Shepp News |
Shepparton Swans coach Brett Warburton calls him a cult figure at the club. Others refer to him as ‘‘Piggy D’’, the nickname older teammates tagged him with as a 15-year-old playing football in Canberra.
Meet Daniel Campbell, Goulburn Valley Football League’s latest goal-kicking sensation and a pivotal figure in the Swans’ rapid rise to relevance.
‘‘I’m not the fittest unit going around,’’ Campbell said with a laugh.
‘‘Running 3
‘‘A couple of older boys when I was 15 in the under-18 competition in Canberra gave it to me.
Campbell not only doesn’t mind his moniker — he thrives on it.
The 21-year-old joked he was the odd one out among his fitness-fanatic Shepparton housemates, including Swans teammate Jamason Daniels.
It didn’t stop there.
One Campbell explanation for his popularity at the Swans was: ‘‘All the ladies in the kitchen who cook the Thursday night tea appreciate me coming in and picking up the scraps.’’
But he has much more to offer than his sense of humour.
Campbell, who re-signed for another year last week, managed one goal in his first three games and six in his next three before truly announcing himself with 41 in the past 11.
He capped that run with nine majors in the Swans’ 174-point flogging of winless Shepparton last weekend.
‘‘If we keep winning then that’s the way I want it to be,’’ Campbell said.
‘‘I started off not kicking too straight and I don’t know what it was, but I didn’t start off too well.
‘‘Getting the ball inside 50 was never our down point.
‘‘We had it in there, but now we’re locking it in there thanks to Kaiden Antonowicz, which has allowed Brodie (A’Vard) and myself to kick more goals.’’
Campbell joined the Swans after kicking five majors for Queanbeyan against Sydney Swans’ reserves team in last year’s AFL Canberra decider.
His father’s decision to join the army triggered his relocation to Shepparton, where his grandparents live.
Fellow former Queanbeyan players Alex Overs and Sam Daniel joined him in moving south to play for the Swans.
‘‘The grand final was pretty intense and one of the best games I’ve played in,’’ Campbell said.
‘‘But I’d have to say the United game a couple of weeks ago, although it was not a final, was pretty intense, too.
‘‘It was a massive thing to us as a playing group, because they were an opposition we feared the last couple of years.’’
Campbell said the Swans were far from satisfied and planned to still be around on the last Sunday of this month — something he will have a major say in.