Bulldogs' Moles loving life in the blur - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Bulldogs' Moles loving life in the blur

By Adam Cooper 31/07/2010 08:31:47 AM Comments (0)

Western Bulldogs midfielder Brodie Moles has done some re-adjusting goals of late.

A year ago it was finding a landscaping job, but now it's working towards winning the Bulldogs an AFL premiership.

Moles, 24, has come a long way since he was cut from Geelong's rookie list after not getting close to cracking a senior debut in two years.

But the AFL's introduction of mature-age rookies gave him one last chance and although there was little interest initially, the Bulldogs finally came calling.

From there he played in the Dogs' successful pre-season campaign, earned a promotion to the senior list when teammate Christian Howard was injured and made his senior debut in round two.

Three months on Moles still feels slightly giddy, but he impressed in last Sunday's win over Fremantle with a couple of eye-catching goals, and wants to further cement his spot on Sunday against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.

"It has been a bit of a blur," he said.

"The season has gone so quick and it's round 18 already and I've played eight games and there's finals coming up and its going to be a massive finals series.

"That first game will stick in my mind forever.

"Playing alongside guys like Brad Johnson, who's played over 350 games, and Barry Hall, Adam Cooney, a Brownlow medallist, and Ryan Griffen - that's going to stick in my mind.

"I want to keep playing and holding my spot and play finals and that one big goal is to win a premiership now."

This season has been notable for the fairytale runs enjoyed by older rookies Michael Barlow, who was starring for Fremantle before he broke his leg in round 14, and Geelong's James Podsiadly, who has booted 37 goals in his debut season as a 28-year-old.

Like them, Moles did a lengthy stint in the VFL before getting his chance.

Moles will be forever thankful the AFL introduced the rookie rule and the Bulldogs gave him a chance, as many players did not mature physically and emotionally until their early 20s.

He admitted that at 18, he was simply not good enough to be drafted.

"It's great they brought that rule in to give guys like myself, Pods and Barlow the opportunity to play AFL and live the dream," Moles said.

"If it wasn't for that I'd just be playing local footy.

"It's good for guys out there around my age bracket who can have the dream of playing in the AFL no matter how old you are really."

The Bulldogs must beat North to retain their spot in the top four, whereas the Kangaroos must win to keep alive their hopes of reaching the finals.

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