Cameron Maxwell lay motionless on the ground, the victim of a spear tackle at the conclusion of Gunnedah's clash against the Tigers at the Manilla Showgrounds on Saturday afternoon.
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"He'll be all right," said veteran Bulldogs centre Aaron Donnelly after wandering over from the side's bench - where he had watched the match as a spectator - to check on the 24-year-old winger.
Maxwell had been speared neck first into the ground. Looking stunned, he sat up - before being helped to his feet and walking off the ground.
"It shocked the f**k out of me," he said of the tackle, adding that it left him with "pins and needles running down the neck".
"I was a bit shaken up after it," he also said of the worst-ever illegal tackle committed against him.
It was an unfortunate end to his best game as a fledgling first-grader, with the offending player sent off and later suspended.
After crashing over early in the match, Maxwell bagged a double when he soared high to mark a Dylan Lake cross-field kick in the 48th minute.
Showered and changed following Gunnedah's 32-26 win, there were no visible signs of the trauma he had endured a short time earlier.
He had just polled well in the Bulldogs' players' player award - his showing an improvement on his first-grade debut the previous round.
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In that game, he dropped the ball from the kick-off to start proceedings, with Moree going on to maul Gunnedah 58-12 at Kitchener Park.
"It was pretty average," he said of his debut, adding: "Bloody oath, mate" when asked if he had got a confidence boost from rebounding strongly against Manilla.
Maxwell's late first-grade debut mirrors his late start to bricklaying.
The former Gunnedah High student is up at 4.30am on weekdays to work as a first-year apprentice for a Tamworth company.
"Getting used to it," he said of the early rises.
This Gunnedah junior is the son of former Bulldog Peter Maxwell. Debuting in the top grade "meant a lot" to the flyer.
"My old boy's always played footy. It was good to make him proud," he said.
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Mark Bode
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
