By Vince Rugari
Tom Papley was involved in a car accident on Anzac Parade just hours before starring for the Sydney Swans in their thrilling AFL qualifying final win at the nearby SCG on Saturday – but despite being in full club uniform, the person he rear-ended had no idea who he was.
Speaking on his weekly podcast, The Early Crow, Papley revealed his tumultuous build-up to the Swans’ six-point comeback victory over the Giants, which was his first game since suffering an ankle injury in round 19 against Brisbane.
Tom Papley likes to celebrate.Credit: Getty
The 28-year-old was so nervous about whether his ankle would hold up that he spoke with the club’s sports psychologist, Emma Murray, to help him deal with the situation.
“I’ve actually really been worried about my ankle, mentally, for probably the last couple of weeks, just about, is it going to be right, am I going to be right, is it going to go again?” Papley said.
“As an AFL player, [life is] pretty good, but when the stress starts to come and the finals start to get close ... I’ve never done it before, some stuff that she did with me, and it’s definitely helped me perform. It cleared my mind a bit. The mind is a weird thing.”
But his anxiety ramped up again on the way to the game when he rear-ended the car in front of him just a stone’s throw from the SCG.
Connor Idun exchanges words with Tom Papley during the first half.Credit: Getty
“Some guy tried an illegal turn left, and the Mazda slammed on the brakes, and I slammed on the brakes, and I’ve banged straight into his boot, smashed his boot up ... I don’t think he can open the boot,” Papley said.
“Everyone was OK. [The driver of the Mazda] was a good man, he didn’t know what was going on. I was wearing all Sydney kit, and he still didn’t realise what was going on, so that was actually handy, but I got a few toots on the side of the road and things like that.
“If it was in Melbourne, it would have been all over the bloody media.”
Papley did not tell anyone at the Swans about the collision – coach John Longmire, he said, “would have been going off” had he known pre-match – but he figures word must have filtered through to the club from passers-by.
“Obviously, someone’s known someone at the club and seen me, and then the player development manager’s come up to me and said, ‘Are you all right?’” Papley said. “Because I didn’t tell anyone. I kept it real quiet.”
It didn’t seem to weigh heavily on Papley, judging by his performance on Saturday afternoon. He was among the Swans’ best players, collecting 16 possessions – 12 of them contested – for two goals and four goal assists, and had a pivotal role in the build-up to Isaac Heeney’s stunning last-quarter goal, which levelled the scores with three minutes to go.
Papley was the recipient of an aimless bomb out of defence from Chad Warner, who thumped the ball to centre wing to gain territory. Despite being outnumbered by Giants defenders Connor Idun and Sam Taylor, Papley won the ball and handpassed it immediately to Heeney, who was streaming past and then launched a monster kick from inside the centre square that bounced through.
“You just give it to him [Heeney] no matter what, I think,” Papley said.
”You’ll see I kick to him a lot of the time. Just seeing him, and I sort of hit it nice on the handball, and he’s fended off [Lachie Whitfield].
“I think the commentary was perfect: ‘To the Rolls-Royce, Heeney,’ and he just goes bang.
“It was an amazing game from Heens. I don’t know how many games he’s won for us this year. Some of the stuff he does is just incredible. He’s just so tough and skilful. We have built a nice connection over the years. ”
Papley was also involved in a quarter-time scuffle with GWS captain Toby Greene, which evolved into an all-in melee and led to a $20,000 fine for the Giants due to the involvement of their football boss, Jason McCartney, who made physical contact with Papley.
“It’s a big chest,” he said of McCartney. “I don’t think I would want to take him on anytime soon. I was a bit surprised he was there, but anyway, it was all in the spirit of the moment.”
The Swans will take on either Port Adelaide or Hawthorn in next weekend’s home preliminary final.
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