Thanks Tom, terrific article. Thought it must have been something like that. Hope it works out for all of them. Big thing for his girl leaving so much behind. Can't imagine the club or his teammates being anything but supportive, but it would be very hard to put it out there. A real strength of Longmire's.It’s not you, it’s me.
When Tom Papley attempted romance’s oldest break-up line you could forgive the Swans for feeling like any other jilted lover.
Didn’t we just commit to each other on a long-term contract through to the end of 2023.
And weren’t we doing so well during four beautiful years together?
As it turned out, Sydney’s brilliant young goalsneak wasn’t quite telling his teammates the full version of the story in Sydney.
Watch the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Every match of every round Live on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
But rather than hiding a dalliance with another rival, Papley was working through family issues that had rumbled away his entire life.
Only last summer did Papley feel comfortable enough to reveal his father’s battle with bipolar disorder had been behind the trade request that Sydney quashed at the end of 2019.
Finally, everything made sense.
Six months on from the September 2020 decision to fulfil his contract with Sydney, the 24-year-old knows there is nowhere else he would rather be.
His girlfriend, Annie, moved up to Sydney last week, his football team is humming, and his mates and coaches finally understand those 18 months of uncertainty.
Sydney Swans star Tom Papley opens up on family and his love for the Bloods. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
Maybe as important as all of that is that his relationship with father, David, is as strong as it has ever been.
Papley plays his 101st game on Saturday at the MCG against Richmond and is well aware his future lies in Sydney.
“I never really spoke about (my dad’s issues) within the club and he’s OK with it now and for me to talk about it. But I think I have grown up with it and it’s a hard thing to grow up with. As a young bloke I didn’t know what was going on,” Papley told the Herald Sun.
“Now he’s good. He is as good as I have seen him for a long time and obviously the trade (discussion) stressed him out a bit, but he’s going well. Mum and dad are going well. It’s good to see everything going well. When he’s in trouble now and not feeling well, he lets people know and he’s doing the right thing. We have always had a close relationship but we have had a few mishaps. But we are as good as we have been since I moved up.”
Papley says the relief to be able to tell his mates has allowed them into what was previously a private world.
“Yeah, that’s it. The boys wanted to support the player,” he said. “It was never against them or the club. I just wanted to go home and help out. But he’s going well so it’s all good.”
In hindsight Papley’s feat early in 2020 as he kicked 21 goals in the first 10 rounds to at one stage feature in Coleman Medal predictions was remarkable.
With his deal to go to Carlton kiboshed, he fronted up on day one and told his teammates he was 100 per cent committed to the club.
Even if he wasn’t actually sure of that fact himself.
“Obviously it was a very stressful time and there were a few relationships I had to get back,” Papley said. “Probably not with ‘Horse’ (John Longmire), but with some staff members. But I feel like I am pretty good at building relationships. It was obviously uncomfortable at the start but eventually you go forward and everything became normal.”
As the season progressed Papley still had a decision to make, one complicated by that contract which was never going to be easy to extricate himself from.
Just because the trade had been rejected, his issues hadn’t magically evaporated.
“It was in my mind a lot. But I think probably the way I was playing and the growth you could see coming along, I didn’t want to go,” he said.
“I was thinking about staying, and that’s why I stayed. If I was thinking about staying, deep down in my heart, then why not just stay. Obviously I can be a bit of an out-there character and I was thinking about going out and having a quiet night out and how those things might be a bit different down in Melbourne. That came into my mind and I spoke to my manager (Winston Rous of Phoenix) and he was awesome through the whole process.”
During Fox Footy’s telecast of the Sydney-Brisbane clash, Jon Brown dropped the mini-bombshell that he had told suitors including Carlton and Melbourne he was staying.
“It was interesting because we had just played Carlton that week and wanted it to get out before all that controversy, whether we beat them or they beat us, and I put something on the socials but Browny had already broken it. I just wanted it out so I could focus on the rest of the year and keep on being a leader. And in the last couple of games we nearly beat Geelong and you could see the growth so it was all really exciting.”
His partner Annie, also from the Gippsland town of Bunyip but having lived in Kew in recent years, has finally made the trip north.
“It’s massive. She has changed her life to move up,” Papley said. “It’s a big move and she’s a nurse so she’s had a rough year in Melbourne. It will take a bit to get used to it, living with a girlfriend, but it’s very good so far. She has only moved up a week ago and it’s been raining the whole time, but she loves the beach and had a good relationship with a few of the girls and will get a nursing job around the corner.”
Tom Papley is loving his footy. Picture: Ryan Pierse/AFL Photos/Getty
Papley recently signed on as an ambassador for Mindfull Aus after close mate Tyson Bale took his own life last year.
“He was a guy I used to go head-to-head with in junior cricket and he committed suicide. Given my family has a history in the mental health side I knew the guy Matt Runnalls who I played cricket with way back who is the CEO and founder of Mindfull Aus.
“They are keen to get awareness about mental health into the rural areas and schools. When I grew up there were no counsellors, no psychologists in primary or high schools and it’s important to get them in there. Even with issues like Spud (Danny Frawley’s suicide), just speak up. Don’t be afraid. The last few years, it’s growing a lot. It’s OK not to be OK.
“It is tough to come out and I haven’t had anything but a couple of boys here have and they have spoken to people in the club and it’s helped them and could have saved them. It’s the best thing to be tough and come out. Blokes respect it more now than putting it down.”
Papley knows the football world is waiting to see if Sydney’s resurgence is an early-season flash in the pan.
“No one really thinks can do anything but inside the four walls we do,” he said.
“It’s what the Swans are about, being the underdogs. We have always been the underdogs. People will continue to write us off but we are happy to keep being that underdog.”
One reason for that confidence?
Tom Papley at the Gabba. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty
Papley says the work ethic and footy smarts of Errol Gulden, Braeden Campbell and Logan McDonald means they can maintain the rage after their stunning opening fortnight of football.
“Seeing those guys on debut, it was a bit of a flashback. Me and Cal Mills and George Hewett all debuted together (in Round 1 2016) and we played well and beat Collingwood by ten goals. The boys came in and gave energy and excitement. It’s good to see the work they have put in during the pre-season because it comes out. They have such good footy smarts.
“You would have seen that and the skills but they are willing to learn off the field. It’s impressed me all pre-season and it helps my leadership and makes me feel good knowing I have helped guys like Errol for the last three or four months, just giving him a couple of tips to make him get better makes me feel good.
“As a key forward Logan has the same footy smarts and competitiveness and in training and in the pre-season you could see his leading patterns are three or four years ahead of his time.”
Lance Franklin’s return is the icing on the cake.
Only now in his sixth season does Papley feel totally comfortable around the AFL megastar after their friendship grew during hub-life.
“A couple of years ago, definitely in my first year, I was timid around him.”
“I was still star-struck. But off the field in the hub, me and Justin McInerney and a few guys formed a really close relationship with him.
“He would have found it hard being away from his family but he bonded with everyone. With him not playing, he could have easily got on the plane and instead he stayed with us and supported us. We played Sting-Pong every night and he was always there.”
More Coverage
Cats coach cops big fine for on-field exchangeMcGuane: Blues need a sacrificial lamb
Sting-Pong? Say that again?
“It’s ping-pong but you get a bit of punishment if you lose (by your opponent whacking the ball at you). It’s always competitive. He is really good at it. One of the best.”
Thank you for thatIt’s not you, it’s me.
When Tom Papley attempted romance’s oldest break-up line you could forgive the Swans for feeling like any other jilted lover.
Didn’t we just commit to each other on a long-term contract through to the end of 2023.
And weren’t we doing so well during four beautiful years together?
As it turned out, Sydney’s brilliant young goalsneak wasn’t quite telling his teammates the full version of the story in Sydney.
Watch the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Every match of every round Live on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
But rather than hiding a dalliance with another rival, Papley was working through family issues that had rumbled away his entire life.
Only last summer did Papley feel comfortable enough to reveal his father’s battle with bipolar disorder had been behind the trade request that Sydney quashed at the end of 2019.
Finally, everything made sense.
Six months on from the September 2020 decision to fulfil his contract with Sydney, the 24-year-old knows there is nowhere else he would rather be.
His girlfriend, Annie, moved up to Sydney last week, his football team is humming, and his mates and coaches finally understand those 18 months of uncertainty.
Sydney Swans star Tom Papley opens up on family and his love for the Bloods. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
Maybe as important as all of that is that his relationship with father, David, is as strong as it has ever been.
Papley plays his 101st game on Saturday at the MCG against Richmond and is well aware his future lies in Sydney.
“I never really spoke about (my dad’s issues) within the club and he’s OK with it now and for me to talk about it. But I think I have grown up with it and it’s a hard thing to grow up with. As a young bloke I didn’t know what was going on,” Papley told the Herald Sun.
“Now he’s good. He is as good as I have seen him for a long time and obviously the trade (discussion) stressed him out a bit, but he’s going well. Mum and dad are going well. It’s good to see everything going well. When he’s in trouble now and not feeling well, he lets people know and he’s doing the right thing. We have always had a close relationship but we have had a few mishaps. But we are as good as we have been since I moved up.”
Papley says the relief to be able to tell his mates has allowed them into what was previously a private world.
“Yeah, that’s it. The boys wanted to support the player,” he said. “It was never against them or the club. I just wanted to go home and help out. But he’s going well so it’s all good.”
In hindsight Papley’s feat early in 2020 as he kicked 21 goals in the first 10 rounds to at one stage feature in Coleman Medal predictions was remarkable.
With his deal to go to Carlton kiboshed, he fronted up on day one and told his teammates he was 100 per cent committed to the club.
Even if he wasn’t actually sure of that fact himself.
“Obviously it was a very stressful time and there were a few relationships I had to get back,” Papley said. “Probably not with ‘Horse’ (John Longmire), but with some staff members. But I feel like I am pretty good at building relationships. It was obviously uncomfortable at the start but eventually you go forward and everything became normal.”
As the season progressed Papley still had a decision to make, one complicated by that contract which was never going to be easy to extricate himself from.
Just because the trade had been rejected, his issues hadn’t magically evaporated.
“It was in my mind a lot. But I think probably the way I was playing and the growth you could see coming along, I didn’t want to go,” he said.
“I was thinking about staying, and that’s why I stayed. If I was thinking about staying, deep down in my heart, then why not just stay. Obviously I can be a bit of an out-there character and I was thinking about going out and having a quiet night out and how those things might be a bit different down in Melbourne. That came into my mind and I spoke to my manager (Winston Rous of Phoenix) and he was awesome through the whole process.”
During Fox Footy’s telecast of the Sydney-Brisbane clash, Jon Brown dropped the mini-bombshell that he had told suitors including Carlton and Melbourne he was staying.
“It was interesting because we had just played Carlton that week and wanted it to get out before all that controversy, whether we beat them or they beat us, and I put something on the socials but Browny had already broken it. I just wanted it out so I could focus on the rest of the year and keep on being a leader. And in the last couple of games we nearly beat Geelong and you could see the growth so it was all really exciting.”
His partner Annie, also from the Gippsland town of Bunyip but having lived in Kew in recent years, has finally made the trip north.
“It’s massive. She has changed her life to move up,” Papley said. “It’s a big move and she’s a nurse so she’s had a rough year in Melbourne. It will take a bit to get used to it, living with a girlfriend, but it’s very good so far. She has only moved up a week ago and it’s been raining the whole time, but she loves the beach and had a good relationship with a few of the girls and will get a nursing job around the corner.”
Tom Papley is loving his footy. Picture: Ryan Pierse/AFL Photos/Getty
Papley recently signed on as an ambassador for Mindfull Aus after close mate Tyson Bale took his own life last year.
“He was a guy I used to go head-to-head with in junior cricket and he committed suicide. Given my family has a history in the mental health side I knew the guy Matt Runnalls who I played cricket with way back who is the CEO and founder of Mindfull Aus.
“They are keen to get awareness about mental health into the rural areas and schools. When I grew up there were no counsellors, no psychologists in primary or high schools and it’s important to get them in there. Even with issues like Spud (Danny Frawley’s suicide), just speak up. Don’t be afraid. The last few years, it’s growing a lot. It’s OK not to be OK.
“It is tough to come out and I haven’t had anything but a couple of boys here have and they have spoken to people in the club and it’s helped them and could have saved them. It’s the best thing to be tough and come out. Blokes respect it more now than putting it down.”
Papley knows the football world is waiting to see if Sydney’s resurgence is an early-season flash in the pan.
“No one really thinks can do anything but inside the four walls we do,” he said.
“It’s what the Swans are about, being the underdogs. We have always been the underdogs. People will continue to write us off but we are happy to keep being that underdog.”
One reason for that confidence?
Tom Papley at the Gabba. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty
Papley says the work ethic and footy smarts of Errol Gulden, Braeden Campbell and Logan McDonald means they can maintain the rage after their stunning opening fortnight of football.
“Seeing those guys on debut, it was a bit of a flashback. Me and Cal Mills and George Hewett all debuted together (in Round 1 2016) and we played well and beat Collingwood by ten goals. The boys came in and gave energy and excitement. It’s good to see the work they have put in during the pre-season because it comes out. They have such good footy smarts.
“You would have seen that and the skills but they are willing to learn off the field. It’s impressed me all pre-season and it helps my leadership and makes me feel good knowing I have helped guys like Errol for the last three or four months, just giving him a couple of tips to make him get better makes me feel good.
“As a key forward Logan has the same footy smarts and competitiveness and in training and in the pre-season you could see his leading patterns are three or four years ahead of his time.”
Lance Franklin’s return is the icing on the cake.
Only now in his sixth season does Papley feel totally comfortable around the AFL megastar after their friendship grew during hub-life.
“A couple of years ago, definitely in my first year, I was timid around him.”
“I was still star-struck. But off the field in the hub, me and Justin McInerney and a few guys formed a really close relationship with him.
“He would have found it hard being away from his family but he bonded with everyone. With him not playing, he could have easily got on the plane and instead he stayed with us and supported us. We played Sting-Pong every night and he was always there.”
More Coverage
Cats coach cops big fine for on-field exchangeMcGuane: Blues need a sacrificial lamb
Sting-Pong? Say that again?
“It’s ping-pong but you get a bit of punishment if you lose (by your opponent whacking the ball at you). It’s always competitive. He is really good at it. One of the best.”
www.afl.com.au
this club for the respect it shows for everyone
I knew Bob , he was a true off field legend of the clubBlack arms worn today for late life member Bob Clutterbuck
Bob commenced with South Melbourne in the late 1960s and fulfilled many match day roles in his time at the club - including boot studder, trainer, property and drink steward.
Bob loved the club and rarely missed a game in Melbourne over the course of 50 plus years; always on hand to help any way he could.
A tribute to Bob Clutterbuck
The Sydney Swans will today wear black arm bands for Life Member Bob Clutterbuck.www.sydneyswans.com.au
It's showtime in Sydney: The numbers behind the Swans' stunning revival
We take a look at how John Longmire has rebuilt the Swans into the AFL's most watchable team
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www.foxsports.com.au
www.sen.com.au
www.abc.net.au
As always Ticky, thanks from us lazy so and sos. Geez Fox are idiots. Don't know Wicks is ineligible for RS. Just don't do their homework. There's a great report on the Mongrel Punt but being old I don't know how to post the link. THEMONGRELPUNT.COM.AUCheer Cheer.....GO BLOODS!!!
Super Swans take tepid Tigers apart at the 'G
A super-impressive Sydney outfit has handed the reigning premiers a lesson in intensity.
Swans stunner proves they‘re TRUE contenders; Tigers’ big strength crumbles: The 3-2-1
Swans stunner proves they’re contenders; Tigers’ big strength crumbles: The 3-2-1
Sydney pull off big upset victory over Richmond to make it three from three in 2021
Here's everything you need to know!
Young Bloods tear strips off Tigers in Longmire coaching masterclass
After upsetting preliminary finalist, Brisbane, in round one, the Swans sent a seismic shock around the competition with their 45-point drubbing of Richmond.www.theage.com.au
Eagles switch off the Power, Swans stun Tigers, Dons crush Saints
The Eagles coast to victory over the previously-undefeated Port Adelaide in Perth, following Sydney's smashing win over Richmond and St Kilda's thrashing by Essendon.
themongrelpunt.com
The mongrel do damned good match reviews. Very objective.Restricted Content - The Mongrel Punt
Content from our archives commencing with the 2018 season is restricted to members only. Gotta look after the people that look after us. Want a peek?
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