Playing as an extra utility between half-forward and half-back, Aaron Featherstonhaugh kicked two goals and just as importantly set up many others being an extremely important four-quarter contributor to a gutsy Port win.
However, “Coulda, woulda, shoulda” sums up the Hawks’ loss to league-leaders Port on Saturday, a game West needed to win to lock in third spot, giving it a launching pad for the double chance and second spot from the Bloods.
Hindered by a very strong, if schizophrenic, breeze West dominated possession but could not translate it onto the scoreboard.
The first fifteen minutes of the game set the tone for the remaining two hours as the Hawks had every opportunity to establish a huge first term lead but squandered it.
The West Augusta banner the players ran through was in honour of its captain and read “Zubey’s 100th game Go the Mullet!
In his milestone game Adam Zubrinich won the toss and elected to kick to the highway end with a very strong breeze.
With State country ruckman Michael Burford dominating the taps and plugging the space between the full-forward and the centre-half forward, the Hawks had to go around the flanks to set up scores.
This meant that, of course, the Hawks appeared to have greater possession of the ball as they necessarily had to run further and wider with it, bring in other players and chipping around until they were inside fifty.
Given the tricky wind at surface level, and pressure from Port, the skills could not match the thought and the ball was often turned over.
Half way through the term the Hawks clicked and produced some fabulous football stringing some passages together and by the first siren (new ones recently bought by the SGL via the AFL) led by 14 points.
The second term saw the Hawks once again come out with great intent.
On three separate occasions all within five minutes West had the chance to nail the Squids to the wall but through poor concentration, decision making and skills burnt the ball.
First Collins in a pocket dropped a sitter on a lead, then Dadleh marked went back and casually kicked into the man.
Finally McIntosh, in trying to square the ball, kicked straight to Burford who was camped at centre-half back when he should have had a shot or at least found someone wearing purple and white.
And all this inside their own fifty!
This is an example of what plagued West all day.
Some great battles were developing with Penny dropping onto Zubrinich, Terry Hall running with Collins, Kendall, flying on a wing, despite having trouble keeping up with Jones early, Phillips on Bowey, Ray Stapleton joined Parrish and Singleton at fullback marking full-forward Des Deuter.
In ruck for the Hawks Josh Scharenberg was in-effect a second ruck-rover.
While he gave a good contest at the ball-ups it was his high work-rate around the ground that, if West had won the game, would have ensured him three Madigan Medal votes.
But it would have been a close call over Jordan Warren who was quite brilliant and who kept the Hawks in the frame.
It didn’t look good for the Hawks, they were showing signs of ill-discipline and gave away four 50-metre penalties and twice more turned the ball over in their own attacking arc mainly through picking out the only Port tall, Burford, and lobbing straight to him!
It got a whole lot worse as at half-time we learned that one of the stars of the country championships had broken his arm.
Inexplicably the breeze switched 180 degrees and the Bulldogs had the advantage of the elements for the second and now third quarter.
West started well in the final term through more individual brilliance from Warren who released Woodforde via a handpass while on his knees inside a pack of ‘Dogs and it was game on and Port only seven points to the good.
However, as if a switch had been turned on Deuter up forward finally saw the ball and did some constructive things while Mudge could probably be credited with winning the game for the green and whites with a superb last quarter after being relatively quite for most of the day.
Again West missed numerous chances missing passes, kicking out on the full and with Collins blazing and missing everything whilst at the other end Parrish goaled, a 12-point turn-around that the Hawks never bridged.
In the final term Hawks skipper Adam Zubrinich finally found some form and the ball but it was too late and Port was returning to Pirie with two points and top spot assured with a 16-point win.
Both sides were without key players, Port could have done with Luteria, Wombat, Remphrey, Bowden, Waters, Fleming, Dunkley and Simpson and West may have been a little stronger with Higgins, Delaney, Carn, Taylor, Foulis, Page and Hayden Warren.
That Port won this with so many out augers well for when it is full-strength.
Funnily enough the same could be said of West!
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