By David Nagel
The rise of James Trezise – from talented junior basketballer to budding AFL star – has been simply meteoric.
The Tooradin-Dalmore premiership star took a giant step towards fulfilling his dream of playing AFL football after being selected by Richmond at pick 13 in the 2023 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft.
The 188cm left-footer received an early 21st birthday present when Richmond rewarded his consistent form for the Tigers in the VFL this year.
An AFL football career was the last thing on the mind of James Trezise as he scorched up the boards in a different sport at the Casey Stadium; approaching his teenage years.
But it was there that the football seed was planted by the father of one of his best mates.
“Before footy I was playing representative basketball for Casey Cavaliers and Lewis Hill was playing with me,” he said.
“His dad (Jason) was also the coach of the Berwick under 13s football team.
“We were really good mates and his dad and Lewy told me to get down and give it a crack.
“His dad said he would put me in the ones so I could stay alongside Lewy, and ever since then I’ve just loved it and really enjoy playing footy.”
The decision to leave basketball was not a tough one.
“Not really, because I was a late developer and everyone in basketball was getting taller and bigger, but footy has positions for all types,” he said.
“There’s places like the forward pocket…so it felt perfect to transition into footy and see how I went.”
The former Casey Grammar and St Francis Xavier student played his junior football with Berwick all the way through to 2018.
He followed the Hill family to Tooradin for the start of the 2019 season and finished fifth on the league goal-kicking list – with 27 goals – in the West Gippsland Football Netball Competition (WGFNC) thirds.
“It was pretty easy (the move to Tooradin), because I started my footy with them and Hilly was my first coach, and an amazing coach as well,” he said.
“They were leaving, heading to Tooradin, and it was a no-brainer for me because I respected him so much as a coach.
“Hilly’s been a very good role model since I was younger and he saw something in me from a young age and stuck with me.”
Jason Hill would eventually have to hand over the reins to Tooradin-Dalmore senior coach Lachie Gillespie, who mentored Trezise through his 10 senior games in the Covid-reduced season of 2021.
Gillespie would then coach the Seagulls to their first senior premiership in 25 years…with James Trezise and Lewis Hill among the team members.
Trezise played all 20 games for the Seagulls as a high-half-forward last year, kicking 26 goals including several spectacular efforts.
“Lachie (Gillespie) was great and gave me the opportunity to play my first senior game, and then kept me in the side and that helped me improve my football,” he said.
“The whole footy club at Tooradin is unreal; they welcome everyone in with open arms and they’re a very caring and very thoughtful football club.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better place to start my senior career.”
Also, on the drought-breaking premiership team list were former Collingwood players Brent Macaffer and Adam Oxley, along with Blake Grewar, who had himself played VFL football for Richmond.
A young Trezise decided to pick their brains to expedite his football journey.
“At the start of last year I went up to Blakey (Grewar), Caf (Macaffer) and Ox (Oxley) and asked them how I could take my footy to the next level,” Trezise explained.
“They gave me some advice, and then I had a pretty good year, running fourth in the best and fairest, and Blake said ‘I’m going to get you a pre-season at Richmond.’
“He had said it a few times, so I wasn’t too sure, but then he followed up on it and sent Steve Morris and Ollie Grant my highlights package.
“I ended up getting an interview with them and ended up getting a pre-season.”
The advice from the trio was pretty simple.
“The main point I took away was just trusting in my ability and taking the game on,” he recalled.
“And from a team perspective, just providing the pressure to help turn the ball over and create some scoring shots.”
Currently studying the last year of a three-year Bachelor of Business Degree, Trezise was in awe when he first arrived at Punt Road, training alongside Tiger greats such as Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt.
“It was pretty surreal, because you see them on the TV and then to get the chance to train with them…it was all very unreal,” he said.
“But all the boys just welcomed me, and after day one it felt like I’d been there for a while.
“They got around me and made me feel comfortable which was really good.”
Trezise was an exciting, high-pressure half-forward at Tooradin, but has transformed into an intercepting half-back for Richmond this year.
In his last five games, against Carlton, Casey Demons, Gold Coast, Geelong and Essendon, he has averaged 19 disposals, six marks and more than four tackles.
“When I first got to Richmond I was training as a high half-forward, key forward, and I was trying to use my aerial power to take marks over the boys,” he said.
“Then in the practice match against Carlton I went down back and did pretty well, and from then I was switching between back and forward.
“In the Geelong game I stayed down back and played my best game for the season (29 possessions), and from then on I was pretty much labelled a defender.”
The newest-Tiger did receive interest from an interstate club and, while he would have missed his family and friends, was willing to take any path through to the big time.
But being in familiar surroundings doesn’t make it any less more exciting.
“I’m pretty excited to get stuck into it tomorrow (Friday) because obviously I ‘ve trained with them before so it’s not as daunting as it might be for some of the others who got drafted,” he said.
“My next goal is to play AFL, but if I can’t do it this year just to play some really good footy in the back half of the season in the VFL.”
While birthday celebrations are set for June 15, the Cranbourne local wasn’t even eligible for the draft until a recent rule change relaxed eligibility criteria.
Playing more than three VFL matches by the close of nominations on Wednesday 24 May made him eligible to nominate.
Previously, only players who nominated for the previous National Draft were eligible in the mid-season intake, with only few exemptions accepted.
The recent rule change made his far-away dream a reality.
“That’s when it became a bit real; I wasn’t eligible because I didn’t nominate for last year’s national draft and it was obviously going to be a bit hard to get an exemption,” he said.
“When that rule change came through, I was pretty happy and excited because there had been some interest (from four clubs including Richmond) and I was a chance to get drafted.”
The recent form of Trezise had his name prominent in many media circles as a potential draft prospect.
It was attention that was flattering…but potentially damaging at the same time.
He and his support team decided to sit back and take a deep breath.
“I’ve just been trying to block it out to be honest because I wasn’t 100-percent sure if I was going to get taken or not, so I didn’t want to get my hopes up,” he said.
“I tried to stay low profile and not let it get to my head.
“I was just talking to my manager, mum and dad (Therese and Greg), and Steve Morris, my coach at Richmond as well, and they just told me that the attention was there at the moment, but it wasn’t the end of the world if it didn’t happen.
“If I did, it was a bonus, but they told me to just keep focussing on my footy and the rest will take care of itself.
“They told me I’d have plenty of opportunities to put my name forward in the back half of the year if I didn’t get picked up.”
Richmond VFL had training on Wednesday, the night of the draft, and Trezise admits to some nervous energy as he made his way to Punt Road.
He would be on the track while the destiny of his football career was being determined.
“I didn’t know what to think heading into training, because no club gave me a proper indication of whether I was going to go or not,” he said.
“It was a waiting game, but it was good to be at training to take my mind off things and to be around the boys.
“When I found out I did get drafted, it was great that they were able to all get around me and make it special and support me through the whole thing.
“It’s all happened so quickly and I’ve only played nine VFL games, so I’ve still got a lot to learn and a lot to improve on
“I could have proved people wrong by playing some good footy if I didn’t get drafted.”
You wouldn’t put anything past James Trezise at the moment…his rise has been truly meteoric!
