Riverina boy living the dream

By Alison Zell

When Harry Cunningham came back from a serious knee injury to play his first game of the season, and just the second game of his career, in Round 17 at Patersons Stadium, he never could have dreamed he’d be lining up on the same ground nine weeks later in a Preliminary Final.

“It has changed pretty dramatically within a couple of weeks,” Cunningham said.

“But I knew I was always in the mix the last couple of weeks leading in to finals so I just had to keep preparing well for training and games and put my name up there and if anything happened, just take the opportunity and hopefully I’ve done that.”

It was a meteoric rise to the AFL for the former Turvey Park junior, who was drafted to the Sydney Swans rookie list in 2011.

An impressive pre-season saw him play every game of the 2012 NAB Cup, be promoted to the Swans’ senior list and make his AFL debut as the substitute in the Round 1 match against the GWS GIANTS last year.

But while he watched from the sidelines as Sydney’s senior side went on to win the 2012 Premiership, the Swans saw enough in the talented teenage to offer him a spot on the senior list.

A serious knee injury while playing for the reserves in Round 3 was a significant setback for the 19-year-old but he fought his way back and strong form in the midfield for the reserves led to his Round 17 selection where he was named as the substitute.

He played the following week against Richmond as the substitute before being named for his first full game in Round 23 against Hawthorn.    

While he was an emergency for the Swans’ first final against Hawthorn at the MCG, injuries gave Cunningham an opportunity and he made the most of it in the semi-final against Carlton in front of almost 40 thousand people at ANZ Stadium last Saturday night.

“Just after training on Thursday John (Longmire) came up to me and told me I was going to be playing so obviously it was pretty exciting,” he said.

“(My) fifth game of AFL and it being my first final so I was very excited.

“I did get a little nervous before the game as I suppose most people would in their first final but the likes of Jude Bolton, Jarrad McVeigh and Ryan O’Keefe really settled me down in the rooms before the game.

“(They) just told me I suppose just play it like it’s another game of footy and most of all they said, just enjoy it, it’s your first game and finals don’t come around very often so just enjoy it.”

Cunningham played at half-forward, limiting the run of Kade Simpson and kicking two goals, including his first in the AFL.

“Last year I had to work on my defence like all young blokes do but this year I’ve been playing through the midfield and forward line since I’ve come back from injury and it’s really helped being alongside the likes of Jude Bolton and Luke Parker,” he said.

Cunningham, who came second in the Grand Final sprint last year, believes his blistering pace is one of the keys to his game.

“That’s one of my assets and I’ve really got to bring it to the game because that’s why I’m getting picked so if I don’t bring it to the game I’m not going to my full potential,” he said.

“That’s what I’m there for so I’ve got to use it.”

If selected to play, Cunningham will be the youngest Swans player on the field at Patersons Stadium on Saturday night, but the confident youngster won’t be overawed by the occasion.

“I did play there earlier this year,” he said.

“It’s a massive ground, it was a great experience to play over there.

“Last time I went over to Perth I really enjoyed the trip because we were there for a couple of days before the game and it gives you a chance to bond even more and you’re around your teammates so that can only help you going into game day.

“They’ve (Freo) been amazing this year, the pressure they’ve been able to put on sides is unbelievable … We’ll really look forward to this week.”