Bush and ‘Burbs top-30 country footballers of the decade: Dampier Sharks product Lewis Upton keen to make an impact at WAFL powerhouse Subiaco

Lewis Upton has got his former coach Steven Dodd to thank for getting the nicknames ‘Dusty’ and ‘Pendles’ when he first arrived for pre-season at Subiaco. After dominating in the North Pilbara for the many years, the long-time Dampier Sharks gun headed to the big smoke over summer to try his luck in the WAFL. Upton, who made the Bush and ‘Burbs top-30 country footballers of the decade, signed off from the NPFL with a second De Grey Medal as the competition’s best player. The full top-30 will be revealed on thewest.com.au on Monday It capped off a massive season which included representing WA Country against South Australia at Optus Stadium, Landmark All-Star selection and becoming a multiple Sharks best and fairest. Dodd, a 100-game ex-Fremantle defender, labelled Upton as a mix between dual Norm Smith medallist Dustin Martin and Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury, a fair complement. “He reckons I owe him a few cartons for saying that,” Upton joked. “A few of the boys down at Subi, straight away as soon as I met them, they called me Dusty and Pendles anyway so a couple of those nicknames have stuck.” The 28-year-old running machine has impressed WAFL powerhouse Subi with his athletic ability, knocking off his more established teammates to win the 2km time trial. He was in coach Beau Wardman’s plans for an early league debut before the coronavirus pandemic put the season on hold. Upton feels much better prepared this time around, compared to his stint with Swan Districts in 2012 when he was unable to break into their star-studded side. “To be involved in such a successful program and seeing the buy-in from all the players, the competitiveness at training is just unbelievable so I’m really happy with my decision,” Upton said. “I really wanted to go there in good shape, I didn’t want to rock up and not be at the level so I spoke to (dual Brisbane premiership player and ex-Dampier coach) Beau McDonald and got a running program a couple of months before arriving. “I don’t want to just make up the numbers, I want to have an impact on the side. “Beau Wardman and the coaches have been really good with their communication and have given me a few roles to work on and get my head around the structures. “You feel like you’re in the mix when they give you specific roles and you’re not just running around at training and going through the motions. “I was predominantly going to be playing as a high half-forward to utilise my tank and get up the ground, but I’d learn to put my hand up and learn more of the midfield structure as well and add a few more strings to the bow.” Dampier has punched above its weight for footy talent, no bigger than West Coast’s game-record holder, premiership player and six-time All Australian ruckman Dean Cox. Cox’s younger brother Jason played a couple of seasons at Swan Districts, while the Langdon siblings - Zac and Guy - are at Greater Western Sydney and Perth respectively. Upton and Guy Langdon have plans to finish their footy careers together at the Sharks, with two more boxes still to tick off. “We’ve played in prelims and got to a couple of grand finals but we’ve never won a flag, a lot of the guys that I went to school are still keen to win one together,” Upton said. “We went down by a kick against Wickham last season who ended up winning the whole thing, they were the best side all year. “I finished up on 98 games as well so I’d love to get to the 100-game milestone.” Upton will catch up with Zac for some running sessions while the young GWS forward is in Perth during the AFL’s COVID-19 shutdown.