Perfect scenario for a debut
5:59 PM Wed 1 August, 2007
By Greg Lange
for richmondfc.com.au
TWO WEEKS ago, Tigers newcomer Daniel Connors was considering hiring the likes of Horatio Caine from CSI: Miami, or that relentless yet compassionate female detective from Law and Order: SVU, in a bid to overturn the one-game VFL suspension that robbed him of his debut game for Richmond in round 15.
“I was in the side if I got off the charge,” he said. “I tried to convince the Richmond officials to come into the tribunal and help get me off.
“But, there was some pretty damning evidence, so I would have ended up getting two [weeks] if I had tried to do that.”
The 18-year-old got his second chance last week against Sydney. His debut at the SCG contained everything a good Hollywood feature requires – thrills, life-threatening situations and great dialogue.
“When I ran out on to the field, through the gates, it was pretty exciting. But, at the same time it was daunting,” Connors said about his first taste of AFL.
“The ground was full of Sydney fans and it was, like, ‘Oh my God, here we go’.”
Connors’ blood pressure had barely settled before the “good dialogue” kicked in: a light “peppering” from his first AFL opponent, Adam Schneider, aka “The Schneiderman”.
“I think he was happy to be on a first-gamer,” Connors said, “He just looked at me and said, ‘I’m in for a pretty good night’.”
As it turned out, Schneider was the least of Connors’ worries. His first possession brought a spray from teammate Andrew Raines.
“Oh, it was a shocker,” Connors said. “I kicked it to ‘Rainsey’ and it sat right up for him and Adam Goodes almost took his head off.”
“He said to me, ‘Hey, can you try not to do that to me too many more times’.”
In the second quarter, Connors’ heart had to deal with yet another nerve-racking experience when he failed to look at the number on his opponent’s jumper before launching a physical attack in a bid to fly the team’s flag.
“I ran into Barry Hall. I nearly broke my collarbone he was that hard,” he said.
“It was too late to try to back out, as I was too close to him. So, I ended up remonstrating with him a little bit.
I sort of regretted it afterwards because for the rest of the night he was breathing down my neck, looking for me. He is a very scary man on the field.”
By the fourth and final scene Connors had collected 15 possessions and was relieved to survive his run-in with big, bad ‘Bazza’.
This week, Connors faces a giant of a different kind, Geelong. Mind you, he is likely to go into this game with a lot more confidence; he knows what it’s like to play alongside this year’s NAB AFL Rising Star favorite, Joel Selwood.
“I played footy last year with Joel. So if I get to line up against him, hopefully I can take him apart. However, he is in pretty good form at the moment.”
“It is a good feeling at the club at the moment. We believe there is a big upset on the cards,” he added.
TIGER TALK
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I am a big movie buff. Shane Edwards and I like to see every movie as soon as it comes out.
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