Sitting alongside Essendon champions Dustin Fletcher and Jobe Watson at a civic reception in his home town of Maryborough yesterday, Stewart Crameri could have been forgiven for pinching himself to see if it was real.
After all, it wasn’t that long ago that 23-year-old Crameri was living in Maryborough and commuting to Bendigo to play VFL reserves for the Bendigo Bombers.
But after a breakout AFL season in 2011 – when he played 20 games and kicked 34 goals before dislocating his shoulder – Crameri found himself back in his home town for Essendon’s community camp as a fully-fledged and important member of the team.
“It is a bit surreal to think that it took me so long to get there and then all the team are coming back to my home town, to see where I lived,” Crameri said from his family home yesterday.
And after having to fight his way to the top after missing out on North Ballarat’s TAC Cup team as a teenager, Crameri wasn’t about to forget how much playing AFL meant to him.
“I’d like to think I (appreciate playing AFL), it’s been a big journey to come from here to Essendon around the hard way, through the VFL,” he said.
“It’s just a dream come true to wake up every morning and being able to train with a group of elite players and do all these things with them – and to play in the AFL, it’s a huge thing for me.”
The Bombers were in Maryborough for the first leg of the club’s community camp, which will continue in Castlemaine and Kyneton today.
Crameri remembers Carlton and Melbourne playing a practice match in Maryborough when he was a youngster, and he appreciated how much bringing AFL to regional areas meant to the community.
“For the surrounding communities, and all the kids, I know how important it is,” Crameri said.
“It’s huge for the community for the whole team to come up and have a community camp here. I’m pretty happy to have it here or even Bendigo as well because I played a lot of my football there.”
Blessed with natural pace, strength and size, Crameri has always had the attributes to be a successful footballer and he also had the key ingredient ingrained in him – hard work.
After working at his family’s hardware store, Crameri would commute to Bendigo several times a week for training and matches.
He knows as much as anybody how difficult becoming a successful AFL player from the country can be.
“It’s very hard (from the country),” Crameri said.
“I didn’t know anyone at Bendigo when I went there, I went off my own bat.
“People probably didn’t think it would work out – fair enough – but I just kept trying and trying and eventually got there.”
Following his successful season last year, Crameri has adjusted his goals from just playing games to becoming a leader on the field for the Bombers.
“Now I’m in the team I want to lead all the forwards and show by example what I can do and show all the players coming up how to play in the game style of Essendon,” he said.
Crameri said he had recovered well from his shoulder dislocation and was preparing to build on last season’s top-eight finish.
“There’s a bit of buzz around, everyone knows we’re on the upward spiral,” he said.
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