He will become the first senior football captain to lead Congupna into a grand final in more than two decades when The Road takes on Mulwala in Saturday’s Murray Football League decider.
It will also be his first appearance in a grand final timeslot at 2pm.
“This is my first senior grand final. Nothing compares to what it means at the moment, I’m just lapping it all up,” the 27-year-old said.
“We’ve got a lot of experienced blokes who have played in them (BJ, Chappy, Cav, Normo) ... we’ll talk to those blokes to find out what to expect, but as a group we’re ready and not overwhelmed by it.
“We know we can do it now ... I think those rough times really put us in a good position.”
Schaper conceded being captain is not a natural thing for him, with his first leadership role coming as vice-captain under club stalwart Josh Chapman.
The skilful and smart forward highlighted how much of an influence his former skipper had been on him.
“It’s a pretty new thing for me actually. I’ve had it for two years now and I was vice-captain before that,” Schaper said.
“I played under Chappy when he was captain and he’s been an unbelievable mentor to me, he’s one of the best footy brains you can come across, I think more than 300 senior games he’s played.
“To have him to lean on and him happily hand it on and say it’s in good hands means a lot to me.”
The captaincy role hasn’t affected Schaper’s performance out on the field ― if anything it has elevated his output.
Schaper has booted 72 goals in 2023 from 19 games and finished top five in the recent O’Dwyer Medal vote count.
The athletic and dead-eye finisher has formed a potent forward line with fellow stars Elliot Cavallaro (81 goals) and Jak Trewin (40) and he’s enjoyed every second of it.
“Yeah I love playing with those boys. We’re all good mates and we give ourselves a bit of banter, but we all work as one,” he said.
“It’s good seeing them boys get off the leash and I’m happy seeing anyone kick goals.”
Finishing two votes behind Mulwala’s Jackson Gash for the Murray league’s prestigious individual medal showcases just how outstanding Schaper’s season has been and how integral he has become to The Road.
But those accolades shadow in comparison to the prize on offer this weekend.
“A few people messaged me about that actually, I said ‘Gashy can have the medal last night if I can get the one on Saturday’,” Schaper said with a laugh.
“That premiership one is the only one I want. I was a little bit surprised with how I went, but I don’t care as long as I can get that medal on Saturday.”
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