Edwards Gets Chance at AFL Dream with Essendon

Tom Edwards proved himself as the man for the big occasions at Swan Districts, so it was no surprise to see him star with an AFL chance on the line and now the excitement machine wants to make the most of his chance at Essendon.

On the back of another tremendous season with Swans in 2024 where he kicked a career-best 39 goals while taking some spectacular marks and delivering the match winner against West Coast, Edwards was just preparing for 2025 with the black-and-whites.

As a 24-year-old who has played 66 games in the WAFL with Swan Districts and kicked 109 goals since moving to Perth from Albany, and settled into life as a school teacher, Edwards wasn't really thinking too much about his AFL prospects.

Then a pre-season chance opened up to train with Essendon, where he kicked four goals last Saturday against the Western Bulldogs and the rest is history.

He might not have got to hear his name called out on draft night, but receiving a call from Essendon's head of football Matt Rosa during recess at Lesmurdie Senior High School on Tuesday is a moment he'll cherish forever.

"Matt Rosa told me on Tuesday this week. I was back at work teaching after I'd come home on Sunday," Edwards said.

"So I was back at work for three days this week, I found out the news on Tuesday, had to pack myself up on Wednesday, and then jumped on the flight on Thursday.

"My school was so good about it and I have a pretty good relationship with a lot of people there who are very supportive of my footy. I was very appreciative of how easy they made it for me so that was good on their behalf to make it so seamless."

When Edwards got to Melbourne to start his training block with Essendon, he knew it was all building to his one chance to play in the first practice match against the Bulldogs on Saturday.

He tried not to put too much pressure on himself to perform knowing that a potential AFL spot was on the line, but rightfully he was feeling pretty good about himself afterwards knowing he'd impressed by kicking those four goals.

"I guess it's something I did consider a little bit going into the game because the aim of coming over for those two and-a-half weeks was to end up playing in that game to see how I went," he said.

"So you definitely do think about how important it is going into it, but once you are out there playing you don't really think about that and it's more just about what I can do to impact and to follow the structures the coaches wanted, and to put myself in the best position to impact the game.

"Then once the game was finished it definitely took a little bit to cool down and comprehend, but it was cool."

It's been quite the whirlwind for Edwards over the past month going from just starting the new school year and doing pre-season training with Swan Districts to now all of a sudden finding himself an AFL-listed player.

While he's still trying to process how quickly it's all happened, he's also ready to make the most of this once in a lifetime opportunity to grab his AFL chance.

"It's every kid's dream from when you are a young age, but it wasn’t something I was really thinking too much about for a fair while," he said.

"But now that it has come about, I'm just trying to swallow it and really comprehend the opportunity I've been given and am trying to put my best foot forward.

"When I first came over, back at Swans we weren’t at a stage of our pre-season where we'd had any match play or scratch matches yet.

"But then coming over here it was pretty much straight into games and now the season starts only in a couple of weeks when we play Gold Coast. It's all been fast tracked, but I'm just trying to stay in the moment and take little steps day by day to settle in."

It should come as no surprise to anyone that's followed Edwards' career to see him grab his chance last Saturday with an AFL spot on the line with a standout performance.

After all, time after time he's stepped up with the game on the line for Swan Districts including kicking a game winning goal after the siren sparking some wild celebrations at Steel Blue Oval against the West Coast Eagles.

He's also shown he's quite the exciting, high-flying player who's capable of taking some spectacular marks, and it's those moments that reflect exactly why he enjoys playing the game so much.

"It's the reason why you play really, is to have those sort of situations and to get the competitive juices flowing, and there's nothing better than taking a big mark or kicking a goal," Edwards said.

"I've been pretty lucky to get the forward 50 cleared out for me a little bit the last couple of years to be the focal point at the end of games, but that was something you have to earn over time.

"But I love the opportunity to step up in those pressure situations and it's one of the great parts of being part of sport."

Edwards is fully aware that he wouldn’t be where he is right now if it wasn’t for the opportunities presented to him at Swan Districts.

Right from his teammates, the coaches, the support staff and the fans, he couldn’t thank everyone involved at Swans enough for helping him achieve his dream.

"I'm so grateful and it has such a special place in my heart because of the people I've met at the club and the connections I've built with so many people," Edwards said.

"There's obviously the players, but then the support staff from Indy (Allan Hickling) to DC (David Cianciosi) and all the coaching staff. There's a lot of very special people down there and then you have the supporters.

"They are like nothing I've ever seen with how passionate they are, and it definitely makes it a pretty special place to be."