FOR most teenagers playing in a senior Australian rules competition, kicking 12 goals in a match against a local rival would rate as a season highlight.
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But 16-year-old Aiden Macauley, who did just that for the Bathurst Giants last Saturday, is thinking of a bigger highlight for his 2018 Central West AFL campaign. He is hoping to be part of the club’s first senior finals tilt.
Macauley’s impressive haul helped the Giants to a 95-point win over the Bushrangers Outlaws and sees them sitting in outright second on the ladder with five rounds remaining.
It is a spot he hopes his side can retain.
“It’s been a good season so far, the best season we’ve been a part of easily. The first season was a building year and we’ve improved heaps from that, we’re outright second and now looking towards finals,” Macauley, who made his senior debut last season, said.
“The main thinking now is trying to lock up that top two. We have a lot of away games now, we played our last home game last weekend, but we have to make sure we keep locking away the wins to make sure we get that top two spot and a second chance in finals.”
If the Giants – who trail frontrunners Orange by eight points and sit four clear of the Bushrangers Rebels - are to qualify for the major semi-final, the form of Macauley will be important.
Though by no means the tallest or most physically imposing forward in the competition, that he has booted 37 majors thus far is evidence of the impact he is having inside 50.
Still, Macauley says it is his team-mates who can take a lot of the credit for his success. He feels they make his job easier.
“Everything just sort of clicked for the team and I played off the back of that,” he said of last week’s performance.
“I prefer on the run snaps, but a few of those goals were set shots. Most were from easy positions, because my team just puts it into good spots for me it makes it a lot easier.
“Either they are hitting me up right on the chest, really good delivery, or they’re just bombing it in to our taller guys who are palming it off for me, so it makes it really easy.”
This Saturday the Giants will travel to Dubbo to face a Demons side sitting in fifth and still fighting for a finals spot.
While the Giants beat Dubbo 18-17-125 to 8-6-54 earlier this season, Macauley is expecting them to be tougher to beat on their home soil.
“They still have a lot to play for, they are in a pretty tight race with Outlaws, and they are also pretty strong at home so it should be a good game,” he said.
“They are a bigger team and more physical, but we’ve got a lot of young kids, so hopefully we can use our run and spread and beat them that way. We’ve just got to stand up to their physical footy and hopefully be physical back and run them off their legs.”
The game starts at 2.30pm.
