Boasting an enormous amount of sporting talent and the chiselled looks of a Greek god, young Brisbane Lions recruit Patrick Karnezis, has the football world at his feet. Not only is Karnezis the first player of Greek heritage to play footy at the highest level for Brisbane, but he also has the honour of being the first Greek to win an official end-of-season award at the Lions – taking out the club’s 2011 Rookie Of The Year award.
“It was a bit of a shock. I wouldn’t have thought that when I got drafted I’d actually end up Rookie Of The Year,” Karnezis admits with a wry grin. “My aim was just to play one game but to finish the year the way I did was pretty surprising. I was just full of excitement after winning it.”
The unexpected award not only came as a surprise to the recipient himself, but also his parents Kon and Sandra, who were unable to attend the club’s Best and Fairest Awards night as they were holidaying in Greece. Karnezis reflects on the presentation ceremony laughingly, “I had aunties and uncles texting me about winning the award because the announcement went up on the Lions website pretty quick on the night of the event. Then I talked to my parents online through Skype when I got back home that night; they were pretty rapt”.
The prestigious honour is not something the hard-leading forward takes lightly and is an achievement he reflects upon with great pride. “I’ve looked at the names that have won the award before, players like (2009 AFL Rising Star) Daniel Rich, (2011 Club Best and Fairest Winner) Tom Rockliff and (AFL Brownlow Medallist) Simon Black and you just think, ‘jeez I’m part of a pretty good crew.'”
After being drafted at Pick 25 by the Brisbane Lions in the 2010 NAB AFL National Draft, the then 18-year-old Karnezis struggled with severe homesickness when faced with the harsh reality of having to leave his North Balwyn home and close-knit Greek family behind to move interstate. “Three days after the draft I was on a plane to Brisbane and when we landed, it just hit me like a ton of bricks that I was gone for good.
Obviously in the end I wanted to get drafted – that was my main goal – but the circumstances were a bit different to the average, normal Australian kid getting drafted. I guess things turned out alright in the end though.”
The former Oakleigh Chargers goal-kicking machine can now acknowledge that although moving away from his family caused a great deal of emotional anguish for everyone involved, it may have also contributed to Patrick having such a successful year on the football field.
“I honestly think being away was better for my football, I don’t have anything distracting me, I’m purely there for footy and I’m in a total footy mind-set. I still always speak to dad or my older brother Leigh about footy in the lead-up to a game and they’ve helped out a lot but I think even more, being away from them really did help me kick-on with my football.” Aside from weekly calls to talk tactics with his father and big brother, the youngest Karnezis also received plenty of support from his loving mother back in Melbourne, who kept her boy and his flatmates Brent Staker and Xavier Clarke, well-fed by sending overflowing food packages up to Brisbane. “We got lasagnes, schnitzels, souvlakia, pasta sauces and all that kind of stuff. Mum really has helped us look after ourselves when it comes to food throughout the year so we aren’t complaining and she’s still doing it.”
The strong-marking key-position player can now reminisce about the adversity he faced during the early days of his fledgling football career with the assurance of a year full of character-building experiences and success behind him. “It has been a pretty long ride to see where I am now compared to how I was at the start of the year. With regards to football and life in general, I’ve grown up a lot.”
After racking up 11 AFL games and kicking 17 goals in a debut season that saw him take home top honours for a first year player, Karnezis is keeping his objectives simple for next season. “My aim is that I want to play every match next year and I want to get fitter, I want to get stronger and just have more of an impact in the game. I really want to be a consistent and reliable performer for the team week in and week out.”
With such a dedicated approach, the unwavering support of his family and his mum’s signature dishes backing him up, there’s no reason why Patrick Karnezis can’t achieve all these goals and more next season and beyond.