Troy Menzel’s stunning swoop, gather and match-winning running goal on the trusty left brought glorious reality to the dream shared by any young player.

Had the former Central Districts and 12-game Carlton forward ever before booted the matchwinner?

“No, not that I can recall,” came the reply. “It’s probably the best feeling I’ve had after kicking a goal. I just tried to aim for the left goalpost and knew that my natural swing would bring it back. And I knew, pretty much after it left the boot that it was home.”

In this his second season of senior football, Menzel is first to admit that the experience is truly invaluable in terms of his development.

“It’s what you train for and to play in games like that is just unreal. You gain so much experience from it,” he said in the winner’s circle afterwards.

“That was one of the best wins I’ve ever had I reckon. It’s still a bit of a blur really.”

“We looked dead and buried at the 20 minute mark. That was an amazing win. We kept grinding and grinding, we got some run, a few quick goals, a couple of lucky ones and they looked gone.”