Alex Woodward hadn’t played a full game since 2011, he was thrilled to be back

TWO-TIME knee reconstruction victim Alex Woodward couldn’t wipe the smile off his face after Hawthorn’s NAB Challenge win.

Alex Woodward played his first full game since 2011. Picture: George Salpigtidis

THE last time Alex Woodward completed a full game of footy - not AFL footy, just footy in general - was in September 2011.

It was in his first game for Hawthorn, a NAB Cup match against Greater Western Sydney in 2012, that Woodward tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee for the first time.

When he re-injured the knee during training in January last year his 2013 season was also written off.

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There was little fanfare in the Etihad Stadium changerooms after Hawthorn’s 131-point NAB Challenge demolition of the Brisbane Lions on Thursday night, but understandably Woodward, 20, was a little happier than most.

“I couldn’t keep the smile off my face to be honest,” Woodward said.

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“My last game was March 8th, 2012 down in Tassie and I only lasted for five minutes of that, so I’m really happy I got through tonight. I was a bit fumbly, but that’s just rustiness from not having played in too long.

“The TAC Cup grand final in 2011 was my last four quarters of footy.

“It was on this ground funnily enough. It was a good game to finish up on, TAC-wise, we (Sandringham Dragons) won the premiership.

“I was hoping to have played a few more games since then, but things happen for a reason sometimes so I’m just happy to be back now.”

It might have only been a low key pre-season game but Woodward was unashamedly edgy beforehand.News_Image_File: Alex Woodward showed plenty in the NAB Challenge game. Picture: George Salpigtidis

“Throughout the day I was really good, but before the game I was really nervous,” he said. “I was OK with that though. If I wasn’t nervous I reckon there’s something wrong with me.”

Despite those nerves Woodward had 17 touches against the Lions and was particularly busy in the early stages of the match.

And even though he has been sidelined for so long, the inside midfielder insisted he was not feeling the pinch come the fourth quarter.

“Surprisingly I was actually feeling really good.

“I guess I’ve had two years of trying to build up an engine good enough to play AFL footy so come the last quarter I was OK.

“It was a quick game, the ball was really slippery, but like I said I was just happy to get through.”

Joining him in the Hawks line-up on Thursday night was a man Woodward described as “my brother” _ fellow knee victim Matthew Suckling.

The 25-year-old was playing his first match in almost a year after he ruptured his ACL against Richmond in the third game of last year’s NAB Cup.

In trademark style the rebounding defender slotted a long-range supergoal on his trusty left boot in the second quarter, after which almost every Hawthorn player on the field converged on the No.4.

Suckling said it was a special moment.

“The boys have been really good all the way through, so have the fans and everyone at the club,” Suckling said.

“I’ve been pretty lucky to have such a great bunch of people around me going through that last year. To be back out there is pretty exciting.

“It’s felt like a very long time. I’ve missed a lot, so I was just itching to get back out there.”

Suckling said his return was made better due to the fact he got to run out alongside Woodward.

“When we saw the team on Tuesday it was a pretty special moment,” he said.

“We obviously spent a lot of time together last year, we went overseas together in the middle of the year and spent a lot of running sessions together out on the track so it was good to share it with him.”