As a child, Robbie Gray dreamt of kicking a winning goal after the siren but Port Adelaide’s match winner was not sure how he would react until he was in that situation against Carlton yesterday.
Gray marked a precision pass by club debutant Sam Mayes with less than 30 seconds to play and then went back on a tight angle to set up for a last roll of the dice set shot to win the game.
Despite the majority Blues-backing crowd booing him, the numerous Carlton players on the mark and the immense pressure of having the result on his boot, Gray says he remained calm and confident that he would kick the goal.
“We missed a few opportunities at the end so we’re probably lucky that one went through at the end and we got the four points,” Gray admitted on Adelaide radio station FIVEaa.
“I was really confident even though I’d missed one a minute or two earlier, a much easier shot.
“You never know how you’re going to feel in that situation but I was able to stay confident and just focus on routine and connection with the ball and luckily it went through.
“I think every kid dreams of that sort of situation but you’re never sure how you’re going to feel or react but I was able to stay nice and calm and just focus, and made really good contact with the ball.”
It was an emotional reaction from the usually placid Gray, who turned to the crowd to celebrate before being mobbed by teammates on the boundary fence.
“I’m not really sure what it was because I just turned around to celebrate and I might have spotted a few Port fans up the top and everyone was just sort of in there, it was a bit of a blur,” he explained.
“I was just in the moment… and was pretty pumped.”
After a game full of momentum swings, Port Adelaide trailed late by less than a goal but Gray, Todd Marshall and Charlie Dixon each missed gettable goals.
Marshall’s in particular, when Gray hand passed to him running into what appeared an open goal, made Gray feel like Port might not get the win.
“I thought Toddy was going to run into an open goal. I probably could have kicked it myself,” Gray said.
“We shot ourselves in the foot a bit there, we missed a few easy ones and luckily we got the result.”
It’s the second week in a row that Port has been challenged and appeared gone late.
Coach Ken Hinkley praised his side for its resilience in facing a number of challenges, including early flights into Queensland on match day, 25-degree heat and being two men down because of injury.
Gray echoed his sentiments, saying in years gone by the side may have lost a game like Sunday’s.
“We’re trying to play a really consistent brand of footy. We’ve probably had a few ups and downs in being inconsistent over the years so I think this year we’re a lot more even across the board and able to get some really strong performances for everyone,” he explained.
“We’ve attacked the year and embraced it really well - it’s obviously a different year for everyone – but we’ve attacked it really well.
“The boys are just really enjoying their footy, we’ve got some really good talent coming through and it’s been a lot of fun.”
