!["You've gotta, I guess, sacrifice playing games on the Xbox or something" ... Liam Bramley. Picture by Mark Bode "You've gotta, I guess, sacrifice playing games on the Xbox or something" ... Liam Bramley. Picture by Mark Bode](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/59c31fab-6a36-4f6d-915a-69d666f89aa2.jpg/r0_0_4032_3024_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
When you've recently turned 17, like Liam Bramley, life tends to present a number of firsts.
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As the Tamworth Swans half-forward plonked down on a retaining wall at Bicentennial Park, on the type of morning that demands attention, he was ready to engage in his first media interview.
Earlier this year, the Farrer student - in his first year of senior secondary school - got his licence. He drove his mother's car to the interview, but works at Coles and is saving money to buy his own car.
"It's great," he said of having a licence. "It's just another level of freedom that you've unlocked."
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The former Tamworth Rooster is juggling footy and work with an increased school workload as he considers his career options - a trade of some description appealing to him.
"You've gotta, I guess, sacrifice playing games on the Xbox or something, and do the homework you should be doing, or do study notes," he said of his sharpened focus on his studies.
Last year, Bramley made his senior men's AFL debut. But this is his first full season of senior men's footy. He has booted 14 goals in 2023, and Swans president Josh McKenzie said he was one of the side's best kicks.
"Getting into the swing of it this year," Bramley said of footy.
Bramley - thin and about 193cm but now hitting the gym - used to play rugby. "Being a skinny kid, it's hard to go up against the big blokes. So I wanted to make the transition [to AFL]."
It's a real joy for me to see him really hitting his straps this year.
- Josh McKenzie
Bramley's family moved from Brisbane to Tamworth when he was an infant. His mother, Justine, hails from the region.
On Saturday, the third-placed Swans host the last-placed Bulldogs. The home side have lost their past two games.
Their young forward said the Swans were rebuilding after losing a number of senior players in the off-season. "We've had a lot of new players come in, so a lot learning [has taken place]."
McKenzie said Bramley came from a "wonderful family" had "grown up" in the Roosters junior system.
"It's a real joy for me to see him really hitting his straps this year," he said, adding that the youngster had "flourished" after stepping up into a key role.
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