BY DAN

In amongst the the quiet of the bye week a small piece of noise floated in like an early morning birdcall: Adrian Trevilyan, who has spent the best part of 18 months watching football rather than playing, was returning to the field, named on the bench in NSW Cup.

It’s a small thing and in all likelihood won’t have a big impact on whether the 2023 Canberra Raiders turn their successful record into a record of success. Trevilyan to date has played twenty minutes of first grade football, back in March 2022. In that twenty minutes he, like almost every debutant ever, hardly set the world alight. He did some good things, made some errors (three according to the official stats) but showed potential. He’s then spent the best part of the next 18 months recovering from injury, including surgery to both his knee and shoulder. It’s been a long road.

So the fact he’s on the field this weekend is a victory in itself. For the club, but also for him. His contract situation has never really been clear but being on the field is a big determinant of contract status. For a young man likely desperate to get his career started it must have been a frustrating period, so we’re exceedingly glad to see him back. Not just for Canberra, but so he has time to prove to the Raiders he’s worth keeping around for longer.

Of course we’ve always been fans. Trevilyan has always seemed to have the potential to be a complete hooker – the blend of all the best bits of the rakes already on the Raiders’ roster. The ABC’s Nick Campton once described him as “a cunning rake with a strong defensive game and a golden eye for an attacking opportunity, especially close to the line.” His former coach Todd Wilson added “he knows when to run it and when to look for it, he’s got great service and he’s skilful. He… defends so well through the middle.” Seeing him throw a 25 metre frozen-rope out of the ruck in his first grade debut was enough to make a grown man swoon. Add to that the endorsement of both the late football genius Peter Mulholland, and Raiders’ legend Josh Hodgson, and it was enough to make the most cold-hearted fan believe.

Evidently the club was keen to believe too. The Raiders found a spot in their top 30 for Trevilyan even though he was unlikely to play any meaningful minutes in first grade this season, and was expected to miss such a chunk of footy he wouldn’t even necessarily add depth to the Cup side. This meant they were carrying four hookers on their top 30 roster, and while they needed the backup, that the club was willing to institute an imbalanced roster just to accommodate him speaks volumes. Loud volumes.

To us, and perhaps to the club, Trevilyan is an exciting example of the hope and possibility of unmoulded talent. Access to the best of the best is something that isn’t always guaranteed for the Milk. For every Chevy Stewart in the pipeline, there’s a Jack Wighton walking out the door, or a David Fifita flirting with us like we might buy him drinks all night. When you have a player this talented, and in a position this important, it can be intoxicating. He is the ray of light in the darkness that might be a star.

This is both a blessing and a curse for Trevilyan. At this point he could be anything. We’ve seen the raw skills in tantalising small amounts, and injury has robbed us the reality of development. Instead of the bumps of growth he is unknown, and is the football equivalent of intrigue that comes with the infinite possibility of outcomes limited only by the happiness in our hearts and minds. Whatever he is right now can’t compete with the allure of ‘the box’. He can be painted with whatever brush we like; an empty canvas of our hopes, dreams and frustrations.

We’ve seen this play out with players before. Most recently Xavier Savage was in the role of ‘could be anything’, dragged into the first grade side almost begrudgingly by a coach who almost seemed to be suggesting it was before the young man’s time, and a response to public pressure. It was wild to see a man as experienced as Ricky Stuart so publicly battle with the responsibility of managing a young talent. That hasn’t played out as we’d hoped this year, as both Stuart and Savage have struggled with the reality of turning possibility into reality.

And that’s why it’s important to be circumspect right now, and celebrate that Adrian is back on the field, rather than plotting what’s next. Trevilyan’s body is only just getting right. It’s been battle worthy of praise just to get to this point. The hope and dreams we inflict on him say more about us, our desires, our desperation, than it does about Adrian’s ability, progress, or otherwise. Getting on the football field is the victory. What comes next we can’t possibly know.

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