AFTER starting with the green vest against Essendon on the weekend, Matt Suckling wasn’t expecting to find himself in the heat of the action halfway into the second quarter.

But an unfortunate injury to key defender James Frawley saw Suckling injected into the contest sooner than expected, a willing contest in which the Bombers - at that stage - held a narrow advantage on the scoreboard.

“They were getting their hands on the footy (first) in the first half and sort of dictating from there,” he said.

“It was nice to come on, and in the second half we seemed to get in control a bit more and the scoreboard showed that.”

In two and a half quarters, Suckling the sub made a big impact - collecting 18 disposals, driving the Hawks inside 50 four times and chipping in with two goals.

He said winning the ball in the middle of the ground had been the catalyst for the Hawks’ 11-goal-to-six second half, which led to a 38-point win.

“Early on it was seven centre clearances to zero, so the boys in there dug in and got it out and blokes like Hilly (Bradley Hill), Billy (Hartung), Isaac (Smith) and I got on the end of it,” Suckling said.

“I only played two and a bit quarters and probably had a few more legs at the end of the game, which was nice.” 

By his own high standards, the long-kicking left footer hasn’t had the perfect start to the year.

But Suckling is growing in confidence up forward the more time he spends there, and believes he is building towards the business end of 2015.

“It’s been nice playing up forward the last few weeks and having shots at goal,” he said. 

“I think everyone loves kicking goals and I’m certainly no different, so it was nice to get a couple.

“I missed a few at the start of the year so it’s nice to be converting them now. 

“I was pretty scratchy the first few rounds at least, (but) I think I’ve got my confidence back now and I’m ready to go for a big second half of the year.”