Denver Grainger-Barras – A Swans star in the making

One of the favourites going into this year’s NAB AFL Draft is Swan Districts key defender, Denver Grainger-Barras.

Making his WAFL League debut last season, he dominated as an under-ager in the 18s Championships, before his year was cut short due to injury.

Having tested as either above average or elite in preseason speed, agility and running vertical jump drills, Denver is incredibly athletic for his size, reads the play well and is a powerful intercept marker.

We sat down with Denver to discuss all things footy, that injury, and how he is dealing with the pressure of potentially being this year’s number 1 draft pick.

Have you always played footy?

Yeah, definitely. I love it. I started off at Kalamunda. My brother was two years older than me and when he was at Auskick, I would go to the oval with him and they let me join in. Ever since then I’ve been hooked. My brother actually gave it up, but I always stuck with it because I liked it so much.

What teams did you play for before landing at Swan Districts?

I stayed at Kalamunda all through my junior footy and was technically enrolled there until year 12. I stayed at the club because I’ve always seen it as my home club and the relationships I’ve developed up there with the people that are around the club, there’s a lot of culture and I really embrace that. I really enjoy it there which is why I could never really leave and find another club. It was good to go from there and come into another big club with plenty of history and culture, such as Swans.

When did you start at Swans?

I think I was 12 when I first came here officially. It was in one of the development programs under Steve Thomson (former development coach). Thomo got a hold of me after he saw me and a couple of mates playing up at Kalamunda, and got us to come down a couple of years early. I can’t remember how we played or even the format of it, but I just remember coming down here and embracing the culture and sitting in the away change rooms for the first training session, not knowing what to do or who to shake hands with. I was playing up for a couple of years for a while in the Bunbury carnivals and things like that. I only played a year of Colts, the year I was turning 16, before being bumped up into the league side. So I was about 12 when I first came down here and I’ve never left.

When did you start thinking you’d like to make footy a career?

Ever since I started playing it, but probably more seriously when we went from playing on the little ovals and upgraded to the big ovals. Up at Kalamunda they’ve got quite a good deck and it has a bit of an arena based feeling, which provides a bigger stage to play on than some of the other community ovals. As soon as that happened, I fell in love with the sport even more and knew I wanted to pursue it, or at least play for as long as I can.

You made the step up into league last year from Colts. What was it like playing against the bigger bodies and more experienced veterans?

I was lucky enough that I was training with the 18s at that stage and there were a lot of big bodies, like Luke Jackson (Melbourne recruit) who’s almost 200 centimetres, and Trey Ruscoe who plays at Collingwood. I got used to playing with the bigger bodies and a more experienced crop. I didn't get to have a training session with the league boys before Pickers (Adam Pickering) gave me a ring before work to tell me I was playing. I had no clue what to expect really in my first game, so I went out there with no expectations, tried to take it in my stride and ask as many questions as I could. It was just a massive learning experience, that’s for sure.

Who have you been learning from most in the league side?

I like learning off not only defenders but forwards too, like Tony Notte, who’s been shaping up to be a forward this year. I know he was one of our most instrumental and impactful defenders, and I still watch the way he goes about it playing forward, and pick his brain whenever I can. I really like to listen to some of the more experienced crop such as Tristen Raynor, who has been here for a couple years, and guys like Tony Stephens and Brandon Erceg.  I love picking their brains as much as I can to develop my footy in the best possible way, so I can play the best footy for the team.

You have a good backline to learn from at Swans.

It’s very solid. I was a bit worried coming into last season because my goal at the start of the year was to play league footy. I knew with me playing such a similar game as Tony Notte, that it was going to be hard to crack my way in. I was just blessed to get the opportunity.

You were named in the 2018 under 16s All Australian team. What did that mean to you?

That was huge. That was the first big football accolade I had ever received. I had won my community best and fairest a couple of times as well as the association best and fairest, but in terms of team success, that was really like the first time for me. Me and Trewy (team mate Zane Trew) were selected in that and I was blown away that I was seen amongst the better 22 of Australian talent my age. It was such an honour to finally see that some of the hard work I really do put in behind the scenes had come to fruition.

You represented Australia playing against New Zealand. What was that like?

That was scary (laughing). Actually, that was another one of the learning experiences that helped me with the transition between colts and league footy. They could have any aged players they wanted, and I still remember who I first lined up on. I was on the board at Centre Half Back, and as I was walking to my position I noticed that there was a big, 6 foot 7, 120 kilo, Kiwi fella standing at Centre Half Forward. He was huge, like absolutely massive. I remember saying to myself… I’ve got to play on him? I looked at the boys around me and I was one of the taller, technically one of the bigger ones, so I knew I had to do it and just play to my strengths, which was so difficult. I remember saying to myself to just play my game, which was watching the footy and not worry about him as much. Sometimes my normal game is bodying up and sometimes it's to keep my distance. I knew I couldn't body up on him at all because he’d deck me. I remember there was one situation they got a fast break out of the midfield. I sort of lost track of him, and what I would normally do is fall back, find him and then I’d lock him up. So I went back, found him, and he just literally put me straight into the ground. After that, I had to learn to play a different game and I seemed to do my job quite reasonably. He did take a mark on me about 65m out and kick a goal. I was pretty much like ‘you can have that’. He deserved it from that far out. He was one of the hardest players I’ve ever played on and it gave me a massive learning experience that I could then use when I stepped up into the league-style of football. It was amazing.

We ended up winning quite convincingly. I’d never met some of my team mates before the game and we really hadn’t trained or played together. It was really good to see us come together, and not only create the bond that we did, but to play the brand of footy we did was honestly quite inspirational.

You went from playing on a massive bloke against New Zealand, to being put on a damaging small forward in Cody Weightman. What was that like?

Cody was a very small forward, but an absolute unit. I’d watched a little bit of film with some of the coaching staff and I realised early that small packages aren’t necessarily not impactful, which is exactly what he was. He was their leading goal kicker and one of the better forwards of the whole 18s crop. When Suma (Peter Sumich) turned around and said to me that there's a player he’d like me to play on whenever I was on the ground, I took it as him giving me a role and that I’d have to really step up. When I saw it was Cody, I was a bit shocked because I’ve never really played on a small, agile, versatile forward. Watching the film I was a little bit concerned going into it, and Suma said to me to just play my game. Luckily I played alright and kept him limited. He kicked one goal on me and he definitely let me know about it. It was a great match-up and again a really good experience to learn from.

Have you always played as a defender?

Yeah pretty much. I think it was maybe year 10 when I swung from a forward/ruck, to predominantly down back, especially at Swans. It’s really good to be locked in as a backman and develop that craft before developing anything else. Greg Harding is one of my biggest advocates in terms of versatility and wanting me to develop that side of my craft, but at the same time he wants me to become a true backman. That’s where I’ll be playing and will make sure I develop that craft first.

You dislocated your shoulder and had to have surgery. Do you remember how that happened?

Yeah it was late in the third quarter of my league debut. I ran forward and spoiled the ball but had so much momentum that I kept going at the footy, and one of the East Freo midfielders got the ball and was able to step on the inside of me. I took it personal so I turned around and almost slipped over and chased him down. I ended up catching him and as I went to tackle him, I sort of threw my right arm around him, swung to the left and my arm got caught and came out of the socket. But the silver lining is I got him holding the ball, and I was chuffed. I ran off to the sideline and it popped back in. I was more concerned about how I was going to take the kick. I played the last quarter because I didn’t think anything of it. My shoulder just went numb and I’d never experienced anything like it. Once it popped back in it was just numb and stiff, so I kept moving it around to keep it warm, but probably shouldn’t have been. One of the Swans physios came over and asked to have a look. I told them it was sweet, but right there in the change rooms it popped out again. That’s when I knew it was stuffed. I went and got x-rays then had the surgery the very next week.

What were some of the positives you took out of the injury?

I’d never experienced something so severe, and had never had surgery before. It had always been a daunting thing, reading about the players who had had injuries early in their careers and never really fully recovering properly. I knew it was definitely a challenge I would need to overcome. Now I kind of see that it was a positive to go through it earlier on in my career, because I have had the opportunity to learn and develop on how to face that challenge. I knew it was going to be 12-20 weeks of just intensive rehab, limited footy and no contact, and I’d never ever experienced that. Usually if I’d had an injury, I could brush it off to the side and get through it no worries, and still be playing footy. This time I knew with this injury being as serious as it was, I couldn't just push it to the side and keep playing through it. That was also a challenge in itself but I’ve taken it as another thing I needed to learn from.

Do you think it has given you an edge over other players on how you prepare your body to play?

Definitely. I had a lot of time during that period to do other things and develop different sides of my craft in terms of foot skills. I would only use my left side or practise certain ball drops and things like that. It’s definitely give me an edge because I was able to get a head start on what other players wouldn't have time to do. It also made me more mentally aware and mentally strong through it all.  Going through a time with no footy, when that is my rock and what kept me sane, I had to find another way. I did that during my time away from footy and I feel like that’s made me stronger.

You’re great mates with Zane Trew and you sustained the same injuries pretty close to each other. So who copied who? J

Good question. In our rehab, I personally think I copied Zane early, but taught him a couple of things during it. He had his surgery many weeks earlier than I did and we ended up coming back at exactly the same time. I smashed my rehab and taught him how to do it (laughing).

So this is your year to play in the 18’s carnival?

Yeah, that's right. Last year I was an under-ager at 17. This year is my allotted age to play 18s. With the coaching style that Peter Sumich had last year, it actually gives the 18-year-olds an advantage, and it's their year and their time to shine.

You’ve played with some guys that have now been drafted. Does that motivate you even more to make it at the highest level?

Another way that I’ve maybe been more blessed than some other players is that I’ve created relationships with the boys that have been drafted last year. It’s given me the ability to pick their brains and really find the ins and outs of the best ways to prepare. There are so many different situations that have helped. There was a lot of hype in Jeremy Sharp’s (Gold Coast Suns recruit) underage year, so I picked his brain about that and how he handled it going into his draft year. I spoke with Luke Jackson on how to cope with the atmosphere of the media and the hype of potentially going early in the draft. There’s just so many different cases in last year's draft, and again I’ve been blessed to be able to have the opportunity to pick those guys brains.   

Only a 9 Round season this year, with the club playing 8 games. Is that a detriment for you or are you pretty confident with how you’ve performed leading up to this season?

I think it’s definitely a detriment because I would much rather play a full season, as anyone would. Regardless of how I’ve played, or how anyone played previously, you want to get as many games in as possible. We all love footy and that's why we play it, so the more games you get under the belt, the better you feel. As much as it sucks to only have the 8 games, it’s a blessing to still have 8 games. Realistically, given the whole circumstances, to get any sort of a season in, I’m extremely grateful and I know everyone else is too.

There's talk about you getting picked up as the Number #1 pick in this years AFL Draft. Do you feel that pressure?

I really try to not look into it too much. Honestly, I really don't. I spoke to Greg Harding really closely about this and he pretty much turned around and said that it doesn’t matter about the number you’re drafted. You get picked up, and once you get to a club you start from the bottom regardless of whether you’re pick 1 or picked up in the rookie draft. I'm just excited, fingers crossed, that I can get the opportunity at AFL level and I'm going to grasp it with both hands. I’m going to prove to my team mates and the coaches of that club that I’m going to fight and do the best I can to help the team in whatever way I can, regardless of whether that’s as a forward, backman or a bench warmer. I’ll give it my all regardless of when I get picked up. I’ll just go at it 100%.

Your name gets called out on Draft night. What does that mean to you and your family?

For myself it would honestly mean a lot to be given the opportunity, but I don’t see that as making it really. I want to be one of the best. I’ve always strived to be the best at whatever I do, and for me that doesn’t mean just making it into the system. It means excelling, and I want to try my best to be the best. More so for my family, the time away would make more sense. I know they'll be really happy for me. In a way, it is an element of success to finally make it and be given the opportunity and get picked up over some of the other talent in the crop. Should I be given the opportunity, I'll be extremely grateful, and so will my family.

What strengths do you bring to the league side this season?

Communication. Even as a young bloke I feel like I still have a lot of qualities and experience to bring to the table, having played footy in a number of different age groups. Should I get to play league, I'd love to be able to pick the brains of others but also share my knowledge of the game with team mates, whether it’s with young or experienced players in the team. Another ability is that I want to be impactful and play the best footy for the team, because team success is the ultimate success for me. If I can somehow help and aide the success of the team, I’ll be stoked.

Along with playing at the Swans, what else do you do?

I play music, I work on cars and I get around the family as much as I can. I also work at Bunnings full-time.

What AFL team did you grow up barracking for?

Eagles, 100%. If my name got called out for the Eagles I’d be chuffed. I’d love it, but it doesn’t matter where I go, I’ll play as hard as I can for whoever I am with, and grab the opportunity with both hands.