The Riddell District Football Netball League had its own small part to play in the lead up to AFL Grand Final week on Sunday.
Former Sunbury Kangaroo and current Western Bulldogs rookie Roarke Smith and Woodend/Hesket star Mitch Hannan played in the victorious Footscray team that triumphed over the Casey Scorpions in the Victorian Football League Grand Final at Docklands.
Footscray set up its 31-point win over the Scorpions with 8.4 to nothing in the final term to secure victory.
Smith was solid in the backline in the first half for the winners. He opened up the game with eight handpasses and seven tackles. He controlled the backline by finding team mates by hand to set up play further down the field.
He was a brilliant link-man and was crucial to the team maintaining its dominance through the midfield. Smith finished with 13 touches and two marks for the game. His impact in the second half was restricted due to the inability of the Scorpion's midfield to get the ball into their forward line.
Smith has spent the past two weeks on the emergency list for the Western Bulldogs Senior team. He has played a number of games already and is showing great potential with his defensive spoils and hard running.
He played Senior football with the Sunbury Kangaroos as an Under 18.5s player on the wing before spending time with the Calder Cannons and earning a Rookie spot with the Western Bulldogs. He missed much of the year with a knee reconstruction but has bounced back well.
Hannan is pressing for a place on a Senior AFL list next season. He was a junior and Under 18.5s player with the Hawks. This is his first full season at Footscray and made an impact immediately.
Hannan was awarded with the VFL Mark of the Year for his hanger on Macedon/Northern Blue Matt Dick in round one. See the mark HERE
His second half of the season was impressive, highlighted by four match winning goals against Williamstown late in the year in a stunning come from behind win.
He finished the season with 20 goals, including 1.2 in the Grand Final.
He was a livewire up forward with his pace and dangerous left foot. He joined a number of Footscray players to pick poorly in front of goal in the first term.
He made the most of his next opportunity with a left foot goal at the 22 minute mark of the third term to push the lead to 33-points. He set up Nick Jamieson with a clever handball at the 30 minute mark, who kicked truly to end the contest and push the lead out to 46-points.
Hannan finished the game with 12 touches, five marks and two inside 50s. He was manned up by some of the Scorpion's prime defenders over the course of the match and worried them with his speed.
Congratulations to the two locals in playing their role in the VFL win.
Last Modified on 25/09/2016 21:30