3 minute read
Late bloomer Harrison Sawyer wants to make the most of his A-League Men lifeline after being signed by Macarthur.
The wild adventures of Harrison Sawyer have taken the towering forward to the farthest flung corners of the world.
But the new Macarthur striker would love nothing more than to finally make a name for himself on his second coming in the A-League Men.
Sawyer, who made his Bulls debut off the bench last weekend, gave up his day job and went all-in with Macarthur after netting 16 goals for part-timers South Melbourne in the NPL Victoria.
The 195cm forward was once stuck behind Jamie Maclaren and Nick D'Agostino at Brisbane Roar and his only previous ALM experience came through a handful of games at the Newcastle Jets seven years ago.
"If I didn't (get a chance) this year, that probably would have been me done but I always had a dream of getting a proper crack in the A-League," Sawyer told AAP.
"The past few years I've come a long way and I've been able to use my size as I've grown into my body, I used to be like Bambi on ice."
In the time since he's been away, Sawyer has tried to model his game off other big men with good feet, listing off Olivier Giroud, Duncan Ferguson and Luca Toni as his inspiration.
He's also seen a fair bit of the world.
Sawyer has played games in North Korea, signed deals in Hong Kong, India and the Philippines and had a spell in Finland because the country's authorities would allow him to travel with his dog.
"It (North Korea) was a crazy experience, you go around and there's huge Kim Jong-Un statues everywhere," Sawyer said.
"There's nobody at the airport bar our squad and the referees."
Sawyer's frame also made him a natural target for the AFL with the Brisbane Lions taking a closer look at him during his time with the Roar.
"The Lions watched a youth team game and they looked at me for a category B rookie contract which is for players from other sports that haven't played AFL," Sawyer said.
"I had two weeks of sessions but I didn't want to give everything up just for a sport I had never played before."
Sawyer is facing a tough task to become a regular at Macarthur given he's stuck behind French import Valere Germain.
But he's hoping when he's called upon by coach Mile Sterjovski he can make a difference for Macarthur, who host Newcastle on Friday.
"I want to prove I can be a goalscorer in the A-League because I've done it in the NPL and overseas," Sawyer said.
"A lot of players will say they don't have a point to prove, but I do. I think I'm good enough and have the attributes to cause an impact in this league."