In his own words, it's been a "whirlwind few days" for Cooper Hamilton.
The former GWS player will debut for VFL club Southport this weekend after leaving Carlton's VFL program mid-season.
A gut-running winger, Hamilton had been stuck behind several AFL-listed players at the Blues when an opportunity occurred after a Sharks official slid into his DMs.
"Last Monday, I got a message in my Instagram DMs from Matty Palmer, the high-performance manager from Southport," Hamilton told Zero Hanger.
"He pretty much said, 'Hey mate, don't know where you're at with Carlton VFL and footy down there at the moment, but we're looking to get some players. We've been smashed with injuries up here at Southport. I think they've got about 20 on the injury list and were looking to recruit some players in back end of the year and just asked if I was keen for a chat.
"So off the back of that, messaged him a couple times, got on the phone to Jarrod Field, the operations manager up here, and yeah, he booked me flights for the following Monday.
"I flew up, trained on the Monday, trained on the Tuesday and got off the track Tuesday night and signed a contract like that and found out I was playing on Thursday. So it's been an absolute whirlwind, but I'll tell you what, the weather up here is pretty nice."
The fast-paced nature of the move meant that Hamilton had to scramble up to Gold Coast to debut this Saturday for Southport against Geelong at his new home.
In a fortunate and unlikely turn of events, the whole Hamilton clan will be sharing a house this weekend to celebrate his move north.
"It has honestly been the craziest story," he said.
"My oldest brother lives up here, and two months ago my mum and dad booked a holiday to come up here and visit him for a week-and-a-half, and it just so happened that I got booked on the exact same flight that they booked two months ago to come up here as well, and they have a spare room at the accommodation they're staying at.
"So I've just shacked up with mum and dad for the week, and they're going to be around for my first game, funnily enough. So it's crazy how the world works."
Hamilton's move to the Sunshine State has come after the winger didn't play a game for Carlton's VFL side in 2026. Stuck behind the likes of AFL-listed players Ben and Lucas Camporeale, Blake Acres and Campbell Chesser.
The 22-year-old said after speaking with his football mentor and Carlton VFL coach Damian Truslove, he was encouraged to do what he felt was best for his football career.
"Damian, I trust and love, 'Damo'," he said. "He's been my coach for well, I've known him for about six years. He's been a really good mentor, a good mate, and an amazing coach for me when I was at the Giants, Bendigo Pioneers, and now at Carlton.
"I went straight to him as soon as I found out that Southport got in touch and he encouraged me to look into the idea of it, just purely off the back of Carlton VFL having a really healthy list.
"He said, 'Mate, if you've got the opportunity to go up there and play VFL games. I think it's a great, great sort of refresher, and I mean, there's 10 games left in the season, so it's not like a permanent sort of thing, if I don't want it to be, but equally, it's a great trial, and Southport have been so bloody welcoming as well.
"It took me two days to decide that I wanted to move up here. So, I think that's a credit to the group of boys they've got here and the whole program they run. It's so welcoming, and it's really been fun."
While the move to Southport is exciting, as it gives Hamilton the opportunity he has been craving, it does mean the talented winger has to leave his beloved local club, Rochester.
Having played in last year's Goulburn Valley League decider, the Tigers have struggled to regain their form this season. Adding complexity to Hamilton's decision to make the move to the Sharks.
"I haven't made this choice lightly," he said. "I lost a bit of sleep when I found out what was going on, and I didn't want to tell anybody until I was confirmed that I knew what was going on.
"Ash Watson, the coach at Rochy, has been phenomenal for me. He's really encouraged me, just sort of pursuing football, come up here and trying to play the best football possible. All the boys as well, when I sent a message into the group chat, most of them reached out and said, 'Mate, good luck, going to miss you, but amazing opportunity'.
"I'll still play a couple of games with them, but it's hard to sort of leave mid-season to play with another club when they're not going how we expected to go this season, and we're still a chance at finals and everything.
"It's difficult, but everyone's been really supportive and really looked after me. So I felt so loved by everyone back there, my brothers, family and teammates. They've all been phenomenal. So I've certainly got a lot of support from them in the decision of moving up here."
