LIAM Baker was living out his football dreams as a dual premiership player with Richmond, but his life outside the game and goal to take over his family's farm felt like it was on hold for his seven years in Melbourne. 

The country life is in Baker's blood, and Northcote in Melbourne's inner suburbs is a long way removed from Pingaring, where the Bakers own and operate a wheat and sheep farm 350km east of Perth in the Wheatbelt region. 

Football has always come first for the courageous West Coast recruit, but kickstarting his life away from the game has become more of a focus in the second half of his career and was the main factor in his trade request last year. 

Being based in Perth means a three-and-a-half-hour drive to the farm was possible over the recent Easter break, and Baker said he was looking forward to more opportunities to learn the ropes from his parents Kim and Karen and put himself in a position to one day run the farm that his grandfather, Neil, started. 

"I lived my whole life there until I went away to school and Dad's been there since he was young as well, so it's been through a couple of generations and yeah, I'm looking forward to keeping it going," Baker told AFL.com.au. 

"Mum and Dad are still out there now, my sisters have married farmers, and I just find when I'm out there it's a bit more relaxing for me in my spare time.

"I'm sure the work that Dad's been doing over the past few years is far from relaxing, but it's just a place where I want to be post-footy and work on the farm and see what I can do back there."

Recruited with pick No.18 in the 2018 Rookie Draft, Baker rose quickly with the Tigers to become a premiership player in 2019 and 2020, finishing runner-up in the Jack Dyer Medal in 2021 and being recognised as the most courageous player in the game by his peers in 2022. 

A vice-captain at the club in 2024 and capable of playing as a forward, midfielder or half-back, his football was in great shape after 128 games. 

Being restricted to the occasional trip home to help with harvest, however, wasn't enough to progress his ultimate goals outside of football. 

"In Melbourne, it was kind of like my life was on hold away from the club," Baker said, emphasising that he loved his time with Richmond and had been keen to move away for a period to experience something new. 

"It's what I want to do post-footy, and I didn't do much to get towards that goal of wanting to take over the farm. 

"It's kind of my fault, really. If I really wanted to push hard and to do stuff out of there, I could have been better at that. 

"But it got to seven years down the track and I was sort of like, 'Well, what have I done here? Maybe I've wasted a bit of time'. 

"So to actually start implementing those things and to be able to go back and help Dad when I'm finished footy is the reason for coming back here.

"Footy always comes first, but it's just how can I bridge that gap from honestly not knowing much about day-to-day working on the farm?"

Baker is completing an agronomy course on his days off to learn all about cropping programs and management. It's the hands-on experience he is most looking forward to, however, particularly in the offseason.

"I'll probably be able to see the seeder go around at least for a day or two here and there this year, which I haven't really done since I went away to school all those years ago, apart from 2020, so they're the things I'm looking forward to," he said. 

"Then the off-season comes around about harvest time generally, or in the lead up to harvest, so I'll spend a fair bit of time back there for that, which I'm looking forward to."

Baker's appreciation for his upbringing in Pingaring started around the same time he finished school and worked as an apprentice carpenter in Perth, with the idea of one day returning to the farm growing on him ever since. 

The challenges excite him, while the lifestyle suits the 27-year-old, who would use camping, a visit to premiership teammate Dylan Grimes' farm, or in one case just a long drive into regional Victoria to check out a ute tray with Jack Graham for a fix of country air. 

Having made a quick impact at West Coast as both a defender and midfielder, setting a standard with his pressure and ball-hunting, Baker hoped that being closer to friends, family, and Pingaring would help his football. 

"It's very small and there's not too much. There's a little general store/post office and a place where you can buy your chemicals," he said. 

"Otherwise there's the tree there and then that's about it. There's a few families in town and a couple around on farms.
 
"It's a bit of a release from footy, which I felt towards the end in Melbourne I struggled with. 

"It's a nice little community and I love it back there."