Premiership Magpie Billy Frampton on why he still plays footy as if he is on the selection edge
Billy Frampton will forever be a premiership Pie, now he’s locked into the team as they try to repeat history. As he closes in on game 50, the former Crow says he always feels like he’s on the edge.
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Billy Frampton is still playing on the edge – he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Never mind the fact he will forever be a premiership Magpie no matter what happens next, or that he has bedded down a spot in Collingwood’s back six following Nathan Murphy’s retirement, Frampton’s experiences have taught him that nothing in AFL footy is a given.
He’s ridden a selection rollercoaster over the course of the last decade and while he is reaping some good rewards right now at Collingwood, he knows things can change in a heartbeat.
“I can’t see a world when I wouldn’t be living in that space,” Frampton said of feeling on the edge of selection.
“It is my 10th year of (AFL) footy, and I’m up to 48 games (which he will reach against one of his old sides, Adelaide on Sunday). It has been a slog.
“You want to go back and change some things. But at the end of the day I wouldn’t be the player I am trying to be now without going through those challenges.
“I will always consider myself (as playing) on the edge. It probably keeps me in a good head space to play that way.”
Frampton, 27, is edging towards his long-awaited 50-game milestone.
It’s been some sort of journey, one that has taken him from his hometown of Perth to three AFL clubs (Port Adelaide, Adelaide and now Collingwood) after originally being selected at pick 84 in the 2014 draft.
There have been a myriad of twists and turns – injuries, time spent playing in state leagues, but all the while with an unrelenting desire to keep working to stay in the system.
“I was talking to (Magpies teammate) Darcy Cameron about it this week,” Frampton said. “He is at about 80-odd games and he is a bit older than me, and he was saying how much it meant to him to hit that box (50 games).
“Those are things that a lot of players wouldn’t care about, but when you talk about the journey we have been through, those little milestones all add up.
“It will be a cool one to tick off and hopefully I will get there pretty soon.”
Frampton’s big reward came in the form of a memorable first year at Collingwood last year, having been the most unheralded of the four AFL players recruited to the club leading into 2023.
In 16 games last year, he filled a variety of roles – in the ruck during the injury-enforced absence of Cameron and Mason Cox, in defence where he was required at times, and in attack on what turned out to be the most important day of his footy life.
He was the replacement for injured Magpie Dan McStay in the grand final team, assigned a defensive forward role on star Lions defender Harris Andrews.
It ended up being one of the most talked about grand final performances in recent years, which might seem odd for a player who finished with two disposals, a mark and one behind, while trying to keep Andrews out of the play as much as he possibly could.
Some questioned his effectiveness; others loved it; while his teammates and coach Craig McRae couldn’t have been more proud of the selfless role he played on Andrews before the Lions backman got off the chain in a frantic last term.
“It was hard to miss the debate about it, especially in a grand final when the magnifying glass is on everything,” Frampton said of his game.
“You see bits and pieces (of the commentary), but at the end of the day, I couldn’t care less about how I played.
“We won the grand final, I got the (premiership) medal, so that’s the most important thing.”
McRae had told Frampton on the Tuesday before the grand final he would be playing, most likely on Andrews.
“He (McRae) came and got me off the massage table (to tell him he was playing in the grand final),” he said.
“You don’t usually find out until (the) Thursday, but just finding out early meant I was able to organise everything.
“He flagged it (playing on Andrews) at that point, and then he got to me a bit later to talk about the role. It was good for me, he simplified my role and I was able to narrow my focus.
“I didn’t have to be a superstar or try to win the game for us. I just had to play my role.”
Frampton’s connection to McRae is unlike any he has experienced with a previous coach.
“You don’t really hear too much of the negative stuff from (McRae),” he said. “He can have a hard edge to him when he needs to, but he is all about trying to empower you.”
“He wants to pump you up and keep you going. It has really been a breath of fresh air for me. I haven’t had much coaching like that. It has been great for me personally.”
Frampton is convinced now that defence is his natural role.
“That’s what I came here for initially, but I guess throughout my career I have played forward, back and the ruck. I kind of like being flexible.
“But this year I have been playing a lot more backline which I am really enjoying but when the opportunity comes, I can play where the team needs me to play.”
Having been overlooked in the first two rounds of the season, Frampton has played the last seven – for five wins, a draw and a loss – on some of the power forwards, including Harry McKay, Joe Daniher, Peter Wright and Max King.
In seven games, he has conceded only 10 goals, with four of them coming from McKay.
So which of his former Crows teammates will Frampton get on Sunday?
“It would be fun if I got a role on the Texan (Taylor Walker) this week,” he said. “He’s a good man. Hopefully he might have a few words for me.”
His father Peter was the reason why Frampton grew up in Perth, barracking for the Crows.
“I was a diehard (Crow) growing up,” he said. “Dad moved to Adelaide from England when he was 11 or 12 and he got into the SANFL, barracking for North Adelaide. So when the Crows started off, he was on them naturally.
“I was a massive Andrew McLeod fan in those years.”
So when Frampton was drafted, there was a touch of irony that he ended up at Port Adelaide. “Dad was obviously pumped for me to get drafted, but a bit flat that it ended up being Port,” he said with a laugh.
He was “very raw” in his early years with the Power, but he couldn’t cement a regular slot, playing only three matches in five seasons.
“I had a lot of injuries early on, but after about three years I thought I was ready to play and I didn’t see a lot of opportunities for whatever reason.”
A cross-town move to Adelaide made his dad happy, but he managed only another 21 games across three seasons.
“My last year at Adelaide (2022) was my first year as a backman,” he said. I played some good footy, but I sort of felt as if I was on the outer a bit.
“I got an opportunity at Collingwood and I jumped at it. We spoke (with Collingwood) pretty early in the year (2022), and the opportunity to move was always going to be massive.”
Originally published as Premiership Magpie Billy Frampton on why he still plays footy as if he is on the selection edge
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