Reflecting on his Sydney Swans debut against the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday night, Matt Spangher was full of praise for the 21 other players he took the field with for making him feel at ease in his new surrounds.
After being delisted by West Coast at the end of last season, the 24 year old was eager to repay the faith the Swans had shown in selecting him with their last pick of the 2010 AFL Draft - and he made an immediate impact with a blistering first quarter on his Club debut.
“The boys were great, they had my back the whole game, and everyone was up so it’s a great feeling at the moment,” Spangher told sydneyswans.com.au after Saturday night’s game.
“I had a really good feeling coming into the game and the boys were backing me up and just telling me to keep it simple and play the same as last week in the ressies - that’s the sort of the mindset I started with.”
Spangher managed three goals in his 26-game career at the West Coast Eagles, but didn’t waste any time getting on the scoreboard with the Swans. After missing a set-shot following a fine mark early in the first quarter, minutes late Spangher found himself open in the goal square with co-captain Adam Goodes bursting through the forward 50.
Goodes honoured his new teammate with a handball over the top, and Spangher - in his new role as a forward - obliged with his first Swans goal.
“I definitely owe him one for that,” Spangher said of Goodes’ assist.
“All the coaches wanted from me was to keep it simple, do the basics, and give Reidy and Goodesy a chop-out because they’ve been under pressure from their talls the last few weeks. It was great to be out there and to have a win on debut for the Club is an amazing feeling.”
Going into the game on the back of three consecutive losses, Spangher said the players emphasised the importance of getting a win on the board against the Gold Coast, especially given West Coast and Hawthorn - the two teams immediately above the Swans on the ladder - had already secured their four points earlier in the round.
“These are must win games, especially off the back of three losses,” he said.
“We spoke about West Coast’s pressure in the meeting (before the game), just saying that they set a really good benchmark for forward pressure.
“For me personally watching them play like that, it made me a little bit more inspired - that’s my old Club, and I wanted to show the new boys that I had something to offer.
“Now that we’ve got the win, we’re hot on their heels again which is great.”