From surfing waves to St Johnstone away: Calem Nieuwenhof reveals the reason Hearts signed him

Australian midfielder is adjusting to a new life in Scotland

Picture the scenario: One minute you’re surfing north Sydney’s waves in a scene from a Home and Away theme tune, the next you’re feeling the force of an Andy Considine challenge away at St Johnstone. Life has changed dramatically for Hearts’ recent signing, Calem Nieuwenhof.

An idyllic upbringing amongst Australia’s sunshine and beaches helped the midfielder develop a love of one particular extreme sport. Now he is surfing a wave of euphoria having earned a dream move to Europe from Western Sydney Wanderers. The last few weeks have been exhilarating. The next few will be no less intense as Hearts prepare to start their cinch Premiership and European campaigns.

Leaving the warm South Pacific waters for a rainy Scottish July is a bit of an awakening for 22-year-old Nieuwenhof. He was recruited at a six-figure cost for a specific reason, and it’s not his surfing skills. Hearts want to dominate possession more this season and view their new midfielder as a key protagonist towards that aim.

“We are a team that wants to play with the ball and Naisy [Steven Naismith, technical director] has made it clear that that is what he sees in me,” explained the player. “I can be comfortable on the ball and link up play and that is something I really want to work on and bring to the team. I want to be part of a team that dominates other teams and plays a good, attacking-based possession style. That is something I’m really looking forward to.

“It is an exciting start, very different from Australia and I’m being thrust right into it. I was coming out of pre-season where we still have 12-13 more weeks before the first league game, but then I come over here and get thrust into a [friendly] game against Leeds in my first week. The season starts this week, with European games thrown in. That is a real positive in my eyes, the amount of games that we play over here and that is something I'm looking forward to, getting a number of games under my belt and showing good consistency.”

Like many Aussies, Nieuwenhof isn’t short on general sporting fitness. He was the regular sporty youngster growing up in Sydney’s northern suburbs. “I was pretty typical. I have lived in one or two suburbs my whole life in the northern beaches of Sydney. I used to be a big surfer. Surfing here? Yeah, it will be a bit colder so I think I'd better remember the wetsuit, for sure,” he laughed.

“There were so many different sports. Growing up I played football, surfed a fair bit. I mean my family is a pretty big surfing family. I played cricket and did nippers and a bit of touch football, a bit of everything.” He joked that even the South Pacific sharks will have helped prepare him for the intensity of Scottish football. “Yeah, they might have prepared me a little bit for coming over here and playing in front of these fans.”

Calem Nieuwenhof says he will take time to get used to British football. Pic: SNS

The 16,641 people at Tynecastle on Sunday saw Nieuwenhof and another new arrival, defender Frankie Kent, play for the first time. “The reception was awesome. I couldn't believe how many rocked up for a pre-season friendly so I've obviously come to a really good club where the fanbase is massive,” said the Australian.

“It was a really tough test and Leeds were on a different level. It was played at a pace that I’m still getting up to speed with. In patches we did well but this was my first week with the team so I was happy to get straight into it. I'm still learning about how we want to play and I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks. I haven't played a game in over a month so it was good to get some minutes into my legs.”

Adjusting to the frenetic pace of UK football will be one of his biggest challenges. “It’s a different game style than in Australia and this is my first week training with the boys. I definitely have a lot of learning to do and I'm going to learn more from Steven and the other coaches about how they want us to play. That is something we can take forward into the league because I know we want to play with the ball and dominate other teams. That is a team I want to play in.”

Nieuwenhoff is Hearts’ fourth permanent Australian signing alongside Cammy Devlin, Nathaniel Atkinson and Kye Rowles. His father’s surname is of Dutch origin. “He is Australian-Dutch. He was born in Australia but he has the Dutch in him and, yeah, that’s probably where the love of football comes from.

“In Australia, my dad played football so growing up there were never really any other options for me. As soon as I was old enough to walk, I was kicking a ball around. As soon as I could, I got into the local club team and I fell in love with the game. I just grew up playing football and now I'm lucky enough to come and play in the European leagues.

“That is every young player’s dream in Australia and it’s something I'm really proud of. I’m looking forward to making the most of it. There are so many Australians who have come to Scotland and they are all doing well, so it has proven to be a really good step forward. It has shown to be the next level from the A-League to come here. That really helped me make my decision.”

An added incentive comes from the fact his compatriots have established themselves in Graham Arnold’s Australian national team whilst in Edinburgh. “Yes, 100 per cent, that is something I aspire to,” acknowledged Nieuwenhof. “I know all the boys in the team now are in the Socceroos and that’s somewhere I want to go. That made my decision to come here even easier because I know that, if I come here and perform well, I could get a national team call-up. I know it’s now on me.”

A football tour of the UK in 2018 saw Nieuwenhof coincidentally take in a match at Tynecastle. “I think it was a Dundee game,” he recalled. “When I heard that Hearts were interested, I was able to look back and remember my time when I saw the game and saw how passionate the fans are and how big a football nation this is. That definitely helped me. Talking to a few of the boys back home – I played with Olly Bozanic last season and he spoke nothing but highly about his time here.

“The Scottish teams seem to be a lot more open to bringing Australian players and, back home, I think a lot of Australian boys view the Scottish league as a really good place to come now if they want to progress their careers. That was the way I viewed it as well. It is a really good step forward. It’s a great league to come into and if you do well then there are no limits.”