The Hawks have been belted by the injury stick over recent weeks, but it was a relief to see a few guns back on deck for the Round 18 clash with North Albury last Saturday………..
I noted the names of a pair of D. Wilsons among the inclusions……..One of them, Darcy, currently has recruiters around the land closely monitoring his every movement. He’s rated a ‘Top 20’ prospect by those in the know…..
There’s a possibility that this could be the final appearance the blissfully-talented youngster makes at the Findlay Oval. It’s a patch of dirt dear to his heart…. on which his parents and three uncles all forged their considerable reputations…..and both sets of his grandparents urged them on……
The other Wilson – Dylan – has become an integral part of the Rovers line-up since being lured home in 2021. He’s been granted a licence to roam the forward line and apply relentless pressure, which he has done to a tee…..Diminutive though he is, he’s a veritable tackling-machine, and the ultimate team player…….
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Some in the Hawk camp were apprehensive about their chances against North. Earlier in the season the Hoppers – thanks to a Tim Broomhead-led offensive – dismantled them at Bunton Park. But their fears were allayed today when a few early goals handed the home team the ascendency – which they maintained.
Those on the Maroney Pavilion balcony were salivating about ‘Dancing Darcy’ Wilson, who set up two early majors and booted one himself. His performance alone, they consented, was worth the admittance-price.
But as the game wore on Dylan Wilson continually came under notice. Many fans considered him to be right in the mix for best-afield honours at three-quarter time, but his hat-trick of goals in the final term put an exclamation-mark on a brilliant performance. He lifted a game that had begun to sink into mediocrity………..
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In a match against Lavington earlier this year he laid 14 tackles. Every time he went near the action you sensed that he was going to make something happen…..As a by-product of his terrier-like approach, it’s little wonder that he’s battled to shrug off a few niggling injuries throughout the season…..
He fulfils a dream in Sunday’s Elimination Final by becoming the 87th member of the Wangaratta Rovers ‘100-Game Club’.
It has been a long, winding footy journey, which has transported him from one side of the continent to the other……….
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He began with the Rovers Thirds as a bottom-ager in 2012, before spending a season with the Murray Bushrangers. On one of his rare weekends off from the VSFL he was handed a senior debut by the Rovers, and showed enough, against a rampant Yarrawonga, to indicate that he was a player of the future.
So began the roller-coaster ride that typified the Hawks over the next five years……
At times they’d be within striking distance of the power-teams. A point in case came in 2014, when they stormed over the top of Corowa-Rutherglen to win the Elimination Final by 13 points.
Wilson’s strong performance off the wing and half-back in that game earned him an O & M Rising Star nomination. But the following week they were evicted from the finals by a far-superior Lavington outfit.
In 2015 they’d won just three games and were coming off an 84-point pasting from Lavington when they faced red-hot premiership favourites Albury in the final round of a humiliating season……
A 16-point win shocked the football world.
Again, two seasons later, they managed to win just three games, finishing near the tail of the field. But a sizzling 82-point win over the Roos was one of the highlights, with ‘Wizard Wilson’ nailing six. It could have been a double-figure haul, only for his inaccuracy…..
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Dylan headed west in 2018, to the mining town of Karratha, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia……
“A good mate from the Rovers, Matty Smith, was working over there, and urged me to join him,” he says.
“I worked as a ‘sparky’ for a firm called MPM Group, doing installations for Rio Tinto and Woodside in their Iron-Ore projects……It was a brilliant experience. One of the side-benefits was that I fell in love with fishing…..”
“It was unbelievable…..I’d never been a mad-fisherman, but I certainly turned into one……Diving, Spearfishing…..the lot….”
He was recruited by the Karatha Kats, in the Northern Pilbara Football League, and, to climax an outstanding individual season, booted five goals in their 2018 premiership win over Wickham.
Wickham reversed the result in the 2019 Grand Final when they hung on to clinch a one-point victory.
“It gets pretty hot over there, and it’s reasonably handy footy …quick, but not as skilful as the O & M…. probably a similar style to the Northern Territory League…..all one-way traffic……” he recalls.
Celebrations after Karratha’s 2018 flag.
Dylan Wilson makes his debut at Hastings.
Pictured alongside his dad, Gary.
On his return to Victoria Dylan elected to line up with Hastings, a famous old Mornington Peninsula League club which had been home to his dad…..Gary had been captain, and a 1992 premiership player during his stellar career, and was a Hastings Hall of Famer.
“I thought I’d give it a crack, and wear his old number 3 guernsey….It know it gave him a bit of a kick to see that….”
In his first appearance with the Blues the young fellah was awarded the Anzac Day Medal as best afield against Crib Point:
“We lacked a bit of experience, but it was a club with a good culture….Most of dad’s family’s still there, so there were always plenty of ‘rellies’ following my progress. It turned out to be an enjoyable season……”
A phone call from ace recruiter and coach, Daryn Cresswell, got Dylan thinking about returning home to play in 2021.
He had just started his own business – Torque Electrical – which was servicing the northern suburbs of Melbourne, but always had it in the back of his mind to end up back with the Rovers.
The travel doesn’t present him with too many difficulties, he says…..Nor does it affect his business, which is growing all the time…….He and Hawk spearhead Alex Marklew ‘shack up’ together.
“I look forward to it…….The only shit thing is getting out of the city. I’ve become used to negotiating the rest of the trip…..Sam (Murray) takes us for training at Victoria Park each Tuesday and Thursday night. There’s always a fair crew, including the fellahs who drive up from Geelong……”
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The left-of-centre living and working arrangements certainly haven’t affected Dylan’s footy. Seasoned onlookers claim that he’s a far better-equipped player in his second-coming with the Hawks.
“Ever since I got my name on that locker it’s been my aim to play 100 games…..So here it is, at last….” says the nuggety number 3………
This story appeared first on KB Hill’s website On Reflection and is used here with permission.
All photos sourced from KB Hill’s resources unless otherwise acknowledged.
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