Sertbas Sydney’s first ‘Rising Star’

By Sam Canavan

Sertbas was nominated on the strength of a blistering display in the students’ eight-point win over Queanbeyan in Round 7, collecting plenty of the football playing on a wing, and chipping in with two crucial goals.

Despite his undoubted talent, Sertbas has struggled for consistency so far in 2014, playing well in patches without putting together a full four quarter performance, but on Saturday afternoon at Sydney University Oval No.1 he justified the faith shown in him by coach Daniel Gilmore, playing a crucial role in his side’s fourth victory of the season.

“Daniel has been an amazing coach and mentor for me, in the way he has stuck by me and continued to give me games, even when I wasn’t playing my best football,” Sertbas said.

“Daniel has helped me develop a lot in the short time I’ve been at the club, and along with the likes of Ryan Brabazon and Tom Ayton, he’s really taught me a lot.”

Sydney University Football Club isn’t the only place Sertbas has entered in 2014 seeking knowledge, the youngster has this year started a Law and Commerce degree at UNSW, and while he’s struggled at times to manage the work load of full-time study and football, Sertbas has adapted, and a “career in finance or corporate law” beckons.

That is, if football doesn’t intervene.

“I would love to play in the AFL professionally, I make no secret of that fact,” Sertbas said.

“I am still only 18 years old, and I have been exposed to the elite system through the Swans’ Academy, which gave me a taste of what was required.

“I think my best football is good enough to put me in contention to be drafted.”

The fact Sertbas is playing elite second-tier football, let alone considering a berth in the top flight, is astounding considering how late he came to the game.

A soccer fanatic as a junior, a 13-year-old Sertbas fell into football by complete accident, and has seldom looked back since.

Sleeping over on a Friday night at a friend’s house in his first year of High School, Sertbas accompanied his mate to his local football club the following Saturday morning to watch his game.

Two hours later, Sertbas had done a lot more than watch the match.

“My friend’s team was a couple of players short, and I was dressed in running shoes, and the coach asked if I’d like to have a run around,” Sertbas said.

“Having never even thought about playing AFL before, I played the game and played pretty well, they asked me to come back and play again, and I was hooked.”

It soon became apparent Sertbas’ talents were better suited to the Sherrin than the soccer ball, though he continued to juggle wearing shin guards on Saturdays and short shorts on Sundays, but the day loomed where a decision had to be made between the two sports.

Selection in the U16 NSW/ACT RAMS representative side underlined his AFL potential, and when Sertbas was named in the Sydney Swans’ Academy and played as a top-up player for the Swans’ reserves his football career seemed on an upward trajectory, and he decided to give away the round ball game.

An all-round sportsman, Sertbas also quit Athletics, where he was an elite middle distance runner, representing NSW over 800m at the National Championships in his senior years of school, and dipping under the coveted 2:00 mark over the distance.

While he no longer competes on the track, at an agile 181cm and 78kg he has the ability to run rings around opponents, and his grounding in soccer has “helped with things like awareness” on a football field, though he’s “yet to dribble through a soccer-style goal off the ground.”

Sertbas hopes to “really cement” his spot in an exciting Sydney University side, which is on track for a finals appearance after winning just a handful of games last year.

If he plays like he did against the Tigers in games to come, Sertbas won’t just cement his spot, he’ll help lead the men in blue and gold’s push towards a landmark top six finish, and put himself squarely in the minds of AFL recruiters in the process.