JACK Gunston took it upon himself to step up as he entered the 2013 finals series.

 

In three superb games, the 21-year-old forward arrived as a player.

 

He kicked 11 goals in three finals and was runner-up in the Norm Smith Medal after a brilliant four-goal performance in the Grand Final.

 

How his stellar finals series came about remained a mystery to Gunston, but he was polite enough to throw forward some possibilities.

 

"I don't know," Gunston said after the 15-point Grand Final victory against Fremantle. 

"Just being in the right place at the right time, leading at the right times. Bud's [Lance Franklin] played a lot higher in the last two games. Roughy [Jarryd Roughead] has gone in the ruck and the midfield.

 

"I took it upon myself [that] I needed to step up a little bit and kick those goals and create chances."

 

Gunston was the Grand Final's first goalkicker and finished with four of the game's 19 goals.

 

He kicked straight when every other player was as wobbly in front of goals as a lunchtime drinker at sunset. 

 

Contrary to how he seemed on the day, he was nervous when lining up.

 

A self-confessed stress head, he was able to manage doubt in front of 100,000 people.

 

Hawthorn kicking coach David Rath said Gunston had a routine that kept the mind busy. That routine allowed his skill to shine.

 

"He's got a really pure action," Rath said. "[He] hits the ball really front and square and gets really nice spin on the footy, which you can trust."

 

Gunston was instrumental in ensuring his coach was able to deliver a line after the game – with a monotone unusual for a winning coach that revealed both his relief and exhaustion – that summed up the flow of the game.

 

"[We] kicked some important goals at some really important moments that just kept them at bay," Clarkson said.

 

None were more important than the one Gunston kicked at the 26-minute mark of the third quarter when the Dockers drew within three points. 

 

Hawthorn won the centre clearance and Brad Hill launched the ball into the goalsquare where Gunston was one-on-one against Paul Duffield.  

 

"I just read the flight of the ball and nudged my opponent under it. I dived to make sure it did not bounce through for a point," Gunston said. "Just to sneak it in was good and it was good to break up their momentum."

 

The Dockers never got within a kick again.

 

The clean hands and skill was something he had always displayed. He never had a football out of his hand while growing up in Bayside suburbs of Melbourne.

 

Those skills stood him in good stead said his father Ray, the Essendon CEO, who was keeping a very low profile in the Hawks rooms.

 

"I'm extremely proud. On that stage, to perform like he did, is a real credit to him," Ray said.

 

He admitted to feeling sick before the game and rapt after it as family photos were being taken one after another.

 

Despite his position at another club, Ray said he felt welcome in the Hawk rooms.

 

"It is a little unusual, but the guys down here are fantastic – they let me come along and enjoy it. Not through the year, but just in the finals. Hawthorn is a fantastic club, and we need to learn a little bit off them."

 

His son Jack had stood up, as he hoped he would. He finishes his premiership season with 46 goals.

 

But he did it with only one goal in mind: to help his team and do his bit in a forward line with talent overflowing.

 

He had helped Clarkson realise his plan to spread the goalkicking load.

 

At season's end Roughead had kicked 72 goals, Franklin 60, Gunston 46 and Luke Breust 40.

 

"Everyone is dangerous in their own right and we saw that throughout the finals series," Gunston said.