Playing in his first AFL game, the 21-year-old ruckman found it difficult to get into the game in a back-up role to Jon Griffin against star Tigers’ big man Ivan Maric.
Hannath had only touched the ball three times and had yet to take a mark deep into the final quarter of Friday night’s Len Hall Game thriller at Patersons Stadium.
His side had just reclaimed the lead through a Hayden Ballantyne goal, but with just seconds left, the Tigers launched a forward raid to try and snatch the win.
Hannath’s moment had arrived.
The 201cm South Australian soared over a pack on Richmond’s attacking 50m arc and plucked what was a game-saving contested mark.
“I had to do something,” he said after the game.
“I‘d had a bit of a light-on patch through those last few quarters, so I was just glad I was able to hold it.
“I just really wanted to take that mark and I was glad I did.
“The crowd was so loud and I couldn’t hear the umpire, so I wanted to make sure I got it down the line before I got rushed, just try and get it out of bounds.”
Hannath said the build up to the Anzac round and the Len Hall Game had been an amazing experience.
“The whole vibe, The Last Post, the National Anthem just before the game,” he said.
“It’s a great feeling, and great to finally get a chance to play and get up with a win as well, more importantly.”
Hannath could be crucial to Freo this season, given key forward Kepler Bradley went down with a suspected ACL injury during the match against Richmond, and captain Matthew Pavlich is still out for another month.
