If you were out at Dittmer Park on the weekend, you would have seen a 16-year-old kid playing out of his skin. That was Wilston Grange’s LLiam ‘Buster’ Molan, the round 17 Rising Star nominee.
Molan was very solid down back for the first three quarters, holding a key post, before being thrown forward in the final 30 minutes of the game with immediate impact.
Not only did he kick four goals, but his work without the ball was just as electric. Quick on the lead, turning on a dime, he proved to be an absolute handful for the Mt Gravatt defence.
“I thought that my game wasn’t too bad but there were still a lot of areas where I need to improve,” Molan said.
“It was really good to go down forward in the last quarter and have an impact after my first three quarters that weren’t real flash.”
At such a young age, playing senior footy can be a daunting experience. Not for Molan. The senior team instantly made him feel welcome.
“I definitely do feel at home with the senior boys after training with them since the end of last year and all throughout this year,” he said.
Molan is definitely no stranger to red white and blue though. It’s always been his home.
“I’ve played all my junior footy at Grange, from Auskick up to seniors, and it’s been great being involved in such a family orientated club,” he said.
It’s just not at Grange where Molan has been kicking goals. He was a key member of this year’s championship winning Queensland Under 16 team; an experience he said helped his footy immensely.
“I think that playing in the national carnival and having a couple of solid games earlier this year helped enormously. It was a bit of an eye opener to see how good some of the players were from all over the country and to see the level that I need to be at,” Molan said.
Looking ahead, with finals just a week away, and competition for spots red hot, his first priority is to stay in the 22.
“My goal for the rest of the year is to finish the season strong this week against Palm Beach and hopefully secure a spot in the team for the finals, and for next year my goal is to play in the national u18 tournament,” Molan said.
Wilston Grange take on Palm Beach Currumbin at home this Saturday, a must win game if they want to keep their double chance come finals time. It kicks off at 2:00pm.
By Andrew Wiles – @andrewjwiles
