Goondiwindi Hawks midfielder shines in AFL Darling Downs semi-final win
Milestone man leads Goondiwindi Hawks to the promised land in convincing AFL Darling Downs preliminary final victory. SEE THE BEST SHOTS FROM THE BIG GAME.
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Sam McNaughton proved once again he is a big game player at the weekend.
But he might have saved his best performance for the biggest game of his career.
The Goondiwindi midfielder produced a best on ground effort in his side’s 11.13-79 to 6.7-43 semi-final win over Toowoomba Tigers – his 150th game for the Hawks.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE BEST PHOTOS FROM THE SEMI-FINAL CLASH
“Sam was outstanding for us up the middle,” Hawks vice-captain Fergus McLaughlin said.
“He clearance work was great, he applied plenty of pressure and got the ball clearing to our forward as well.
“It was a big weekend for him playing his 150th game for the club against Tigers and he picked up our Players’ Player award at the club presentation night.”
McLaughlin also singled out AFL Darling Downs Leo Camm Rosebowl Senior Men’s Rookie of the Year winner Michael Hazard and the Hawks backline following their win at Rockville Park.
Hazard and the backline’s performances epitomised the Hawks focus heading into the must win clash.
“Coming off a tough loss to Coolaroo in the qualifier the week before we knew we had to respond in this game,” McLaughlin said.
“We knew Tigers would be up for the game as well after a good win over Uni so it was important we went into this game with the right attitude.
“We didn’t apply enough pressure against Coolaroo and our (skills) execution wasn’t good enough.
“The whole team responded really well. We applied pressure right across the park and executed our plan.
“It was great performance and now we’re focused on preparing for Coolaroo in the final.”
The Hawks narrowly missed out on having both mens and women’s teams in the big dance, after their Toyota Women’s Cup side went down in a tough preliminary final clash against University Cougars.
The Cougars proved too strong on the ball, running out 7.16 (58) to 3.1 (19) winners to set up a grand final showdown with the Tigers next weekend.
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