Man of the moment Craig Bird was simply “in the right spot and the right time” to help the Swans’ thrilling NAB Challenge win against GWS in Canberra.
Bird was front and centre to a desperate pack of players who tried to bring down Isaac Heeney’s penetrating kick into the Swans’ forward line during the dying moments of yesterday’s match.
The ball hit the deck and was gathered by a quick-thinking Dean Towers who palmed the hot footy to Bird in full-flight.
The on-baller, who racked up 17 disposals at StarTrack Oval, had only a split second to curl the ball through the big sticks with the siren sounding as the ball was in mid-flight.
“I just grabbed it and threw it on the boot, it was lucky it went through,” Bird said. “It was great to get one at the end there.”
If anyone wanted a gauge on how much the win meant to the Swans, they only needed to witness the post-siren celebrations after the umpire signalled the match-winning goal.
“There was plenty of carry on there for a NAB Challenge game,” Bird laughed. “The boys are pretty pumped to get the win and create a bit of atmosphere.
“It was a bit over the top but we’ll take the win.”
The see-sawing 0.11.7 (73) to 0.9.13 (67) affair proved a fierce contest with the 7,222 spectators in attendance treated to an entertaining afternoon.
Bird described the tough hit out as ideal preparation less than two weeks out from round one of the home and away season.
“Credit to GWS, they brought a lot of pressure and ran really hard,” Bird said.
“We always like to win and create that winning culture early. They put a good team out there so we were happy to get on top of them.”
Luke Parker finished with a game-high 29 disposals while Heeney continued his superb pre-season with 12 touches and two goals.
