Justin Leehy: Swans player settles into AFL and fatherhood

But then your eyes travel over his pleasant face towards his crowning glory: a neatly coiffed forest of dark hair that rises high like a wave. It's a magnetic bouffant that strains to become something more unruly, you sense.

The Centacare manager is in fine form on a cool autumn morning on Kable Avenue. He is a husband to Maddie and a father to Hudson, who arrived seven months ago.

Read also:

"It's exciting," he said of being a first-time dad. "Obviously, you doubt yourself sometimes.

"But he's teaching us as much as hopefully we're teaching him. We're loving it."

Leehy's family moved to Tamworth when he was little. His father's family used to own the heritage-listed Daruka Homestead in Tamworth. Leehy Court is nearby.

The 30-year-old is in his second season at the Swans. A former longstanding Thunderbolt, he switched from state-level basketball to AFL when Covid-19 derailed the Waratah League.

He'll be back in action when the Swans travel to Gunnedah on Saturday, looking to make it back-to-back wins to start the season.

"I think we've got a good core of players," the ruckman-cum-forward said.

He continued: "Hopefully, this year I can kind of take it to another level and not be that rookie player, and can help some of those new younger guys that have come into the side."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: