NERVES are often a forerunner of good things for Terang Mortlake defender Ryan O’Connor.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The centre-half back felt them before his first game as an 18-year-old, but some early possessions that day against Camperdown soon settled him down.
He felt them again two weeks ago when he made his interleague debut in a star-studded Hampden line-up, coached by Brisbane Lions great Jonathan Brown.
“I was really, really nevous, especially with the high-quality calibre of players I was play with,” O’Connor said.
“There were times I thought, ‘What am I even doing here?’.
“But talking to (Hampden assistant coach) Adam Dowie, he was really good. He said everyone brings their own ability, and mine was to play in defence.”
O’Connor, who turns 26 on Wednesday, was among Hampden’s best in its AFL Victoria community championships win over the South East footy league.
On Saturday, he and Bloods teammate Jarryd Hay will take the field for their 100th senior games when Terang Mortlake hosts Hamilton Kangaroos.
“When I first started, that was something I really wanted to get to, especially playing with my mates who’ve been there the whole time,” O’Connor said.
The tall defender – who jokes he’s “probably got the record for most coaches’ awards” at the club – lists a preliminary final appearance with the Bloods two seasons ago as his greatest highlight.
And he believes the Bloods are building towards another finals appearance.
“To get back into finals will be a massive goal for us,” he said. “I think, this year, we can make finals if we can be a little bit more consistent.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by Hay.
“It’s been a not bad start (to the year). A couple of good wins and then we sort of just haven’t followed up the week after that,” the Bloods co-captain said.
“Consistency is a big thing at the minute. We’ve got a lot of young guys and you’re going to struggle week-in, week-out to produce those games, so that’s definitely something we’re working on and hopefully we can have a win this week.”
Hay, who described reaching the 100-game milestone as a “massive achievement” he’d been working towards since making his debut, said finals were on the cards for Terang Mortlake if it could produce more of the footy that saw it topple Port Fairy and North Warrnambool Eagles.
“I haven’t played a lot of finals footy – we did have a few rough years at the start of my senior career – but then Matt Irving took over the coaching role and he got us back into finals contention a bit,” he said.
“It’s a pretty similar feeling around the club at the minute, so hopefully the same thing can happen again.”