Rowan Marshall has been hitting the road for a long time now. He used to travel three hours from Portland to Ballarat and back again in the same day. So it was only right he stepped onto an AFL stage for the first time in another state, far away from home.
After being plucked with pick No. 10 in last December’s Rookie Draft, the mature-age recruit moved from Ballarat to Melbourne where has built his case at Sandringham before realising a lifelong dream last Saturday night.
On a disappointing night at the SCG and on a difficult night for a key forward, Marshall worked his way into the game against a formidable Sydney. He finished his debut with 14 disposals, nine contested possessions and four marks, showing signs of his prodigious talent.
“It was a crazy experience just running out there and soaking in the atmosphere, all the fans, all the lights. It was a pretty special feeling,” Marshall told saints.com.au on Tuesday after making his debut against Sydney on Saturday night.
“Heading into the game it was probably a mixture of excitement and nerves; I was pretty nervous before the bounce and the warm up and everything, but as soon as that first siren goes you soak it all in and get used to it.
“It was certainly a lot quicker than anything I’ve experienced before. I was expecting a step up but not that big of a step up. You certainly don’t have as much time as you do at VFL level; there’s more contact, you’ve got to run harder and that sort of thing.”
After being overlooked in not one but three drafts, Marshall admits his long awaited debut in the harbour city was a reward for his perseverance.
“I was pretty excited to get a game. I missed out on being drafted three years ago as a 19-year-old,” Marshall said. “It made my motivation go up even more and made me want to achieve my dream which was to play AFL footy. So it was good to get a reward for the hard yards I’ve put in and the effort my family have put in.”
Before the mature-age rookie was picked for his first game, or even picked by St Kilda last December, the 21-year-old spent plenty of time in the car and at the back of the bus travelling up and down the Henty and Glenelg highways in Victoria's south-west.
“In Year 12 in my first year at the [North Ballarat]
“Dad would drop me off to Warrnambool which was about an hour away and then I’d jump on a bus with the boys from Warrnambool and travel the other couple of hours before doing the same thing on the way home. I’d get home at about 11 o’clock at night. That was a hard thing to juggle with Year 12 especially.”
After putting plenty of miles on the odometer, all roads led to the SCG for Marshall. And what a well-worn road it has been so far for the boy from Portland.
