The 19-year-old was a late starter in the world of football, and had only played three games of Aussie Rules before signing with the Sydney Swans.
“My first game of AFL that I had ever watched was in Brisbane. They sent tickets up for me to go and watch the Swans and the Lions, and at that stage I didn’t even know who Barry Hall was.”
The talented athlete excelled at a range of sports in his childhood, playing rugby league, soccer, rugby union, basketball and volleyball.
“I made Brisbane rep level for basketball, but there’s not much basketball in Australia so there wasn’t really an option there. In volleyball I made the Australian under 17’s squad but I hadn’t really played a lot of it, and the passion for volleyball wasn’t there.
“It was just fun to get out there and do something different all the time,” he said.
And Orreal knows that he has made the right decision in choosing footy as the sport to pursue.
“It incorporates the contact that I like from rugby with skillfulness and being athletic, which you do in basketball, so it’s good,” he said.
The 204cm ruckman was privately committed to the Swans in May 2007 and moved to Sydney in November that year.
In the meantime former Collingwood AFL Player Craig Starcevich helped him to learn the basics before he moved to Sydney.
“That probably made it a little less embarrassing when I arrived, because if I had nothing and came here and got thrown into training it would have been pretty embarrassing,” Orreal said.
Orreal got a taste of seniors football earlier this year when he played against Port Adelaide in a pre-season game.
“It was amazing. It lets you know why you are training day in and day out. Everything I am doing is to make that level of footy and it gave me a taste of it and I want to taste it again. It makes you more driven to get there,” Orreal said.
Orreal has Darren Jolly as his mentor at the Club, and is hoping to get a spot alongside him in the seniors line-up by the end of the year.
“Hopefully I can play in the not so distant future. It’s been a big learning process obviously, I’ve got to learn about the game just as much as I’ve got to pick up the skills,” he said.
Orreal was one of the Reserves’ best players in their 16-point win over Queanbeyan in round 10, the team’s first win in Canberra since last year’s grand final.
“After the game it was like we had won a grand final. Everyone was just relieved that we had all played well and all enjoyed playing.
“Out on the field it just felt like everyone was playing their role and playing well,” he said.
After their impressive performance against Queanbeyan, Orreal is confident his team can continue their winning ways.
“I think we’ve got enough talent in our side to beat anyone, it’s just whether we use it or not. If we play like we did on the weekend we’ll give them a bit of a challenge.”
The Reserves will play Belconnen this weekend at Manuka Oval.
