Toovey, who has played most of his football in defence and was given the job of minding Richmond playmaker Brett Deledio, only went forward when his opponent led him there.
But after kicking a behind and a goal with his first two kicks in league football, Toovey went from strength to strength and finished with 3.2 and 12 possessions, capping an experience he described as “awesome”.
“It was a bloody awesome feeling just getting out there for a start, and then to play a good game and have a win, it was a great feeling”, Toovey declared immediately following his first rendition of ‘Good Old Collingwood Forever’.
Toovey's third goal, following a desperate attempt to win the ball which resulted in a deserving free-kick, came midway through the pressure-packed final term as Collingwood charged towards victory, and sent the Magpie army into delirium.
Brought into play his first game for the club along with fellow debutants Shannon Cox and Brad Dick, Toovey showed incredible composure and determination under pressure, although he did admit he didn’t execute his first kick for goal as he would’ve liked. All three of his goals came from set shots.
“I’m not used to getting too many set shots, so I think I rushed the first one a bit, but I took more time with the last ones, put them through, so I was just happy to get a couple of goals up.”
The 20-year-old, who hails from the WA town of Frankland, about four hours south of Perth, was elevated off the rookie list following an impressive first season at the club in 2006 where he went from playing Williamstown reserves to holding down a key defensive post in the Williamstown seniors.
He gave a modest response when asked how he found taking on Deledio.
“Just sticking with him wasn’t too bad, just getting my side of the ball was the hard part, it worked alright in the end I suppose.”
