Essendon's rookie draftee Gach Nyuon is hoping to set a path for more South Sudanese refugees to follow as he embarks on his Aussie Rules football career.
Born in what was then Sudan, after arriving in Australia as a refugee himself, Nyuon is training with the Bombers in hopes of making the AFL his life.
Gach Nyuon was born in Sudan, but he is living an Australian dream.
"I was born in Sudan. I came from over there, so I'm Sudanese. I am Sudanese, and I reckon I've developed a bit of Aussie, Aussieness, in me. Picking it up as I go."
Standing two metres tall, that and his natural athleticism make Nyuon a born ruckman.
But he says it was not love at first sight for him with the AFL.
"I reckon I saw it the night we landed, and I just thought it was very rough and didn't really like it ... Yeah."
Nyuon was seven years old at the time and had just fled war-torn Sudan with his six brothers and sisters.
His mother, Mary Jock, had arranged passage to Kenya, where they spent three years awaiting asylum in Australia.
Nyuon describes his mother as an inspiration.
"I reckon Mum would have gone through a lot to get us here, and I appreciate the fact that she brought us here. She was a single mother with seven kids, and she was unwell, and I really appreciate that."
Nyuon first picked up a football in 2012, joining the Dandenong Stingrays and Vic Country before he attracted the attention of AFL recruiters.
Essendon recruitment manager Adrian Dodoro says the league is in desperate need of recruits like Gach Nyuon.
"We don't have a lot of athletic, tall ruckmen coming through in our industry at the present time. He was an all-Australian under-18 ruckman this year. But he has all the basic tools that you'd want to see in a young player."
Nyuon was matching AFL records with his vertical jump and also impressing with his speed.
So despite him having played only 45 football games in his short affiliation with the sport, Adrian Dodoro says the Bombers had to have him.
"Unless you can jump, in this game, as a ruckman, then you're going to be behind the eight ball.* But he certainly can jump -- he's got a natural leap. He jumps off both feet. His ruck technique is pretty good. But he's going to take a long time to develop his overall game."
Gach Nyuon was one of three South Sudanese players picked up in the AFL rookie draft.
Nyuon says the game may be relatively new to his community but he is hoping to set an example for others to follow.
"(It will) take a fair bit of hard work, especially playing against kids who might have been playing football since they were, like, seven years old and we only started. Most of us only started a few years ago."
Adrian Dodoro predicts there will be more South Sudanese AFL stars in the future.
"You'll find that there will be a lot of Sudanese boys playing AFL football in the next 15, 20 years. It's been really enlightening to see some of these boys come through. And I've got no doubt, within 15 years, they'll be dominating our sport."
