Two flags by 17 but the best is yet to come for footballer James Aish James Aish in action during the2013 second semi-final against West Adelaide. FOR the last minute of this year's SANFL grand final, James Aish stood in the middle of AAMI Stadium looking around the stands and taking it all in. Wearing the red and blue Norwood guernsey worn famously by his father, uncle and grandfather, Aish relished what was almost certainly the last time he would wear it for years. There was a hint of sadness, but he realised two premierships by the age of 17 wasn't a bad way to bow out before what will hopefully be a long and successful AFL career. "Even as the game was ending I was thinking about that," Aish said. Obviously it's been a big part of my life already, I grew up wanting to play for Norwood and I'm very proud I've been able to tick that off. But it's an exciting opportunity coming up and I think it will be a fantastic experience and learning curve and hopefully I will develop myself and love whatever club I get to. If the 2012 premiership when Norwood beat West Adelaide and Aish was just 16 was an unbelievable experience, this year's triumph was something extra special and Aish treated it so. Last year he went to Vanuatu on a school trip straight after the grand final but this year he savoured every minute of the celebrations. "This year I was able to hang around and celebrate with the boys but I was a bit more reserved than some of the others," he said. It was a really good week with 'mad Monday' then brewery celebrations and a few functions topped off with our best-and-fairest so it was a big week but I think we deserved it. With his Year 12 exams finished, Aish spent the past week in Port Douglas on a family holiday. It was the calm before the storm that comes with being drafted, packing your belonging into a suitcase, being whisked interstate and settling into a new city to effectively start a new life. James Aish, right, with Matthew Scharenberg and skipper Luke Dunstan, after SA's Under-18 National Championship win. Scharenberg and Aish are expected to be the first South Australians called at the NAB National Draft. That's what awaits Aish on Thursday when he and Matthew Scharenberg are expected to be first South Australians called in the NAB National Draft being held on the Gold Coast. "The trip was mainly to get away and relax a bit, spend a bit of time together before it changes," he said. It was also a chance for the lightly-built wingman to take a deep breath and reflect on what has been a big two years to get to this moment. Two SANFL premierships aside, Aish was part of the SA team that won the under-18 national championship, went overseas on an AIS-AFL scholarship, had shoulder surgery and did Year 12. "It was an interesting year," he said. Missing the first half with a shoulder injury was tough and frustrating but I'm obviously pretty happy with how it ended up, winning another premiership with Norwood. The operation involved a labral reconstruction to repair damage in his shoulder which was caused by a tackle - not from playing senior football as a fresh-faced teenager, but during an under-18 game in 2011. "I could have probably played through this year until anything worse happened but I thought it was a better idea and a bit more professional to get it done so I could finish the year well and then hopefully go to a club all set to go and no worries," he said. To say Aish is professional for an 18-year-old (he turned 18 last week) AFL hopeful is an understatement. He has been taking ice baths for years and started pestering senior coach Nathan Bassett about what he had to do to get a game since he was about 14. His earliest memory of Norwood Oval was not watching his father Andrew and uncle Michael, but his cousin Jesse run around. Magarey Medallist Michael played 307 games for Norwood and in two premierships - in 1982 and 1984. It took James just 24 games to match his uncle for flags and he admits the whole experience helped him grow up "a fair bit." I think I've always been quite mature, I've got two older brothers so I've grown up being the youngest, but definitely playing in that team environment with all those older blokes you learn from them as well. I've been very lucky. I got to the club at a successful time which it hadn't been for a while and there have been very good people there. Especially the way Bass taught us and he developed the culture of the club and it was driven very hard by the team to maintain that and work hard together. That holds me in good stead for the future. As outstanding Aish is, both as a young man and footballer, he admits it took a while to feel like he belonged with the senior team. They were always very supportive and accepting of me, but at the same time you do have to know your place and that you're still a young player. You do have to even it out like any position in life but the club and players were fantastic for me. Where Aish ends up on Thursday is up for debate but it's highly likely he'll go to St Kilda (Pick 3), Western Bulldogs (4) or Gold Coast (5). "There is a lot of unknown about the whole process, hopefully you get to a club and then you just have to gain the respect like everyone says and that comes with the hard work of training and pre-season," Aish said. I'll aim to play as soon as I can but I guess you have to wait and see what happens. It comes as no surprise to learn Aish has maintained his fitness since the SANFL season finished in preparation for his first AFL pre-season. "The last month has been quite solid, even on this holiday (in Port Douglas) I've been getting up early and doing running, gym or swimming laps," he said. I'm trying to get in good shape to hopefully get to a club and hold my own. A thin James Aish is tackled by Central District's Matthew Prior during the Redlegs youngster's debut season. He was small, but coach Nathan Bassett reckoned he was ready. The coach IF James Aish had been poleaxed in his first game of SANFL footy last year then coach Nathan Bassett might have had some explaining to do. You do not take lightly a decision to pick a 16-year-old kid to become the youngest debutant in Norwood's 134-year history. Even more so when he's a wiry 60-something kilogram wingman who would suddenly find himself on the fiercest cauldron in the SANFL - playing against Central District at Elizabeth. "I certainly didn't want to hurt him," said Bassett, reflecting on Aish's Round 1, 2012 debut. But he was better (than others) so he should be in the side. There were a couple of senior players who said 'are you picking him because he's going to be good?' and I said 'no, because he is ready now'. Aish was just 13 when Bassett met him for the first time at The Parade and he recalls a well-behaved, respectful young player. By 14 Aish was taking ice baths after training and games and already quizzing Bassett about how he could improve. "He always had the courage to seek genuine feedback about something to do with his game," Bassett said. And one of those things was carrying the footy more and with more speed. You'd say it and he'd do it the next week. Aish played in Norwood's 2012 and 2013 premierships and while there could be no greater preparation for AFL footy, he'll have to get used to the highs and lows of the game. "He's going to play in some losses in the AFL, I think he's only played in one loss in 24 games for Norwood, so that will test him and so will getting tagged," Bassett said. But he's very level headed and that's not always a common trait for someone of that age. James Aish celebrates a goal during the 2012 SANFL grand final. His finals exploits impressed veteran teammate Brett Zorzi. The teammate AT 34, Brett Zorzi was exactly double James Aish's age when they played in their second SANFL premiership together for Norwood. "It's very weird, I hadn't even played senior footy at that age and he's played in two flags," Zorzi said. And mind you, he played pretty well in those finals series as well and was getting tagged. Zorzi's earliest memory of Aish was when the 14-year-old would tag along with his father Andrew who was the footy club chaplain and former star player. Not long after, whispers started going around The Parade that the kid could play. "We'd heard of him and from then everyone was just waiting for him to come to training, whether it was that year or the next," Zorzi said. I think he asked Freddy (coach Nathan Bassett) one day, 'what do I have to do to get a league game?' and Freddy replied 'get older', because he was good enough but just so raw. Aish eventually did come out to senior pre-season training as a 16-year-old in November 2011. "Before the 2012 season we had to do an exercise and pick the team for round one," Zorzi recalls. And I didn't have him in because we were playing Centrals at Elizabeth, he was 16 and I didn't think he was ready for that. But history shows he played round one and played well, he was backing back into packs, taking intercept marks and I think it made everyone stop and think 'if a kid can do that ...' He's got special qualities, he's very proud of what his family has done and so he should be, he's got amazing pedigree. He's tried to do his best to play AFL and get the best out of himself and hopefully he has a long career ahead of him. Family ties - James Aish, second from right, with dad Andrew, cousin Jesse Aish and uncle Michael. The father IT HAS been an interesting two years for Andrew Aish watching his son James go from boy to man. He has had to cope with the pressures of playing league footy, recovering from injury and the uncertainty of what lies ahead. "He's got two older brothers and a sister so being around older people I suppose he's had to mature a bit," Andrew said. Certainly with Norwood he's been around the club since he was young and been able to see how the older guys do things. And trips like that (AIS) show them that if you're serious about footy, you do to tend to miss out on some of your youth and you grow up quite quickly. But he handles the pressure and injuries well. The pressure valve started tightening two years ago when media reports claiming he was 'better than Bryce Gibbs' and 'a one in 1000 player' emerged and have only gained momentum since. "We encourage him to try to keep away from reading things like that and social media," Andrew said. The best advice is listen to your coaches and what they want you to do. Andrew is a Norwood premiership player and state representative who played 89 league games and said he was proud to see James achieve what he had. "He enjoys playing footy and loves Norwood," Andrew said. We're very proud of the effort he puts in and that he is always willing to learn. And the family sees how hard he tries and wants to be better. The teacher DAVID Shepherd was in his classroom at Concordia College one morning when a Year 9 student named James Aish walked in with a big smile on his face. Shepherd was Aish's home class teacher and PE teacher who knew him better than most, and realised something was up but didn't bother asking. He didn't say anything the whole time, then waited until every other student had left the room and came up to me and said 'Hey Shep, keep this to yourself, but check this out'. Aish, who was just 15 at the time, was holding a letter from Collingwood champion Nathan Buckley. "I think James had written to him and Buckley wrote back as encouragement, but he didn't want to make a big deal of it in front of everyone and asked me to keep it to myself which I'm doing until now I suppose," Shepherd said. That is the sort of kid Aish is. If anyone at any high school in Adelaide was ever at risk of tall poppy syndrome it was Aish - two SANFL flags before his 18th birthday and touted as a top-five AFL draft pick for three years. But according to Shepherd, you wouldn't know it. "Quite seriously, he is a really, really good kid," Shepherd said. He's very humble considering what he's achieved, he doesn't talk himself up or strut around the school. He is quiet without being shy, highly respected and loved by his peers and easy to get along with. As well as being a talented footballer, Aish is also a good student. "He's a good thinker and doesn't accept the bare bones, he's prepared to do the extra work which isn't easy when you've got an AFL career ahead of you," Shepherd said. But he understands there's more to life than football. He's into psychology, how the brain works and what makes people tick.