WITH a big frizzy mop of hair and a unique name, Wylie Buzza was always going to be a cult hero wherever he went.
The boy who grew up in the Queensland country town of Gatton just didn’t dream of it being in Australian Rules football.
A rugby league fanatic, all he wanted to do was play NRL for the Brisbane Broncos and State of Origin for the Maroons.
However, growing pains at the age of 16 led to him having a crack at footy “to get a day off school”.
He showed an aptitude for the game, and even though he was raw by his own admission, a stint in the Brisbane Lions Academy while playing QAFL for Mt Gravatt and NEAFL for Redland led to Geelong taking a punt on him.
Buzza managed nine AFL games for the Cats before Covid-ruined stints at Port Adelaide and Werribee in the VFL.
He then headed north this weekend he will lead the Brisbane Lions onto Brighton Homes Arena for a semi final against Williamstown in his 100th Smithy’s VFL match.
The 27-year-old thinks he is only now coming into his prime, and the fact he is averaging career high numbers this season is proof.
He has kicked 37.7 (84.1% accuracy) to top his previous best of 32.18 for the Cats in 2019, and his averages in disposals (13.8), marks (5.6), disposal efficiency (73.5%) and contested possessions (6.8) are all above his career numbers.
“It’s not the original goal you set out with when you get drafted but to get to 100 games, it’s not a competition for the faint-hearted so to compete at that level now it’s a part-time thing for me, I’m really proud of that,” Buzza said.
“I’ve been really pleased with my year. As a big guy who was late to the game and only chalking up 100 now, I still feel I’ve got so much development ahead.
“Key position players start to thrive when our bodies fill out. Mine’s probably filled out a bit too much in the past couple of years being back home, but it’s still doing the trick and I feel confident I can play my role to give us every opportunity to win against Williamstown and get the ultimate success we all play footy for.”
Buzza wishes he had a better run at AFL level, but he refuses to take a woe-is-me attitude to what might have been.
“Everyone has got a heartbreak story when it comes to Covid but I’m really grateful to even get the opportunity to be drafted,” he said.
“I was pretty raw coming from a rugby league background. I came from a long way back and Geelong took a chance, so to get nine games, I’m really proud of myself.
“Being part of Geelong and Port Adelaide, Werribee, and now the Brisbane Lions, every club has been fantastic with winning but more importantly the culture and the people.
“Blokes like Michael Sodomaco, Tom Gribble and Matty Hanson at Werribee, to see how they’ve had to go about getting their 100 games and the years it has taken – the hard work on top of a full-time job and to continually outperform blokes on AFL lists. I’m proud to be on a list with blokes like that.”
Buzza is a development officer with AFL Queensland, focusing on his old stomping ground in the western corridor.
The Lions VFL captain adds his name to the list of AFL players who would potentially haven not even played the game without the northern academies.
“I was very grateful for what the Lions Academy had done for me,” he said.
“Scott Borlase was a part of that Academy program before I got drafted and is now a development coach at the Lions and when I first spoke to him about coming back I liked the sound of the challenge of trying to connect the part-time VFL players with the people who are doing it full-time.
“They are different worlds and you’re trying to bring guys together who have vastly different lifestyles and I’ve really enjoyed trying to bring that gap together.”
