WAFL finals: South Fremantle star Nick Suburban hungry for more success as he hunts fifth premiership
Nick Suban has a strike rate that would make even Australian Twenty20 sensation Glenn Maxwell jealous.
The South Fremantle midfielder will play his 100th WAFL game in Saturday’s second semifinal clash against Subiaco at Leederville Oval.
This takes him to 260 senior matches including the 156 he played for Fremantle and four in the now-defunct Foxtel Cup.
Suban’s most impressive statistic, however, is that he averages a WAFL grand final every 20 games.
The 31-year-old has won flags at Claremont (2012), Peel (2016 and 2017) and South Fremantle (2020), losing just one decider in 2019 to the Lions.
Yet the burly midfielder is still hungry for more, as he looks to help the Bulldogs to consecutive premierships for the first time in more than 60 years.
“They’re all special in their own right. The Claremont one I didn’t have as much connection with the players because I hadn’t been there towards the back end of the year and didn’t know as many of them personally, but it’s a special one,” he said.
“The Peel ones were really special because we had a lot of Fremantle guys play in them and to see everyone have the disappointment of not playing AFL and then still come together towards a goal to win a flag was impressive as well.
“Last year, being a part-time WAFL player and guys doing their jobs day-to-day was special because you see the efforts they have to put in to get ready for game day.”
A Victorian native, it was his relationship with Curley who was an assistant at Fremantle when he was drafted, that saw Suban not only the tough midfielder stay in WA, but ultimately end up at the Bulldogs, where he has played 70 of a possible 73 games in four seasons.
For all his success, Suban’s competitive drive keeps him playing the game at a high level but admits he is a different person on the field than off it.
“I think if you meet me off the field or privately I’m a different person than what I am on the field, probably more of a quiet, placid type,” he said.
“But once you get on the ground it’s those competitive juices take over and that’s what has helped me in good stead throughout my career playing in the WAFL and playing in the AFL.”
Another driving factor for Suban is a teammate in Jake Florenca, who heartbreakingly missed last year’s premiership after getting injured in the preliminary final.
“Arguably he was one of the best midfielders in the competition before he got injured, so to see him come back in and play like he’s never missed a game is really impressive,” Suban said.
“We’d love to do it for him. He’s one of a number of other guys that missed out last year that we’re there, so obviously, we’d like to do it for them as well.
“The guys that won it last year have that drive to do it again because once you win one you get that taste for it, you want to keep getting back there.”
Suban acknowledges he’s towards the back end of his career but says he’s still yet to make a call on his future beyond this season.
“I have got three young kids under the age of four, so that will play a factor in my decision towards the end of the year,” he said.
“I haven’t thought too much about it yet. I’ll let just this year play out and see what happens in the next couple of weeks, how far we go.
“I’ll sit down with the wife, sit down with (coach) Todd (Curley) and we’ll make a decision of whether that’s to play on.”
Posted Sep 17, 2021, 7:53 AM UTC