AFL grand final 2023: Bobby Hill, Charlie Cameron among West Australian boys flying flag in decider

Bobby Hill dreamt of days like this.

A boy from Perth who landed at Greater Western Sydney, the barren crowds of Giants Stadium were never for him.

So he lodged a trade request to Victoria, where he had family and friends but most of all, wanted to have his dance on the biggest stage.

The first push was knocked back, so he lodged another, in between times battling with a shock cancer diagnosis.

On Friday he had his young son sitting on his lap as the grand final parade snaked through Melbourne. Today he plays a grand final for Collingwood.

He also holds one of the keys to unlocking the football juggernaut’s 16th premiership. The Magpies will turn to their small forwards against the Brisbane Lions, as they have done for the past two seasons, and they need Bobby to dazzle.

But he’s not the only West Australian set for his day in the sun — and the blistering heat.

Where WA boys sit in our grand final depth chart

• 5. Charlie Cameron (Brisbane)
• 14. Tom Mitchell (Collingwood)
• 15. Bobby Hill (Collingwood)
• 26. Brandon Starcevich (Brisbane)
• 33. Darcy Cameron (Collingwood)
• 34. Callum Ah Chee (Brisbane)
• 35. Billy Frampton (Collingwood)
• 39. Deven Robertson (Brisbane)

Read The West Australian’s rating of every player in today’s paper and at thewest.com.au

His Collingwood teammate Billy Frampton also lobbed at the club this season. He found himself on the outer for September, only to become the grand final’s fairytale, answering an SOS to cover injured forward Dan McStay.

It’s the former Port Adelaide and Adelaide player’s first ever final.

“I reckon there’s been more downs than ups in my career so far,” he said.

“It’s been an interesting journey. There’s plenty of things that go on. But staying the course and persisting is always how I’ve tried to conduct myself and get a little bit of reward. Hopefully a lot more by tomorrow.”

Darcy Cameron has made it all the way from Albany in the State’s deep south to the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Not everyone was convinced he was going to be a genuine talent at the top level — he was overlooked in multiple drafts.

He has the chance to add one spectacular chapter to a story his parents this week described as “incredible”.

Tom Mitchell has WA links too. He helped Hale School to titles and shone at Claremont while his father, former Magpie Barry, was carving out a coaching career.

Brisbane is stacked with boys from West Aussies that made the journey to the Sunshine State.

Charlie Cameron went one way then the other — via South Australia. By the time he moved to Northam, he hadn’t just quit the Lions’ academy, but the sport altogether, before rediscovering a passion for it and honing the remarkable skills that would have fans in Adelaide and now Brisbane falling over themselves to watch him, and sing along too.

Deven Robertson was a WA junior captain and a Larke medallist for the best under-18’s player in the country. His early days at the Lions weren’t all easy, but he’s now settling into their side and playing an important role. He’s also got more than 90,000 Instagram followers along for this wild ride.

Perth colts coach Scott Moore watched him first hand as a young Demon. His current form comes as no surprise.

“Dev was an outstanding footballer but he was also an outstanding kid,” he said.

“One of the things I loved about him was his drive to get better and push himself.”

Callum Ah Chee took a punt on the Lions, heading north to Queensland’s capital from his first footy home on the Gold Coast. Now it looks like he’s picked a winner.

“The grand final is probably that confirmation that he made the right call, so I’m excited for him,” his brother and former West Coast player Brandon said.

Lachie Neale won two best-and-fairests at Fremantle before turning them into Brownlows at Brisbane, and Jaspa Fletcher’s father Adrian was an early Dockers champion.

Then there’s Brandon Starcevich. He might just be Chris Fagan’s favourite. And for all the talk of Jordan De Goey and Harris Andrews and Daicos times two — the humble and quiet Brisbane defender will be just as important.

Four Magpies and many more Lions will take to the field for football’s biggest event. Not all are household names just yet, but some will be etched in history by the end of the day.