WHEN Ollie Dempsey heard his name called as the winner of the Telstra AFL Rising Star last year, the talented Geelong wingman walked up to the podium for the biggest honour of his career with a bright smile. 

But tucked into his short and self-deprecating speech – he drew laughs after thanking the AFL for suspending Harley Reid and Sam Darcy and ruling them ineligible for the award – was also a moment that brought him just as significant inner pride.  

In thanking God, the young Cat was also publicly for the first time talking about his Christianity, a devotion that he had again grown closer to throughout the 2024 season having lived with his faith since he was a child. Many at Geelong weren't aware of Dempsey's religious beliefs until that night. 

"A lot of my teammates didn't know about it before I made the speech. I'm not that guy to preach about it, I'm pretty reserved about it, but I love people asking questions and being curious, and a few of the boys have asked some since then," Dempsey told AFL.com.au this week. 

"That was a big thing for me that night and it was a challenge. But once I got up there it was easier and I feel I owe everything to Him and that's why I'm here. I got a lot of love and support from players from other clubs who reached out after that night as well who have their faith too, so that was really cool." 

Dempsey's family has spent the last 12 years with the New Hope church in Melbourne, having previously also attended at Camberwell Baptist church. At first, he went because the rest of his family – dad Grant, mum Claire, sister Tahlia and brothers Zach and Noah – were going too, thankful to his parents for their direction. Later in his teenage years Dempsey's faith became for himself. However, after being drafted as a rookie from a handful of school games for Carey Grammar at the end of 2021 and shifting to Geelong, Dempsey felt his commitment to his beliefs dwindle. 

He was trying to break into Geelong's senior side and managed seven games in his first two seasons. But he was also up and back to Melbourne on days off, adjusting to living away from home, and without the local religious community he had become accustomed to. 

After speaking with Cats player development manager, and former premiership player, Shannon Byrnes, about wanting to reconnect, Byrnes sought out his former teammate Gary Ablett jnr to link up with Dempsey. It was a turning point for the high-leaping Cat, whose talents were already winning rave reviews as an emerging gun of the competition, and Dempsey joined Ablett where the dual Brownlow winner attends church in Barrabool, a 10-minute drive from GMHBA Stadium. 

"Initially I found it really hard down here. In my first couple of years I wouldn't go to church much or think about it much, but once I connected with 'Gaz' that changed. You can't have a better role model with your faith and footy and he's been so good to me," Dempsey said.

"Coming from a background of faith and coming into the club there wasn't anyone really who was the same on that front. I didn't share it a lot, I found it hard for the first couple of years.

"Last year, with everything happening in my footy, I got more and more comfortable with being able to talk about it and felt I needed to and should've. Everyone here is so supportive. I got a lot of nice comments from that speech at the Rising Star.

Through Ablett, Dempsey has connected with Nathan and Bridie Spicer and their three children, with the 22-year-old a regular for dinners at his fellow churchgoers' place in Torquay. Together with the Ablett and Spicer families, Dempsey has found key support in Geelong with his faith.  

In embracing it, Dempsey has found his football to benefit. Last year the blond-haired, pink-booted, headband-wearing wingman was a revelation as he flew for marks, kicked spectacular goals and helped add spark to Geelong's midfield while locking down a spot on the wing. He booted 22 goals from 25 games to be the first Cat to win the Rising Star since former skipper Joel Selwood in 2007. Quietly, his faith had become a part of his routine.

"If it's a Sunday game in the arvo I like to go to church in the morning and I try to work around that. The club's so good with it and sometimes you miss it because you're playing Sunday and that's fine. I'm always listening to worship songs as well. A lot of the boys wouldn't know that, but it's something I listen to a lot on my way to a game and I pray a lot and my mum will do that with me too," he said.  

"I put my favourite bible verses on my wrist tape. It's something I've done every game since my second year. Even say I'm having a tough game, I'll think to myself 'Trust in God, I'm here for a reason and it's all part of His plan'. It helps me through the ups and downs of the game."  

The bounce in Dempsey's distinctive gait has added some verve to the Cats' mix. This pre-season he has trained exclusively on the wing, feeling more confident in his place inside the team. Dempsey had ambitions to come back from the off-season as one of the Cats' best runners and has done it, while also maintaining his added size (he came into Geelong at 68kg and is now at 78kg). 

Before every main training session, he spends 15 minutes kicking with assistant coach James Kelly inside Geelong's headquarters, working on his right foot then his left foot and then swapping over again. "We do it four times a week so it all adds up and my skills have definitely gotten so much better," he said. 

He has his eye on taking a Mark of the Year but you won't catch him practising those attempts at training. 

"I've been struggling because I can never put my knees up out there (in marking contests) so I don't really have much practice. I've seen players from other clubs put their knees up at training and thought 'Is that OK to do?' but 'Scotty' (coach Chris Scott) is really big on protecting each other. I've got to actually try to take one this year. Playing basketball has helped me with that stuff like being how to leap and all that," he said. 

Geelong's exit at the preliminary final against premier Brisbane last year saw the Cats fall short, but the experience, and his own arrival at the top level, has Dempsey hungry for more in 2025. 

"I want to be even better. I want to be one of the best wingers in the competition. I think I have the attributes to be that in the years to come and even this year. I'm feeling really good in the pre-season to take that next step and not just be the young guy who came in like I was last year and be one of our better players," he said.

"Honestly, when I first played in 2022 I don't think I was ready at all. I only played six games in year 12 and I hadn't played since I was 12 or 13 (because of basketball). It's weird thinking back to that first game I played, it was round six in my first year. I was not ready. I think I just played well off instinct and adrenaline. The next week I had a shocker because I was probably back to thinking 'What am I doing here?'"

Nearly three years on, Dempsey looms as a key to the Cats' hopes this season. And having formed his place, Dempsey has also found his purpose. 

"I truly believe that I’m here in the AFL for a purpose bigger than just playing footy and it's to spread the goodness of Jesus. Especially with my story and only playing six games of school football and somehow getting drafted, which is still crazy to me, I try to give all glory to God for any of my achievements," he said.

"I still struggle with this and being public about it all because I don't always live it. I'm never going to be one in someone's face trying to convert them to Christianity, that's just not me. But I feel especially this last year by just being myself, trying to be happy and loving, people can see God shining through me and that's just how I try to approach life."