One of the Peter Jackson VFL’s elder statesmen, Box Hill Hawks premiership midfielder Sam Iles, will notch his 150th senior match this Sunday against Geelong at Simonds Stadium.
The VFL website talked to the 28-year-old (his 29th birthday falls on the same day as the game) about his journey to the milestone.
Sam Iles has had a range of experiences in the VFL. The Hobart native started his journey with four games for Tasmania’s VFL team as a youngster before being on Collingwood’s AFL list from 2006-08. He played seven senior games for the Magpies as well as 22 for then-aligned club Williamstown in 2006-07 and 19 for Collingwood’s new standalone VFL team in 2008.
Iles’ stellar 2009 season with Box Hill (19 games) saw him win the club’s best and fairest, selected in the VFL Team of the Year and later rookie-listed by Gold Coast. He played 18 VFL games as the Suns prepared for their inaugural AFL season in 2010, and then appeared for the club in 26 AFL games in 2011-12.
Iles was delisted and returned to Box Hill in 2013 where he’s played a further 67 games for the Hawks, including their 2013 premiership. He claimed another club best and fairest in 2014 and played in losing Grand Finals in 2014 and 2015.
How do you feel about bringing up your 150th VFL game? Given you were drafted into the AFL at 18, you probably wouldn’t have wanted to play this many VFL games!
“That’s probably a good point! Obviously you’d want to play a lot more AFL games than I did, but you want to play at the highest level you can as well. To get to 150 VFL games is something I’m proud of, to go along with the 33 AFL games as well.”
What do you think are the personal traits and skills that have allowed you to play 150 VFL games?
“I think (the ability to) sacrifice is the biggest one. It would’ve been an easy option over the last few years to drop back and play local footy, which is easier on your time. Playing in the VFL requires a big sacrifice. Sometimes you’re training four nights a week, on top of work and then game day as well, and you have to back it up week to week. At the end of every season I’ve been back at Box Hill, thoughts have always gone through my mind about whether I still have the drive to keep going, but I think the success we’ve had over the last few years has added to why I’ve stayed around. I just think playing at the highest level you can is something you should do as long as your body can still do it.”
Why did you decide to come back to Box Hill after being delisted by Gold Coast in 2012?
“I played at Box Hill in 2009 and that was probably my most enjoyable year of footy. I think by the end of my third year on the Gold Coast, I’d lost the passion to play in a way. I was playing regularly in the NEAFL and I don’t think it’s as strong a competition as the VFL is. I think I wasn’t challenging myself. I’d enjoyed my previous year at Box Hill and just knew I’d enjoy it if I went back there. Throughout 2010-12 when I was back in Melbourne, I’d go and watch Box Hill play and a few of my mates were still playing. I also got to know other guys there like Luke Andrews, Sam Cust and Xavier Murphy, and I played in a flag with a few of them in 2013. There was also Marc Lock, who I had spent a lot of time up on the Gold Coast with. In the end it was a pretty easy decision.”
What have been the biggest changes for you personally and as a footballer over your VFL journey?
“I just think if you can learn as much as you can about footy from a younger age, it makes you a better footy player later. I had a good chat with our coach Marco Bello recently and he said he’s always learning as a coach, and even as the oldest guy in the team, I’m always learning as well. It’s the game play – I think there’s more research going into the opposition – and into what we’ve done on the weekend ourselves – these years at VFL level than five or six years ago. I think a few years ago you’d play a similar style no matter who the opposition was, but now you definitely adjust to what the opposition is going to throw up.”
What has been your most memorable team or individual moment?
“Definitely the premiership in 2013. On the flip side, you’ve got the disappointment of the 2014 and 2015 Grand Finals. Everyone plays footy for enjoyment and success and 2013 was a career highlight for me, but to lose the next two were very disappointing and hopefully we can put ourselves in a position this year for me and a lot of the other boys to play in a second flag.”
What do you still hope to achieve in the VFL?
“I think while you can still play reasonable footy as an individual, you’re striving to play some successful footy with a lot of your mates. It’s awesome to see the younger guys develop year to year too – guys like James Sicily, Tim O’Brien and Billy Hartung have all gone on to AFL level for Hawthorn now. The last few weeks, we’ve had some Box Hill guys like Julian Soccio and Jordan Walker who’ve played a lot of Development League footy come on to play senior VFL footy. It’s always good to see the development within your footy club.”
What do you think you’ll be doing once your footy career ends?
“I’d like to get involved in coaching. I’m doing a little bit of coaching with the younger Hawthorn guys at the moment through Box Hill, so I’d like to continue down that path if I can. It’s just with development – going through vision with those guys and working with Marco Bello doing some opposition analysis work and then going through some of the review of the previous week’s game. It’s just a foot in the door in the way of development and seeing how an AFL club runs away from a playing point-of-view.”
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Last Modified on 17/06/2016 12:22
