East Ringwood were expected to take the step up in 2021, with the former league powerhouse keen to get back to the pinnacle of the competition under new coach Ben Osborne, so it was no surprise that the Roos have started the year with just the one blemish, as they look to turn junior dominance into a sustainable future.
A big key to that sustainable future looks to be powerful goal kicking midfielder Sahaf Ali, who has taken the division by storm in his debut senior year.
But Ali doesn’t want to be playing for East Ringwood much longer.
He’s eyeing off the big time.
Unlike most of his current teammates Ali, whose family moved to Australia from South Sudan when he was just two years old, wasn’t bought up indoctrinated by Australian Rules from birth, with his first taste of our distinct game coming in his primary school days.
“Footy is such a massive cultural thing in Australia and you’d go to school, and everyone would have a footy and at first I had no idea what it was, but I started playing it with mates at school,” Ali said of his introduction to the sport.
Like many of us in Victoria especially, he soon fell in love with the game, shortly after discovering what in the world that weird game was.
“The more I played footy, the more I enjoyed it and I started watching it more on TV and just fell in love with the game.”
AFL stars play a massive role in how we see the game.
Those of us lucky enough to follow successful sides in this era may find ourselves attached to a certain set of players, excited by the group’s dominance, and can sometimes find affection for off broadway stars like Ryan Schoenmakers, Max Rooke or Jason Castagna.
Sahaf was more typically was drawn to the high octane skills of the true stars of the game, mesmerised by the trickery and overall brilliance of some of the games modern day greats.
“The speed, the Buddy’s the Adam Goodes, the Eddie Betts, those kinds of players who you’d watch and then go and try to replicate, that’s what bought me joy and made me fall in love with the game.”
Sahaf and his family have always lived in the Outer Eastern suburbs of Melbourne since their move to Australia, spending time in Forest Hill, Blackburn, Mitcham, East Ringwood and now Boronia.
Sahaf started his football journey at Bayswater Junior Football Club, where he notched up over 50 games across four seasons, always playing above his age group and in D Grade, before moving across to East Ringwood after appearing in the EFNL’s Interleague side in 2016.
“Mum and Dad were looking for local clubs around the area and I started playing at Bayswater, but then all my mates were at East Ringwood,”
“You’d go to school, and all the boys were talking about East Ringwood, and I was at Bayswater,”
“I didn’t understand where my game was at (whilst at Bayswater), so it (Interleague) was kind of a wakeup call,”
“It was a big step up, but I enjoyed it and even though I didn’t perform the way I wanted to, I loved every second of it because I love competition – I’m a very competitive person.”
His love of competition made him the perfect fit for East Ringwood, with Ali taking to his new club like a duck to water, playing 63 games over four years in the East Ringwood juniors, booting 112 goals in process, including 80 goals across his Under 14 and 15 campaigns, all in the highest possible division.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to impress those down at Kilsyth Recreation Reserve, with the damaging East Ringwood star left without an invite to join the Eastern Ranges squad on the eve of 2021 season, a moment that would prove to be a turning point for Ali, who used the disappointment of being passed on as something to drive his pre-season efforts, impressing more than a few down at the ‘Pouch’.
“Before this pre-season started, I’d been cut from Eastern Ranges, so it was a real motivator for me to get back to my best footy,”
“I worked my arse off – the hardest I’ve ever worked – and got myself as fit as possible, then played a couple of practice games in the Under 19’s and then Ozzy (Ben Osborne) said there will be opportunities if you boys (Under 19’s) are ready,”
“A few of us trained a little bit with the seniors and then the last practice game against Cranbourne I got the call up.”
Ali’s power was the most eye-catching attribute for senior coach Ben Osborne during the build-up to season 2021, with the new mentor more than impressed with what Sahaf offered both around the ball and as an option up forward – and decided to give him a chance in the final pre-season outing.
Sahaf didn’t disappoint.
“With Sahaf it was just his power at the contest, plus he had marking capabilities up forward as well, but the first thing that drew me to him was his strength and size for a young kid,” Osborne said recalling his first impressions of Sahaf.
“He could break away from packs and he was a strong tackler, and he didn’t just hold his own, he shone and showed up some of the Senior boys.”
Ali’s performance against the Outer Eastern powerhouse was more than enough to see him in the mix for East Ringwood’s Round One encounter with pre-season Premiership favourites Croydon.
One of five debutants for the Roos upon local football’s return to Victoria.
In a growing tradition amongst many clubs, debutants are presented their jumper by someone at the club, usually a life member or junior coach, and the speeches usually follow a stock standard formula, something about talent, something about attitude and something funny about the debutant.
But Sahaf’s presentation was different, with his Mother giving an emotional speech before presenting her son his first senior jumper, bringing more than a few onlookers to tears.
“There was a lot of excitement between me, and my family and it was a big day at the club because there were five debutants,” said Sahaf of the build up to Round One.
Sahaf’s sister also plays for the East Ringwood Women’s team.
“It was very emotional for me and her and you could see a few of the other boys tearing up as well,”
“That kind of typifies East Ringwood as a club, it’s such a family club and we’re all for one,”
“The boys really got around all weekend, which made it so much easier for me.”
Osborne was as moved as anyone during the jumper presentation, appreciative of the bond between mother and son, and proud to see the club values on show for all to enjoy.
“That was really special, it was the one that nearly got all the players in tears,”
“She spoke extremely well, it was a really touching moment, there’s obviously a really strong connection between his family,”
“Family’s most important and that’s something we drive at the club, and he epitomises that.”
Emotions behind them, Ali and the Roos, produced a (then) upset over Croydon, kick-starting their 2021 campaign.
Ali himself proved to be more than comfortable at the level, kicking a goal on his way to being named in the side’s best, following that performance up with a goal in their win over Wantirna South before back to back appearances in the best players against Park Orchards and Bayswater.
He finished the pre-lockdown rounds with three majors, against an albeit flagging, Lilydale, which was enough to catch the eye of the crew down at Eastern Ranges, with Ali joining the Ranges squad for a week or two, before making his debut against the Sandringham Dragons.
“I must’ve done well in some match simulation, because Trav (Travis Cloke) pulled me over and said you’ve worked your arse off and we’re going to give you a game.”
“Again, to see where your game is at compared to everyone else is good, I had patches where I can look back and think (about where) I can tweak my game and find areas of improvement,” Ali said following his debut game against the Dragons, where he kicked 1.1 to go with his 11 disposals, 7 marks and 4 tackles.
He’s since backed that up with another similar performance against the Western Jets, playing a major role in Ranges 27 point come from behind win, kicking another major on his way to 12 disposals.
Ali says thus far that the feedback and messaging from his coaches at both Eastern Ranges and East Ringwood has been to play his game, which he says is based off of three key areas – core strength, one-on-one marking and his ability to burst through stoppages – something he shares with a few current AFL stars.
“I understand that these are the next wave of players who are going to play AFL soon, but Travis told me before the game to play my game and that’s been the best advice I’ve gotten from Travis and Ben,”
“I’m a Toby Greene type of player, who’s got really good core strength,”
“I feel like when I go forward, I’m really dangerous, but I can have stints in the midfield where I can break games open as well,”
‘The older I get the game slows down, so I’m able to see and play more efficiently, because I’m not going 100 miles an hour all the time.”
Osborne, who won premierships with South Croydon as a player and assistant coach, says there’s still plenty of room for Ali to improve and believes this will be something draws people to him.
He still needs to work on his fitness, it’s something we’re all aware of, but he’s keen to learn off the senior players and coaches and is really driven to get better at understanding structures and that extra touch,”
“He’s always there early, kicking goals or doing groundballs,”
“There’s a rawness about him, he’s a blank canvas, so you can work with him.”
Ali, who turns 18 later this month and is in the midst of year 12 with hopes of getting into Property Management, is still eyeing off the AFL dream, something that’s seemed closer than ever before in the last few weeks.
“Obviously to get drafted, it’s something I’ve been working towards, and to see everything that’s happened in the last couple of months it’s just been unreal,”
“To hear my name, get called out on draft night would be a dream come true.’’