Hawthorn is one club, many teams, including a wheelchair footy and an AFL Blind team. With lots of time to be spent at home over the coming weeks, we thought it was the perfect time for Hawks fans to learn a little bit more about the players that make up these teams. Hawthorn’s Wheelchair and Blind football teams are made possible by the club’s social inclusion partner, Afford, one of Australia’s longest-serving disability service providers.

Week two of the series features Hawks AFL Blind 2019 Premiership best-on-ground winner Johnny Boland.

Watch: Johnny on his first VBFL Grand Final

Tell us a bit about yourself, what do you do outside of footy?

I study psychology at Monash Uni, and I work at Melbourne University in the security department as well as doing a bit of work for Cricket Victoria.

I love to keep fit and healthy and enjoy spending time with my mates.

What made you pursue AFL Blind and how did you get involved?

I got involved through my mates, a couple of them asked me to come down and give it a go. It’s fun and a great way to keep active in the community.

So, to play AFL Blind you need to have a visual impairment. What is your visual impairment and what are some of the challenges you may face on a daily basis, and when playing AFL?

I have a condition called cone-rod dystrophy, which means that I have a hard time seeing centrally. I use my peripheral vision a lot more. I can’t see long distances very well and a lot of things are quite blurry to me, I also find it hard to see in the dark. In terms of footy, I struggle to see the ball in the air so I reading the ball in the air and marking it difficult.

Can you briefly explain how AFL Blind works and what does it mean to you to play?

The game is a variant of classic AFL with a few differences. It’s played in an indoor facility, there are six players in each team on the field, there is also a buzzer in the ball so it can be heard.

To me, playing AFL Blind means success after our team won the premiership last year. It has also been a great way to meet and make new friends as well as stay active within the community.

What do you love most about the game?

I love the competitive nature of the game and the camaraderie of the team and league.

What did it mean to you when you found out you were drafted to Hawthorn?

It means a lot to me, even though I am a Collingwood supporter at heart. My family has a connection to Hawthorn through my grandpa Brian Boland who played for the club in the 1950s. I’m sure he would’ve been very proud that I got drafted to the Hawks.

How has your experience at Hawthorn been so far, what are some of the things the club has involved you in?

The club has been great. They accepted all of us from the moment we walked in and made me and all my teammates really feel like we were a genuine part of the club and never treated us like outcasts, which was great to me.

They’ve always treated us like we were part of the club so we got to do and be involved in a lot of things. A highlight was the SALT mental health session, it was great to hear everyone’s stories and make mental health and wellbeing a real focus of the year. Being invited to the Peter Crimmins Medal was a great experience and playing a game of blind AFL against the first to fourth year AFL boys was an awesome experience, all the boys really bought in and were really inclusive.

Winning a premiership as well as best on ground in a Grand Final is a special achievement, what did last year’s premiership-winning season mean to you?

It was a pretty special feeling to win the first-ever AFL Blind premiership. We weren’t expected to win, so it was something that made the group a lot closer. Hawthorn as a club can be very proud of this flag, the club has done a lot for us and on the day a lot of staff and Hawthorn people turned up to support us which made the day even better.

Winning best on ground in the Grand Final is definitely a great feeling but it’s nothing without my teammates.

Are there any other blind sports? Have you played any of them?

Yes, there are many blind sports, I play blind cricket. I’m a proud member of the Victorian blind cricket team and was voted in as vice-captain for 2020. I am also hoping to be involved in the National team this year.

Do you have any heroes or idols that you want to be like?

My biggest hero in life is Kobe Bryant. I loved his mentality and his drive to be the best, which I find inspiring. I also love how Scott Pendlebury and Dane Swan go about their work, Swanny especially, I loved how he didn’t really care too much about what people thought and went about things his own way.

What is your ultimate sporting goal and what is a life goal of yours?

I would love to play for my country in blind cricket, I haven’t achieved that yet, it will be an amazing experience if I can make it happen.

In life, I want to get to a point where I am happy with everything I do, as well as finish off my degree.

There has been a real focus in the last few years on disability inclusion. What advice would you give to someone who wants to get involved in sport if they are visually impaired?

I would say try to be confident and put yourself out there. Tough times don’t last, tough people do. If you can do that in sport, it’s a lot easier to do that in other aspects of life. Try to take the first step even though it may be difficult, once you take that step it opens up a lot of doors and you get to meet new people and become a part of a new community and you can then set yourself up from there.

All interviews in the Getting to know series are hosted by Hawthorn’s AFL Blind Vice Captain Ned Brewer-Maiga.

Find out more about Hawthorn’s Social Inclusion Partner, Afford, by heading to their website.