'I can't get enough of natto' - Japanese Australian AFL player Alex Davies chats career and culture

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13 hours ago

Alex Davies had to work hard to win a spot in the Gold Coast Suns team this 2025 AFL premiership season. With the Suns on the cusp of their first finals appearance, Davies appears to have broken into the team just at the right time.
The 23-year-old midfielder has played more than 35 games over five seasons and was the first player of Japanese heritage to play a game in the AFL premiership league.
Davies, who was raised in Cairns to a Japanese mother and Australian father credits his parents for a big part of his success.
Alex Davies' grandfather Kazuhiro flew in from Tokyo to watch the Suns player in 2022 and ended up joining in the team song after they won. ( Supplied ABC News )
How did you get into Aussie rules?
Davies: Through my dad. He played it growing up in Tasmania. When I grew up in Cairns he was pretty adamant that I played and mum agreed.
What was it like growing up and playing AFL in a multicultural household?
Davies: Cairns in general is pretty multicultural, we had PNG kids, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, everything. So it's pretty normal. But I enjoyed it a lot.
It wasn't the biggest football place in Australia, but I had fun.
Which of your cultural values do you think have benefited your career?
Davies: Dad was an army man, so he was very active and everything. He pushed me a lot. Mum, as well. That Japanese background — they're pretty strict.
There was no losing. But I was pretty good growing up, so he was impressed.
Have you brought that regimented outlook to your game?
Davies: I'm disciplined, but also like having fun. You have to have fun with your mates, that's the main part. And that's how you get better as a team.
How do you bring your culture to the game?
Davies: Probably just my diet. A lot of just Japanese food … Japanese curry.
I love natto, which is just fermented soybeans. It's like staple for a Japanese household, for brekkie and stuff. I can't get enough of it!
Natto, which is made from fermented soybeans and has a strong smell, is a Japanese staple that Alex Davies swears by. ( Johan NIlson, TT News Agency via Reuters )
Have you introduced natto to your teammates?
Davies: Oh no. It's like kimchi, you have to get used to it.
How would you explain AFL to an Asian relative overseas?
Davies: Oh, I've given up. To be honest, I don't even know what it is myself.
It's just a game where you run a lot, kick the ball through the big posts… and yeah, it's a scramble. It's nothing like any other sport in Japan that my grandparents follow like sumo and kendo. Not AFL. It's very, very different.
What's your favourite post-game meal?
Davies: KFC. Something easy.
What's the best dish you can cook?
Davies: Japanese curry. All the boys love it. It's hearty, especially in winter. Great for carb loading, and good food pre-training.
Do you have a hobby outside of footy?
Davies: I play a bit of guitar. A lot of chill tunes. I also just go to the beach, it's a pretty cool lifestyle on the Gold Coast — float around at cafes and stuff.
What's your go-to guitar song?
Davies: Bob Dylan.
If you weren't playing footy what would your parents want you to do?
Davies: After AFL, I might be a pilot. I've done half of my private pilot licence — it's just on hiatus. Maybe I'll get back into it.
What's the most Aussie thing about you?
Davies: Probably playing footy and going to surf life saving clubs and having a few beers there.
What's the most Asian thing about you?
Davies: How I look and what I eat. Where I travel in the off season — a lot of Asia trips, I've been to Vietnam a few times, Bali … that's the most Aussie thing actually! But I enjoy Asian culture, like temples and everything.
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