Fremantle midfielder James Aish excited for Norwood homecoming during AFL’s Gather Round

A favourite son of the Norwood Football Club will return home to The Parade this week for the first time in a decade. But this time he’s donning the purple and black.

When James Aish first pulled on the boots for a senior game at Norwood Oval in 2012, he was just a 16-year-old teenager trying to fulfil the expectations of a renowned family legacy at the Redlegs.

A week earlier he had become the youngest player to debut at league level for Norwood in 134 years.

He would eventually go on to win two league premierships, etching his own piece of history into the club.

But his dominance and flare as a young teenager would quickly spell the end of his days as a Redleg as AFL clubs came knocking for a chance to draft the young kid from Adelaide.

Now, almost a decade on, the AFL’s Gather Round presents a unique opportunity for the 27-year-old to return to his spiritual home.

This Friday, his Fremantle Dockers face-off against the Gold Coast Suns for premiership points at The Parade.

“It’s obviously really unexpected, it’s going to be a pretty cool experience,” Aish said.

“I’ve had a lot of great times at this club … but winning a couple of premierships and being back at this ground to celebrate those are some of my best sporting memories.”

Those memories are still shared among teammates to this day.

Fremantle AFL footballer, James Aish at the Norwood Football Club. Picture: Ben Clark

Fremantle AFL footballer, James Aish at Norwood Football Club. Picture: Ben Clark

“It’s all about the lasting impact and connection you get from playing in a premiership. We still have a WhatsApp group where we are planning premiership reunions, it’s pretty special,” he said.

“I still keep in contact with them all and I think there might be a few here on Friday,” he said.

Aish’s father Andrew and uncle Michael were names synonymous with the Norwood Football Club in the 80s and 90s. His cousin Jesse also pulled on the famous red and navy blue many years later.

Aish said it was always his goal to follow in their footsteps.

“Growing up I think it was the one thing I was most looking forward to – playing football for Norwood,” he said.

“I had my cousin Jesse playing league football when I was a teenager and you just become really proud of those family connections to club.”

He said his family were particularly excited to see him back playing at the ground.

“It’s pretty unique and potentially a one off thing for my time in the AFL, so yeah everyone is pretty pumped about it,” he said.

Former footballer Michael Aish with sister Sue after he won the 1981 Magarey Medal.

Norwood centreman Andrew Aish at Adelaide Oval, April 1986. Pic: Alex Massey

With Fremantle getting off to a 1-3 start this season, Aish hoped the game against the Suns at The Parade could be a launch pad for their rise up the ladder.

He said emulating his premiership days at Norwood was the main goal for him at Fremantle.

“That’s what we’re aiming for now with Freo and that’s why everyone plays,” he said.

”It’s early days in the season, and it is a tough competition, but there are definitely things we can fix up.

As the only returning Norwood player to be fielding the ground for an AFL side this weekend, Aish will be hoping his familiarity with the ground can give them an advantage.

“It’s a little bit smaller than most grounds we probably play on now,” he said.

“But it’s a great little stadium and I think it should be a good atmosphere for whatever crowd we have as well.”

The Aish family -Jesse, Michael, James, and Andrew. Pic: Sarah Reed.

He said he hoped to see the Fremantle fans out in force on Friday.

“Hopefully there’s a few Fremantle fans there, not just my family,” he joked.

Norwood Football Club chief executive James Fantasia said having Aish back added to the excitement of the week.

“It’s just absolutely magnificent to have him back. The Aish family are just a marvellous family when it comes to football royalty,” he said.

“I think James has barely lost a game here at the ground, so look out Suns,” he said.

James Aish in his Norwood playing days.

In addition to the match between Fremantle and Gold Coast, Norwood Oval will also host a match on Sunday between Hawthorn and Greater Western Sydney.

Mr Fantasia said there had been an “enormous amount of preparation” for this week’s games.

“We’ll have a broadcast here and you’ll have eight cameras around the grounds and a plethora of officials. It is a big show,” he said.

“There’s only a couple of 1000 tickets left my understanding and they’re expecting those to go pretty quickly through the week.”

He encouraged all South Australians and interstate visitors to purchase a ticket.

“Any of our visitors that really want to get to know the feel of South Australian Football, I think this would be a great venue to come down and take that all in.”

“This is special, this is the modern game, the modern AFL and to have a match for premiership points, it’s going to be on for young and old,” he said.