He was a fresh-faced 17-year-old with a big smile when he walked through the club’s doors for the first time in 2002.
But two years later he found himself in front of a sliding door when he was delisted without having played an AFL game.
“I could have gone either way,” Crowley said.
He received a second chance via the rookie draft, eventually earning an upgrade to the senior list a year later.
After a few years as a serviceable midfielder and part-time forward, Crowley again faced the sword at the end of the 2011 season.
“I was looking at getting traded or moved along… all those things go through your mind,” he said.
But the arrival of new senior coach Ross Lyon ahead of the 2012 season presented Crowley with another opportunity and, more importantly, a clear direction.
“Once Ross walked through the door, he gave me good confidence that I was going to be around and that there’d be a role for me,” he said.
Crowley will become eligible for life membership at Freo when he plays his 150th game for the club this Saturday against Brisbane at Patersons Stadium.
He admits the milestone has crept up on him, but it has also offered a good opportunity to reflect on what he has achieved so far.
“If I think about specific moments, I think about when I first got here, when I was 17, that feels like an eternity ago,” he said.
“There have been a few ebbs and flows a long the way.
“I’ve been delisted and put on the rookie list. I’ve gone up and down, but that makes it a little more special when you get there.”
Despite admitting he thought his time at the club was up in 2011, Crowley couldn’t bare to think about life away from Fremantle.
In fact, he couldn’t even imagine it.
“I’ve been here since I was a kid,” he said.
“I don’t know anything else, it’s been my whole life.
“I never wanted to leave and I’m just glad that didn’t happen and I’m glad to be here now.”
A realist, Crowley is proud of the career he’s managed to carve out and the 150-game milestone, even if it took a while for him to find his niche as an AFL footballer.
“I’d like to think, all the way along the journey, I’ve worked pretty hard,” he said.
“I’m not the most talented guy going around, so I’ve had to work hard for everything I’ve got.
“It’s a good achievement and something that I’ll look back on, but at the moment we’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
