What a whirlwind 72 hours it was for Carlton’s Ollie Hollands and Lachie Cowan – to put their signatures to two-year contract extensions, earn senior selection for the first time in the season opener with Richmond and ply their crafts before more than 88,000 in what was ultimately a tied contest on the MCG.
In the immediate aftermath of the gripping affair, Hollands - a fine contributor in his first appearance in dark navy – cast his mind back to the moment he heard the final siren sound with scores deadlocked on 8.10 (58).
“I was at the top of the 50 and the siren went – to be honest I was just in shock,” Hollands conceded.
“I didn’t know how to feel. There was a lot of mixed emotions to be honest. It (a draw) was definitely something that you don‘t think about coming into the game. It’s definitely an unusual outcome that’s for sure. It’s a strange feeling, something I’ve never been a part of before.”
It’s somewhat surprising that as many as 31 men before Hollands, Cowan and Blake Acres have featured in drawn AFL contests on debut for Carlton – from as far back as Bill Churchyard, who was there for the drawn contest with Melbourne in the ninth round of 1898, through to Callum Chambers and Troy Longmuir, who wore dark navy for the first time when the Blues drew with Port Adelaide in a shootout at Football Park in Round 4, 2005.
Hayley Trevean (Round 7, 2017), Lily Goss and Imogen Milford (Round 3, AFLW season seven) also made their debuts in draws for the Game Changers.
Despite the frenetic nature of the opening round contest, Hollands looked right at home against Richmond – a case in point, his push back deep in to defence to effect a crucial spoil on a ball meant for Tom Lynch which elevated his confidence levels no end.
“I think the moment where I was in the backline, I won the footy and the crowd erupted a little bit - it kind of made me feel like: ‘Oh wow, this is crazy’. They’re the little moments in a game that just boost your energy a little bit and give you that little bit of confidence that you can handle it,” Hollands said.
Standing tall through constant pressure.
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) March 17, 2023
A missed opportunity but with areas of improvement.
See what Voss had to say on the draw against Richmond.
“To be able to have a moment like that on such a good player like Lynch, but even the support from your teammates to be able to say ‘well done’, does give you that little bit of extra confidence.”
A healthy cross-section of the Hollands clan were in the rooms to share the moment with the boy from Wodonga – and Ollie wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
“The people in the rooms here tonight are the people that have been there in my journey and supported me along the way,” Hollands said.
“As much as it is for me to be out here living my dream, it’s about giving back to the family and friends that are here tonight. To be able to share with them is very special and to be able to have them all in the rooms here tonight is very special.”
A final word about Hollands’ maiden senior appearance for Carlton in the drawn match with Richmond at the MCG.
The match drew a crowd of 88,084, which surpassed the largest previous crowd for a drawn Carlton contest, that being 87,824 for the 1962 preliminary final against Geelong at the same venue.
Ollie Hollands’ great grandfather Martin Cross represented Carlton in that game, and in fact fired off the crucial quick kick to Tom Carroll, who marked and goaled to tie the scores – from the same pocket as Tom Lynch goaled to level them on Thursday night.
