Pullman makes most of return for Swans
By Chris Pike
SWAN Districts' centre half-forward Josh Pullman made the most of his first league game in 15 months on Saturday kicking four goals in the win in Dampier over East Perth and now hopes to keep that form going.
Pullman looked set to be a key forward for Swans without fail for the next decade after he broke into the league side in 2008 after captaining the colts to the premiership the previous season.
He had a terrific 2008 campaign playing 15 matches, including the grand final loss to Subiaco, but from Round 4 last year onwards it has been a tough grind for the 191cm 21-year-old.
He played reserves for the rest of 2009 and all of 2010 up until last week, which while was frustrating especially with the lack of victories, it did allow Pullman to add more strings to his bow, work on his speed, pressure and tackling - as well as his kicking.
That meant he came back into the side to play the Royals at Windy Ridge Oval in Dampier on Saturday a more complete player and delivered with four goals from 10 possessions and seven marks.
He needed to as well in the absence of Justin Simpson and Ashley Hansen, and put a strong case forward that he deserves to stay beyond this week's game with Perth at EFTel Oval.
"Daws (coach Brian Dawson) has been saying all year to me that the opportunities will come and mine did, and it was just good to be part of it. What I'm focusing on is making an impact and doing everything I can over the next couple of weeks to make the most of the opportunity without those guys so that hopefully there's a spot for me when they do come back," Pullman said.
"I feel I'm a lot more balanced now. I played down back a bit earlier this year and that has helped my defensive game a fair bit. I still need to work on my pressure and tackling, and that's an on-going project. I am a bit more rounded now and not just a pure forward."
While there were tough times when Pullman couldn’t crack it back into the league team and moments he wondered if he would ever make it back, being around Steel Blue Oval with the league side going so well and now being part of it again make those hard times all worth it.
"I felt like I was pushing against a brick wall for a while there and knew that the opportunity would eventually come, but I was struggling with some niggles for a while and needed to get a bit quicker than I was in 2008," Pullman said.
"That's not something that comes quickly and is a long-term project. I'm definitely not on top it all yet, but it was a good start to go in and make a bit of an impact. It has been a positive place to be while I've been getting through the things I need to work on, but I have a long way to go still.
"You do go through those tough weeks where you aren't sure if a spot is ever going to open up, but it's just good to finally get an opportunity now and all those tough weeks kind of seem worth it to have a good weekend and win with the boys like that one."
Pullman was glad he made his return in Dampier in front of a strong vocal Swan Districts crowd, with the community in the Pilbara grateful to the work Swans are doing with the V Swans program, and he enjoyed both the game and getting out to the local communities to mix with the locals.
"We were expecting it to be a bit more windy than it was and it wasn’t too bad in the afternoon. The whole set up there with the grandstands and a good crowd and everything, it was a great atmosphere and a good day," he said.
"It was just great to get the win and the whole exercise was a really good team bonding thing for the boys to go up and be there together for the weekend. To get the win and then go out in the community together the day after to do our bit out in Roebourne with the Indigenous community was really good for the boys as well. We got plenty out of it from a team perspective."
While Pullman has worked hard in improving areas of his game, the massive improvement in Swan Districts over the last two years has been the addition of highly-skilled players.
Tom Roach, Ryan Davis, Andrew Krakouer, Matt Riggio and Ben Colreavy are all outstanding kicks and as a forward Pullman loves getting on the end of them and wants to reward them for their good work.
"I've been working pretty hard on my goal kicking and it's good that it is finally coming together. It was good that I could reward the hard work done by the back-line and the mids," Pullman said.
"The delivery from guys like Kraks and Colreavy definitely helps me get my hands on it a few more times as well. We probably had a reputation a few years ago of being an average skilled side, but with the inclusion of Ryan Davis, Riggio, Kraks, Roachy and Coly, they have all taken our skills to a new level and that always helps us forwards."
The other positive out of playing so much reserves football over the last 15 months is that the Pullman brothers have been able to play together and spur each other on. Younger brother Sam, 18, is showing good signs and there's every possibility the two could play league football together.
"He is coming through well and is a lot taller than I thought he would be, I thought he'd be a little midget, but he had a growth spurt. He is doing all right and it's good to go out there with him," Pullman said.
"Obviously that makes the whole thing a bit more enjoyable and hopefully he gets to play in a win soon, I don’t think those twos boys are too far away. I think my old man is the one waiting for it to happen the most and obviously we both have a lot to work on because WAFL is no easy task to get a game. We'll just keep pushing each other along because there's a healthy level of competitiveness between us and it's something to look forward to."
