DATELINE Adelaide: August 30, 2008. Western Bulldog Sam Reid runs onto Football Park for his AFL debut. Nine years and 247 days later, after being delisted once, retiring once and being redrafted twice, he played his 50th AFL game. Dogged by injury, surgery, diabetes and competing with players 10 years his junior for a place in the starting line-up Reid is the poster boy for ‘never give up’. BRAYDEN MAY reports on the player technology and determination rebuilt, relaunched and rewarded.
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WHEN he had endured more general anaesthetics, surgeries, reconstructions and rehabs than he had played games, Sam Reid knew his AFL career was on life support.
So he pulled the plug.
After just 24 games in six seasons, Reid had run out of enthusiasm.
Drafted as an 18-year-old by the Western Bulldogs in 2007, only the sky was Reid’s limit.
Until the sky fell down.
The fifth AFL-experienced player signed by expansion side Greater Western Sydney was going to be his renaissance, the sun was shining on his chequered career, the sky was all blue again...
Until the sky fell down.
Again.
Consigned to the football wilderness of the NEAFL, Sam Reid was looming as a name which might appear in a pub’s obscure questions trivia night.
His development role with the Giants between 2014 and 2015 appeared to be his future – but the Giants realised they had made a mistake.
Reid wasn’t just a development coach he was an unpolished gem right in front of their eyes.
The dark clouds were beginning to fade as Reid was re-selected by the Giants in the 2016 rookie draft.
“It was an opportunity I couldn’t knock back,” Reid said.
“Not everyone gets the opportunity for a second chance so I was in an extremely privileged position.
“All of a sudden my body started to handle the rigours of regular footy. I was able to train more than when I was actually on the list.
“Everyone goes through rough patches, but it isn’t anything life threatening. You might have done your hamstring or need a shoulder reconstruction – you haven’t lost a limb.
“I had to change my thought process once I found myself off the list, and it hit me that AFL isn’t everything. In turn, I started to play better football.”
Back from the football wilderness, Reid’s next challenge was to break into a Giants outfit littered with talent.
After just six games in 2016, he could have been forgiven for thinking his papers were stamped – but again he hung on.
Reid played 13 games the following season, before again being delisted due to the competition’s rules, only to be re-rookied weeks later.
He was continuing to ride the crest of the Orange Tsunami.
“Being drafted for a third time is an honour not a lot of guys have,” Reid laughed.
“I wasn’t ready to give up and I was lucky the club wasn’t ready to send me to the scrap heap.”
Not even Reid could have predicted what happened next.
Almost two years later, he has gone on to play 41 of a possible 42 AFL games (and he only missed that one game because he was rested).
“Everything just started to come together,” Reid said.
“It would be fair to say people are shocked about where I am today. In the past two years, I’ve been able to do most of the pre-season which has allowed me to go into the season with confidence.
“I’m not sure what it is, but my body might have finally matured because it took longer to develop.
“I was just stoked to make the half century after everything I had been through,” he said.
“There have been a lot of guys over the past few years who have continued to battle through injury and they’ve all made for a great story.
“I’m not thinking about playing 100 games because there is a lot of hard work to do before then.
“But establishing myself as a regular AFL player is my biggest achievement.”
Even though the door looked to be shut on Reid’s career, he has continued to prove people wrong and stay afloat – much like the Giants as a team.
Despite the talent they’ve accessed via draft concessions, GWS are yet to play in a grand final, with some commentators labelling them as pretenders.
“I’m a big believer in saying ‘stuff you’ to anyone who doubts me or the team,” Reid said.
“The media love to knock you while you are down and jump on your side when everything is going well.
“Premierships are why you play. If you are out there for individual success you are playing the wrong sport.
“You don’t come back in late November or early December to work hard or only have a couple of hours sleep after a night game to say we tried our best.”
When it comes to trying your best, Reid has no option.
On top of his well-documented surgical history, since 2010 he has also been confronted by Type 1 diabetes – the diabetes that requires daily insulin injections, requires multiple blood tests daily.
Including game day.
“Initially it was quite a lot to try and take in but I was desperate to continue fighting,” Reid explained.
“As a diabetic, your body takes a lot longer to recover from physical activity and it was something I struggled with at first.
“My wife Elissa is an osteopath so she has been extremely helpful in setting up a routine.
Without her support, I would find the process a lot more difficult. “I managed to find a routine which suited me and I’ve followed it ever since.”
While Reid insists he still has plenty to offer the Giants, he is well aware you can’t stay at the top level forever.
With brother Ben having previously played for Echuca, perhaps there is hope of a Reid reunion at the Murray Bombers.
“I do love Echuca, it’s a great part of the world,” he said.
“Ben and I haven’t played together since we were 12 or 13 so it would be great if we could be on the same field again.
“We have a strong family connection in town so perhaps it is something we take a closer look at down the track.
“My mates and I have said for a while we would love to have a kick together and try and win a flag.”
When the curtains do close on Reid’s playing days, he won’t be sick and tired of footy, he wants to give back.
“I’d love to be able to work in the development and welfare department of an AFL club,” he said.
“But if that didn’t happen I’d love to coach a local footy team. If I was given the chance in country Victoria I couldn’t knock it back.
“Footy has been in my life forever and I can’t see that changing anytime soon.”
Away from the field, Reid’s life will soon change forever with wife Elissa set to give birth to the couple’s first child.
“Elissa keeps telling me she will understand the pain we go through as footballers, but I think she will be in a little bit more pain,” Reid laughed.
“She is due around grand final time, which could be pretty interesting.
“It’s an exciting step in what has been a terrific journey so far and I’m looking forward to taking on whatever life throws at me.”
A life that has already given Reid several of its best shots – but he’s still on his feet and swinging.
Footnote: Incredibly, after taking almost a decade to make 50 games, Reid is now within sight of 100 and has just signed a one-year extension on his Giants’ contract.
If he carries his 2019 form into next year, he is almost certain to reach that magical milestone.