21 May Wilson dominates ruck battle for Raiders
Anakie’s daunting task of holding off powerhouse Bell Post Hill this weekend may be inspired by ruckman and three time club best and fairest Luke Wilson.
The 26-year-old was pivotal in the GDFL’s victory over the weekend when battling multiple Heathcote ruckmen for a majority of the afternoon.
His tap outs and quick disposals were recognised by his coaching panel when he was rewarded the Worksafe medal moments after the game.
“Today was a fantastic buy-in by the group and the professionalism the coaches showed,” Wilson said.
“One of the points they raised was don’t be a bloke that comes off the ground just having a jumper to take home.”
He continued, “They said make sure that it meant something and that each individual had earned it.”
“Everyone did today, we only get to play with all these blokes once and we all loved it because it was really well done.”
Last season Wilson finished fourth in the Whitley medal with 16 votes for the seventh placed Roos.
However he now concedes that it has taken him time to click into gear this season with his side still searching for a maiden win.
“You can ask Chris Moore (Anakie coach) and the coaching panel and they’ll also tell you that I was a bit down on myself in the first three or four rounds,” he added.
“I was playing cricket finals in March, I took my focus off of footy and played just one practice match so virtually I was figuring things out in the opening weeks.”
“As a leader of our club I’ll admit I was disappointed with the form that I put out.”
“But I picked up against Bannockburn though and then I played well against Werribee; we faced Belmont and I was good as well that day.”
GDFL coaches were initially relieved to find out Heathcote DFNL ruckman Mitch McEvoy, cousin of Hawthorn big man Ben, did not make their final squad.
Nevertheless Wilson would still have to face Elmore’s Jack Hayes (60% of the contests) and Colbinabbin’s Hadleigh Sirrett with the occasional aid from Bell Post Hill defender Tim Barton.
However Wilson’s comparison to former Bell Post Hill ruckman Renn Lovitt has been a discussion of late when ranking the league’s most reliable tap out specialists of recent memory.
“When you win three or four premierships in a row then the results speak for themselves some will say,” Wilson said.
“I love Renn, I think he’s a very good ruckman but at the end of the day you should think you’re the best yourself in each game and try to achieve that level.”
“So I’ll always aspire to achieve that.”
The Panthers have attempted to fill the void with Lochlan Horan and Corio Bay Stingray talent Liam Meyrich in recent weeks.
Yet it is unlikely that these two students of the aerial contests will conquer the Anakie tall.
“I played young Liam last year and I was quite impressed with how he played but at the end of the day I’m always going to back myself that I’ll win my battle in the ruck,” he recalled.
“Whether they play two or three on me, it doesn’t matter because I always believe no ruckman will come out with more hitouts or disposals than me.”
“Renn might have had a few games where he defeated me in the hitouts but at the end of the day I would have had more disposals.”
Final Scores:
GDFL 10.17 (77) defeated HDFNL 10.8 (68)
Goals: Jak Kennedy Hunt 5, Jayden Ettridge 2, Brayden Mitchell, Tim Barton and Dylan Witney.
Best: Luke Wilson, Samuel Jacka, Dylan Witney, Michael Best, Adrian Fantella and Jak Kennedy Hunt.
Disposals:
25 – Matt Tyquin (Bannockburn)
21 – Adrian Fantella (Bell Post Hill)
21 – Andrew Challis (Corio)
19 – Dylan Witney (Belmont Lions)
17 – Michael Best (Inverleigh)
16 – Dalton Grundell (Inverleigh)
15 – Jackson Smith (Werribee Centrals)
14 – Samuel Jacka (Thomson)
14 – Alexander Gubbins (Winchelsea)
13 – Casey Meehan (Inverleigh)
12 – Jayden Ettridge (Bell Post Hill)
12 – Matthew James (Bell Post Hill)
11 – Tim Barton (Bell Post Hill)
10 – Michael Grozdanovski (Inverleigh)
10 – Luke Wilson (Anakie)
9 – Jak Kennedy Hunt (Inverleigh)
9 – Brayden Mitchell (Geelong West)
9 – Jake Barlow (Bell Post Hill)
8 – Justin Baxter (Inverleigh)
8 – Cam Addie (Bell Post Hill)
5 – Beau McNamara (Bell Post Hill)
4 – Rob Logue (Inverleigh)
By Alex Tigani
GDFL Media (21/05/2018)
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