Edwards making the most of his move to Bulldogs

STEVEN Edwards has proven a great success story so far in his first season with South Fremantle and after having a family connection to the Bulldogs, he had a pull to join the club and he’s glad he made the move after crying out for more opportunities at Claremont.

Edwards made his league debut with Claremont back in 2013 and after showing good signs in 2014 as a creative running half-back playing seven league games, he couldn’t crack it for a league appearance in 2015 despite some strong reserves form right throughout the year.

That left him wondering where his football future lied at the end of 2015 but when South Fremantle showed an interest, and with his grandfather a former player of the Bulldogs and the Collard family working to sell the club to him, it soon became his preferred choice.

The deal still needed to be made and it became a perfect fit for all parties when Dylan Ross wanted to make his return to Claremont so all was in place for Edwards to join South Fremantle.

He instantly fitted in during pre-season, earned his spot in the team and the place was there for him to grab as a small forward with South Fremantle without Cory Dell’Olio for the 2016 season.

While Edwards had played his football at Claremont as a small defender, the Bulldogs saw him as a small forward.

Now eight games into the season it has been a tremendous success with him averaging 14 possessions a game and kicking eight goals, but his pressure and tackling has been just as impressive.

While the role forward is new for Edwards from what he was used to at Claremont, he has played forward before and he’s enjoying his time alongside Ben Saunders, Mason Shaw, Zac Strom, Blaine Johnson and Haiden Schloithe.

“I played down forward for the majority of my country footy when I was in Albany, but when I was at Claremont I was mostly in the back-line,” Edwards said on The Kennel on 91.3 SportFM.

“But it’s been pretty easy to make the transition back to the forward-line this year because I had been pretty used to it when I was younger.”

As for what brought him to joining South Fremantle, Edwards wasn’t enjoying his lack of league opportunities at Claremont and was happy to hear good things about the Bulldogs and is happy with how the move has panned out so far.

“My grandparents are pretty close with the Collards so they got to talking and thought it would be good if I moved to South. I had a few chats with Cliffy Collard and he pointed me in the right direction, and I’ve been enjoying it ever since,” he said.

“The main reason was to try and play some more league footy. Playing reserves each week wasn’t really something I was looking forward to keep doing. I moved down here hoping to get a few more league gigs and it’s working out pretty well so far.

“I didn’t really enjoy my footy there at Claremont too much last year so I was looking to switch it up. I love being at South Fremantle now and it’s a good club to be at. I’m happy to be here and I’m enjoying my first year.”

South Fremantle is positioned well after nine rounds on top of the WAFL ladder having won seven of eight games, but everyone at the Bulldogs know they can’t take the foot off the pedal this Saturday against Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval even if the black-and-whites are currently struggling.

“We just take it week by week and make sure we run out to do our thing and this week will be no different,” Edwards said.