ROHAN KERR PLAYER COLUMN – ROUND 1

A WEST Perth premiership player will be writing a column for the club's website every week of the 2014 WAFL season. This week's edition is Rohan Kerr's first offering.

OBVIOUSLY when I left Carlton I was a bit cautious on what I wanted to do, and if the AFL was the right path and whether it was going to happen for me again.

Unfortunately it didn’t happen, but fortunately enough Darren Harris was a development coach at Carlton and he is a West Perth legend, and forwarded my number on to Gerry O'Dea and Jamie Ball who gave me a call. So I came over here and 12 months later I'm a premiership player, and couldn’t be happier in where I have come and how the club has treated me, and how well I have settled in.

Obviously when I was told I was delisted by Carlton it was a disappointment as it would be for anyone but I knew leading up to it that my head might be on the chopping block with a new coach coming in. I still tried to stay positive, but I kind of did embrace the fact that it was a possibility so it wasn’t a total shock. When I wasn’t offered another contract I rang my manager Adam Ramanauskas to see what my options were.

He told me a few other AFL clubs were interested in taking me as a rookie, but we also wanted to come up with a back-up plan and that's what we did. I ended up here over here in Perth as a result of that.

In Melbourne, I lived with Dennis Armfield and David Ellard who were both from Swan Districts and we had a lot of other WA blokes at Carlton, and they raved about the place and I heard that the WAFL was a lot different to the VFL, but closer to how the AFL is played. 

I had heard good things about West Perth, but the first club to call me was Peel Thunder and I was pretty keen on going there, and they offered me the world but after that initial chat with them I never heard back from them. A few days later, I got a call from West Perth and they were persistent about getting me over, and because they showed more of an interest and commitment in me, I chose West Perth in the end.

I did know about West Perth from Darren Harris obviously and also I played with Steven Browne and Josh Donaldson at Carlton, and even though that wasn’t so much of a factor in my decision, it definitely helped me feel a bit more relaxed about walking into a foreign environment. Instead of walking in to a group of 50 unfamiliar faces, at least I know a couple of the players already and I have even played against some of them also in the VFL so not every one of the guys was unfamiliar.

It was still a daunting process, but the boys accepted me straightaway and made me feel as welcome as possible. My family, though, is all still back in Melbourne and I have no family over here, so it was a very new environment for me to come into, but I can't thank West Perth enough for the support they have given me and for the support from all my teammates. They have taken me under their wing and I'm very happy with where I am and I have no regrets about coming over to Perth.

As for the football side of things, I like to think that I picked up WAFL football pretty quickly. The grounds are a lot bigger and that suits me because I'm not that hard, ball-winning midfielder that you have to be in the VFL. Over here, there is a lot more open space with more running required and it's more free-flowing, and a lot closer to what happens in the AFL. I've loved every minute of playing over here and hopefully if all goes to plan I will be at West Perth for a long time.

The grand final was an unbelievable experience as well. A few boys have made a few jokes about me being a big game player and it was definitely nice to hit the scoreboard, but really it didn’t matter how I performed. All that mattered was getting the win whether I got five goals, one goal or one touch, and that's what we got.

After the grand final, we celebrated with the 2003 premiership team and they were there to support us on the day, and 60 or 70 per cent of the crowd support was with us on the day too. To see how much it meant to those supporters as well as the players, coaching staff and everyone involved with the West Perth Football Club was a big eye-opener for me. Even after the game to hear so many stories from the 2003 premiership team and a lot of other people around the club, you just realise how much it means to so many people. To win that premiership when no one really backed us was such a big moment for the club and I was honoured to be part of it.

In just over 12 months, I can't help but notice how the club treats everyone as though they are equals no matter your reputation or where you come from. As long as you can prove yourself and work hard, then you will be rewarded by the club for doing the right things on and off the field. That's all us players can ask of the club and the senior guys like Ray Bartholomew, Matt Guadagnin, Dan Hut or Cameron Branch make such an effort to get around the young blokes, and there are no separate groups or anything. The whole group is tight-knit and that definitely helps on and off the field.

Adjusting to life outside of the AFL and being a full-time footballer has certainly had its moments. It took it out of me for the first couple of months to be honest when I was working from 6am to 3pm and then coming to training, but you just have to adapt to it. The club was very helpful in finding me a job and moving over here so I'm thankful for that, but it was tough. I can't really complain, though, because everyone is in the same boat.

Compared to being in the AFL, we probably do the same amount of training just in a shorter amount of time and to chuck on a seven or eight-hour day at work it definitely takes it out of you, but I don’t look at training as a chore to come to. I love getting to training and being around 50 of your best mates so I make sure I enjoy that after a tough day at work. I can't help but smile around these boys and hopefully I can have the same impact on them.

I love living in Perth as well. You don't get this sort of weather in Melbourne. It barely rains over here which is nice even though the sun isn’t all that great for my freckles. The weather is a lot better and I enjoy the lifestyle a lot more, it's a lot more chilled than in Melbourne. It's definitely somewhere I can see myself living for quite a while and hopefully I am at the West Perth Football Club for as long as I'm in Perth.

BY ROHAN KERR