Josh Schache was sitting in his parents living room in Seymour an hour north of Melbourne when the news filtered through just before 2pm on Thursday that he would be joining the Western Bulldogs in 2018.
The road to VU Whitten Oval had been a long, arduous one for the former Murray Bushranger but now he’s home, he’s a Dog and he couldn’t be happier.
Schache was drafted with the second overall pick by the Brisbane Lions at the 2015 NAB AFL Draft after a standout display in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships where he kicked a record 24 goals, including a bag of eight against Western Australia.
The 20-year-old’s debut season at the Gabba was a good one, and the football world would catch regular glimpses of what the scouts had been raving about ahead of the draft: the exceptional left boot, the elite endurance, it was all there.
But the pull to come home and be closer to family and friends was too much and when manager David Trotter called with the news at the deadline that a deal had been done to get him to West Footscray, it took some time to sink in.
“I got a text around 1:59, 2 o’clock, which was pretty close to the deadline and then my manager gave me a call and said that I was with the Western Bulldogs,” he said.
“My first reaction was… I was speechless. I just looked at my parents and said ‘I’m a Dog, I’m a Western Bulldog.’”
The contrast with draft night back in 2015 was stark. As one of the country’s leading talents, there was no surprise when his name was called out by the Lions at pick two, but the trade period is a different beast where uncertainty rules.
But once it became clear where his football destiny would lay, anxiety was replaced by excitement and a determination to get started.
“Being in the red, white and blue… I’m stoked and it’s something I’m really excited to be a part of,” he told westernbulldogs.com.au.
“The way the Bulldogs play is fast and attacking and that appeals to me and I suppose being a successful footy club over the last few years, the culture around the club is very good and very welcoming, I can’t wait to get started and get stuck into pre-season.”
Throughout the week Schache had spoken with key Dogs Chris Grant, Jason McCartney and of course coach Luke Beveridge who told the 199cm, 96kg former Lion that he saw him playing a variety of roles for the Club, a prospect that excited the Dogs’ newest recruit.
“I had a chat to Bevo yesterday (Wednesday) and I’m really excited to see where the club can go in the future,” he said.
“At AFL level it’s important to play various roles and he did give me a few roles that I could be playing within the team which excited me, you can’t be a one position player anymore.
“To go into the ruck and spend a bit more time in the ruck or exploring somewhere else around the ground is something he raised with me and made me excited as well.”
For a full wrap of the trade period click here.
