FD36a Docker JUL05-REV.indd - Fremantle Football Club

A Quick KickAfter recovering from three knee reconstructions at the start of hiscareer, a determined Luke Webster has established himself as avaluable, tough utility who has been rewarded for his hard work playingeleven games this season. Docker caught up with Luke for a quick kickon Fremantle Oval.DOB: 25 May 1982Height: 185cmWeight: 90kgDrafted: 2002 Drafted to Fremantle’s Rookie list, elevated to theSenior List 2003Games: 17You came from a very sports orientated familyand were good at a lot of different sports,but you had to choose a particular sportat a young age, why was that?I enjoyed playing a lot of sports whether it wascricket, baseball or footy. I think my choicewas made a little bit easier because I got intoa few state teams with footy which made methink I might be able to get a little bit furtherin my footy career than the other sports. I alsomade the state team for baseball, whichI guess made my decision a little bit tougher.Also, my school was a cricket school so I hadto play cricket as well because protocol wasthat if you were at the school you had to playthe school sport. So unfortunately baseballwent out the window in about year 10 or 11.Baseball actually took you to the other side ofthe world did it not?Yes, I went to America in 1996 for TheWorld Children’s Baseball fair. Five kids fromAustralia went and I represented WesternAustralia. It was a great experience butfootball was always my main love. I meanif anything ever went wrong with footy I mighttake up baseball again, you never know.You have a very strong family support baseand your dad and grandad were both very goodfootballers, does that help?My grandad was an East Perth Premiershipplayer in 1956 and my father played in a losinggrand final for East Perth. It definitely has itsadvantages, I mean the game has changeda lot since they both played but it certainlyhelps having their knowledge andbackground. Both played football for a verylong time so them feeding me advice andinformation has been really good.How important is family support?It’s really important to me, I have alwaysbeen very family orientated I love my familycoming to watch me play football. I reallyappreciate their support, I have gone througha lot of things in my footy career so far andto have them there has been fantastic. Theyhave really helped me to get through some ofthe harder times, so now I would like to repaythem and play some good footy for Fremantleat AFL level.How did you cope when you were going througha run of injuries through 2002 and 2003?Well I have done three knees the first was in2000 at the State 18s carnival. That one waspretty tough because that carnival is a timewhere you really want to get picked up for theAFL so doing my knee was always going tomake it tougher for me to get drafted. Thenafter I was selected by Fremantle I did twomore knees in 2002 and 2003 and they wereboth as hard as the first one. By hard I meanit’s tough mentally and physically becauseyou have to keep working on your legs, gettingyour muscles back and you also miss a lotof fitness work because you miss an entirepre-season. Then, once you start workingon fitness you also have to get your kickingback on-line because you haven’t kicked afooty for six to eight months. Mentally, it’shard knowing you will be out of football forten to twelve months which is a tough thingfor anyone, I mean you don’t want to beout for one week, let alone being outfor a year. Mind you, I think if I havean injury I would rather know how longI am going to be out for, rather thantearing a hamstring and trying to comeback in three weeks and tearing it againand not really knowing where you aregoing. All three times I did my knee Iset my mind to know I was coming backin ten months so I had ten months toget myself exactly right.Having been through those experiencesdo you find yourself being a mentor tothe other players who do suffer froman injury?I try to have a chat with the guys withinjuries throughout the year because Iknow how tough it is coming back frominjury. I don’t know if I see myself as amentor but I am happy to offer someadvice if someone comes to me to talkabout it. I actually know some guyswho have done their knees recentlyand I have been in touch with them totell them everything will be alright andto give them some confidence andguidance as to where they can go fromwhere they are. Obviously with theguys at the club I just have a chat to them andbasically get around them because you can feela bit left out when you are injured even if it’snot for a long time. So it’s good to talk to themabout how they are going and to acknowledgethat they are working hard to get back.Which of your attributes do you draw on themost to succeed in the AFL?My obvious one is my determination tosucceed at everything I try. Anything I haveever done even from a young age, I have alwayswanted to be the best at it. I definitely have avery strong determination to succeed, that’smy number one. I am also really committedtowards things I want to do, I mean if I wantto play footy then I am committed to doingthat I will do everything I can to reach my goal.Whether that means eating right, doing extrafitness, doing extra work whatever I have todo to make that goal happen for me, I do.What are you personal goals for season 2005?For me it’s been pretty good so far, I playedthe first nine games and at the start of theyear I just aimed to get a game, so to playthe first nine has worked out really well. Forthe team I think things are going along quitenicely we have obviously had a few ups anddowns but I think the team is starting to playsome good footy. Personally, at the start of theyear I picked myself to play about 15 gamesbut because I have played nine so far I wantto try and build on that target. I just want toplay some good footy and help the boys along,I want to do anything I can to help them andhopefully we can try to make the finals this year.What has been your career highlight so far?It would definitely be playing in the first finalfor Fremantle. I won a Premiership with EastPerth in 2001 and that was pretty high upthere, but to play in an AFL final was awesomeand not many people get the chance to do that.It was just a great experience to be there.What are your memories of your first AFL game?My first game was against Brisbane so justto be running out there with the likes ofMichael Voss, Simon Black, Jason Akermanisand Nigel Lappin was an unbelievable feeling.My first vivid memory is of playing on SimonBlack. At the time I was thinking this guy isa Brownlow medallist and such an awesomeplayer and then I had to change off himand go to Michael Voss another Brownlowmedallist, so it felt like everywhere I wentthere were Brownlow medallists. For me it wasa great experience and we won by three points,which was the best bit about it.fremantlefc.com.au July 2005 Docker 7