Dane doing what he can

When Dane Rampe was invited to train with the Sydney Swans in late 2012, he knew he had to make the most of the opportunity.

At 22 years of age and with two unsuccessful pre-seasons with the Western Bulldogs behind him, the Clovelly-raised defender wasted no time stating his intentions, running a close second in his first 3km time-trial behind Alex Johnson, and finishing in the top three in the two trials that followed.

He stuck close to the club’s renowned athletes including Johnson and Dan Hannebery, and did what he could to convince the Swans he could take the next step.

“My goal was just to be as competitive as possible, and come rookie draft day, not give them any excuses why they shouldn’t pick me,” Rampe told SwansTV.

“It’s happened to me before with the Bulldogs. I had two pre-seasons there and didn’t quite make it, and being 22 and being a local boy, I really, really wanted this one.

“If it didn’t happen this year, I don’t know if it would have happened again, so I was really focused and driven and got myself in the best shape even before the pre-season started.

“I just rocked up in the best shape I could and tried to push myself in each and every session.”

Fortunately for Rampe, his hard work paid off, with the Swans selecting him at pick 64 in the 2012 AFL Rookie Draft.

With premiership defenders Nick Smith and Marty Mattner sidelined with injuries this pre-season, Rampe has been given a chance in the first two rounds of the NAB Cup.

“Coming into the pre-season, the coaches had spoken to me before the rookie draft about the areas they needed to fill on their list, and that was in the Nick Smith and Marty Mattner mould, who were coming back from longer-term injuries,” he said.

“I knew the chance would be there early on and I had a pretty decent pre-season, so I just had to build on that when it came to games.

“Even though they are just NAB Cup games, every little bit of experience counts and makes me feel a little bit more comfortable out there.”

Rampe produced a solid performance in the Swans round one matches, before improving again in Sunday’s round two clash with St Kilda, where he collected 18 possessions and kicked a super goal.

“It was a big focus coming into the second game to keep up to our Swans’ standards, so (Sunday’s game) was a step in the right direction,” he said.

“In terms of my own game, I felt my competitiveness was pretty good and that’s what I need to bring every week and hopefully it can give me a chance to play again.”

Despite making a number of improvements over the past fortnight, Rampe believes he has a long way still to go.

“To be honest, I haven’t even thought about the season yet, I’m just taking it one game at a time,” he said.

“I know it’s a cliché, but coming from a rookie and coming from my background, that’s what I need to take it as.

“I need to stop my man, play the defensive parts right and the structures right, and keep it simple when it comes to the offensive stuff.