Football: Litherland lives his dream

Former Great Southern footballer Angus Litherland achieved his childhood dream when he took his spot for Hawthorn in the club’s opening NAB Cup round on Sunday.

Drafted by Hawthorn last year, Litherland has blossomed during pre-season training, earning him his spot in the Hawks side that took on West Coast and Fremantle at Paterson’s Stadium.

The 18-year-old played in both games as a defender, and was in the thick of the action quickly in the first match against the Eagles when he dashed off half-back to gather the ball and send the Hawks forward.

After the match, which the Eagles won 5.1 (31) to Hawthorn 4.5 (29), Litherland said it was great to be playing in front of his home fans.

“We started very shaky but the boys really picked up the tempo in the second half and were unlucky not to win in the end,” he said.

“It took me a while to adjust to the pace and get the excitement out of my body but it was a great feeling.

“It’s not the AFL but it’s a 8competitive hit out and still pretty 8serious.”

Litherland had three kicks and a tackle in the match.

Leaving the narrow loss to the Eagles behind them, the Hawks turned their form around against the Dockers, running out 14-point winners, 1.4.4 (37) to 0.3.5 (23).

In the win, the former Royals and Ongerup star had seven kicks and a mark while also earning two free kicks in a performance that would certainly have caught the coach’s eye.

Playing mostly at full-back and centre-half-back in both matches, Litherland said he knew he was playing with the big boys when he ended up one-out with Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox drifting forward.

The Hawks flew back to Melbourne yesterday and Litherland hopes to be part of the team’s round two NAB cup side as he aims for a round one berth.