Former Wagga boy Elliott Himmelberg made quite an impression in his AFL debut, with Adelaide Crows coach Don Pyke declaring he didn’t look at all out of place.
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The former Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes junior kicked a goal on debut as the Crows hammered Carlton by 104 points in their last game of the season on Saturday night.
“I was really excited leading up then as soon as I got to the ground and stuff, nerves started kicking in but that’s all part of it,” Himmelberg said after the game.
Among his 13 touches, Himmelberg kicked a goal and a behind.
“I was bit nervy after I missed one and then the second happened probably better because I didn’t have to think about it too much… I was going to give the hands to Tommy (Lynch) but someone was right behind him so i just had to kick it really.”
Himmelberg said the big difference in stepping up was the ball use is cleaner and the intensity was obviously higher but also remained high throughout even a one-sided affair.
Crows coach Don Pyke had high praise.
“It’s good to expose a young player to the game so he gets a feel for it. He performed really well,” Pyke said.
“He didn’t look out of place at all. So it’s good for him to get a taste.”
Elliott, 20, is the younger brother of Greater Western Sydney Giants’ Harry Himmelberg.
The Crows first-gamer said the season hasn’t panned out the way the club expected, missing finals, but the focus had been to finish off with a strong win in Melbourne.