Worsfold salutes finals-bound AFL Bombers
Aug 27, 2017 - 11:45 AM Heath Hocking was never supposed to play against Fremantle, but John Worsfold was delighted he did.Hocking got a late tap on the shoulder just two minutes before the bounce on Sunday after Cale Hooker felt a tightness in his calf.
The club veteran was in, and in the end, he was crucial to their 15-point win.
Hocking kicked two goals including a fourth-quarter effort to snap a run of five straight majors by the fast-finishing Dockers.
More than his effort on the day, Worsfold said the 29-year-old represented the winding journey travelled by the Bombers.
He has played just seven matches in three years - partially owing to his doping ban last year - and might not have played another one given the rise of junior players at the club.
But he took his moment and ensured the Bombers returned to the finals.
"For all those guys that returned to the Essendon Football Club, it was epitomised by Heath Hocking," he said.
"He was a late inclusion into the team but he was the first one to recommit to the club.
"I was disappointed to lose Hooker but I was rapt to see Buddha (Hocking) run out and help the team make the finals because he was a big part of the club getting back to where we are."
Hocking is unlikely to keep his place when the Bombers play their elimination final, against Sydney late on Saturday afternoon, September 9 at the SCG.
Hooker will be assessed after the fresh injury, while Orazio Fantasia "will be close" to returning and Michael Hurley is "expected" to be right.
The Swans are among the premiership favourites but Worsfold said the match wouldn't be a lay-down misere.
"We're going OK I reckon," Worsfold said.
"We've played Sydney on the road in what was a nail-biting great game of footy.
"We're confident in our best footy and with a couple of inclusions coming in we're going to have a really well prepared team."
Essendon threw it away on their last trip to the SCG in round 14, shipping late goals to lose by a point.
Worsfold said he didn't need that match to be confident he could match it with the Swans.
"The season fills me with confidence," he said.
"We'll go up there ... excited about knowing that when we hit our best footy, patches of our best are unstoppable."
Source: AAP
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