Luckless ruck: Sam Naismith rekindles love for footy in VFL, determined to return to AFL

But after a decade of frustration, where he endured 15 surgeries (mostly knee and shoulder) and managed just 30 AFL games, he was back at it last Saturday playing for Port Melbourne in a 20-point win over North Melbourne reserves.

Naismith dominated in the ruck, winning 42 hitouts, and kicked an important goal.

It was his first senior game since round 4 of 2020, when he lined up for the Swans against the Western Bulldogs at the SCG. Despite the heartache and the time on the sidelines, Naismith hasn’t given up on his AFL dream.

“I still want to play at the highest level,” Naismith told CODE Sports.

“As much as anything it’s a way of thanking those people who have supported me through this journey.”

A journey it has been. Born in the northern NSW town of Narrabri in 1992, he grew up about as culturally distant from the AFL as you can get while playing rugby league in Gunnedah.

At 16 he was convinced by an Aussie Rules playing mate to have a training run, a year later he was the best and fairest in the Tamworth Australian Football League.

The athletic 206cm big man was always going to grab attention, even in Gunnedah. Paul Roos, then the Swans academy coach, talked him into trying his luck in the big smoke. In 2012, he moved south and played for North Shore in the AFL Sydney comp.

He was drafted as a rookie by the Swans at the end of that season. Two years later, he made his AFL debut while carrying the ruck duties on his own against Richmond in round 23.

By 2016, he was leading a very talented Sydney engine room on a premiership push. Triple Bob Skilton medallist Josh Kennedy remembers how easy Naismith made his job.

“Being a midfielder when Sam was up and going in the ruck was a special place to be,” Kennedy told CODE Sports.

“He was dominant. He had amazing hands and a really soft touch. There was a huge amount of upside to him because there were other parts of his game which could develop.

“When I played with him, he had the ability to get his hand on the ball first and put it where you wanted as a midfielder. He was gifted athletically as well, he could cover the ground and was quick. He also physically protected his teammates, which is what you want.”

In 2016, Naismith and Kennedy fell one victory short of winning a premiership together.

So it was appropriate, and a measure of respect that Kennedy has for his old teammate, that the former Swans captain presented Naismith with his first Port Melbourne guernsey.

“We were close in our lockers (10 and 12) and on the field,” Kennedy said.

“His resilience and positive attitude to life is something to admire. I can’t help but respect his perseverance in not giving up on his dream.”

Another close observer to Naismith’s rocky path was former Swans ruck coach Steve Taubert. The former Richmond, Essendon and Sydney big man says Naismith is one of the most talented ruckmen he’s seen.

“He is one of the tragic stories of the AFL,” Taubert said.

“He was another Max Gawn before the injuries hit. He was mobile and athletic and had a great feel for the ball at stoppages.

“Blokes around him, like Josh Kennedy and Luke Parker, said they had never seen anybody who could deliver the ball on a plate like Sam did. In the first half of the 2016 grand final he was close to best on ground.”

But after 10 years on the Swans’ list at an average of three games per year – and none since 2020 – time was up for Naismith. Sydney delisted him shortly after last year’s grand final loss to Geelong.

Despite Naismith’s injury record, Taubert believes the door isn’t closed on a return to the AFL.

“If he doesn’t break down, AFL teams will take a look at him – including the Swans,” Taubert said.

“Ruckmen are such a valued commodity that he will be considered, but he has to stand up for a year and show clubs he can play. He has to play a full season in the VFL and play well.

“When the Swans finished him up it was the right decision. One thing in his favour is his body hasn’t been battered around and if his knees are alright, he has the body of a 24-year-old.”

Another factor that Taubert believes will work in Naismith’s favour with potential recruiters is the resilience he has shown working through the rehab for three knee reconstructions and a host of other surgeries.

“There’s nothing worse than being on the long-term injury list,” Taubert said.

“It’s the loneliest place in the world. You just feel irrelevant. Sam has endured this for so long and come out the other side. He had six years of it. It would have been very, very difficult for him. I admire that and I think everyone at the Swans does too.”

It wasn’t just the multiple injuries Naismith was dealing with during those troubled times. He also lost his sister Kristi to pancreatic cancer in 2020.

When Covid-19 stopped the AFL season, Naismith regularly made the eight-hour round trip to Mudgee to visit Kristi.

She passed away in the same week as Josh Kennedy’s grandfather, the legendary John Kennedy Snr. The Swans wore black armbands for both in the round-four match against the Bulldogs, which proved Naismith’s final game for the club.

Unsurprisingly it took a toll.

“I fell out of love with the game,” Naismith said.

“I haven’t enjoyed the game over the last couple of years. I didn’t go to ‘Buddy’s 1,000’, I watched it on the couch at home.

“There were a lot of Swans games I didn’t want to watch at all. I felt like I didn’t want to be around footy anymore.”

Fortunately the big man is rekindling his love for the game at Port Melbourne.

Port had a host of guernsey presentations in round one, including James Hird making one to his son Tom. Harley Bennell also played his first game for the Borough.

“I really enjoy being in the trenches with the boys and having fun that way,” Naismith said.

“I’ve reconnected with why I played footy to begin with. I’ve found that at Port Melbourne, I’ve had so much fun. I grew up loving the social aspect of footy, being around the playing group and having fun. Not being out there and playing is not much fun.”