Former Ocean Grove junior Rhys Devlin was not expecting the call-up for his first game of seniors football in a Newtown & Chilwell jumper last weekend.
“I was definitely pleasantly surprised, I was pretty thrilled,” inside midfielder Devlin said.
Devlin, who turned 19 this week, has been a consistent performer for the Eagles reserves side throughout this season, and seniors coach Damien McMahon said the youngster had been on his radar for a while now.
“Rhys has played the first 11 games of the season and been one of our most consistent performers at that level in a very successful side,” he said.
“He’s had a really good season and is in great form. He had a really good impact in his first seniors game, he didn’t look out of place at all.
“For a young, smaller player he’s hard at the contest, he’s got good speed. He’s very much an inside 50 player, takes the ball and carries it.”
Devlin said he’d worked hard over the summer and through the season so far to give himself the best chance for senior selection, a job made easier by the support he’d received from the club.
“I’ve done a lot of work on things like fitness and ball use over the summer,” he said.
“[Under 18 coach] Kane Marsh spoke about the things I needed to do to become a seniors player; pull the finger out, make sure footy’s an important part of your lifestyle.
“And it’s been easy because the club is just great. I love the club, and the way the coaches have gone about setting up our values and what we do as a club.”
Devlin said the culture at Newtown & Chilwell really important to him as a young player.
“The coaches communicate with us young boys a lot about what we need to do to improve and enjoy ourselves at the club,” he said.
“From that, to the standards with uniform, to turning up to events. All the older boys embrace that really well.
“It’s just a family club environment. Coming out of high school, you look for that community feeling and it really fitted well into my life.”
McMahon said Devlin’s positive attitude was one of his best attributes.
“He’s a real likeable character among our group, he’s got a bit of leadership about him,” he said.
“He’s always got a smile on his face, win, lose or draw. He’s a guy that’s always getting around his teammates and encouraging them to do well.”
