Saints welcome AFL star

IT was a massive day for Nyora, having an AFL Brownlow medallist pull on the Saints jersey against Lang Lang.

“It’s not often you get the opportunity to play alongside and coach a superstar like Dane Swan,” Nyora coach Dylan Heylen said.

“We didn’t get the results we were after on the day, but it was an awesome day for the club.”

Better known for his prowess in the midfield, Swan had an impact around the big sticks, booting four of his side’s nine goals.

Swan predominantly played across the halfback line in the first half, a role he is more accustomed to these days and requested.

However, he encouraged Heylen to throw him forward in the second half, a move that clearly paid dividends.

Travis Stewart was the other multiple goalscorer for the Saints, managing a couple of majors.

Jack Rosenow and Max Mattock were a couple of standout performers for the beaten side.

“They were both really good and they’ve been awesome the last couple of weeks,” Heylen said.

Mattock played through the midfield, with Rosenow predominantly on a wing but also spending some time in the middle.

Nyora hung in the contest until quarter time, albeit trailing by 22 points at that stage.

However, Lang Lang piled on the goals in the second quarter.

Nyora, to its credit, fought back in the second half, matching Lang Lang’s eight goals after the long break, driven by an improved midfield performance.

That showed the Saints’ gritty determination after they had managed just a solitary major in the first half.

Heylen saw encouraging patches during the match.

“With good patches of footy played here and there, I’m looking forward to seeing a full four quarter effort by the boys,” he said.

Jackson and Bradley Ventura were a couple of the players who led the way for the victorious Tigers, with Daniel Lewis proving unstoppable up forward with nine goals.

“He’s got a real leap on him and a great set of hands,” Heylen said of Lewis.

The coach backed youngster Gus McGillivray to play on the dangerous spearhead.

“He wore him like a glove,” Heylen said, noting his defender couldn’t have done any more.

The coach explained Nyora’s second half improvement in the midfield gave Lewis less easy access to the footy than he had in the first half.

The bye will give the Saints a chance to refresh and be ready for the next phase of the season.