The Bontempelli comparison

Phillipou, the No.10 pick in the 2022 draft who Essendon and Hawthorn gave serious consideration to even earlier, played all 24 games in his debut season, under coach Ross Lyon, who famously drives high standards.

Good judges, such as North Melbourne’s dual premiership player King and Melbourne great Garry Lyon, believe the 190-centimetre forward-midfielder has a huge future in the game.

The Bontempelli comparison is not a new one, and Phillipou was familiar with it when recruiters quizzed him two years ago on who he played like.

But it was his answer that caught amused talent scouts off guard, and quickly became a talking point leading into that year’s draft. The teenage prospect told them Bontempelli played like him. Nat Fyfe came up, too.

“I’ve always been a believer in believing in yourself and not having limitations,” Phillipou said. “I guess we’ve got similar playing styles. It was how I worded it, but I don’t retract the statement.”

Anyone unfamiliar with Phillipou may be getting the wrong impression about him. A self-professed introvert, the second-year AFL footballer simply wants to be the best he can be, and was chuffed that King saw Bontempelli-like qualities in him.

Phillipou’s confidence comes from a good place, and is emboldened by an insatiable work-rate that he demands of himself to give him every chance to reach his lofty goals.

“To have that said about me – someone who hasn’t really done anything yet – it’s like, ‘Wow’,” he said.

“There are other people who see the vision that I see. It’s hard not to get excited by that. But, I always just try and bring it back to the only way I’m even going to get close to that is if I continue to work, and continue watching vision with ‘BJ’ [St Kilda great-turned-assistant Brendon Goddard].”

Phillipou also has an admirer in dual Saints club champion Jack Steele, who told this masthead that Phillipou’s unique ways took some adjusting to but were “very refreshing”.

“He came in and did things his way and didn’t really worry about what everyone else was doing,” Steele said.

“He’s got a clear vision about what he wants to get out of his career … [and] I love that he puts his best foot forward and wants to be the best player and contributor for the club as possible.

“I’ll ask him, ‘What’s on for the weekend, mate?’ and he’ll say, ‘Oh, I’ll probably chill out on Saturday, then on Sunday, I might pop in to do some touch’.

“Most people wouldn’t think about coming into the club in their spare time, but he doesn’t see it as work. It’s what he loves to do, so you can’t complain when someone’s got that sort of work ethic and attitude towards footy.”

Why he is hard on himself

Phillipou is his harshest critic.

Most young players take years to figure out the professionalism and standards required to make it at AFL level, and many never do. Nutrition was one area Phillipou needed education in, and it was not that he was eating poorly – he just did not understand how to fuel his body properly.

That knowledge gap compounded his well-intentioned desire to train as hard and long as possible, but teammate Mason Wood, who he briefly lived with, helped upskill him.

Wood taught Phillipou about macronutrients, a term that describes the nutrients – specifically carbohydrates, fat and protein – that your body requires to perform at its best.

He first came across macros at school but brushed the science off back then as too complicated, until Wood simplified it for him. Phillipou was cross with himself that it took too long for him to get there, believing he was capable of knowing all this before he lobbed at Moorabbin.

“That’s how I see it, and that’s how I view myself,” he said. “At times, you’ve got to be cautious because you can drive yourself down a dark hole with thoughts like that, but I want to keep that because [it will help me] get to where I want to get to quicker.”

Phillipou now makes sure to pile in at least 500 calories for breakfast to ready himself for training, whereas previously he would consume not even half that.

“I would come to training feeling sick, and start having coffees, and I was like, ‘I reckon it’s the coffees making me sick’ because I’d never had coffee before,” he said.

“I had low energy, would be mentally tired, and I was like, ‘You’re not working hard enough’, which makes it worse. Then, you totally drop back, and you’re not doing enough, or what I feel is not enough because I always strive to do more, and I can’t hit that because I’m not eating enough.”

There was even a game early in the season last year when coach Lyon told Fox Footy that Phillipou had “cooked himself” while training too much in the lead-up.

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Reining himself in and ensuring he does switch off is still a work-in-progress, but something the young gun said he was getting better at.

Phillipou’s way of doing that is playing video games, most often Fortnite, against mates back in South Australia and younger brother Jevan – another bright AFL prospect who also excels on the basketball court and as a decathlete.

He’s also into movies and music – he loves the Rocky films and typically has American rap and 1990s hip hop in his ear buds. But, as always with Phillipou, there is a catch to his relaxing moments.

“The music gets me hyped. I find getting excited and wound up is more relaxing than forcing myself to switch off,” he said.

“I feel like the more I try to force relaxing; the worse it gets with me. I’ve got to have everything done for the day to just naturally relax … I feel like it’s more of a response to if I’ve done the right thing.”

Phillipou’s footy bucket list

Phillipou is a young man in a hurry, and has already graduated to training more with the midfielders after predominantly playing as a forward last season.

St Kilda’s 1966 VFL premiership remains the only prize in their cupboard, but their 2022 first-round draftee is hellbent on changing that.

Negotiations are well advanced to extend Phillipou’s time as a Saint, and he wants to repay the club with a long and, of course, successful career in the red, white and black.

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“I’ve got a lot of high goals for myself individually, and team-wise, I want to win a lot of premierships,” he said.

“I want to play a lot of games, and ideally, I want to do that here. Really, it’s that simple, and to be honest, if I could put it into one meaning – it’s just to achieve my full potential.”

How about All-Australian accolades? Brownlow Medals?

“I feel like if you asked me that question a year ago, I would have said, ‘Definitely’,” Phillipou said.

“If I continue to do everything I can, every day, and commit myself to the habits that’ll get me there, yeah, I believe I can. But I don’t want to put a limit on myself; the same way I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself and say I’m guaranteed to get here.”

The Saints played in three grand finals in the previous Lyon era, including the drawn one in 2010, but were unable to break through despite having the likes of Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes, Goddard, Nick Dal Santo, Stephen Milne and Leigh Montagna.

The current St Kilda squad lacks that top-end quality, but Phillipou is far from the only promising young player, with Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Mitch Owens, Marcus Windhager and Anthony Caminiti showing plenty.

There is also great hope for players such as Darcy Wilson, Olli Hotton, Isaac Keeler, Matt Allison, Lance Collard, James Van Es and Angus Hastie, while Max King (23) and recruit Liam Henry (22) are not that much older.

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“These guys are ultimate professionals and ferociously competitive, and it’s so exciting because I know that’s what it’s going to take if we want to ever get to the level we want to get to,” Phillipou said.

“It’s hard to put into words, just the thought of [potentially playing in a flag for the Saints] – but I know it’s possible. All the guys here – the coaches, the players, the people who I interact with – all believe it’s possible.

“I don’t put a limit on myself, and I’m also not putting a limit on what’s possible as a club.”

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