“It’s exciting to play 100 games for a Club. I barracked for St Kilda as a kid, and five years ago I never would have thought I’d have got this far. I had a lot of injuries and was on the fringe of playing, so to get up to 100 games (for the Saints) is great.”
Gram notched up his 100th AFL game in the preliminary final of last year, having played two matches for the Brisbane Lions early in his career. Arriving at the Saints from Brisbane at the start of 2004, Gram was at the Lions for two of their three Premiership victories, although he says game opportunities were scarce.
“I was up in Brisbane for two years while they were winning Premierships, and they were all at a good age and weren’t planning to leave. I really wanted to play AFL Footy so spoke to the Saints and was fortunate to be given an opportunity.”
During his first few years with the Saints, Gram faced a number of injury set backs before he was able to break into the side in 2006.
“The first couple of years here were a nightmare, I had too many injuries. I did my hamstring and collarbone, and finally I had a good pre-season in 2006 and that’s was when I really became part of the senior squad.”
After a strong pre-season this year, Gram showed his versatility on the field and even kicked two Super Goals during a successful NAB Cup tournament. Helping his junior Club by sending 24 footballs their way with the Super Goals he scored, Gram seemed to enjoy his kicking ability outside 50.
“I think it is exciting… It’s a great incentive if you’ve got a big kick.”
But despite a successful pre-season campaign, Gram still has a number of personal goals he is looking to develop this season with the Saints.
“I was too inconsistent last year. I took a lot of confidence out of (my personal performance in) the Grand Final, and have had a strong pre-season so hopefully I can play some good footy in Round 1.”
“I feel good, the team feels good. We’ve put last year behind us and we’re looking forward to going into 2010. No excuses now, we’re ready to go”
With what looks to be another big season ahead of him, Gram is eager to get a strong start in Sydney this weekend to set a benchmark for the rest of the season.
“Everyone right now is so focused on the year ahead. We’ll play Saints Footy how we want to play and take the season one week at a time.”
