Ultimate story of perseverance has Mills in Grand FinalSaturday, September 22, 2018 - 9:43 AM - by Chris Pike

WEST Perth defender Jordan Mills is the ultimate story of perseverance racking up 100 reserves games before cementing his league spot and now after helping build Optus Stadium, he can't wait to play there in Sunday's WAFL Grand Final.

If ever there was a story of perseverance and dedication required for inspiration then surely it's Mills who provides a tremendous example with the 27-year-old playing 100 reserves games with West Perth but never once did he ever feel sorry for himself or consider walking away.

Instead, the bulking defender gave his all every single training session and every single reserves appearance hoping a spot would open up. 

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He did manage two matches in 2016 and then another in 2017 so there was a glimmer of hope heading into 2018 but there certainly no guarantees even after the departures of Nick Rodda, Scott Simpson and Joe Morrow.

However, Mills was in that Round 1 team against Claremont at Joondalup Arena, performed well and has never looked back becoming a key part of a new look Falcons back-line that has been important in them now qualifying for Sunday's Grand Final against Subiaco.

Playing alongside Mark Hamilton and Ben King as the key defenders with Zac Guadagnin and Nathan Alexandre playing strong defensive roles and Blake Wilhelm the attacking threat, West Perth's back-line is one that Mills couldn’t be prouder of how they've come together.

"You look at the guys who are in that group and at the start of the year some of us had only played about 15 games between us," Mills said.

"We took it upon ourselves at the start of the year to be a side that nobody is going to give any credit to, so let's do what we can to show them that we will be hard to score against. 

"What we've done is go away and tried to be a team within the team, and we back each other in and know that if I go, Blake will cover or any of us will cover for anyone else. We back each other in with confidence that we can get the job done. That goes a long way in the end."

All Mills has been waiting for over his journey of racking up 100 games in the reserves at West Perth was a chance to prove what he's capable of at league level. 

He was willing to wait as long as that took because he enjoyed being at the club, but for him to get the chance to start 2018 and play every game aside from a couple he missed through injury was beyond anything he dreamed of entering the season.

"I'm stoked that I got the chance at the start of this year and that I've managed to hold my spot, but you just have to keep putting your best foot forward and show them each week that maybe they should have picked me a while ago," he said.

"I just want to show that I can play at the standard of footy the coaches want and give myself the best chance to be picked every week. 

"Hopefully if you show them that you understand what's going on and you do your job, then hopefully you stay in the team. I never knew this season if I would stay in or not, but to play a full season is something I'm pretty happy about."

Trying to earn a spot as a key defender in the West Perth team since he started in the reserves in 2011 has been tough for Mills too because of the likes of Dan Hunt, Rodda, Simpson, Morrow, Michael Pettigrew and Marcus Adams all spending time there.

But Mills always remained hopeful he'd get a chance and even if it didn’t, he was enjoying his time in the reserves anyway.

"You never know and the guys I was trying to get a spot ahead of were tough. I did finally get my crack in 2016 to get a taste of it and the last couple of years I was in and out, and never knew if I was going to play or not," Mills said.

"That actually didn’t affect me too much because the culture at the club is so good. The boys you play with, whether it's reserves or league, are all your mates and that's what helped over the journey to have 50 or 60 mates down at the club. 

"You always want to play league footy, but you have to do the work to get there and I always enjoyed playing reserves footy anyway otherwise I wouldn’t have been there. 

"It just took me longer than I expected to get where I wanted to get, but at the end of the day I got there and it's paying off in the long run hopefully."

Now after the journey he has been on, Mills can't wait to get out onto Optus Stadium on Sunday to take on Subiaco in the Grand Final.

"I actually worked there a little bit when it was getting built so I've seen what it was from a skeleton structure to what it is now, and I've been to a few games there," he said. 

"It is exciting to be playing there now and it's a totally new ball game really because it's the first WAFL Grand Final there. 

"The only thing different is that unlike the Grand Finals at Subi we won't be able to get out on the oval and train, but now we'll get 13 minutes on the oval to soak it in, get ready and be ready to play footy. 

"We'll just try to get our head around the new stadium when we are out there, but at the end of the day it's just another oval really and they are all the same except this one has a pretty big grandstand around it."

Now that he has the chance to reflect on the season that saw him just hoping for a chance at the start of 2018 and now preparing to play in a Grand Final where he'll have a pivotal job on one of Subiaco's dangerous forwards, he couldn’t be happier with the way it's turned out.

"To be honest it was kind of a surreal feeling after the game on Sunday," Mills said.

"It was totally different to what we put out in the first round against South Fremantle but that first final was kind of a weird week with the rain and we didn’t train as normal leading into it and we didn’t really rock up to the game either. 

"But leading into the Claremont game we just said that if we want to have a fair crack at this season then let's really have a dip and let's go. The boys responded and we put our best foot forward the last two weeks and now we have a chance in a Grand Final.

"Not in a million years did I think I'd ever be here given it took me six or seven years to play league. Now hopefully I'll play a full season including a Grand Final. It's an amazing feeling but I just have to get through it and hopefully get the win on the day to top off the season."

It's also been quite the effort by West Perth to make into the 2018 Grand Final following a 98-point loss to South Fremantle in the qualifying final.

But their past two weeks in response to beat Claremont and South Fremantle might well have been their best two performances of the year, and Mills has no doubt they can replicate that form again and even lift to another level, there's no reason they can't hand Subiaco its first loss of 2018.

"It goes back that being a one-off game really. We had a bad day and anything that could go the way of South, did go their way," Mills said.

"The boys rallied together after that and we've stuck together since then, stuck to our structures and we know they work. We know now on Sunday we'll be able to beat Subi if we stick to our structures and pressure them.

"If you pressure any team they are going to start to feel it when it's not actually there, so that's what we have to focus on. Don't get me wrong, Subi are a great team and they can go and have a 10-minute lapse like anyone but they can also come out and put in a 15-minute period of kicking five or six goals. 

"I think if we pressure them like we pressured South Fremantle, it's going to be a real close game.  They are the type of team that you have to keep putting pressure on and keep working over, and hopefully eventually they will crack. 

"We have to maintain that for 120 minutes and what it's going to come down to on the day is who can pressure for the longest and who can withstand what's thrown at them basically. It's definitely winnable."