Nick Lower was exceptional at Fremantle in 2011, but had an injury-plagued 2012. Picture: Justin Benson-cooper Source: Herald Sun
NEW free-agent signing Nick Lower says he passed up the guarantee of another season at Fremantle for the chance to secure a place on the Western Bulldogs list.
The former Port Adelaide midfielder said he was shocked when Fremantle coach Ross Lyon delisted him with a year still to run on his contract.
A relationship with Bulldogs list manager Jason McCartney - a former Fremantle development coach - resulted in Lower being invited to Whitten Oval to try his luck alongside other delisted players, including Matthew Bate (Melbourne) and Brent Prismall (Essendon).
By the time Fremantle offered him another guaranteed season, he was sold on proving himself to Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney.
It was a risk that paid off on Monday when the Dogs signed Lower, 25, for a season as a free agent.
He will join Tom Young (Collingwood), Koby Stevens (West Coast) and probably Prismall as the Dogs' mature-aged recruits.
The small defender and midfielder was exceptional at Fremantle in 2011, but had an injury-plagued 2012.
"It's been a bit of a whirlwind, to be honest," Lower said. "I got the news about my delisting a couple of weeks before it was made public, and it was a little bit of a shock.
"Fremantle asked me to train on, but Jason McCartney said, 'If you want to take a punt, we would like you to train at the Dogs'.
"Once I notified Fremantle I wouldn't be training on with them, they ended up guaranteeing me a spot on the senior list.
"There were no guarantees whatsoever at the Dogs. I knew deep down I could shoot myself in the foot.
"It was a risk, but I thought staying at Fremantle, having been delisted with a year on my contract, you had to wonder if I would be in the same position again next year."
Lower played 19 games in 2011, then had shoulder surgery in the off-season, served a three-match suspension to start the year and suffered concussed when he finally won back his spot.
He said he had been extraordinarily lucky to arrive at a third club, with a debut next season to make him one of 309 players in VFL/AFL history to play at three or more clubs.
"When I landed a second chance at Fremantle, second chances don't come around very often, but a third chance is even rarer," he said.
"I obviously recognise I am in a privileged position.
"People stuck their neck out for me and I still feel like I have a bit to offer."
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