Deven Robertson reveals why he snubbed West Coast to stay in Brisbane and Chris Fagan’s role in his development
Deven Robertson had two reasons to head west — the pull of home and greater midfield opportunity. Yet, the chiselled Lion chose to stay in Brisbane. He tells CALLUM DICK why.
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He’s the gig-going photography fanatic with an attachment to architecture and a laid-back lifestyle.
He loves his footy, mates and the Arctic Monkeys. But unlike the bulk of his Brisbane Lions teammates, Deven Robertson has zero time for golf.
“I just can’t get into it, it’s too frustrating for me,” he laughs.
“In my nearly five years here I’ve tried to play twice and managed a combination of probably 12 holes I reckon.
“Golf dominates the conversation at the club. Everyone is talking about it all the time … not me.”
Instead the 22-year-old midfielder spends his time looking through a camera lens or teaching himself how to play guitar.
“It’s not going very well, but I’m trying. I’m just teaching myself off of YouTube. I’m terrible at it, but I do enjoy it.”
His non-footy days are often spent grabbing coffee with Joe Daniher, shooting the breeze with Lincoln McCarthy and picking the musical brain of Cal Ah Chee.
Daniher is something of an enigma to many footy fans but to Robertson, the Lions’ laconic tall forward is one of the best blokes in footy.
“Joe is a bit of a role model for me, the way he goes about it and how reserved and laid back he is. I love his outlook on life.”
That outlook includes relative social media anonymity. It’s something Robertson has recently started to adopt.
That decision may not sit well with his 90,000-odd Instagram followers — many of whom discovered @devrob11_ after the now infamous night of August 18 when Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard tore the young Lion’s jersey from his body.
In the days following that Round 23 match, Robertson’s Instagram following ballooned from 11,000 to above 30,000.
He is now one of the most-followed players in the AFL.
“To live through it all was quite bizarre,” he recalled.
“It was such a unique situation. I look back on it now and kinda laugh about the whole thing and just how odd it was.
“I’ve tried to start deleting my social media now. I felt like it got a bit consuming there for a little bit. I think I’ve seen the end of it now.
“It got a bit hectic and a little consuming for me. I’m just trying to reset now which I think will be good for me.”
Robertson would much prefer to be known for his footy exploits.
After four seasons and 41 games at the Lions, the 22-year-old is a popular player with teammates and fans.
Last season he found himself at a career crossroads.
West Coast came calling with a reported four-year deal and promises of more midfield minutes. It was tempting.
Chris Fagan thought he was gone.
Some of his teammates thought he was gone.
At multiple stages throughout last year, Robertson did too.
But his decision to remain in Brisbane, rather than return home and play for his boyhood club, tells you all you need to know about who he is as a footballer.
An Eagles exit would have been the easy way out. Guaranteed AFL minutes? Tick. More time in midfield? Tick tick. Back home with family? No-brainer.
“There were definitely layers to it,” Robertson recalled.
“I supported West Coast growing up and my uncle (Darren Glass) captained them and played 270 games for them. I absolutely idolised him.
“I remember him taking me to training on a few occasions and being around the Eagles at six, seven, eight, nine … I was absolutely bewildered. That’s what I had always dreamt of, playing for the Eagles.”
Instead the Northam product, who captained WA at the U18 National Championships in 2019 and won the Larke Medal as the tournament’s best player, chose to remain in Queensland.
His two-year deal, to the end of 2025, was a major off-season win for the Lions barely a week after their heartbreaking grand final defeat to Collingwood.
“Obviously your life hangs in the balance for a bit,” Robertson said.
“For a lot of the year I didn’t know what I was going to do. I had a lot of feelings around the grand final as well, having just lost such a close game, and feeling like really I had not achieved what I wanted to with this group.
“There wasn’t a precise moment – though I guess what sort of cemented it was the grand final loss.
“I still up to that point had not made my decision. To be so close to winning, it really lit a fire inside of me to stay. I suppose if there was a deciding factor it was probably that.
“I feel like this group has so much we can still achieve and if I walked away without having done so, then it would be a silly decision.”
For years Brisbane fell foul to the go-home factor. During the 2013 trade period, the club was powerless to stop a handful of young players from handing in trade requests.
“The go-home five” became the face of an ongoing war waged by interstate clubs to retain young talent.
But since Fagan’s arrival, the Lions have flipped the script. They are now a destination club.
Perhaps more importantly, that talent is choosing to stay even as cashed-up rivals come calling.
Robertson almost certainly would have had greater opportunities at West Coast.
Instead he chose to stay at the Lions and fight for a place in one of the best midfields in the competition, featuring the likes of Lachie Neale, Josh Dunkley and Hugh McCluggage.
“Fages was really like a father figure throughout it all,” Robertson said.
“He was very selfless in the fact he understood where I was at and that there would be a decision I had to make. He was great in comforting me and saying ultimately I had to do what was best for me and there would be no animosity if I decided to leave.
“I never felt pressure from him to re-sign. I always knew he would respect my decision whichever way it was.
“When I did make the decision he admitted that he was surprised I was staying — surprised, but grateful and happy.”
Even as he signed on the dotted line, Robertson knew his start to 2024 would be compromised.
The winger had surgery in October on a scaphoid injury that he had played through the finals series with.
His recovery was much slower than anticipated, and Robertson was sidelined for much of the pre-season including the Lions’ practice match against Gold Coast on February 22.
His first pre-season minutes came in the VFL practice match against Sydney on Thursday morning.
The delayed start to the year means he may not feature in Fagan’s calculations for the Opening Round clash against Carlton on March 8.
“It’s certainly going to be challenging this year, having not done a whole lot of game stuff this pre-season has been challenging,” he said.
“I sort of liken it to falling off a boat at night time. You can slowly start to see the boat driving away, that’s what it feels like being in rehab and not being able to play.”
But Robertson ended 2023 as a staple in the side that came within a kick of winning the premiership – and he knows where he must improve to keep his place in Fagan’s best 23.
“I’ve been working a lot more with the forward group during our line meetings, because I spend a lot of my time there with Lachie, Dunks, Cam (Rayner), (Zac) Bayley, Hughy and those guys through the middle,” Robertson said.
“I do consider myself a midfielder at heart. It is my favourite position. But in reality if I’m coming into the AFL side it’s on a wing or as a forward, so I’ve just been trying to learn as much as I can about that role.
“It is going to be a challenging year but I’m up for it. Nothing was ever going to come easy and I knew that.”
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