It would be hard to forget your first game in the AFL, even more so for Gatton's Wylie Buzza after he made a shock debut for Geelong and kicked two goals in a draw that was decided after the final siren.
Buzza made his debut for Geelong in the Cats' 10.8 (68) to 10.8 (68) draw with ladder-leading Greater Western Sydney at Spotless Stadium after the emergency was called up just 15 minutes before the first bounce.
Daniel Menzel injured his leg in the warm-up giving Buzza his opportunity, albeit at very late notice.
The former Lockyer Valley Demon was one of three debutants in the Geelong line-up and he managed to kick two goals in a promising personal performance, the first of which was from beyond the 50-metre arc.
"Andrew Mackie hit me up on the lead and he's one of my favourites at the club. He's just so nice to us younger fellas and gives us great confidence in our ability,” Buzza said on the Cats website.
"I was a bit hesitant at first, I was looking to hand it off and he just said back your leg and so I trusted what he said and went back and as soon as I kicked it he just started going off so it's a pretty special moment.”
Geelong held a 20-point lead before GWS came back and hit the front late in the game.
The Giants held a one-point lead in the dying seconds before Cats forward Tom Hawkins took a mark inside 50.
The final siren went during his run-up as he had a shot to win the game but he slotted a behind to see the game between the two flag contenders end in a draw.
It was certainly an eventful debut for 21-year-old Buzza.
"It's a bit of weird one which will probably make it even more special,” Buzza said.
"Finding out a good 15 minutes before the game that I was actually going to play and then to come away with a draw, it's a bit of a weird feeling but as we said as a group, we're really proud of our performance tonight, so we'll take that as a win.”
Geelong coach Chris Scott lauded the efforts of all three of his debutants.
"He's a very good shot for goal, so that gave us confidence. Even watching him in the warm-up he was knocking them over as well,” Scott said of Buzza.
"While he's going to get some attention because of his hair and his name, I hope that he gets some attention for his straight goal kicking as well.
"He deserves to be proud of his performance in his debut tonight.”
- http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-07-01/match-report-giants-cats-in-thrilling-draw
- http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-07-01/debutant-cats-deliver-in-trying-circumstances
- http://www.geelongcats.com.au/video/2017-07-02/wylie-buzza-postmatch
- http://www.geelongcats.com.au/news/2017-07-03/storylines-revisited-round-15
- http://www.geelongcats.com.au/video/2017-07-03/goals-of-the-week-rd15
- http://www.geelongcats.com.au/video/2017-07-01/buzza-goes-boom
Last Modified on 31/08/2017 09:14