Credit: <\/span>AFL Photos<\/cite><\/p>\nUndaunted by his more experienced and accomplished teammate, DeMattia played the role more befitting a seasoned pro than a 16-year-old in only his second game of first grade, calming down Pucovski, who was returning from a shoulder reconstruction and another head knock.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a bit on edge and agitated,\u201d DeMattia said. \u201cI told him to just breathe and focus on the next ball and stay in the present. Between balls and after overs we\u2019d talk about cricket and completely different stuff other than cricket to try and get his mind off it and have a laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he was very happy and grateful I did that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyone familiar with the work of cricket satirists The Grade Cricketer or the supposed pecking order in a cricket dressing room would appreciate how DeMattia\u2019s actions had the potential to upset the status quo. In this world, baggy green No.460 is the alpha male, and a kid with DeMattia\u2019s lack of experience a part of the pack.<\/p>\n
What this anecdote does reveal about him is an emotional intellect beyond his precious years to recognise a teammate\u2019s vulnerability, the confidence to speak up and address it, and the empathy to deliver in a manner receptive to a senior peer.<\/p>\n
They are traits that will hold DeMattia in good stead in this year\u2019s draft, so too the lessons he learned being part of a high-performance program in another code.<\/p>\n
If DeMattia\u2019s selection in junior state teams and national pathways squads does not convince you of his ability, consider that he outscored Pucovski \u2013 48 not out off 61 balls to 40 off 68.<\/p>\n
Cricket Australia thought highly enough of him to give him the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of being the 13th man for last year\u2019s Boxing Day Test against South Africa. <\/p>\n
His duties included running drinks and shoes out to the team, delivering bats to Marnus Labuschagne, and donning a mitt to take warm-up balls for Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. He was David Warner\u2019s partner for a game of spikeball against Steve Smith and Labuschagne, and came oh so close to taking the field for Cameron Green, who had left the field for a bathroom break in between overs. Not wanting to disappoint, he even signed autographs for kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember when I was in their position back in the day, I wouldn\u2019t care who was signing them,\u201d DeMattia said. \u201cIf it\u2019s someone out there walking around with drinks I\u2019d love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
His take home message from watching Steve Smith and Labuschagne bat for six hours on Christmas Day was that \u201cperfect practice makes perfect\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty special,\u201d DeMattia said of his short stint with the Test team. \u201cThey embraced me and accepted me and made me feel part of it, which was great.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was always a dream to put on the baggy green for Australia, and that\u2019s probably as close as you can get to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
If his football career goes according to plan, it will be.<\/p>\n
Cricket and footy had happily co-existed for DeMattia, his allegiances switching depending on seasons, but that changed during the COVID-19 years of 2020-21.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe missed those two footy seasons, that\u2019s when I realised I wanted to be an AFL footballer,\u201d DeMattia said.<\/p>\n
Appointed captain for Dandenong Stingrays in the NAB League, DeMattia\u2019s on-field leadership has caught the eye of recruiters. Blessed with pace, the left-footer can play defence, midfield and forward.<\/p>\n
He has Carlton in his blood. His maternal grandfather, John Defteros, played in the seconds for the Blues during Serge Silvagni\u2019s days. His paternal grandfather grew up in Carlton. He was in the stands for the semi-final win over Melbourne. He would love to become a Blue but would be happy just to be drafted.<\/p>\n
And if he doesn\u2019t?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always got cricket to fall back to,\u201d De Mattia said.<\/p>\n
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMost Viewed in Sport<\/h2>\nFrom our partners<\/h3>\n
Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Most teenagers opening<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\u2018He was on edge and agitated\u2019: The batting advice draft hopeful gave Test opener Will Pucovksi - stopsmokingway<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018He was on edge and agitated\u2019: The batting advice draft hopeful gave Test opener Will Pucovksi - stopsmokingway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Most teenagers opening\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"stopsmokingway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-15T05:09:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_0.18%2C$multiply_0.7725%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_0\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/43aeff78bcf352fdcb324791b461014f90ebfa86\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/\",\"name\":\"\u2018He was on edge and agitated\u2019: The batting advice draft hopeful gave Test opener Will Pucovksi - stopsmokingway\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-15T05:09:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-15T05:09:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ade595e9f5f4361f49486c04d945990c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rugby\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/category\/rugby\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"\u2018He was on edge and agitated\u2019: The batting advice draft hopeful gave Test opener Will Pucovksi\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/\",\"name\":\"stopsmokingway\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ade595e9f5f4361f49486c04d945990c\",\"name\":\"mediabest\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e481fb710ce2ebd8f399dc1ec249eb9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e481fb710ce2ebd8f399dc1ec249eb9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"mediabest\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018He was on edge and agitated\u2019: The batting advice draft hopeful gave Test opener Will Pucovksi - stopsmokingway","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018He was on edge and agitated\u2019: The batting advice draft hopeful gave Test opener Will Pucovksi - stopsmokingway","og_description":"Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Most teenagers opening","og_url":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/","og_site_name":"stopsmokingway","article_published_time":"2023-11-15T05:09:03+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_0.18%2C$multiply_0.7725%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_0\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/43aeff78bcf352fdcb324791b461014f90ebfa86"}],"author":"mediabest","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"mediabest","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/","url":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/","name":"\u2018He was on edge and agitated\u2019: The batting advice draft hopeful gave Test opener Will Pucovksi - stopsmokingway","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-11-15T05:09:03+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-15T05:09:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ade595e9f5f4361f49486c04d945990c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/rugby\/he-was-on-edge-and-agitated-the-batting-advice-draft-hopeful-gave-test-opener-will-pucovksi\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rugby","item":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/category\/rugby\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"\u2018He was on edge and agitated\u2019: The batting advice draft hopeful gave Test opener Will Pucovksi"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/","name":"stopsmokingway","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ade595e9f5f4361f49486c04d945990c","name":"mediabest","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e481fb710ce2ebd8f399dc1ec249eb9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e481fb710ce2ebd8f399dc1ec249eb9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"mediabest"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96098"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96098"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96099,"href":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96098\/revisions\/96099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}