Teenage Tiger Conca earns his stripesThe West Australian
May 5, 2011Late last year, Reece Conca could barely feel the grass between his toes. In the past two months, the Richmond recruit's feet have hardly touched the ground.
Conca's decision to miss last year's draft camp so he could undergo surgery to deal with complications from a broken left fibula, has paid off in the first six games of the Tigers' improving season.
That will continue at the MCG on Saturday when the 18-year-old plays against Fremantle, the club he once saw as most likely to offer him his AFL chance.
But Richmond saw things differently and by the time the Dockers had their first pick in the draft at No.20 - used to recruit Jayden Pitt - Conca was long gone, taken with the Tigers' second selection and No.6 overall in a decision that was leaked on the internet.
It didn't take long after his arrival at the famous Melbourne club to erase any doubts that his injury would affect his football.
He soon claimed his place in Richmond's team and his 101 possessions to date this season suggest he is there to stay.
After his surgery Conca was in plaster for six weeks and then a moon boot for eight.
"That part of it goes really slow," he said.
"It was tough, but looking back now it's been all right.
"When I first got out of the boot, my foot hadn't actually touched the ground for a while and it was really strange.
"You were sort of sensing the ground and balancing on one leg.
"Touching the ground and even getting into the shower for the first time was quite different ... it's like a weird sensation where your foot's really rough and your skin is a bit dead."
Conca, who lives with Richmond's Claremont recruit Tom Derickx, said part of his surgery also concentrated on shaving a piece of extra bone from his heel because of a condition known as os trigonum which can affect movement of the joint.
He said the syndrome was still evident on his right heel.
It limited the full range of his kicking motion, but was not a problem for him when executing the crucial skill.
Having converted to football from soccer to follow join his childhood friends in sport, Conca's earliest inspiration was 1995 Brownlow medallist Paul Kelly, despite being only 10 years of age when the Sydney legend retired.
He fondly recalled being the only one of about 30 family and friends wearing red and white at a house in Harvey as they watched the Swans snatch the 2005 premiership from West Coast in a thrilling grand final.
By draft day he had been assured by Richmond he was going to be a Tiger. But after an earlier daunting pre-draft interview with Fremantle officials, including coach Mark Harvey, he thought he was destined to be a Docker.
Despite suggestion that he could be bound for a Port Adelaide with their first pick at No.16, Conca had spoken with Perth teammate Tendai Mzungu about the probability of the pair continuing their football at Fremantle.
Conca has found a habit of being in the football headlines from the time he was at the centre of the Tigers' draft leak.
He said he also found it strange when Collingwood's Chris Dawes was cited for striking him in round four, in an incident which threatened to cost the Magpies forward a chance to play in the Anzac Day match against Essendon.
He was relieved when Dawes was cleared for the big match.
Conca, who is of Calabrian descent and has a twin sister, said it was difficult to imagine how the start to his football life could have been more satisfying.
And he said being handed the No.30 guernsey made famous by Richmond's 300-game great Francis Bourke added a special edge to the fairytale.
"The club gave me Francis Bourke's number ... I still haven't met him yet, but I hope I'll get to do that soon," he said.
"He's a pretty big deal within the club so it's pretty special. Hopefully someday I could get to somewhere near where he did and etch my own history alongside him.
"To win our first game and sing the song was probably one of the greatest moments of my life and the crowd after the game was probably the loudest thing I've ever heard.
"Being here is probably the best thing that could have happened to me."
Conca said Richmond's expectations for the season had risen with wins in their past two games and said the Fremantle battle would be his club's biggest test so far this season.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/afl/9318815/teenage-tiger-conca-earns-his-stripes/
