Jesse Joyce is no stranger to the inside workings of Metricon Stadium. After all he has spent the last five years in the Gold Coast academy program, honing his craft under the watchful eyes of the SUNS, hoping for an opportunity at the highest level.
 
Last Thursday afternoon, the polished rebounding defender with a thirst for breaking the lines, was called into Gold Coast’s headquarters for a meeting with a handful of the SUNS powerbrokers. The men who determine footballer’s futures.
 
He departed the football club – the club he has been training at for half a decade – with the knowledge his dream was about to be fulfilled. Gold Coast had committed to taking him in the rookie draft, a result that would see Joyce become the latest academy product to earn a spot on the SUNS’ list.
 
“It’s just been surreal, I think it’s still sinking in to be honest,” Joyce told SUNS TV in his first official appearance as a Gold Coast footballer on Friday.
 
“I got called in yesterday for a meeting with ‘Rocket’ Eade, just had a chat with him ‘Skinny’ Lappin and ‘Roge’ [Aaron Rogers] and the rest of them – they said they were willing to take me on as a rookie and as an academy bid.
 
“It’s been a big ride, I’ve been a part of the academy for five years, so it’s very humbling to be apart of the SUNS. Always walking through the corridors, seeing all the AFL players and shaking their hands there, now I’m very proud to apart of them.”
 
Whilst the rookie draft was underway last Friday morning, Joyce was just finishing up his first training session with his new teammates under the typically brutal Carrara sun.
 
Most of the faces he was seeing were ones he had walked past for years, in the gym and in and around Metricon Stadium.
 
Having played nine games in the reserves in 2015, Joyce is already familiar with the playing group, allowing him an easier transition than most into the AFL system.
 
“I’ve had a lot of role models that have sort of guided me around, and then playing NEAFL with a lot of them this year towards the end of the season after the championships was good because I’ve started building relationships with some of the players,” Joyce said.
 
Senior football is far from foreign to Joyce. He has been playing against men since he debuted for Palm Beach–Currumbin in the QAFL at 16, as well as at NEAFL level for Gold Coast’s reserves.
 
“It’s been very beneficial. I’ve had the opportunity to do it since I was 16 at Palm Beach. I missed out on the championships as a 16-year-old – I did that instead,” Joyce said.
 
“It’s been great for me because I’ve been playing a lot of NEAFL this year and I’ve been able to prove a point. I got a couple of MVP votes in the last game and proved a point. I think that’s the reason I’m here today.”