Doc sails off deservedly proud of Swans career

There will be precious few Swan Districts players more fondly remembered by the supporters than Nathan Blakely and that’s because how whole hearted of a competitor he was, and how fully committed he remained even through injuries, becoming a father and a doctor.

The man affectionately known as Doc now already is embarking on a new adventure in Toronto, Ontario, Canada having played the 127th and last WAFL game of his career with Swan Districts against the West Coast Eagles at Steel Blue Oval.

While it wasn’t quite a win as he bid farewell to a WAFL career that began with a league debut in 2013 after making the move to Perth from Bunbury, that was a special day for him all the same as he closed the book on one chapter and is now moving onto the next.

Throughout his time at Swan Districts that did include rupturing an ACL twice and also having to spend some time away especially after doing one when he was contesting the ruck at the very start of 2016 when he thought he wouldn’t return, he has been a whole hearted competitor.

Often battling against ruckmen with much greater physical gifts and size, Blakely gave his all every time he pulled on the black-and-white jumper highlighted by a standout 2024 season where he was third in Swan Medal voting and a key reason why Swans earned a home preliminary final.

It’s already time for Blakely to be onto his next journey and straight away he has arrived in Canada with partner Jemma and son Marli to join him in Toronto shortly where the family will soon become four.

“I’m heading over solo to start with and the family’s coming about a month later and we’re going to Toronto, Ontario, just for an opportunity that’s been three years in the making,” Blakely told 91.3 SportFM.

“Especially once you finish your specialist training as a doctor in Australia like as a surgeon, anaesthetist, medical special or whatever it is, it’s often a good opportunity before you start your consulting books to go away and learning something at a higher level.

“Often you don’t get paid very well but that life opportunity will help you bring something good back to WA health so you can advantage the community.

“So what I’m doing is going over to do a cardiac anaesthetic scholarship so that will be focused on valve replacements and open bypass surgery. I’m an anaesthetist who’s going to do a cardiac scholarship.”

Reflecting now on career

Now that Blakely can reflect on his career with Swan Districts because he knows there’ll be no return this time around, he is proud of the way he was able to understand what ways he could best contribute in the ruck for Swans and did his best to always give his all.

“It’s been a great journey against some really tough opponents and I’ve got a lot of good memories, and I got a lot out of myself,” Blakely said.

“I just really got to understand the way I like to play and how I play, and that’s one of the big things as a young player that you don’t really know what your best attributes are.

“So early on you try to do everything and do stuff that you’re probably not really suited to, and that’s helped me in these last years.

“Also having coaches that really believe in you and know what your strengths are, and then just trying to be reliable and coachable and offering the same stuff every week helped me find a place for as long as I did despite my limitations especially in the ruck.”

Looking back on career highlights

When Blakely looks back on his career, while there were parts in his early years he enjoyed, it was the 2024 season that will always be what he looks back most fondly on.

He played 18 games that year, averaged almost 17 possessions and over 16 hit outs to end up with a top three finish in fairest and best voting, and celebrated his 100th WAFL game along the way in the Round 13 win against the West Coast Eagles.

He also played in the lone finals victory of his career in the qualifying final against Peel Thunder in Mandurah and not only that, he and Jemma welcomed their first child into the world too.

“I guess the preliminary final when we played Peel and after quarter-time we were up eight goals, we were just playing such good footy that year in 2024 and we were very close to getting it done,” Blakely said.

“My form that year despite being kinda undersized, I was playing quite well and had a top three fairest and best, and we had the birth of Marli that year too.

“So that was quite a special year and that was probably my best and it was almost in bonus time of my career because I had stepped away a couple of times.

“But Pruey getting me back for these last few years has really put the icing on the cake and got myself life membership, and a nice sendoff game.

“So all this extra time that I’ve had into my 30s wasn’t really thought of so that 2024 season and that prelim at Steel Blue Oval would be the highlight I guess.”

Swan Districts always dear to heart

When Blakely first made the move to Perth to start playing with Swan Districts once he finished school in Bunbury, he had no idea how much the club would end up meaning to him and the relationships he could build since he arrived for that first colts season in 2011.

That was immediately ended with a knee injury but already Blakely felt right at home at Bassendean and within Swan Districts, and beyond anything on the field, it’s the relationships with so many people at the club that he’ll always hold dear.

“It was just something that came when I moved to Perth as a 17-year-old and not being very good footy, and formed relationships with Greg Harding and Percy Johnson, and all my friends from Bunbury that came up and gave it a crack too at Swans,” Blakely said.

“It was just a consistent aspect of my life and I got to my life that I’d have nothing to do with if it wasn’t for the footy club with some disadvantaged people or a lot of the Aboriginal boys from down south and up north.

“There was a lot of mentorship and all my coaches I look at as strong father figures, and it’s one of the most underrated aspects of coaches is being able to mentor so many men in your life.

“So it was such a consistent way that I could keep coming back through the years with my medical studies and training and injuries, and that community aspect is what really got me back. That community part of Swans is something that I especially hold close to my heart.”

Not all smooth sailing

Blakely can look on with great fondness that he is a life member of the Swan Districts Football Club and having played 127 games, but it wasn’t anything but a smooth ride along the way.

There was that first ACL rupture in his 2011 colts season and then the one at the very first centre bounce of 2016 when he was the No. 1 ruckman that he thought would end his career.

Along the way, he completed his medical studies and started working as an anaesthetic doctor, and became a father just to top it off.

But as he looks back now, he doesn’t think he could have come back from those serious injuries if they happened later in his career but he’s proud of the resilience he showed to end up with the career he had.

“I’m glad my injuries were front loaded because if they were in the back end of my career I definitely wouldn’t have gone through them,” Blakely said.

“When you’re younger it’s kinda like water of a duck’s back and you just start your rehab and focus on getting back to play footy so that was quite lucky in terms of the timing in my life.

“Nowadays I have a lot of other stuff going on and then the second ACL was quite devastating because I thought that would be the end of my career.

“It was the last year of my medical degree and I didn’t think there was any way I’d be able to continue to play when I was a doctor and then I didn’t play for a couple of years after that.

“That community aspect always got me back and I’m glad I got that resilience early in life whether that was from my dad or mum, or other people around me, but it got me back and it got me to 127 games which I never thought would be possible as that 17-year-old who could barely get a kick off the half-back flank before I started growing.”

Standout teammates at Swans

While the ultimate team success didn’t quite come Blakely’s way and it took until he was in his 30s and beyond 100 games that he played in a first winning final, there are teammates that he’ll always treasure having shared the field and a locker room with.

That includes anyone from future superstars Charlie Cameron, Lachie Neale and Nathan Broad, and well established stars like Kyle Hams, Tom Roach, Shaun Hildebrandt, Brett Robinson, Tallan Ames, Kirk Ugle, Graham Jetta, Wayde Twomey, Ryan Davis, Matt Riggio, Justin Simpson, Alex Howard, Tony Notte, Tim Geappen and Aaron Elari.

And that was just from the team he made he made his debut with in Round 1, 2013.

In the years since you can throw in anyone from Jesse Turner to Corey Gault to Josh Cipro to Tom Edwards to Jiah Reidy to Brandon Erceg, and indeed even his own brother Connor.

Blakely will also be proud of the wide array of players he was able to call teammates.

“My debut game if you look back it was against East Freo back in 2013 and the people on that list were quite incredible,” Blakely said.

“I played with Lachie Neale and another guy called Charlie Cameron, and I haven’t really seen them around Perth too much so I don’t know if they’ve gone on to do much with their footy.

“Then there was Dayle Garlett who was just so talented with the way you could kick it to him in the forward-line and just let him go to work, and unfortunately things didn’t work out with him.

“Steve Coniglio I played a little bit of colts footy with before he quickly got drafted to GWS and Nathan Broad has had a pretty good career as well.

“Then in terms of the WAFL players, it’s guys like Tim Geappen, Justin Simpson, Tallan Ames, Matt Riggio and Josh Roberts that were the really good ones early on.”

The special Swan Districts supporters

As much as Blakely enjoyed the coaches he played under and the teammates he had, it’s the supporters at Swan Districts that made it such a special club and he’ll forever hold that relationship he had with them close to his heart.

“I think this is what community sport and clubs really mean something is that the reason I kept coming back to the club was the relationships I had with so many people at the club,” Blakely said.

“One of the things I’ve talked about is that people don’t really remember what you do or what you say, but they remember how they make you feel so if you really treat everyone with the respect, then hopefully they remember you positively.

“And at Swans, we should treat our supporters not as fans, but they really should be part of the club and Pruey has always tried to embrace with the thought that if you can make them feel good, they’ll make you feel good and you’ll get a lot more out of your footy journey and it won’t be just about your wins and losses.”