They’ve followed vastly different sporting paths since leaving high school, but brothers Fraser and Sam Russell have reunited at the Northern Blues.
Fraser, 23, and Sam, 20, last played in the same football team at Geelong College when Fraser was in Year 12 and Sam in Year 9, before both progressed through the Geelong Falcons TAC Cup program.
After turning 18, they developed very different sporting ambitions.
While Sam continued playing football after being selected by Port Adelaide in the 2013 AFL Rookie Draft, Fraser had turned his eye to a potential career in athletics in 2011.
The elder sibling became a Victorian 400m hurdles champion and competed against international athletes on the Australian Athletics Tour before returning to football in 2014. Shortly after playing four games at Northern late that season, he joined his brother in being on an AFL rookie list at Carlton.
“Athletics can be a very lonely sport,” Fraser said.
“The thing I missed most about footy was the social side and the mateship. I probably had eight to 10 training sessions a week as an athlete and when you’re doing seven of them by yourself at 7am on a freezing cold winter’s morning, it’s not that glamorous.
“I sort of sat myself down and thought I’d love to give footy another go. It’s a lot easier when you’re training with 40 other blokes.”
Fraser and Sam’s paths have now converged after both were delisted by their clubs last year. Neither had made their AFL debut, but Fraser’s one year with the Blues and Sam’s two with the Power had given them an enticing taste of the elite level.
Suddenly their ambitions are aligned again. To continue playing football at the highest level they possibly can, Fraser is staying at the club where he played 10 senior Peter Jackson VFL games last year and Sam decided to join him.
Sam said being able to play alongside his brother was the primary reason he signed with Northern. The fact Fraser had gone through the same “devastating” experience of being delisted has helped Sam through the months since it happened in September.
“It was definitely easier doing it together than being on your own,” Sam said.
“Fraser came over in that week (of being delisted) to watch me in the SANFL finals and he was actually there on the day it happened. Then I was back home in Victoria with him the day it happened for him as well.
“It all happened pretty quickly.”
Despite their youth, that shared devastation means the Russells have plenty of life experience to share with their teammates. Indeed, Fraser said he learned a lot about himself after he was delisted by Carlton.
“That was obviously a pretty hard time,” Fraser said. “You go through a lot of emotion.
“There’s anger and then you feel a bit sorry for yourself, and then you get to the point where you could either go away from footy completely, play at a local club or get the best out of yourself.
“I think it’d be a bit of a waste if I just went back and played at local level. I want to be able to play the best footy I can.”
The brothers will continue developing their games under new Northern Blues coach Josh Fraser in 2016, Fraser as a 185cm forward who can move into the midfield and Sam primarily as a pacy 181cm lock-down defender.
They haven’t yet had a chance to take the field together though, with Sam playing the first three rounds in Northern’s senior team and Fraser starting his season in the Development League in Round 2.
Given Sam has been through Darren Burgess’ famously gruelling pre-season training programs at Port Adelaide and manned up on some of the SANFL’s best small forwards over the last two years, Fraser said his brother was already using his experience to provide leadership for his teammates.
“For a young guy, he’s got a very mature head on his shoulders,” Fraser said of Sam.
“He’s not the loudest bloke out on the track but leads by example and really doesn’t put a foot wrong.
“He’s someone for the younger fellas to look up to, having been at Port – he knows what it’s all about. He’s sort of taken charge of the younger guys without meaning to I think.”
As he’s always done in his usual on-field role, Sam said he’s just trying to do his job for the team off-field as well.
“I’m happy to give my opinion, because I’ve been coached by some pretty intelligent people (including Ken Hinkley at the Power),” Sam said. “I try and pass on little things I know to help blokes at training, but I just do what I can.
“I haven’t talked about leadership roles or anything like that. I’m just there enjoying the footy.”
Indeed, both Russell brothers are enjoying their footy once again in the same state at the same club. For the foreseeable future, the only thing that might possibly drive them apart is having to live together.
“I try and keep the house reasonably tidy but it’s a bit of a challenge with Fraser,” Sam laughs.
“We’re polar opposites, but that kind of works.”
* Photo: Northern Blues Football Club
Last Modified on 27/04/2016 09:32
