REPRESENTING family and community. 

Despite his young age, Dom Akuei’s purpose is clear.

In his second year at IKON Park as a Category B rookie, Akuei - an athletic defender who came from the St Mary’s Junior Football Club and the Northern Knights - has already had quite the journey.

The first player selected by the Club from the Carlton Academy, Akuei, speaking on Channel 7, opened up on his pathway to football, which all began 20 years ago in his war-torn country of birth.

“I was born in Sudan in 2002, where there was a war at the time. Me and my family relocated to Egypt, staying there for a year, and from there we moved to Australia,” Akuei said, speaking to Channel 7.

“At the time, there were five of us - my mum, me and three other siblings - and now there’s nine of us. Two of my siblings were born in Australia, and the rest of us were born in Africa — either Sudan or Egypt.

“It means a lot. Telling family members back home, I’m grateful for the opportunity and being able to represent my community.”

Akuei can still vividly remember his first encounter with Australian Rules Football. It was back in prep, where he would play marker’s up in the schoolyard — and that was where his love of the game first came to fruition.

Back then, Akuei would use his prodigious leap to his advantage, something that has been on display throughout the last 18 months in the VFL, where he has honed his craft and continues to develop in a defensive post.

While he looks back on that time as a core childhood memory, he couldn’t have imagined where he would end up.

“I just used to jump high and mark it. I played it with all of my friends from prep onwards, and they played local football at the time, but I didn’t,” he said.

“I was just playing for fun — and I had a lot of fun. I wasn’t thinking that far ahead, I was just enjoying it and making lots of memories and friends.

“A young me would be excited, happy, over the moon, proud. All of those emotions. You try not to ride the rollercoaster, but you make great friends and great memories and it goes by pretty quickly. I learnt that in my first year, into my second now.”

It was through his involvement with the Northern Knights, being geographically zoned to the Blues, that first initiated Akuei’s involvement with the Carlton Academy. While his final years of underage football were affected by Covid, he looked to lap up every opportunity he could get.

A boyhood Bluebagger, Akuei still remembers the day he was informed by the Blues that what once seemed the most distant of dreams would become a reality.

“I was told a week before the rookie draft that I was going to get picked up. It was hard because the national draft came and I was getting text messages about not getting picked up, but I already knew it was happening the next day — but I couldn’t say anything.

“I was a Carlton supporter growing up, so it was the cherry on top. I was over the moon, but really nervous. I remember meeting all of the boys and while I’m pretty loud usually, I just had nothing to say.”

Celebrating his 21st birthday a fortnight ago, there’s always the chance to reflect for Akuei . . . however, he has always preferred to, in his own words, “live in the moment”.

However, it’s fair to say that the journey from Sudan to IKON Park has already been a wild one. And yet there’s so much more the Category B rookie is still looking to achieve, as his gratitude for all involved at the Carlton Football Club shines through.

“If I can enjoy it as much as I can, make memories and hopefully make my debut one day, I’m just excited and happy to be here. Learning off all the other players and seeing the professionalism and time they put in . . . it’s a big game, a lot goes into it and all the one percenters add up.

“I’d like to say thank you to Carlton for the opportunity. Learning off coaches at the highest level, picking their brain, asking questions — I just want to make the most out of it, make heaps of memories and enjoy it while I can.”