WORPEL RECALLS GOLDEN MOMENT
HAWTHORN debutant James Worpel said his jumper presentation was a moment he would never forgets.
Triple premiership player Isaac Smith presented the exGeelong Falcon with his No. 38, the night before he made his debut against St Kilda in Launceston on Saturday night.
Worpel, who co-captained the Falcons to last year’s TAC Cup, said his debut had probably come earlier than he expected, but Smith had been influential in his development.
“He’s definitely been really good to me the last couple of weeks,” Worpel said. “I didn’t really set myself any expectations, to be honest. I just went about my thing and waited for my opportunity, I guess, and I’m lucky enough it came a bit earlier.
“People like ‘Roughy’ (Jarryd Roughead) and Luke Breust have been big for me as well, just letting me know what to do and when and what I need to do better. He (Smith) said a few words ... it was a pretty special moment and one I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”
The 19-year-old got a taste of the match day experience as emergency the week before and said being involved in the prematch of the Hawks’ clash with the Roos helped settle him on the weekend.
“I was carry-over emergency for the North Melbourne game, so it was a really good experience,” he said. “I got to go in the rooms and sit in all the meetings, so it was really good to get me prepared for the weekend.
“I was a bit more prepared and a bit more relaxed than if I had been put straight in there.”
While the short notice last Saturday and the interstate flight meant Worpel only had a small crew of family and friends at the game, a second match against Essendon at the MCG would be sure to attract a fan club for the Bannockburn teen.
“I’ve just got a game first; we’ve got a few boys coming back so I won’t count my chickens before they hatch, but yeah, it will be the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of if I’m lucky enough to get selected,” he said.
“I played mostly deep forward so I didn’t really get exposed to any real midfield time. Hopefully if I get selected again this weekend I might play a bit more midfield.”