Wylie Buzza touches down at Port Adelaide and shows why he will be a popular player at the Power
He has plenty of entertaining stories up his sleeve, but Wylie Buzza is serious about making the most of his second chance in the AFL as he linked up with his Port Adelaide teammates for the first time.
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Zak Butters came prepared to welcome Wylie Buzza to life as a Port Adelaide player.
Just before the former Geelong fan favourite’s first session at his new club, at Grange Oval, Power players gathered around Butters as he dished some dirt on their new teammate.
“He must have got some intel off someone,” Buzza later revealed.
“He just had a bit of a dig at my running bounces, (it’s) not something of mine that I usually do (but) there was a pretty funny incident last year where the bouncing was alright, but what happened at the end of it was pretty ordinary.”
The story goes Buzza, who had never taken a running bounce in his career before, got the ball from half back and bolted - taking the ball all the way to 20 metres out.
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But when he went to kick for goal he shanked the ball, which went to a teammate about five metres away and, somehow, the umpire paid the mark.
It is one of a number of entertaining stories Buzza produced at his official welcoming as a Port Adelaide player, after he was delisted by Geelong.
There’s the one about how as a 16-year-old in the country Queensland town of Gatton he picked up a footy for the first time because his mate wanted a day-off school.
He’d found a clause that said they could skip class if they tried out for the local team.
“Growing up I pretty much played every sport, but Rugby League was my main one, I wanted to to play for the Brisbane Broncos and for Queensland in the State of Origin that’s coming to Adelaide this year,” Buzza said.
“(But) I ventured into having a crack at AFL... I was pretty ordinary at that too at first.”
Or there’s the one about how he came to lose two teeth, admitting his girlfriend “is going to be super mad that I don’t have my dentures in” during his interview with The Advertiser.
It’s easy to see why Buzza will probably become a much-liked member of Port’s playing group, and a popular player among fans.
But while it is easy to view Buzza, with the big hair and beaming smile, as a larrikin, the 23-year-old 198cm forward/ruck has a steely determination to make the most of his second chance at playing AFL.
Despite impressing at times for the Cats, Geelong’s strong form and a lack of injuries at the club meant he could only manage nine games for the Victorian powerhouse - with none coming in 2019 despite 31 goals in 17 games at VFL level.
“I felt like I was just hitting my straps at Geelong, I’ve finished my apprenticeship” Buzza said.
“(But) the four years I was at Geelong we did make finals every year... and Tom Hawkins is a pretty handy player and I don’t think he missed a game through injury in that period.
“I felt like I play a pretty similar role to Tom and thought I was versatile enough to play around him, but I guess that wasn’t the case.”
It doesn’t get any easier at Alberton for Buzza, with Charlie Dixon now in front of him as the Power’s go-to key forward.
“I think I can get in the middle and play ruck, and I think I can play a supporting role to Charlie if that’s what the team needs,” he said.
“I think what Charlie brings is when he’s at his best, he’s one of the best key forwards (in the competition), so it’d be great to learn off him.”
While Brad Ebert and Ryan Burton were among the Port Adelaide group continuing initial pre-season training at Grange - and Jack Watts putting in plenty of running on his own as he returns from a serious leg injury - sporting fluoro yellow boots, Buzza stood out.
As cries of “Buzz” or “Buzza” rang out from his new teammates during the group’s first kicking drills, the big man showed his classy left foot.
He said Port’s young brigade had also caught his eye.
“There are a lot of young guns who are upbeat and have a lot of smiles on their faces, so I’ve impressed to see that,” Buzza said.