Rampe happy to lay low for 150th milestone after month of madness
There's something about Dane Rampe and milestones. Before his 100th AFL match, the Sydney Swans defender tried to jump over a chained barrier on a run through Centennial Park, tripped, and broke his arm. It left him stranded on 99 for seven weeks.
Rampe will notch his 150th game on Sunday against the West Coast Eagles, and once again the lead-up has been anything but straightforward.
Most players are happy to have their moment in the sun in these circumstances, but Rampe seems like he would be glad to get it over and done with as quickly as possible and revert to the near-anonymity AFL stars in Sydney usually get to enjoy.
"It's been interesting. I'm sick of seeing myself in the news or talking about me," Rampe told reporters on Thursday in his first press conference since his personal month of madness began against Essendon.
It was an eventful night at the SCG for the 29-year-old, who was fined $5000 for telling an umpire they talked "like a little girl", then found himself at the centre of a national storm after climbing a goalpost as a Bombers player lined up a kick after the siren.
I made my bed so I've got to lie in it now. It was a poor choice of words and a couple of brainfades.
Dane Rampe
Two weeks later, Rampe was again involved in a controversial moment at the death, earning the ire of coach John Longmire for running over the mark and giving away a costly 50-metre penalty in their nailbiting defeat to Collingwood.
"I made my bed so I've got to lie in it now. It was a poor choice of words and a couple of brainfades," Rampe said. "I'll learn from it. Hopefully, it's all said and done and I can focus on footy now.
"I guess it was disappointing because we had some really good wins - particularly the one against Essendon, I think that overshadowed a really good team win on the Friday night. I'm looking to lay low and hopefully play my role in the team and get some (more) wins on the board."
Given the happenings of the last few weeks, Rampe said he hadn't had time to reflect on his journey to 150 games. "I've had a bit of stuff going on lately," he admitted.
But it's worth revisiting - even Rampe had given up on his professional hopes when he returned to play for the UNSW-Eastern Suburbs Bulldogs in 2012 after being overlooked in numerous drafts, before finally jagging his chance as a rookie with the Swans later that year.
The rest is history. Rampe was named All-Australian in 2016 and was elevated to the captaincy this year by the Swans.
It really is a childhood dream come true – he was a Swans diehard growing up, and remembers running onto the SCG when Tony Lockett kicked the goal that saw him overtake Gordon Coventry's VFL/AFL record in 1999. "I copped a backhand afterwards," Rampe said.
Longmire might have been displeased with Rampe's recent lack of composure, but he wasn't in his bad books for very long, declaring on Monday that he felt this season has been his best to date.
"Obviously any pump-up from Horse is a good one, and I'll take it," Rampe said. "I think my year has been pretty consistent. The gap between my best and worst games has really minimised itself which I'm proud about, which is a big focus coming into my first year as captain. I didn't want my effort or consistency to waver."
Rampe is hopeful his career can inspire others toiling away in state-based competitions, or even in Sydney AFL, that if at first you don't succeed as a draftee, it's well worth trying again.
"Seven years ago I never thought I'd be in this position," he said. "Back when I got drafted, and even a couple of years before that, it was very rare that you'd be picking up mature-aged players from the VFL or SANFL or whatnot.
"The landscape of that's changed over the last four to five years particularly and I think anyone playing good state-league footy is still in with a shot. Hopefully, if blokes keep applying their craft and going about their trade, they should hold hopes that they can get picked up still."