Gus Teixeira was embarrassed and a little disappointed in himself.
Known internally at the Sandringham Dragons as the hardest worker at the club, Teixeira was suddenly heaving and gasping for air by the end of pre-match warm-ups – and this went on for months.
The problems started in April and was still plaguing the top-10 draft prospect when the AFL under-18 championships ended in mid-July.
Teixeira (pronounced tuh-shair-uh) somehow managed to earn All-Australian honours – including a brilliant display with 22 disposals and four goals against the Allies – and help Victoria Metro win the national title in authoritative fashion.
“I’d be playing at full-forward, particularly at the back-end of games, because I could barely run. I’d be gassed even after just one sprint,” Teixeira told this masthead.
“It was kind of embarrassing because I couldn’t run, and I’m supposed to be a midfielder. I knew there was something wrong, but I just kept going – I wanted to play.
“My family knew [how sick I felt], but I didn’t tell anyone in the team or anything. I was kind of putting it off until after Metro, but I probably should have looked at it a bit earlier.”
Eventually, Teixeira went and got tested. He found out he had a significant iron deficiency, his immune system was down, and he was tracking towards glandular fever.
The prolonged fatigue stretched beyond the field, also impacting his ability to complete his schoolwork, so the diagnosis was a genuine relief.
“I had a virus that whole time,” he said. “But I got an iron infusion, and now I’m feeling so much better, and I’m not sick any more.”
Dragons coach Rob Harding believes Teixeira deserves to be an early draft selection.
“What he’s done this year under sufferance, not being 100 per cent, is seriously impressive,” Harding said.
“Aerobically, he’s a really good runner, he’s strong in the contest, and has power and speed that allow him to burst out of stoppages. He’ll end up a midfielder in the AFL, in the ‘Dusty’ [Dustin Martin], [Sam] Lalor mould.
“I wouldn’t have predicted him to be a top-five pick at this time last year, but he’s trained so well, is a high-end talent and has kept getting better.”
Teixeira didn’t get to reap the benefits because of a subsequent right calf injury he sustained playing school football for St Kevin’s College that medical staff believe was an offshoot of his iron deficiency.
He returned playing primarily as a forward for the Dragons’ heartbreaking two-point preliminary final loss to Gippsland Power, which was his sole appearance in the second half of the Talent League season.
That defeat ended Teixeira’s junior career, but he went from being a likely first-round selection in the pre-season who had never previously represented his state to one of the blue-chip prospects in the country.
The midfielder-forward’s standout performances at the mid-year championships rocketed him into top-five contention, and it would be a stunner if he was not gone within the first eight or nine picks. His power, speed, creativity and penetrating kicking are all ticks for his AFL outlook.
“It was a year of ups and downs, but I’m pretty happy overall,” Teixeira said.
“It’s not how I wanted to play the full season and be, like, ‘best-on’ every game, but it’s still been a successful season, given the circumstances. When I’m feeling good, I’ve got heaps more to show – and I’m keen for what the future has [in store].”
Teixeira, whose father Matt was born and raised in Brazil, wants to spend most of his time as a midfielder in the big league, even though he has demonstrated his effectiveness as a forward as well.
With the iron deficiency discovered and behind him, he feels he has another level to go to. Recruiters will need to bake that potential upside into their rankings ahead of the draft on November 19.
“I’m very confident I have more to give. I’ve always trusted my abilities and know what I can do,” Teixeira said.
“Obviously, I’ve done all that forward stuff, so I have that, but I’ve always seen myself as a midfielder. There are heaps of star midfielders like [Will] Ashcroft and [Nick] Daicos, and that’s the type of player I want to be.”
Teixeira will join ex-Magpie and Demon Heritier Lumumba and Port Adelaide’s Christian Moraes as AFL footballers with Brazilian heritage.
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