‘I wanted to give up’: The heartbreak driving Eagles’ Academy prospect

Malakai Champion has overcome more than most as an AFL chance beckons, Josh Gabelich writes

But he didn’t.

Champion dealt with the grief with his mum, who he openly calls his best friend, and got on with making the most of his chance to build towards an AFL career. That has always been the goal; one he shared with his dad.

The 18-year-old has had to deal with even more loss in recent years. His uncle, his grandfather and his great grandfather have all passed since he lost his dad, but it has only made Champion more resilient and determined to make it.

After an eye-catching few years in Perth, Champion is set to join the Eagles next week after West Coast officially nominated Champion as an Academy prospect in recent days. Not many have dealt with more to get here.

“I nearly gave up football because I lost my dad. When we moved to Perth in December, he passed away a couple of weeks later. About three days after Christmas, he passed away and we actually had plans for New Year’s to stay at a hotel and spend time together,” Champion told AFL.com.au at the Telstra AFL Draft Combine.

“I started the futures pre-season without my dad, 12 days after my dad died. I hadn’t moved out of my bed much in that time; I was still struggling to cope with it, to be honest.

“I got going again, but it was hard. I was crying in the car one day and told mum I didn’t want to do this, I wanted to give up. I wanted to go back to Kalgoorlie and live in Kalgoorlie and play footy there. Mum told me to give it a try and I haven’t looked back since.