Centurion Blee's passion for the Royals never strongerFriday, July 28, 2017 - 4:28 PM - by Chris Pike

HAVING grown up wanting to play with East Perth, getting an AFL chance because of the Royals and now returning to the club since, Nathan Blee can't envision himself playing anywhere else and couldn’t be more proud about reaching his 100-game milestone.

Blee came through the ranks at East Perth in the development squads then colts and reserves before a standout 2011 season at league level once given his opportunities by then coach Tony Micale.

That earned him the chance to spend two years in the AFL system at Port Adelaide where he played six games before finding himself delisted at the end of 2013.

But when that happened, there was nowhere else Blee could have seen himself playing than returning to East Perth and especially with the Royals coming off a grand final berth, he had good reason to expect success was on the horizon too.

He then played in the grand final of 2014, preliminary final of 2015 and elimination final of 2016, so East Perth has been around the mark the past three years but for Blee it's about more than just chasing that elusive premiership.

Blee is a passionate East Perth person and while the majority of the players he came through the ranks with have now moved on for one reason or another, his passion has never dwindled and that's why he's so proud to call himself a 100-game player at the club.

"I've been at the club since I was 15 coming through the development programs so it's been a large part of my life ever since then. It's a really special place for me and I've met some of my closest friends there so it will always hold a special place," Blee said.

"I'll keep playing with the club until I've had enough really. I'm enjoying my footy this year and if it continues that way then I'll keep playing for a while yet. I was always coming back here because I wanted to play with my mates so it was an easy choice to come back."

Blee reached the 100-game mark last Saturday in East Perth's 30-point defeat at the hands of South Fremantle in Busselton.

While they didn’t get to celebrate his milestone with a win, it doesn’t take away the significant achievement it is for Blee to become the only current East Perth player to have played 100 WAFL games.

"Obviously it's a great honour to play 100 games and it's a privilege that you don’t really even think about when you are younger, you are just hoping to play that one game to start with. So to get to 100 with a club that I grew up playing for is pretty special," he said.

"Mum and dad came down, and so did my fiancé which was great. I also have a few family members in Bunbury so the trip wasn’t too far for them to come down either. A few people still came down, which was good, and it was a nice memory to have to reach a milestone like that."

Blee's focus is now on a crucial game this Saturday against Claremont at Claremont Oval where a win for the Royals will keep them right in the hunt for another finals appearance in 2017.

"It's been such a close year where any team can beat anybody on the day. We can't look too far ahead but we just need to win this week and if we happen to do that we roll onto West Perth and can hopefully knock them off as well," Blee said.

"Our sole focus right now is on Claremont and we just have to win this game on Saturday and then continue our season from there. We just need to focus on coming out ready to play, playing at our best and trying to get the win."

Blee began his career at East Perth in 2011 alongside the likes of Brendan Lee, Freddie Clutterbuck, Craig Wulff, Josh Smith, Aaron Sweet, Garry Moss, Pat Travers, Daniel Macaulay, Mat Seal, Michael Swan, Steven Payne, Brendan Hancock, Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls and Danny Chartres.

All went on to play over 100 games but remarkably when Blee reached his milestone on Saturday, he became the only current East Perth player in triple-figure WAFL games following the departures of Payne and Oakley-Nicholls this season.

Even last season there were still veterans like Wulff and Paul Johnson but suddenly Blee now finds himself as a genuine leader with the Royals and the 26-year-old is happy with that responsibility.

"When I came back I just really wanted to play with my mates again. I grew up playing with a close group of people and that was my main goal to do again, not so much playing 100 games or anything," Blee said.

"The club was pretty strong at the time too so they were focusing on playing in premierships so the main goal was to play with those mates again and hopefully win a couple of flags along the way. I did come through with a really close group of friends but a lot of them have moved on. 

"Shaggy is really the only one left from those colts and reserves days who are playing league footy. Things can change really quickly and we've got such a young squad at the moment so it's been good to feed off their energy because they are always so excited and upbeat at training. 

"That is a bit different from previous years when I've played. Seeing how quickly things change it makes you appreciate every game that you do play because you never know when it might come to an end. 

"I'm enjoying my footy a lot more now just because I'm not taking it for granted and because we don’t really have any older blokes anymore, I've had to embrace being a leader and just knowing some young guys look up to you, but I try to do that the best I can."

Speaking of Anderson, he is one player who Blee would never trade playing alongside in the back-line at East Perth and he is looking forward to him hopefully reaching his own 100-game milestone before the end of the season.

"He is probably the best defender in the comp so it's always good having him back and it helps me out too because whenever he's not there I have to take the big key forward. So I'm more than happy whenever he's back so he can take them and I have a bit more freedom," he said.

"He has been really unlucky with injuries but hopefully he gets his 100th game this season too and that will be great for the club and for himself with his perseverance and commitment. When he gets there it will be great and hopefully we can get a win for him."

Blee has been enjoying his own football as much as ever in 2017 as well and much of that has been down to new coach Luke Webster using him in a variety of roles and getting him out of his usual position down back where he is ever-reliable and consistent.

"It can get stale a little bit when you play down in the back-line for so long so it's good to go forward and kick goals rather than you having other people kick goals on you throughout the year. It just gives you that bit of freedom to go forward and to kick a couple of goals is always fun," Blee said.

"I've been enjoying this season so far. It's been a bit different and I've been thrown around a bit which isn’t something that has happened too much throughout my career. 

"I'm just embracing that and whatever the team and coaches ask me to do, I'm happy to play that role. I'm playing a bit forward, which has been good, I've been in the ruck even occasionally and moving around the ground is always fun and I'm up for the challenge."

It's fair to say that Blee's four coaches at East Perth in Tony Micale, Brian Dawson, Jaymie Graham and Webster have been vastly different, but he has no complaints whatsoever about the job Webster is doing in his first season in charge.

"Webby has been great," he said.

"I actually came into the league squad when he was captain so we get along really well and he relates so well to everyone and addresses the group really well because he's still pretty young.

"He can relate to everyone in the group, his messages are really clear and he is really approachable. He's easy to talk to and get along with so I'm enjoying playing under him."

Blee's goal ultimately is to obviously help East Perth to its first premiership since 2002 and he would like a better memory of a grand final than he has of 2014. While it would top off his career, he won't ultimately judge his enjoyment and success based on having a flag or not.

"Obviously the goal is always to try and win a premiership and having been close if I am able to get one it will top my career off, but if I don’t I will still be happy that I've had a great time along the way and met some great people. That is the ultimate goal obviously but it's not the be all and end all to say you've enjoyed your career or not," Blee said.

"That grand final was disappointing. We had as good a team as I've ever played in that day but Subi just played better than us on the day, it was pretty simple. We'd had a real good year up to that point but they came out and played a lot better than we did.

"The wet weather might not have helped us but in saying that they were just better on the day than us. If we played anywhere near what we could have we could have won in those conditions and had that premiership, but it wasn’t to be."