The tenacious 17-year-old is trying to cement his spot in the senior line-up as the Seagulls strive to force their way into the top five for the first time this season.

Since he made his debut against Terang Mortlake in round nine, Hetherington has played in four games for four wins – missing just the round 12 loss to North Warrnambool Eagles when he was on holidays in Bali.

“Right now I’m looking at finals and if I can play finals in the senior side, that would be great,” he said.

“At the start I was a bit sketchy on it all, but I’m getting myself into it better and getting more confidence.”

Port Fairy coach Brett Evans praised Hetherington’s contribution since stepping up to senior football.

“He’s only a very small frame – for him to be able to slot into the seniors and really give us something has been great,” Evans said.

“He reads the play really well and usually heads to the right spot… he’s certainly not scared and tackles hard.”

Evans pointed out there would be few at Port Fairy who could lay claim to enjoying the same success as Hetherington at the start of their senior careers.

His run in the top grade has come at a fortunate time, with the Seagulls’ line-up a lot more settled now than earlier in the year.

They won just one game from their first six outings, but have taking the points in five out of their next seven, including wins over last year’s grand finalists Koroit and Warrnambool.