South Fremantle home for Wilson as he reaches 150

BLAYNE Wilson was left unsure where to call home when his time listed with the West Coast Eagles, but his family connection and friends at South Fremantle saw him join the Bulldogs and he now is proud to call the club home as he approaches his 150th WAFL appearance.

Wilson made his WAFL debut back in 2009 starting out at Peel Thunder having come through the ranks for the Mandurah-based club. 

He ended up being picked up by West Coast and would play nine AFL matches and would become entrenched at East Perth in the WAFL playing in both Grand Final losses to 2013 and 2014.

The sting of losing that 2014 Grand Final to Subiaco was added to when Wilson was also delisted by the Eagles, but South Fremantle soon became the obvious choice for the elite defender to call home in the WAFL from 2015 and beyond.

After those 29 games with Peel and 36 with East Perth, Wilson is about to make his 85th appearance for South Fremantle on Saturday against Subiaco at Leederville Oval which will double as his 150th match in the WAFL overall.

With his father and uncle former players at South Fremantle, that helped sway Wilson's decision in the first place to join the Bulldogs ahead of the 2015 season on top of some familiar faces that he would be able to call teammates in the Red V.

Now in his fifth season with the Bulldogs, Wilson feels right at home at South Fremantle and he's sure it's the club that he will have that lifelong connection to.

"Getting delisted from West Coast and leaving East Perth at that time was tough because I wanted to stay there because I had built such good relationships with the people around the footy club," Wilson said.

"I wasn’t able to stay there and I decided to come to South where I had that bit of a family connection and some mates down there at the time, and it definitely feels like home for me now. I couldn’t have asked for anything different in terms of going to another club. 

"I'm really happy with where I went and where I am now, and I couldn’t have it any other way. It's definitely where I call home now and hopefully I can get my name on the locker and be cemented there for the rest of my life."

Wilson's WAFL career began back at Peel in 2009 and he deserves to be proud of the journey to now get to the 150-game mark on Saturday with his journey one that he wouldn’t change a thing about with his time at the Thunder, Royals, Eagles and now Bulldogs.

"It's a good achievement on my behalf and it's something that I'm really proud of. Obviously it's been at three different WAFL clubs so it has been a bit of a journey, but it's been enjoyable the whole way through," Wilson said. 

"I'm pretty proud to now reach 150 no matter where I've played. Getting to 150 senior games anywhere is something that I think is a pretty good achievement and I'm quite happy to get there, and hopefully I have a few more left in me and I can at least get to the 100-game mark at South.

"My time at all three of those clubs I loved and enjoyed, and looking back now I wouldn’t have it any other way. I've had different coaches at each one and I've learnt a little bit off each of them. 

"It has been a good journey in terms of my football and hopefully I can keep going at least a couple more years at South to get to the 100 games for the club and get my name on the locker."

Wilson has been a remarkably consistent performer for South Fremantle since joining the Bulldogs in 2015 after losing his place on the West Coast AFL list. But he is enjoying his football as much as ever in 2019 so far and his form is backing it up.

Wilson has been tremendous to date at centre half-back for South Fremantle in 2019 averaging 19.2 possessions a game and it's the increased leadership responsibility, and the energy provided by the youth grabbing their opportunities that he feels is behind that.

"I feel like I'm back to playing the most consistent footy that I have for the last three or four years so I'm pretty happy with how this season has started," he said.

"The last few years has been a little challenging with work because I've had to travel an hour and-a-half work to get to work and back every day, and then to training. That took its toll a bit but this year I'm working in Perth and it's been a lot easier on me, and I'm probably enjoying my footy even more this year. 

"We've got a bit of a different group and there's a younger vibe at the club which you notice even at training and we're enjoying things during games. It's good fun and we have got better each week we've played with young fellas like Dragovich, Pearson, Noah Strom and Brandon Donaldson are really taking the next step. 

"It's been good fun for us fellas who are a bit older now. I don’t really feel like an older fella but with the blokes that left last year, I've had to step up a little bit and it's been good. It's been one of my most enjoyable years so far playing WAFL footy."

Wilson is also thriving on the chemistry developed in the defensive unit at South Fremantle, enjoying playing alongside the likes of Noah Strom, Chad Pearson, Jason Maskos, Zac Dent and Nick Suban.

"I feel like our back half especially is really settled at the moment. We've got a couple of experienced fellas and then a couple of younger fellas who have taken the next step which is really good," Wilson said.

"We try to pride ourselves on being our own little team within the team environment so we help out each other the best we can. Everyone does their job pretty much to the tee and plays their role, and we all get along well down there. 

"That makes things so much easier when we aren’t focusing on ourselves, we are worried about getting things done as a collective which is really good and it's been a focus on us especially this year now that we are more settled as a group."

Wilson has been remarkably consistent throughout all of his 149 games leading into his 150th WAFL appearance on Saturday against Subiaco at Leederville Oval, but what continues to drive him on is that hunger for a premiership that is proving tantalisingly elusive.

Remarkably over five of the past six WAFL seasons, Wilson has either played in the team that has lost a Grand Final or the preliminary final having been there at East Perth in 2013 and 2014, and now South Fremantle the past three years for the three straight preliminary final defeats.

That desire to continue to fight to become a WAFL premiership player is burning inside Wilson stronger than ever early in 2019.

"It hurts a fair bit I suppose and the hunger has never been stronger than it is at the moment," Wilson said. 

"Obviously having played in the two losing Grand Finals and now the last three losing preliminaries, it has been close enough but close enough is not good enough obviously. If we can get close enough this year I reckon it would be the cherry on the top if we can get there. 

"But at the moment we are focused on getting enough wins to get to finals and then when you get there it's a different ball game.

"Hopefully we can get there again this year and keep going further than the last three years. I've got the drive there to try and win a flag, that's been my goal ever since I came back to Souths because I thought we had a good enough list, and I still think we do."