Collingwood journeyman Billy Frampton reflects on emotional nine season, 40-game journey to AFL premiership

Frampton said he had become emotional during grand final week after receiving messages of support from his former teammates at Port Adelaide and Adelaide, having been called up to the Magpies’ side for the decider after the preliminary final injury to Daniel McStay.

Despite it being his ninth year on an AFL list, Saturday marked just Frampton’s 40th senior game. The versatile tall, traded to the Pies at the end of 2022 primarily as a defender, was charged with playing a defensive forward role on Brisbane Lions star Harris Andrews.

While Frampton finished the match with just two disposals, those details will ultimately be a mere footnote to history.

“I don‘t think (it will) ever sink in. I almost was in tears. Thinking about the ride and it’s unfathomable,” Frampton said.

“The atmosphere was just unbelievable, the enormity of the whole thing. It‘s hard to take in. That final siren goes, I just never know how to explain that feeling.”

Having played 15 matches during the home and away season, Frampton was dropped for the start of the finals but remained determined to stay prepared should an opportunity arise.

“(My mindset was) just to stay ready,” he said. “That‘s all you can do in those situations, and not get down on yourself and control what you can control and that’s training well, hitting the gym hard, staying upbeat for teammates. And then if the time comes, be ready for it, and it did so just yeah unbelievable.”

He had been heartened by the goodwill stemming from the South Australian clubs after his recall was announced early in grand final week.

“I had plenty from both teams and plenty from my past and it really makes you reflect and think about the journey and how many people follow you and it gets a bit emotional when you think about it,” Frampton said.

“But plenty of my good mates from both teams gave me a lot of advice and how they were feeling and it‘s just surreal to be part of.”

Frampton said his goal had largely been to curb Andrews.

“He‘s such a good player. He sort of dictates where he goes anyway,” Frampton said.

“So I‘ll get some body on him and not let him get a free run. He gets those big 30 metre spoils so we tried to take them out. Yeah, just try and do whatever role I could. So I’m very, very happy to get it done.”

Tom Mitchell, also at his third AFL club, is a much more celebrated player than Frampton. But the crafty midfielder was struggling to articulate the emotions of finally winning a premiership after more than a decade in the league.

What he could explain was that winning a premiership medal was much sweeter than claiming a Brownlow Medal, which he did in 2018 when at Hawthorn.

“Way better. Ten times better,” Mitchell said.

“You know when people say it hasn‘t sunk in, that’s a true feeling. I feel as though it hasn’t sunk in. But it was just really special to be a part of.

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“It’s a bit of a blur at the moment. I just remember the game being so close and tense, we hung in there.”

With the margin less than a goal at the final change, pressure forward Beau McCreery said coach Craig McRae had urged his players to stick to the formula that had made them so successful.

“Just go out there and do what we‘re good at. Play fast and have fun. So that’s what we did,” McCreery said of McRae’s three-quarter time message.