Polo shines on debut
1:02:46 PM Sun 7 May, 2006
Jason Phelan
Sportal for afl.com.au
Former Gippsland Power player Dean Polo had a debut to remember in a match to remember against Essendon at the MCG on Saturday night with the 19-year-old earning the Yiooken Award for best-on-ground in the thrilling two-point win.
Polo gathered 28 possessions and kicked three goals - including the last goal of the night that leveled the scores - and he was just happy to finally have been given a chance.
I've been really, really hungry and once I knew I'd got the opportunity there was no looking back, I was just going to go for it," Polo said.
It's like a dream - I can't believe I've done so well in my first game - I was just really stoked that we got the win."
The Gippsland Power product took a low-key approach to his first game and was feeling the effects of being in the thick of the action for most of the evening when he spoke to the media.
"I've got a couple of corkies and I started cramping up in the last quarter, so I'm really sore - I'll sleep well tonight," he said with a laugh.
"It's a lot quicker, it's definitely a step up from Coburg, but I seemed to adjust alright and I really enjoyed it.
"I tried to stay home as much as I could and not think about the game (during the week), I just stayed home and watched heaps of movies and not think about it too much."
Terry Wallace was asked if he thought his young Tiger cub was capable of producing such a stunning performance first-up.
"No, but I would have expected him to play well because he's very brave and blokes who are prepared to put their head over the footy and don't have fear are the ones that normally stand up in big games and play well," Wallace replied.
"So from that aspect I thought he'd go ok, but no one expected the magnitude of his game today."
And what about that goal that had the Tiger faithful on their feet in the dying stages of the game?
Polo recalled: "As soon as Johnson kicked it along the ground, before I even picked it up, I just said, 'goals'.
"I knew I was going to (have a) kick, so I just grabbed it and ran. I knew I was going for it and she came off.
Last Modified on 26/05/2008 12:10