Crows midfielder Myles Poholke ran out on Noarlunga Oval with one clear objective: to show he’s good enough to play at AFL level.
After playing his first game in the seniors this year against North Melbourne, Poholke was disappointed to be dropped to the SANFL ahead of Round Five.
But while most would dwell, Poholke chose instead to dominate the first half of the Crows’ SANFL clash with South Adelaide.
Poholke had 15 touches and three goals in the first quarter alone as the Crows kicked six goals to none.
He added a fourth in the second quarter to help give the Crows a 43-point lead at half-time.
The game ultimately finished a draw following a fight-back from the Panthers, but Poholke was proud of his response to missing AFL selection.
“I just wanted to bounce back and show that I am good enough to play at the level,” Poholke said.
“I only found out a couple of days ago, so if I had of dwelled on it too much, I probably would have found myself out of the game.
“It was a really quick turnaround for me to shift my mind to the SANFL game, so I am pretty pleased.”
State League coach Heath Younie said Poholke’s performance was “one of the best halves of SANFL footy he had seen.”
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Despite his coach’s praise, Poholke said he was just a by-product of how the team played.
“We worked really well as a team in that first half, we made the ground really big and there was a lot of space for us to work into,” he said.
“We got the ball going our way and our forwards are really good one-on-one.
“I was able to work through the middle, get some handball receives and get on the end of a few goals, which was nice.”
Now, Poholke is just hoping to consistently perform and make it hard for the selection committee.
“We’ve got a lot of talent up there in the top end, so I’ve just got to continually learn off them and just keep putting numbers on the board,” he said.
“I’ll keep putting my hand up, keep stringing performances together and keep causing headaches for the selection committee going forward.”
Poholke finished the game with four goals, 30 disposals and five centre clearances.
The SANFL Crows will take on Central Districts at Elizabeth Oval this Saturday at 1.10pm.
