Sunday saw Carlton rookie Matthew Korcheck enjoy a new frontier.
Korcheck featured in the Northern Blues’ victory over Collingwood on Sunday, with his parents watching on from the stands.
It was the first live game of Australian Rules football for ‘House Korcheck’, which ended with a Blues victory over the Pies.
The best moment of the bunch? A contested mark and goal from the big man in the second quarter, in what would prove to be a pivotal patch for the Blues.
“It was an unbelievable feeling. It’s their first trip to Australia,” a delighted Korcheck said post-match.
“They’ve been here for about a week, and Sunday was the first game they’ve watched me play in.”
The Korcheck family post-game. (Photo: Northern Blues Football Club)
While a relative newcomer to the rivalry shared between Blues and Magpies, the significance of the win wasn’t lost on Korcheck.
It was also his first game in the VFL since Round 1, with injury keeping him out of the club’s two wins prior to Sunday’s victory.
“It was a good weekend for both Carlton and Northern… exciting wins and we really played together on Sunday. We worked hard and came out with the result we wanted,” Korcheck said.
“We may have gotten a bit too comfortable and it’s a credit to Collingwood, who kept pushing until the end. The game exposes you pretty quickly so it was a good effort in the end to hold on.”
With the Korcheck family enjoying a one from one record at live games, the 208cm American obviously would “love to” have them down at every game he plays.
Korcheck said he’d continue to knuckle down in the same manner which has drawn the plaudits of coaches and teammates in the last 12 months.
Matt Korcheck flies high for a grab. (Photo: Jonathan Di Maggio)
“I’m continuing to learn, I’m surrounded by great teammates and I’m learning from Matt Kreuzer and Andrew Phillips every day,” Korcheck said.
“You know what, I’m just going to keep having fun with it, keep developing my game and see what happens: I’m enjoying it all.”
Northern Blues senior coach Josh Fraser praised the commitment and mentality of Korcheck in his second season at Ikon Park.
“It’s a really big challenge to come from the other side of the world and play a game which a lot of us have grown up with and find challenging," Fraser said.
“He works really hard at his craft… I think he’s embraced everything and his mindset allows him to keep improving and performing.
“To be able to go forward, take a mark and finish in front of goal — I think his parents would’ve gotten a huge thrill out of seeing that.”
