If there’s one thing the tiny NSW farm town of Collingullie couldn’t live without, it’s the Collingullie-Glenfield Park Football Netball Club, known simply as the “Gullie”.
For Harry Perryman, it’s where his footy life begun.
Perryman grew up through the Collingullie-Glenfield Park juniors and graduated to play in the club's 2014 and 2015 Riverina Football League senior premierships as a 16 and 17-year-old. He was already in the GIANTS Academy and his form as a schoolboy in the tough Riverina seniors was enough to get him taken by the GIANTS in the 2016 AFL national draft.
A GIANT he has remained ever since.
In last week’s clash with Geelong, the GIANTS' perseverance in a tight final quarter pushed them to a seven-point victory, with Perryman earning two coaches' votes for one of his best games of the year.
Despite Harry’s football career now residing in western Sydney, the Perryman family continue to stay heavily involved in the Collingullie footy club. Brothers Nick, Ed and Joe are stalwarts of the seniors, with Joe coaching the side.
Harry says his ties to his hometown are still strong and tries his best to stay involved.
“I get down there as much as I can, a fair bit during the off-season. I’m always talking to my brothers on the phone, catching up about how they’re going on the weekend and how their footy is going,” he said.
In a town of some 300 people, getting involved in the local club is unavoidable. Harry acknowledges this passion growing up in the district.
“It’s kind of the main part of town. Everyone goes to the footy on the weekend. Tuesday and Thursday nights is where everyone kind of gathers and trains. It’s just a great social event and something that I loved growing up with,” he said.
The tiny town has left a big imprint on Harry and in how he plays footy now.
“I was coached by some pretty good coaches through Collingullie that taught me a lot. Just being hard at the footy and putting your head down and just getting to work,” he said.
As a player from southern NSW who has progressed to play in western Sydney, Perryman hopes this process of developing local players strengthens, especially with more players from Collingullie getting this opportunity.
“It’s obviously very good playing up here in Sydney, I’m a local player who’s gone through the academy, from down in southern NSW," he said.
"It’s great to see so many more boys who are in my situation.
“Hopefully we can just get as many people playing AFL down that way, and we can get them on that pathway to play for the GIANTS and make it a really strong connection for us.”
In the giant step to the draft into the 2017 GIANTS squad, Perryman had a Collingullie premiership teammate by his side.
Matthew Kennedy, who has since moved to Carlton, is one of the other three AFL players to have come from the “Gullie”, along with former Collingwood player Jason Wild and ex-Swan Colin Hounsell. Perryman enjoyed Kennedy’s company at the club, after a long history of junior footy together and a couple of senior flags.
“I grew up playing a lot of footy with Matty Kennedy throughout Collingullie and we’ve got a strong relationship. We catch up a fair bit during the off season and during the season at times," he said.
“It was great to come through the ranks with him and play a couple of AFL games with him which was great and it’s good to see him going so well down there at Carlton.”
Perryman continues to grow as a player at the GIANTS, joining the 2023 leadership group for the GIANTS with Toby Greene leading as captain.
Perryman's two votes this week moved him to 11th place for the Carey-Bunton Medal for the best NSW player in the AFL after 11 rounds with six votes overall.
Despite not polling, Adelaide's Broken Hill boy Taylor Walker keeps the lead on 20 votes, with Gold Coast ruckman Jarrod Witts and Sydney defender Nick Blakey the big movers. St Ives' rugby convert Witts jumped to equal third on 18 votes with his six votes last week and East Sydney junior Blakey earned nine votes to move to 17.
