All in, All Conquering: Conway’s Woodrow triumph

Sam Conway’s footballing journey began as so many of his generation did – at local Auskick, dreaming of a career in the big time.

In Sam’s case, it was at the Newtown Little League Under 9s with Geelong Amateurs in Geelong.

He grew up idolising some of the all-time great Cats, wearing Gary Ablett Jr’s number proudly on his back, with Jimmy Bartel, Steve Johnson and Paul Chapman among his favourite premiership stars.

He progressed from Auskick to play for local powerhouse St Mary’s throughout his teenage years, while also playing school footy for Geelong College and spending two seasons with the Geelong Falcons in the Talent League. 

“It was a funny one,” Sam recalls with a smile.

“Between 17 and 18 years of age, I shot up about a foot. I started rucking in Year 11 and have been rucking ever since. Got a life sentence in there!

“Up until then, I was mainly playing half-back flank and not at a really high level either. I was just sort of having a muck around with my mates and playing a bit of everywhere as you do in juniors.

“So, I grew quite late and got tall pretty quick, so I got to the Falcons late as well. They called me after a few practice games, and I went down there, played the last five or six games of my top-age year, and was lucky enough to play in a premiership, then did my over-age year there too.”

Sam’s obvious potential in his new ruck role caught the eye of VFL recruiters, and he spent three seasons at Williamstown learning the craft between 2020 and 2022. But with two of those seasons affected by COVID, he didn’t get the exposure needed to fast-track his development.

“I was mainly the understudy to a couple of pretty good rucks at the time. Nick Meese was a beast, so rucking against him as a 19-year-old at training wasn’t much fun! I saw him in a pub not long ago, and we were reminiscing. I probably didn’t learn as much when I’m just getting put on my ass time after time! But I learnt a thing or two – maybe it taught me some resilience, and I ended up playing 3 games at Williamstown in 2021.”

“Then Werribee called and said Matthew Lobbe’s finishing up, so I moved across, and some of my best mates were already there, which worked out really well. I ended up playing a few years at Werribee, which was great.”

Sam nominated University Blacks as his local club in 2023, but a broken leg restricted him to just 5 games for the season.

“I went to uni at RMIT and was living in a Melbourne Uni college – Newman – but was going back to Geelong for footy, so I sort of needed a local club as my interchange. A lot of my mates were playing at Blacks, but I didn’t realise they were all playing Thirds, so I didn’t end up having a whole lot to do with them!

“It’s a different sort of club than anything I’ve ever really experienced. Down in Geelong, you play juniors and grow up with all your mates and come through together to play seniors.

“But with the Uni clubs, there are no juniors, so everyone is from somewhere else. There are a lot of blokes from all over Australia, and a lot from country Victoria, which is great.

“So, you move to the club, and you don’t really know anyone. I got down to training for my first night, and there were a lot of new faces. You don’t have those cliques, and you hang out with blokes you didn’t really know before, so they sort of end up becoming your really close mates.

“I met a heap of new people and absolutely loved it. So, I’ve been there ever since.”

Sam’s VFL career was on the rise. In 2024, he cemented his spot with the Tigers and played in their VFL premiership, making just a handful of VAFA appearances for Blacks in 2024 and 2025.

He then decided to commit full-time to the VAFA in 2026.

“VFL’s a big commitment,” said Sam, when asked why he stepped away from the higher level.

“You’ve got to put in a lot of hours. Pre-season starts earlier, three times a week in Werribee, and I was getting busier with work (as a financial planner).

“I absolutely loved my time at Werribee, but I wasn’t really willing to give that level of commitment anymore, so I stepped away to play more local footy closer to home. It’s been a massive life adjustment. The difference between driving an hour to Werribee a few times a week, to riding my bike around the corner.

“It’s been really good. I’ve loved the change and loved being full-time with the Blacks.”

The change agreed with Sam’s footy as well, as he rose to the challenge of greater responsibility.

“Yeah, you go from VFL where you’ve got guys like Dom Brew and a few others that are ‘the men,’ and you’re just a cog in the wheel. Whereas at Blacks, you’re one of the older and more experienced players in the side. You feel like you’ve got more responsibility on your shoulders, which certainly takes your game to another level.”

Sam thrived as an old-school ruck, now able to get to know and understand the William Buck Premier Men’s competition and the opponents he would face each week.

“My strengths are around the contest and stoppage, being that big, strong presence. I’m not a huge one for taking contested marks, and my game’s got limits – everyone’s game has. I don’t kick a heap of goals, but my philosophy in footy at this stage of my career is: if you’re good at something, do it really well, and do it until it doesn’t work. It’s working so far!”

Veteran Blacks leader Campbell Moorfield agrees.

“We were incredibly fortunate to get Sam back from VFL full-time this year,” said Moorfield.

“He was setting the tone on the first night of pre-season and didn’t take a step back all season.”

Sam led the competition in hit-outs and hit-outs to advantage in 2026, and ranked second to co-winner Billy Coates for clearances. Averaging 19 disposals (16 contested), 59 hit-outs and 8 clearances per game, he polled Woodrow Medal votes in 9 of his 18 matches, becoming Uni Blacks’ first winner since 2017.

He’s humble in his assessment of his stellar season.

“I thought I had a good year, but I didn’t think I’d be a chance for the Woodrow. You never really know how you’re gonna go coming back from VFL to a different league and a different club. I was a bit nervous that I might find it pretty hard, but I’m pretty proud of the level of footy I played.

“Mum and Dad rang me and said, ‘Do you want us to come?’ and I said, ‘Nah, don’t bother coming. I’m not a chance to win it, so just stay home.’

“So, I was surprised to win it, especially to go one-two with another ruckman (Billy Coates).”

“We all walk taller out on the field knowing that Sam is a very good chance to be putting the ball down the throat of one of our midfielders at every stoppage,” said Moorfield.

“His workrate to cover the whole ground goes underrated, and it would be a rare sight to see him on the bench. He created a special bond with his right-hand man, Harry Broderick, with the two of them often inseparable from 2pm until the early hours of morning, reminiscing on their favourite clearances of the day.

“As our first Woodrow medallist since club great Bede Mahon in 2017, we are incredibly proud of Sam and thrilled that he joins an illustrious list of Blackers. He is a great servant of the club, always putting his hand up to help run events and drive standards, and recognition of his on-field dominance is richly deserved.”

The award’s significance has since fully dawned on Sam.

“I’ve reflected on what it means since I won it, and it’s pretty amazing. I won the Most Improved Player at Werribee last year, and that was the first award I’d ever won!

“It does mean a lot considering the level of footy we’re privileged enough to play in the VAFA, and it’s something I’m pretty proud of.”

“I was a bit ‘deer in the headlights’ on the night, but I’d like to thank the Uni Blacks Footy Club. It’s an amazing environment to be around, from the players to the people off the field. It allows me to get the best out of my footy.

“Mum and Dad come up from Geelong pretty much every week to watch me or my brother Nick, who plays at the Uni Blues. So, they’re in Melbourne every week watching us. Their commitment and support means a lot.

“My partner Bella comes and watches every week, and I’m sure she’s got better things to do on a Saturday than stand out in the cold watching me play footy. She gives me incredible support.

“I’ve had an amazing journey, and I’m very thankful for all the support.”

Sam is already thinking about how he can keep developing his game in 2027.

“Being a bit more of a leader is something I can work on. I would like to kick a few more goals, but I understand that it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Not that I’m that old, but I do a few things really well and just want to keep doing them to a consistently high level.

“That’s not to say that I won’t try and sneak forward a bit more next year. I played a bit of full-forward when I first got to the Blacks, but I hardly got near the ball, so I think we’ll put that one to bed! My focus is trying to play my role and do the things that I’m good at for our team, which is to be a presence around the stoppage.”

He is optimistic about the team’s future prospects, but also blunt in his assessment of where they are currently.

“We didn’t get the results we wanted to as a team, but I’m confident we can turn that around next year. I said this to the boys at Presentation Night – we have the talent to give it a real shake.

“I think sometimes we go into games with a bit of a ‘little brother’ mentality. There are obviously some bloody good players in the competition, but it doesn’t mean that you just have to roll over and let them beat you. We’ve got a bit of growing up to do this off-season, then I think we can give it a red hot shake.”

Speaking of little brothers, Sam is in an unusual position, playing for Uni Blacks while his younger brother, Nick, plays for Uni Blues.

“Nick moved up to Melbourne while I was spending most of my time at Werribee. He had a few mates at the Blues, and said, ‘If you’re not gonna play much at the Blacks, I’ll play with my mates at the Blues.’ We’ve definitely been on the phone trying to get each other to swap sides over the years, but he loves it there, and I love it at the Blacks.”

Sam had the unusual bittersweet experience of watching his brother win a William Buck Premier Men’s flag at his own club’s biggest rival.

“It was great to see Nick win a flag. But I’m not a huge fan of the Blues, so watching them win one wasn’t easy. But I was bloody happy for Nick, and there’s a few guys at the Blues I know that are great fellas. I was so proud of Nick, considering his football journey, but you obviously want to be playing yourself.

“It lights a fuse and makes you wanna get your own success.”

The VAFA congratulates Sam Conway on winning the 2026 Woodrow Medal and wishes him all the best in his bid to match his brother’s achievement of playing in a premiership in 2027.