Behind the play: What you might have missed in Round 4 of the AFL
DID you see that? We bring you up to speed with some of the quirky things you might have missed during Round 4 of the AFL.
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VETERAN Hawk Sam Mitchell continues to be the King of the Kids.
Last week he came to the rescue of teammate David Hale’s daughter when she was struggling to get through the banner.
On Saturday night, he made one young boy’s first time at the footy a dream occasion.
Accompanied by his family the boy held up a brown and gold banner throughout the match with a heartfelt plea to Mitchell.
“Hey Mitch, It’s my first Hawks game. How about a photo with me,” the banner said.
And the Hawk midfielder, who had topped the team’s possession count with 36 disposals, managed to find the energy still to make his way across the ground at the end of the game and duly oblige.
He posed for a photo and gave the kid a signed mini footy.
Mitchell said he had been alerted to the kid and his banner by one of the club’s trainers.
MOTHER’S DAY A FITTING TRIBUTE
NICE touch by Geelong to put footy’s leading mum on centre stage before the game on Saturday night.
Maree Selwood was given the honour of tossing the coin when the Cats hosted the Eagles.
With the injury to West Coast captain Darren Glass, her youngest son Scott was acting skipper against his brother Joel.
Joel fittingly gave mum a hug and kiss before fiercely entering the fray as he is prone to do.
It wasn’t long before he was being stitched up to stem another bleeding cut and wearing one of those head bandages.
ESSENDON KEEPS EYE ON HAIR APPARENT
SPEAKING of brothers, the Heppell boys are following in each other’s footsteps — at least when it comes to hairstyles.
Aaron, 19, who is playing with Essendon’s VFL team, is sporting the matching mop of older brother Dyson.
There’s a three-year age gap between the two brothers, but they look like twins with those flying locks.
KICK IT TO ME, KICK IT TO ME!
ALL-conquering Hawks might have discovered another weapon to bolster their already powerful goal-kicking prowess.
He was dubbed Mr Targetman by commentator Brian Taylor during the clash in Brisbane at the Gabba.
The man stands directly behind the goal the Hawks are shooting to and holds up a giant target with the Hawthorn mascot as the bullseye.
Key forwards Jarryd Roughead and Jack Gunston agreed that the banner gave them a target to focus on when kicking for goal.
CANBERRA PUTS ON A DAY AT THE BEACH
THE Canberra ground resembled a beach, it had so much sand dumped over it for the Bulldogs-Giants clash.
The curator decided the way to dry out the surface after a spell of drenching rain in the nation’s capital was to cover it in sand.
It prompted Magpie Dayne Beams to send former teammate Heath Shaw a cheeky tweet about the fact.
“You can now say you have played at the beach,” said Beams to Shaw.
He then tagged it “youlovebondi”.
@heathshaw23 you can now say you have played at the beach big fella #youlovebondi
— dayne beams (@beama17) April 12, 2014DANGERFIELD CHIPS IN WITH SOME LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
THEY weren’t the only footballers exchanging friendly greetings on Twitter.
West coast ruckman Nic Naitanui pleaded for advice on what to do in Geelong when the Eagles landed there on Friday.
“Morning Geelong! What’s good to do down here,” Naitanui tweeted when he arrived in Sleepy Hollow.
Adelaide’s Patrick Dangerfield, who hails from down the Surfcoast, was quick to answer him.
“Moggs Creek,” said Danger about his home coastal hamlet just outside Lorne.
“I knew I could count on the mayor of Geelong, haha,” replied Naitanui.
That wouldn’t sit well with retired Geelong stars Cameron Ling or Billy Brownless who both take pride in that unofficial title.
GET OUT OF HIS WAY, SANDILANDS IS COMING THROUGH
FREMANTLE ruckman Aaron Sandilands seemed to have shed his gentle giant tag after Leigh Matthews declared he was overrated last week.
It was an angry Sandilands that took on the Bombers with several fierce hits and tackles.
He dismissed suggestions that it was a reaction to Matthews criticism saying he had heard about it but not read the report.
But the man mountain’s new-found aggression was not lost on the Docker fans.
They cheered loudly when the article was flashed up on the scoreboard as Sandilands gave his midfielders an armchair ride during the final quarter.
TOM MAY NEED A CAT NAP AFTER MASTERS
GEELONG forward Tom Hawkins is one of the keenest footballing golfers and he doesn’t mind losing a bit of sleep over the sport.
The Tomahawk set the alarm to wake up in the middle of the night to watch the US Masters.
Partner Emma Clapham was quite bemused by the fact.
“I’ll never understand this love for golf — 2am wakeups,” she tweeted.
PUOPOLO IS THE HAWKS’ QUIET ACHIEVER
THE Channel 7 commentary team didn’t think that Hawk goalsneak Paul Puopolo is much of a communicator on the field.
“Does he ever really speak?” Brian Taylor asked coach Alastair Clarkson.
“He’s European — he’s hard to understand even when he does,” replied Clarko.
THE STAT
Brisbane is the first club in AFL history to lose every quarter in the first four games of the season.
THE QUOTE
“I’m going to Marrakesh,” said Carlton president Stephen Kernahan when asked before the game against Melbourne what he would do if the Demons beat the Blues.
We await to see if Sticks is soon on the road to Morocco.
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