ALEX White had lived out every footballer’s childhood dream.
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The match was over. His after-the-siren shot for goal had split the big sticks and Panmure had snatched a six-point victory against Allansford.
White was ecstatic and understandably so. But he couldn’t care that he’d kicked the goal. He was just rapt the Bulldogs had taken the points.
“I guess you grow up thinking you’d like to kick one after the siren. Then you do it, you’re just relieved the team has the points, to be honest,” he said. “The celebrations were pretty good, it was a tough game of footy. But now I look back on it, I was the lucky one it landed with. It was a good moment.
“It doesn’t matter who is kicking the goal, that win means a lot to the whole footy club.
“I’m not big on individual moments, I believe in team moments and it was just a good team moment.”
The sense of relief flowing through White, 23, was still apparent as he recalled the final moments of the dramatic match yesterday.
Scores were level when he led up the ground towards the scoreboard at Panmure Recreation Reserve and teammate Luke Ryan kicked towards him.
White took a contested mark about 25 metres from goal and, facing the prospect of kicking on a tight angle, considered playing on.
But an Allansford opponent standing nearby made him rethink his intentions. The siren sounded as White was questioning how close the player could be.
“The beauty of those moments is you don’t think them through too much ...the pressure didn’t get to me because you’re in the game anyway,” he said.
“Maybe in a year’s time it’d be good to go back and say ‘geez that was a good win after the siren’.
“Not just because of the moment but because of the way the whole match was.”
White played all his junior and senior football at Hampden league club Koroit, winning a premiership alongside current Panmure coach Simon O’Keefe in 2009.
Schoolmates Shamus O’Beirne and Ben Meade lured him to Panmure this season. His sisters Hayley and Natalie had also played netball with the Bulldogs.
White said the WDFNL was noticeably slower and less skilful than the HFNL but was “definitely a more contested-style of footy”.
“It doesn’t faze me either way, it’s more at the minute getting used to playing with new teammates and enjoying it,” he said.
His next match in a Bulldogs jumper is tonight, when Panmure meets Nirranda under lights at Cobden Recreation Reserve.
The 2009 Koroit premiership player said he was looking forward to the experience. He has previously played under lights for Koroit against Cobden.
“It’s a terrific ground, the lights are really good. It’s going to be enjoyable for the team,” he said.