Hawthorn youngster Josh Weddle took some huge learnings from one of the worst moments of his young career so far.
Playing against Hawthorn in Gather Round, Weddle went back with the flight in the third quarter with the scores 58-27 in Collingwood’s favour, but dropped a relatively simple mark in the middle of the ground as Isaac Quaynor closed space.
Weddle appeared to pull out of the contest as Quaynor never got close to making contact with the Hawk and after the drop, the Magpie began a handball chain that led to a Brody Mihocek goal, pushing the lead out to 64-27.
It was a moment that proved crucial as the Magpies would only hold on in the end, winning 77-72 as the Hawks came back hard.
Weddle admits he received some harsh feedback from Sam Mitchell and his coaching group when reviewing the incident.
He admitted that in the moment he was both a bit scared and thinking about what he was going to do with the footy before he possessed it, describing the moment as a learning experience.
“I would probably say both (thinking about what I was going to do with it and worried about contact),” Weddle said on SEN’s Sportsday.
“It was just that, in that moment, I probably just got a little bit scared.
“I had a little look and saw Quaynor and obviously now I’ve changed how I go about it, but it was definitely a big learning moment for me.
“I actually felt a little bit embarrassed when I sort of got scared of the moment.”
Weddle clearly took the feedback on board, because the next week against Gold Coast, he took multiple strong contested marks without regard for his own safety.
He says he made a promise to himself that he won’t shirk that kind of contest again.
“After that, we obviously reviewed it with the coaches,” Weddle said.
“It was a little bit of harsh feedback, but it’s always good to get that sort of stuff.
“Then the next week, in the first few minutes of the game I went back and said, ‘That’s not going to happen again’.
“Every moment I get like that again, I’m just going to go for it because I didn’t obviously want that feedback again.
“It’s a part of my game that I can do really well, so I’m just going back myself in every time.”
Weddle says the key to not fearing that kind of situation is having full commitment and compared going for those marks to driving a car.
“Just not even thinking about it really,” Weddle said on his approach.
“If I’ve got my eyes on the footy and I know that I can get there, I’ll just go.
“There’s a little bit of a reference that when you’re pulling out in the street and you’re trying to go right and you’re not hesitant to go right, you just need to step on the accelerator and not sort of half go at it.
“It’s just fully go and commit to going right. You’ve got to go and not half go, because then you’ll get hit by another car.
“That’s how I look at it.”
The 20-year-old is enjoying an impressive campaign off half-back as he averages 14 disposals and four marks a game.
Weddle and the Hawks – who have won four of their last five games – next face the Giants at UTAS Stadium on Saturday afternoon.