GIANTS defender Harry Himmelberg has delivered a passionate plea for the protection of academy selections for the northern-based clubs as he gets set for his 200th AFL game this week.
The Wagga Wagga product, now in his tenth year as a Giant after being taken with pick 16 in 2015, is one of the biggest success stories of the club’s academy.
And as talks continue over placing greater restrictions over the ease in which the New South Wales and Queensland clubs can select academy players amid a raft of first round picks at the draft in recent years, Himmelberg has issued a staunch defence of the system.
“It’s probably the most passionate thing I like to speak about, the academy. When I was growing up it was a rugby league dominated zone. I stand by it, if the academy didn’t exist, I wouldn’t be here right now and I’m sure there’s a bunch more guys from New South Wales that would be in the same boat,” said Himmelberg.
“I remember Harry Cunningham going through a couple years before me from Wagga and thinking it’s possible to do this and hopefully I’m one of those players that now allows kids to see that pathway.”
“My first year when I got drafted, we’d go out to schools and kids would ask us how many tries we’ve scored, and now 10 years on we go out there and there’s GIANTS kits everywhere, the kids have a team that’s local that they can follow.”
Now a permanent fixture of the GIANTS’ settled and well-structured defensive unit that has locked away another top eight spot, it’s as a forward where Himmelberg made his name at the GIANTS.
He is still the club’s fourth-highest goalkicker behind Jeremy Cameron, Toby Greene and Jesse Hogan and has been somewhat of a Mr. Fix It around the ground.
“It’s been interesting, I’ve played pretty much every position on the ground, which is something I’m proud of, I guess. It’s been a long journey – forward, a little bit of wing, back, ruck sporadically - hopefully there’s no more of that. It’s been a good journey,” Himmelberg said.
The 29-year-old will almost certainly be re-joined by Jack Buckley this week as the GIANTS defensive group returns to full strength for Sunday’s clash with a Saints side buoyed by Nasiah Wanganeen Milera’s re-signing.
With the likes of Brent Daniels, Josh Kelly, Jake Stringer and Hogan to be re-integrated to the setup as well, the GIANTS are well placed for an assault on the premiership, even if from outside the top four.
The GIANTS’ away record is a major reason for that, with last week’s win over Gold Coast continuing a strong second half of the season that has mirrored their form from the previous two years.
“It’s huge. We’re pretty good on the road historically under ‘Kingers’. We’re pretty confident that our best can beat the best and it’s wide open. The top nine teams are the closest in memory. It’s going to be a tough finals series, but we take confidence in being able to travel well together. We’re confident we can go on the road and get big wins,” Himmelberg said.
And as much as he’s cherishing his milestone at the GIANTS, it’s premiership glory that is occupying Himmelberg’s mind above all else right now.
“It’s super exciting for me and my family. They’ve been on the ride the whole way with me as well. It’s really special, but not something I’ll look at too closely until post-season. We’ve got a job to do in the finals.”
