If you had wandered up to an Essendon supporter at Windy Hill during the pre-season and said rookie Damien Peverill would play senior football in 2001 the laughter would have been heard in the next suburb. If you had suggested he would play on Wayne Schwass in his first game and beat him they would probably have asked what mind-altering drug you were on. If you suggested that in the space of nine weeks he would become the game’s most celebrated rookie you would have been led away, put in a straight jacket and undergone serious therapy. Such has been the startling rise of Damien Peverill.

In fact that avid Essendon supporter could have been Peverill himself. Not in his wildest dreams could he have imagined his football career – his life – could have been turned on its head the way it has in 2001. “At the end of last season I wasn’t on a senior list and by today’s standards I was probably considered too old by some people,” Peverill said. “But fortunately Essendon put me on the rookie list and that gave me a foot in the door. What has happened since that day … I still shake my head when I think about it.”

The Peverill journey is a tribute to sheer persistence and self-belief. From Keilor Park juniors he went to the Calder Cannons but didn’t get a look in when the National Draft came around. He then played a season of senior football with Coburg before heading off to the Melbourne Football Club as a top-up player. The Demons dumped him; the Bombers threw him a lifeline as a top-up player. It was a character-testing journey that would have seen many fall by the wayside.

But Peverill has an iron will. The day after he found out he had been placed on the Essendon rookie list for the 2001 season he was out running – putting the miles into his legs that just might see him play some good football in the VFL team. They were miles in his legs that finished up seeing him run out games with the likes of Nathan Buckley, Ben Cousins, Robert Harvey and Andrew McLeod. “I just decided I would do everything possible to give myself the best chance of getting onto the senior list,” Peverill said. “I had to make sure I was as fit as I could be … I basically wanted to make sure I was still running when others were starting to feel it a bit.” It was this impressive attitude that was noted by the Essendon hierarchy. Truth-be-known, his success hasn’t come as a huge shock to his teammates and the coaching staff.

So run Peverill did. He basically put the straight-jacket we had on our delirious Bomber supporter earlier on every opponent he came up against. He stalked quality players everywhere they went and had them gasping for air. But he is not simply a player who can run. I mean this isn’t Forrest Gump in an Essendon jumper – Bomber fans should not start chanting “Run, Damien Run”. This is a highly skilled player who just happens to have exceptional defensive skills. But his offensive skills should not be overlooked. During his nine senior appearances he kicked some quality goals and hit Matthew Lloyd with some passes that would make other full forwards green with envy. He also has footy smarts – a hand in here, a subtle bump there can make all the difference.

Essendon assistant coach Robert Shaw said Peverill’s ability to find the football has been largely overlooked. “Initially we just set him run with roles but we gave him a little more freedom after a couple of weeks,” Shaw said. “He was collecting between 17 and 25 possessions most weeks and that was a terrific contribution. Players who can work as hard as he does defensively and still get the football are very valuable.”