Debutant Brett Bewley admitted he struggled to keep his emotions in check in the aftermath of Fremantle’s one-point win against the Brisbane Lions on Sunday.

After walking off in front of a rapturous Purple Army, Bewley said he felt ‘overwhelmed’ when he spotted his proud parents waiting in the Freo rooms. 

The 24-year-old said that he was able to reflect on his journey to get up to that point, at least until he was doused in Gatorade during the team song.

“That was a very big Gatorade shower. All I could feel was the Gatorade coming through my eyebrows,” Bewley said. 

The big-bodied running midfielder was drafted with pick no.59 in the 2018 NAB AFL National Draft.

He played five full seasons in the VFL for Williamstown prior to joining Freo and was named in the VFL Team of the Year in 2017 and 2018. 

There was enough time to become a fully qualified carpenter while continuing to do everything to keep his AFL dream alive.

“To be honest, coming through the race at the end with all the members, it was a bit overwhelming trying to keep it together as it’s been a long journey to get to this point,” Bewley said.

“To come through to the rooms and see mum and dad standing there and seeing mum in tears - it was a very special moment to get up with the win. 

“It means the world to me to have them here, I’ve got a lot of family here today and a couple of my mates. They’ve been there for most of the journey, all the hard yards that have gone in behind the scenes and all the overlooked drafts. It means the world to me.”

Bewley said he was thrilled to play a part in another gruelling team effort, with Freo battling with the Lions right to the end.

“The boys have shown that effort after effort, week-in-week-out. It’s been pretty good to watch and especially now to be a part of that on the field,” Bewley said.

“(Playing AFL) is sort of everything you expect and then a little bit more. In the first quarter, you’re just running off pure adrenaline and the next three quarters you’re running around and trying to make sure you’re making the right decisions. It was a really good experience.”

It may have been Bewley’s first game in the purple jumper but he knew that Freo were in good hands when Michael Walters marked and had a shot from 50 metres after the siren with the scores tied.

“To be honest, you either want ‘Sonny’ (Walters) or ‘Barra’ (David Mundy) to have the ball when the siren goes and I was pretty confident that he was at least going to get a score on the board,” Bewley said.