Emerging tagger Heath Hocking is hoping that 2009 will be a turning point in his career.
Recruited three years ago, from the Eastern Ranges, the 21-year-old had only played four AFL level games leading into this season.
Recruited as a tall, solid midfielder, Hocking has made the transition from rookie to team regular in 2009 and put his run of injuries behind him.
“The experience I get from these games has helped me prepare for other games, I’m not as nervous as I was in the first ten games,"" he said.
“My nervousness has plateaued a little bit, I’m feeling a bit more comfortable now I’ve been given some big roles and played on big names and that helps.""
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While most of the last three years has been spent taking notes, Hocking certainly knows where his preferences lie, when it comes to getting in amongst the action on the field.
“It’s better being out there than being on the sidelines, especially if you’re a team that is winning more than they are losing, which we are,"" he said.
“It’s been a hard road but now that I’m here I’m enjoying it and hopefully can help the team out in the defensive side of things.""
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This weekend Hocking’s strong body and defensive ability will be needed to tackle the third placed Bulldogs.
“We’ve watched a bit of the Magpies and the Bulldogs game and watched their work ethic. Being defensively better had them winning and beating them,"" he said.
“That is where we can win, by being defensively better than them.
“We've had some nice wins over some big teams and I think if we come with a mindset that we need to be harder than them for a longer period of time.
“If we win the game, young blokes will get a lot of confidence from that and it can hopefully build into September finals footy.""
