggest shock,'' Rampe said. ''I was doing well up here in the under 17s and 18s - that's why I thought I could make it.''
Remarkably, Rampe almost made it after one season playing in the seconds, mainly as a defender, for Williamstown, who were affiliated with the Western Bulldogs.
He had received a letter of interest from Geelong and had heard second-hand information Carlton were also sniffing but none came closer to drafting him than the Bulldogs.
At the end of 2009, then Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade told Rampe it was down to him and Patrick Rose, who was a star in the VFL, for the club's final pick in the rookie draft.
''It was a bit of a kick in the guts,'' said Rampe, who could see the rationale behind Rose getting the nod. ''They said, 'Keep working on your craft down at Willy'.''
Although the disappointment was a spur, the harder he tried the tougher it became.
''I wouldn't go out because I'd want to focus on my footy and wouldn't want to do anything else except work, because I had to, and train and come back buggered at night,'' Rampe said.
''I had the right mindset but didn't go about it the right way with work-life balance.''
It was not until last year, when he starred in the Sydney Football League, that Rampe learnt that lesson but he is now applying it with the Swans.
Clearly the most inexperienced member of Sydney's defence, Rampe is often isolated in the goal square by rival teams.
He had a few shaky moments against Hawthorn's Jarryd Roughead but clearly beat the seasoned Quinten Lynch last week in arguably the best match of his seven-game career.
Such is the faith the Swans have in Rampe they have picked him seven weeks in a row, which is some achievement given the club, more so than most, makes their players earn their games.
''If I want to be playing out here I need to be doing those jobs - why not throw me in the deep end now?'' Rampe said.
''I feel comfortable with that. I almost laugh about it. They're doing it right in front of my face. They're not being disrespectful to me. It's just the way it is.
''I'm the least experienced defender out there, but bring it on. I genuinely don't feel uncomfortable down there.
''To be out there now is a dream come true. I think that's why I'm doing all right.''
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