The 22-year-old, who returned to Sydney late last year after a stint with VFL team Williamstown, has now found a home at the Swans following an impressive 2012 season of football in the Harbour City.
Rampe produced excellent form with the UNSW East Sydney Bulldogs in the Sydney Football League, before capturing the attention of Swans recruitment consultant Ric Barham while representing New South Wales at the Australian Country Football Championships in Wagga Wagga.
The 189cm utility was then invited to play a number of Swans Reserves games before being invited to train with the Swans this pre-season and has now gained a spot on the club’s rookie list.
Hailing from Clovelly in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, Rampe told sydneyswans.com.au that he was ‘over the moon’ that his football dream was alive at the Sydney Swans.
“I moved down to Melbourne but it was always the Swans that I wanted to be at and it’s just happened and I’m just so rapt,” he said.
“I was playing in Sydney early on and then went down to Williamstown to try and chase the footy thing, but it didn’t work out down there, but it’s been good to come back up here and I think I’m just enjoying my life and my footy up here more.
“To have it happen here in Sydney, I’m just over the moon.”
Watch the video above for highlights of the Sydney Swans latest batch of rookies.
After a difficult stint in Melbourne, which saw him just miss out on a spot on the Western Bulldogs list in 2010, Rampe said he felt the pressure lift when he returned to playing football in Sydney in 2012.
“I think coming back to Sydney meant the pressure was off and the confidence came back and I just backed myself,” he said.
“I am just now so content with everything that is happening at home and in life that I’ve just been able to enjoy my footy and it’s worked out.
“I grew up in Clovelly, so I like to think I belong here.”
Rampe is not the only local boy who was offered a chance on the Swans rookie list this year.
Kieren Jack’s younger brother Brandon and NSW Scholarship Holder Daniel Robinson were also offered spots, as well as 203cm ruckman Sam Naismith from north-western NSW.
Naismith, who also made the move to Sydney this year to pursue his football dream, had to take a number of big steps to secure his spot at the Swans.
“I grew up in Narrabri near Gunnedah in north-west NSW and I actually started Uni at the start of this year,” Naismith said.
“I got a phone call from Paul Roos and Chris Smith from the Academy and they asked me to come down and train with the Academy, so I moved down and have lived here for about nine months with a family - the coach of the North Shore footy club.”
The 19-year-old also had to make significant physical changes to pursue a professional football career, including shedding more than 10 kilograms.
“I had to drop a fair few kilos. I was tipping the scales at about 120kg, but I dropped that fairly quickly with the amount of running that was required and I’ve changed my diet and watched what I eat.”
The Swans only non-New South Wales recruits in this year’s Rookie Draft were North Ballarat Rebels midfielder Jake Lloyd and Sandringham’s Xavier Richards - brother of All-Australian Swans defender, Ted.
The 19-year-old Lloyd was the Swans first selection in today’s rookie draft, with the club looking to bolster its midfield running capacity.
Lloyd, who hails from Horsham in central Victoria, registered a beep test score of 15.3.
“My endurance is really the key to my football and my work rate and ability to play four quarters of football is my strength,” Lloyd said.
Lloyd will already have an allie in the locker room when he arrives at the club, having played alongside Swans first round draft pick Dean Towers at the North Ballarat Roosters this year.
