FOR THE best part of a week, photographers and reporters were camped out the front of Lachie Keeffe's South Yarra apartment waiting for him to face the music. Finally, they got the shot they were hunting when one morning he had no choice other than to face the waiting pack of cameras and microphones. Yet, after all that, the soccer player from Gympie is still making this business his business, 15 years after Collingwood plucked him from obscurity.
At Blundstone Arena on Sunday, the 33-year-old Greater Western Sydney defender reaches a milestone that once felt out of reach when he plays his 100th AFL game against North Melbourne. It comes eight years after his career looked over when he and Josh Thomas were both hit with two-year bans for testing positive for clenbuterol.
Keeffe has seen it all. From missing two prime years that ultimately led to being delisted by the Magpies 12 months after being reinstated, to nearly four years between games No.40 and 41, to not one but two knee reconstructions almost a decade apart to a career of one-year deals. It is why the journey matters more than the destination.
"For me, it is more about the 16 years rather than the 100 games," Keeffe told AFL.com.au at Giants HQ this week. "I wasn't too worried if I got there or not – 97 games would have been the same as 100 – it is probably more the journey I've been on for 16 years that I will look back on over the 100 games.
"I think my family gets more out of it than I do. Mum loves it but still doesn't know the rules. Dad and my sisters will come down and they will love it. Family is why I do it."
Playing in the AFL was never the plan for Keeffe. Despite growing up in a devout rugby state, he wanted to play professional soccer. Footy wasn't on his radar until he moved 170km south to Brisbane to board at Marist College. Even then, the target was to secure a contract at an A-League club, not start playing another sport where he didn't even know the rules.
AFL in Queensland wasn't what it is now at the time. Far from it. The Gold Coast Suns didn't exist and the pathway was less defined, less developed. The school ran footy sessions on Monday afternoons for those who wanted to kick a Sherrin around, rather than sit in science or English classes. That was enough for Keeffe.
And that's where it all started. Before long, the tall, skinny teenager from a small town just north of Noosa had Collingwood recruiting boss Derek Hine on the other end of the phone offering him an opportunity that ultimately changed the direction of his life.
"When I went to boarding school in Brissie at a big rugby school I played soccer. I was a big soccer man and didn't want to play footy, but then they started offering AFL on a Monday afternoon and you put your hand up because you could get out of class. It was basically a bunch of rugby blokes trying to bash the shit out of each other," Keeffe said.
"I ended up doing a few different pathways because I had a couple of mates into footy at boarding school. I remember getting a call one night just before study at boarding school and it was 'Dekka'. I thought it was someone taking the piss. There were prank calls all the time. He rang back and I ended up going down for a trial. Paul Licuria was there and so was Brad Scott. I wanted to be a soccer player, but if I couldn't do that, I just wanted to be a professional sportsman."
Hawthorn and Richmond also expressed interest and Keeffe sat down with Brisbane, before choosing to join the club that first expressed interest in him as a Category B Rookie in 2008. Keeffe wasn't technically part of the Magpies' program in his first year at the club and instead played for the Sunshine Coast Power, Queensland's under-18 side and then Old Trinity late in the year, where it became clear how far away he was from playing at AFL level when he was dropped to the under-19s late in the season.
After officially being added to the rookie list later that year – weeks after the Magpies used pick No.11 in the draft to select a 17-year-old from the Murray Bushrangers called Steele Sidebottom – Keeffe completed an apprenticeship in the VFL. He landed a debut in 2011, added more experience in 2012 and 2013 and then played 18 games in a breakout 2014 campaign.
Then everything changed one March morning when ASADA turned up on his doorstep. That incident is part of Keeffe's story, but only one chapter. Despite the public nature of the indiscretion and the fear at the time that it was all over, Keeffe chose not to dwell on the mistake. It is not in his nature to do that. Rather than waste the two years out of the game, he did a Masters of Business Administration at Swinburne University during his suspension and trained extensively with Thomas in a bid to keep his AFL dream alive.
"For the first two or three months where things were being sorted out, I wasn't too sure if I had a deal on the table, so going through the whole process I thought there was no chance they were going to take me back," he recalled.
"Then it twisted and I thought we were a chance. But at the time, I thought I played for six, seven, eight years, I felt pretty good about it. I was a kid from Gympie that played AFL, was able to purchase a house and was in a pretty good financial position, if I had to move on, I could accept that.
"I really enjoyed those two years – people don't think I should have – but I copped my whack and shouldn't have been doing what I was doing, even though the penalty doesn't align with the crime, but you cop your whack and I was lucky to get back in."
When the storm hovered above Keeffe and Thomas in the days, weeks and months after the positive A Samples in 2015, Tim Hazell from Vivid Sport was there for every meeting and every development during the most tumultuous period of his clients' careers.
Hazell still manages Keeffe and managed Thomas across his 123-game career – Thomas has since moved into a successful career in finance and now works for Carlton president Luke Sayers at Sayers Financial – and doesn't think the pair would have returned without the unwavering support of then-Collingwood president and Eddie McGuire and football manager Neil Balme.
"It really rocked everyone really close because no one knows how to go about it, there is no manual. The AFLPA were unbelievable and once we were able to sit down with our lawyer Ben Ihle and map out short-term, long-term goals and started to get some clarity around hopefully a return to play, things settled down a little bit, but that first 72 hours was the most intense 72 hours I think I've had," Hazell recalled this week.
"The journey the three of us went through was so unique, but because the three of us were so tight we were able to get through it without too many speedbumps. Collingwood were fantastic through it, particularly Eddie McGuire. Eddie was just a star through that whole journey. Eddie and Neil Balme were the key pillars that gave the boys hope they were going to get back into AFL football. Watching both boys come back and play AFL footy was just a real highlight of my career so far in management."
Not many are as respected as Keeffe inside Greater Western Sydney. You don't last this long in the game, having done it the hard way, if you don't bring something to the group, especially a group that has had more first-round picks roll through its doors than anyone else since its inception.
"He is a great human, he is just universally loved, even Collingwood still have deep affection for him. I reckon that's where he has got his longevity, just being a great character. He is a really good footy player on the field, but just a really good teammate off the field," Hazell said.
When it comes to off-field dedication, it is the Queenslander who now sets the standard in terms of application at the Giants. Matt de Boer was the leader in that space until he retired. Toby Greene is also revered internally for making the most of his time away from the club. Both have been involved in de Boer's investment syndicate, Athletic Ventures.
Keeffe is still studying when he is not at the club, ticking off a Masters of Applied Finance, preparing for life after footy in the finance space, a life that was supposed to start years ago, but has been delayed due to his contribution to Greater Western Sydney that will reach 60 games on Sunday, after being recruited as a delisted free agent.
"I'm very thankful for the opportunity that the Giants gave me. I obviously got the arse in the end from Collingwood at the end of 2017. Little bit of an unknown after that. I still felt I was capable of playing at the highest level, and it just so happened that I fit what the Giants were looking for. I'll be eternally grateful for that," he said.
"We were lucky enough to be a pretty good team when I got here, lucky enough to play in some big games. We haven't been able to climb the mountain yet, but it has been great to be part of the journey. I've really appreciated the opportunity."
Keeffe has climbed his own mountain, even if he doesn't realise it. It has taken him longer than most to reach 100 games, but he has seen more than most.