Subiaco's Brett Robinson in good place on and off fieldWednesday, September 23, 2015 - 12:42 PM - by Chris Pike

THREE tough years after being part of Swan Districts' remarkable 2010 premiership left Brett Robinson questioning whether he still wanted to play WAFL football, but the way the last 12 months have gone since joining Subiaco, becoming a father and getting married has meant he has never been happier on and off the field.

Robinson grew up in Tasmania where he began his senior football career, then moved to Melbourne to play with Werribee in the VFL and then Swan Districts came calling and he joined the WAFL in 2008 under coach Brian Dawson alongside Wayde Twomey and Tim Geappen.

Robinson had a stunning first two years as a damaging, hard running and goal kicking midfielder becoming one of the best players in the competition in a Swans team that made the grand final in 2008 and a preliminary final in 2009 – ironically losing both to Subiaco.

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Swans had a stunning 2010 as a club culminating in a remarkable premiership with a one-point grand final win over Claremont, but for Robinson it was just an achievement to be there after having undergone a knee reconstruction via the LARS procedure earlier in the season.

While he got the reward of a premiership, things didn’t get any easier over his final three years at Swans will illness and then further knee problems curtailing him in 2011 and then on the eve of the 2012 season he again hurt his knee requiring a second reconstruction.

Robinson returned in 2013 and had a strong season, but it was proving hard work to get up to play each week and he decided he needed a break from the grind of WAFL football with him ending up at South Bunbury.

He enjoyed his season there, but it did freshen up his body and mind meaning returning to the WAFL was a possibility, and on the back of getting married to Shannon late last year and learning the couple were expecting their first child, he decided to have another crack at top level football.

Initially he thought that would be at Swan Districts again until his old mate Twomey got in the ear of both him and Subiaco coach Jarrad Schofield, and Robinson joined Twomey again this time at the Lions and the quest for another premiership together is just one win away.

Twomey joined Subiaco in 2014 from Swan Districts and was a key player in the premiership last year, and now Robinson and he have both been terrific in the Lions finishing four games clear on top of the ladder, beating West Perth in the second semi-final and now preparing for Sunday's grand final against the Falcons at Domain Stadium.

For Robinson, everything about the move to Subiaco after freshening up mentally and physically for a year has worked out better than he could have ever imagined.

"I'm just really enjoying my footy and enjoying being at Subi. It's really challenging and the club and players demand a lot of each other, and I think that's why it has brought the best out of me because you have to work so hard to earn your spot, and keep your spot," Robinson said.

"They train really hard and I love training hard, and trying to get the best out of myself so it's been a good fit in the end. Twomes was the one who got into my ear and might have even got into Schoey's ear that I wasn’t sure what I was doing football-wise, and that I could be a good fit.

"It has been a good choice in the end to play with a good mate of mine again, and he was a massive part of getting me there."

The journey of Robinson, Twomey and Geappen since the trio arrived together at Swan Districts in 2008 is one none of them would have predicted when they first made the move.

Robinson has now played 101 games including two for WA, Twomey 132 matches including two for WA and winning a Simpson Medal and another premiership last year, and Geappen has now retired after 164 games and 371 goals at Swan Districts.

The trio shared the 2010 premiership together and it's a journey that Robinson certainly didn’t envision when he first made the move.

"The three of us are really good mates and we lived together over here for a good couple of years, and had some great times. I didn’t know Swoop was going to be there at Swans initially and it was a bit of a shock when I first saw him at our meet and greet day," he said.

"I knew him a bit from back in Tassie and I knew Twomes from Werribee, and he was the first one to speak to Swans and he told them that they probably should give me a call, and we all ended up coming across together, we love Perth and we've all stayed a lot longer than we initially thought.

"At the start maybe we thought after two years we'd move back home, but we've stayed and Perth is an unreal spot so well loved it."

For two and-a-bit seasons, Robinson's WAFL career was going perfectly and he could very well have been the most valuable player in the competition, but things all started to become difficult with his first serious knee injury early in 2010.

While still able to play strong football when on the park up until the end of 2013, he simply needed a break.

"Back in 2010 I did my first knee and had the LARS surgery and I was a bit scratchy after that, and even the game before the grand final I retore some meniscus in my knee and I didn’t find out about that until after the grand final," Robinson said.

"I had to go in and get that cleaned out, and I played in 2011 and was a bit scratchy and had a thyroid condition as well which didn’t help and I missed the last five games of that year. I felt really good after that coming into 2012 but in the pre-season I did my knee again. After that I just sort of felt that my agility and that wasn’t quite where it used to be, and I wasn’t enjoying my footy.

"That's why last year I decided to go to South Bunbury and I just really enjoyed my footy again, and I had a lot of the pressure taken off me. I felt like my speed and all that was back but I didn’t know what I was going to do with footy this year, but it came up that I could go to Subi.

"I was training at Swan Athletic not knowing if I wanted to play WAFL or not, but Twomes gave me a call and I spoke to Schoey and there was a spot at Subi for me so I thought at this stage of my career that it would be the biggest challenge for me to take me out of my depth so I could get the best out of myself. It has done that and it has challenged me so I've had to get the best out of myself and it's really freshened me up and I'm loving footy again."

Working so hard to get his body in a shape to back up from playing WAFL football week after week was grinding on Robinson after the injury and health issues he had dealt with, but the year away has done him the world of good and he has never enjoyed the game more than this year with Subiaco.

"It was just the grind of rehabilitation that people who have had long-term injuries know it can weigh you down. You work your arse off just to get yourself up for a game, but if you aren’t playing the standard of footy you are used to then you do think what the point of it all is," he said.

"It's so hard to get up for it and it was like that for me a couple of years ago, but now I'm not missing any training sessions and I don’t want to. I want to do every session I can and it's really freshened me up."

Not only is Robinson's football going tremendously with Subiaco this year with him back to some of his very best form, but over the past 12 months he has become a married man and a father to his and Shannon's now one-month old baby Maali.

"I got married last year on November 29 so the one-year is coming up for that and it's been full on the last 12 months which is why footy got pushed to the background a little bit, and why I maybe am enjoying it a bit more as well because it's not the No. 1 thing on my mind a lot of the time," Robinson said.

"And we've had little Maali a month ago as well so everything is sitting really well, but it's been fast paced over the last 12 months and it's been full on. But we have dealt with it really well and Shan my wife has been unbelievable with it at all.

"She has made sure I've got enough sleep over the last month or so as well and it would be a lot tougher if I was trying to play footy off one hour's sleep. She has been amazing to me as well."