He bears one of the most famous surnames in Bull Sharks history, but new recruit Oliver Burrows-Cheng is determined to carve his own name into the Bond AFL record books.
The younger brother of club stalwart Eddie Burrows-Cheng has joined the Bull Sharks after stints with the Southport Sharks in the VFL and QAFL club Labrador.
Eddie Burrows-Cheng, known affectionately as EBC, is a 2015 premiership player and former president of the club.
The Tasmanian was a VC Elite Scholarship holder and Oliver looked set to follow him to Bond as a student before deciding to pursue a career in engineering.
Instead, he has made his way to The Canal and will make his debut on Saturday in the Coolie Cup, the round robin pre-season tournament that also involves QAFL club Broadbeach and QFA sides Burleigh Heads, Coolangatta and Carrara.
It was a highlight for the two brothers when they played together for one season at the Kimbra Tigers on Eddie’s return to Tasmania after graduating with a law degree.
However, after finding himself immediately at home among his new teammates, Oliver reckons joining Eddie as a premiership player might eclipse that.
“I have definitely been welcomed with open arms (because) a lot of the boys played with Eddie back in the day,” he said
“And that makes it feel like home knowing he played and had such an influential part in the structure of this club and the history, and I know he loves it that I’m playing here.
“He always talks about his premiership years here and how much fun they were, and I think it would be awesome to share those experiences with him.’’
Oliver has always had an eye on the Bull Sharks. He has three flatmates who play for Bond and already knew a lot of the Tasmanian boys who are at the club.
Over the years he has witnessed the enjoyment they got from their footy at the Bull Sharks and thought it would be a great club to be involved with.
But it was the appointment of Andy Lovell and Shaun Hart to the coaching ranks that convinced him he could come to this level and still improve as a player.
“I’ve been really impressed, especially with the coaches Andy Lovell and Shaun Hart. They are driving elite standards which has been really good for us,” he said.
“The expectations … I’m just going to keep working hard and doing my best. I don’t think my standards should drop just because I’ve dropped down a level.
“I’ll take my experiences that I’ve learned at a higher level and implement them here.’’