AFL Draft 2015: Reuben William hopeful of continuing his obsession with the AFL
SINCE arriving in Brisbane from Kenya in 2002, Reuben William has scarcely put a foot wrong on the footy field. Sam Landsberger reports on the young draft hopeful obsessed with footy.
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NO visual cue is required by Reuben William to name any player in the AFL.
Quizzed last week, the footy fanatic reeled off the names of Mitch Wallis, Allen Christensen, Luke McGuane and Jack Riewoldt after being given their club and jumper number.
William is obsessed with AFL fantasy games and barracks for North Melbourne when Andrew Swallow plays and Port Adelaide if Brad Ebert and Ollie Wines are on the field — but only when they aren’t up against his Brisbane Lions.
He has even pulled the Lions’ jumper on four times this year, picked to play in the club’s reserves.
But it is a different story when remembering his first four years, spent growing up in a refugee camp in Kenya.
“Luckily, there’s a few photos from when we were on the bus from a refugee camp to the airport,” William said.
“There was my older sister holding me and my other sister holding my younger brother and my mum there.
“Our whole family was at the back of the bus. We moved to escape the turmoil and the war back there. It’s a bit better now.”
William’s only other memories are the taste of his first sip of Coke in Nairobi and a big fence spanning as far as he could see in the camp.
“There were a couple of huts inside and we were just waiting for papers to go through to get that notification you’ve been approved and you can go,” he said.
“You know when you’re there you can’t be too critical of what you have because it’s probably very scarce.”
Since arriving in Brisbane via Darwin in 2002, William has scarcely put a foot wrong on the footy field.
He ditched soccer and rugby at 14 to focus on his skills and has been a crucial member of Queensland’s under-18 carnival.
Last week he trailed only close mate and Lions academy gun Ben Keays in disposals, gathering 23 as “we got the W” against Northern Territory.
The sports science university student played in two premierships with his brother growing up and now wants Ben Keays to be able to pick him in SuperCoach next year.
“I’m a footy fanatic. I know everything from who wears No. 1 for Brisbane to most teams,” William said.
“Who’s three for Brisbane? That’s easy, Allen Christensen. Three for the Bulldogs?
“I’m not sure if it’s Wallis or (Jack) Macrae. Wait, it’s Wallis — because Jake Stringer is No. 9 and Macrae is 11.”
Originally published as AFL Draft 2015: Reuben William hopeful of continuing his obsession with the AFL
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