Former Eagle Alec Waterman could make AFL debut for Essendon after comeback from serious illness

Alec Waterman is ahead of schedule as he prepares for a likely round one debut for Essendon. Timing is the key to Waterman’s second coming as an AFL footballer. Whether launching a long bomb at goal, where the sweet connection between eye, hand and left boot give him a 60m weapon almost unmatched in senior ranks, or producing a scintillating scratch match performance just as the Bombers were searching desperately for a fit mid-sized forward, the 24-year-old has found a fine balance between time and place. It was not the case seven years ago when he was drafted by West Coast as a father-son choice. Weighed down by his own expectations as a highly-talented junior whose father Chris had been a key part of the club’s first golden era and remained a prominent member of the WA football landscape, Waterman succumbed to the pressure. He became increasingly ill, was later diagnosed with glandular fever, and fought a long battle to recover a reasonable standard of life let alone worry about playing elite sport. “He couldn’t even leave the house for a few years and got excited if he could do 10 push-ups on his knees,” mother Peta Waterman, a star State netballer, said this week. Waterman was candid about his plight when the prospect of an AFL lifeline became a reality following his powerful comeback for Claremont last year that saw him win the fairest and best medal at the WAFL grand finalists. He revealed to The West Australian that he thought he had made himself susceptible to the illness through his extreme anxiety and concerns that he would let people down if he didn’t succeed at the Eagles. “When I was at the Eagles and playing in the WAFL, I was pretty confident that I was going well because I was winning enough of the ball, kicking goals as a midfielder and my skills were up to the level required,” Waterman said. “I was actually told that I was only a few weeks away from getting into the senior team so in their eyes I was in the next three or four guys in. “I had the confidence to play but I also had a lot of anxiety. It was a funny mix. “I thought I would let a lot of people down if I didn’t make it. “It seems ridiculous looking back but it used to control me pretty badly for quite a while. “Whenever I went up a level, whether from development teams to colts, or even worse into the State junior teams, I couldn’t enjoy it because I was so worried about failing. “I used to dread going to training until I had proved myself and I could get back to normal. “But then it would happen again the next time when I went to the next level. “When I was at West Coast it multiplied even more.” Waterman barely left the house over the next two years before recovering sufficiently in 2018 to return to Claremont where he slowly regained his strength and fitness. He was de-listed by West Coast and started an 1132-day absence from the field that only ended when he came back in Claremont’s reserves in July 2018. Broken ribs sustained the following year disrupted his league return but the flame burnt brightly enough in those comeback matches to restoke his AFL dream. So to 2020. Waterman was a new man in the opening round when he starred as Claremont upset reigning premiers Subiaco and was just about the most influential player in the league in the second half of the abridged season when his strong form and powerful boot steered the Tigers into the grand final. That won him an invitation to train at Essendon and the prospect of mirroring South Fremantle’s Marlion Pickett as a mature-aged player called up to Richmond during one of the AFL’s two additional drafts. “Pickett showed that you can be in your mid 20s and go up and do well,” he said. “The mid-season draft and the pre-season drafts give me that opportunity.” The left-footer started training at Essendon this summer but raised his rating from possible to probable as one of the best few players in an intraclub match last month then enhanced that growing reputation even further with four goals against Carlton last week. The next step is up to the Bombers. They have vacancies in their senior list and could elevate Waterman with the stroke of a pen. The timing is right.