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neafl article
By John Forrester
Just another
milestone
By Tamarah Knox
Currie ends
season with 150
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Running out on to
Ainslie Oval will be
both momentous and
strange for Daniel
McFarlane this
Saturday.
One of Ainslie’s most
experienced players will
be celebrating his 100th
appearance for the club in
their last regular league game
for the season.
The match also sees
McFarlane come up against
his employer, as his current
job is as a performance
analyst for the Sydney Swans.
“I’m sure there will be a little
bit of banter out on the field,”
McFarlane said.
“I’ve got great respect
for the Swans
as a club and also
for the players. I’m
sure we’ll have a
good laugh about it
later on but there
are four points up
for grabs and an
opportunity to set
a standard leading
into the finals.”
Despite the big occasion
personally for McFarlane, he
has had to put it to the back of
his mind to benefit the team.
With finals just around the
corner, it’s important that the
team goes into the business
end of the season with
momentum on their side.
“The premiership is
your ultimate goal
as a team,” McFarlane
said. “It’s still
exciting to knock up
100 for a club that
I’m very passionate
about, but the most
important thing is
obviously the finals
coming up.”
McFarlane was born and
raised in Australian football’s
heartland down in Melbourne
and was introduced to the
game by his father.
The thirty-year-old has been
with Ainslie since 2004 and
his blood definitely runs red,
black and white.
“Ainslie is a very special
place for me. It’s a fantastic
club and I’ve never had
any thoughts about going
anywhere else.”
“They’ve always looked
after the players, me and my
family. Any players that have
come from out of town, the
way that the club goes out of
it’s way to help those guys, it’s
pretty special.
The club will be hoping to
celebrate McFarlane’s 100th
game with a win over one of
their fiercest rivals, but will
have to be at their very best if
they’re to challenge.
Ainslie have secured their
position in the top two and
Saturday’s match is a great
chance to test the team’s
metal against the front
runners.
If Ainslie are to successfully
defend last year’s premiership,
chances are they will
have to get past Sydney to
do it.
Even though they
have missed the
finals, this weekend
will see the Hawks
end their season on
a celebratory note,
as Glenn Currie
runs out for his
150th game.
Currie may have missed games
earlier in the season due
to being overseas but once
he returned he became an
important member of the team
and has been a solid performer
all season. The Hawks have
put in some impressive
performances this season
building nicely on the progress
they made last year.
“Cuz [Currie] had an interrupted
start to the season. He played
in our first match which was
against the GIANTS and was
then away for about a month
overseas.
“This year his
position in the side
has chopped and
changed around
a bit. He did play a
sweeping role down
back for us but has
seen more time in
the forward line as
a crumbing forward
and on the wing,”
Gorman said.
Currie has been playing with
the Tuggeranong Hawks for
a while now and with such a
young team, he plays a key
role within the team off the
field as well as on. Guiding the
younger members of the team
is key to future success and
Currie provides a steadying
influence on the young squad
as they build a
strong foundation
for the future.
“With plenty
of young
blokes in our
side he plays
an important
leadership
role with the
younger players
looking up
to him,” Gorman
said.
Currie is sure to provide
great senior leadership in
next seasons pre-season
campaign as the Hawks
look to build a more
competitive 2012 side.
But this week the Hawks are
focussed on Queanbeyan and
giving Currie a memorable
150th game. “150 games
is a great achievement and
he deserves every bit of it,”
acknowledged Gorman.
Tuggeranong will play
Queanbeyan at Dairy Farmers
Park on Saturday 27th August
at 2pm.
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