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RELENTLESS Western Bulldogs defender Dylan Addison returns to his home town of Sydney tomorrow carrying a damning slice of history into his clash against the Swans at the SCG.
Such was the dearth of elite AFL development in NSW, Addison became the only player from the state taken in the 2005 draft, but this worrying lack of talent was lost in the euphoria of the Swans' first premiership in 72 years.
Addison found out just how peripheral AFL was in Sydney when he went to St Gregory's College at Campbelltown, considered Sydney's premier rugby league secondary school.
"There were only four blokes I knew at school who played AFL, and three of them were me and my two brothers," Addison told The Daily Telegraph.
"The other bloke's gone overseas but my brothers are still playing for St George (in the Sydney Football League) and going alright."
Addison was also the only NSW player among 75 teenagers invited to the AFL's pre-draft camp, although another Sydney boy, Kieren Jack, was added as a state-based nominee and later rookie-listed by the Swans.
Addison, who began with the Bankstown Bombers, and Jack, from Pennant Hills, were teammates in NSW under-aged teams and Addison has admired from a distance what the son of rugby league legend Garry Jack has been able to achieve.
"He started fairly late but his work ethic and his contested stuff was always his main strength and that obviously shows with the footy he is playing at the moment," Addison said. "Everyone needs to grow when they come to an AFL club in terms of their football and he's probably done the most growing of just about any player in the AFL."
Jack's career has blossomed into a fairytale and powerful AFL promotional tool, winning the Swans 2010 best and fairest in a career that has now spanned 98 games.
For 24-year-old Addison it has been a tougher and more anonymous journey, attempting to establish a career amid injuries.
Addison managed just four games during last season but the heavily contested style of new coach Brendan McCartney has made Addison's cannon-ball approach a valuable commodity.
For someone who attacks the ball so aggressively it's hard to believe that he played soccer until the age of 12, when he became bored with the round ball sport.
His father had played rugby league until 18 before being convinced to play Aussie rules by a school teacher and Addison received the same encouragement from his father, so wandered across to the adjoining AFL ground at Bankstown Sports Park. It quickly became obvious he was a natural.
Addison played senior football with St George at 16, crediting contests against bigger bodied men as an important part of his development.
He is delighted with the growth of AFL in Sydney, returning to the Bankstown Bombers last year to find the number of junior teams has doubled.
Addison believes the GWS Giants will give the game a further boost but he has no desire to return to Sydney and play.
"I love going back to see family and friends.
"There will probably be about a dozen at the game (tomorrow).
"It's exciting what's happening with footy in Sydney, but I don't see it as an opportunity for me."
With the Swans and GWS into their second year running junior academies, talented teenagers now have the opportunity to stay in Sydney.
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