By Rebecca Skilton
Bunyip young gun Tom Papley has paid homage to grandfather Max Papley with the Sydney Swans small forward taking on the number 11 guernsey for the 2018 season and beyond.
Max, who also lives in Bunyip, donned the number 11 while playing for South Melbourne throughout the 1960s.
A club champion, he played 59 games for South, taking out the club’s best and fairest award in 1966.
“Through family history I’ve chosen the number 11,” Tom told SwansTV.
“Max is on the locker so I thought it’d be a good bit of history if one day I could get a premiership cup next to my name and get my name up there as well, which would be pretty special.”
Debuting in 2016, Papley played under the number 41, the former guernsey of another Bunyip local, Shane Mumford, who played with the Swans from 2008-2013 before moving on to join Greater Western Sydney in 2014.
At the time of Tom’s arrival to the club, the number 11 was worn by Jeremy Laidler, who announced his retirement at the end of 2017 following 87 career games.
“I had two years in number 41, played 40 games, it was good to me. Thought I’d change things up a bit,” Tom said.
“I had a think about it when Laids (Jeremy Laidler) retired. Laids was a good servant to it. I had another couple of weeks to think about it then, yeah, it’d be a good piece of history to take it on.”
However for Max, while the act of Tom taking up number 11 is an undoubtedly touching gesture, the former Swans Best and Fairest admitted he never wanted his grandson to feel any pressure in regards to adopting his guernsey.
“It feels really good, it makes me feel pretty warm, to be quite honest,” Max said.
“When he told that the number was coming available, I said to him ‘mate, don’t feel obligated, you’ve got to feel comfortable in what you do. You’ve made a little niche now with that number (41) on your back and you’re making your own way’.
“But he rang me two or three weeks ago and he said ‘I’ve got number 11, Pap.’ And it made me feel really nice … but I never wanted him to feel any obligation … I think the worst thing someone in my position can do is put pressure on kids, to think that they have something to live up to. They just have to enjoy what they do.”
