“To be honest, I’d just really like to win a flag,” he says.

“I think that’s probably aiming high, but you’ve got to aim for something.

“We’ve come close the last couple of years. (This year) I think we’ve shown, if we can bat the overs, I’d back our bowling in.”

Henke has been a steadying influence in the middle order for the Pirates the last two weeks, making a handy 37 against Merrivale and then top-scoring with an unbeaten 58 against East Warrnambool-YCW last Saturday, earning the praise of captain Jordan Graham.

“Angelo Henke has done it two weeks in a row now: he’s pulled us out of a pretty bad spot,” Graham said.

Henke, 23, is looking forward to a full season with the Pirates after work commitments restricted him to just two division one games last summer.

He was working full-time to fund his civil engineering studies at Deakin University in Waurn Ponds, but this season has lined up some work with the Moyne Shire, keeping him in the Port Fairy area.

Until that work starts up next month, Henke is working on his family’s farm, which is just 10 minutes from the South Australian border.

He grew up playing for the Mount Gambier association and faced off against some of his future WDCA teammates and opponents at country weeks. He also played in Ballarat Grammar’s first XI, when he boarded there, and Wendouree.