After three years playing in the West Australian Football League, Trent Dennis-Lane is finally close to realising his dream of playing in the AFL.
Sydney Swans forward Trent Dennis-Lane is the perfect example of ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try again’.

In his case, he had to try four times, but he is now living a dream.
The 21-year-old was picked up by the Swans in the fourth round of the 2009 AFL Draft, after three seasons with the Subiaco Lions in the West Australian Football League. 

Dennis-Lane missed out on selection in the draft in the three years prior, and off the back of a stellar season with the Lions in 2009, he finally got his chance.
“It was such a relief, it was obviously one of the best moments of my life. I was sitting on the couch and we just all erupted when my name got called out, me and my family. It was pretty special,'' he said.

“I had my best year in the WAFL and apparently I was pretty close to getting rookie listed the year before by one of the teams back at home. So I thought if I could put a good season together I’d be some sort of chance and there was a little bit of media speculation and stuff back home. It was just a massive relief when my name finally got flashed up on the screen,” Dennis-Lane said.

Through all the hardship, Dennis-Lane never gave up. He knew he had something to offer and getting overlooked for selection just made him more motivated - and it worked. 

“They were always like ‘you’re close, you’re close’ and (I thought) I can just try and show them what they were missing out on. So it was a bit of proving them wrong and also just personal motivation to be the best that I could be. I thought that if I could reach my potential then I could hopefully get to this level, which was pretty rewarding when I finally got there after three or four years trying.”

Dennis-Lane spent a month prior to last year’s draft training with the Fremantle Dockers, which he says was beneficial and helped him learn about the processes involved in becoming an AFL player.

“I just got accustomed to what it was like to be in an AFL environment so I was a bit more prepared for when I ended up here. I had a fair idea how much they train, how hard it is and stuff like that so it wasn’t as daunting (arriving at the Swans).”

After gaining interest from clubs closer to home in the lead up to the draft and in the year prior, Dennis-Lane assumed that if he was going anywhere, it would be in Western Australia. He was therefore quite shocked when the Swans called out his name.  “I spoke to them on the day of state screening and that was really the only time they talked to me so I was pretty surprised when I ended up in Sydney actually,” he said.

Having the chance to train with Fremantle prior to the draft put Dennis-Lane in good stead for his move to Sydney. He was happy with his pre-season and kicked five goals in one of the Swans’ intra-club games.

He was rewarded with selection in the first pre-season match against Carlton, but injured a ligament in his knee in the final minute of the game. Dennis-Lane then spent a substantial amount of time in recovery, but feels like he is back to the level he was at prior to obtaining the injury.

“It put me out for I think it was six or seven weeks. I felt like I was playing a bit of catch-up but over the past three or four weeks I think fitness-wise I’m back up to speed.”

Despite the injury souring the end of his pre-season and his hopes of early selection in seniors, Dennis-Lane has fond memories of the game against Carlton.

“It was good. I think I got a little bit overawed when you see blokes like Chris Judd running at you and Adam Goodes standing next to you. I thought I didn’t play great, but I didn’t play shocking so hopefully later in the season if there is a seniors’ opportunity that comes along, I think I’ll definitely be able to handle it.”

Dennis-Lane showed the form he is capable of producing a fortnight ago when the Reserves defeated the Belconnen Magpies in round six of the AFL Canberra competition. He was named in the side’s best players, kicking seven goals for the game.

He was then named on an extended bench for seniors in the lead up to the Swans versus Hawthorn game but played in the Reserves draw against Ainslie. Dennis-Lane now aims to improve on his consistency in Reserves, and hopes that once he has achieved this, senior selection won’t be too far away.

“That game (against Belconnen) was good. That was what the coaches knew I could do if I put in a good four quarters of footy so it was good to be able to do that but obviously last week, I didn’t back it up very well which was pretty disappointing.

“I’ve been a bit inconsistent which has been a bit frustrating but when I get going I go alright but if I have a bad day I’m not going too well. I’ve just got to try and get a good solid level of performance going over a couple of weeks in a row.”

The Reserves will take on the Tuggeranong Hawks in Canberra on Sunday, following the relocation of the game from the SCG. Tuggeranong have been the only side to beat the Reserves so far this season, with the Hawks running away with a 53-point win in round six.

Dennis-Lane is confident that his side, which has a strong contingent of Swans players this week, will be able to reverse their recent poor form at Greenway Oval.

“We’ve definitely got a lot of Swans boys so I’d be surprised if we didn’t come away with a win. But obviously you can’t just expect to win, you have to go out and win,” he said.

The Swans Reserves will play the Tuggeranong Hawks at Greenway Oval at 12.00pm on Sunday, 6 June.