In 2005, a very peculiar game of football transpired. The Sydney Swans, who had not won a premiership in 72 years, had found themselves in a bit of a strange place. A traditionally high scoring team, they were on the verge of an absolute whitewash at the end of three-quarter time.

With things going as they were, one could safely assume that game was over. The Swans had only kicked four goals, and a staggering number of behinds. No Swans player looked likely to score, and at the end of three-quarter time, it became increasingly clear that the Swans were finished when a defender, of all people, kicked a goal to push the lead out to 20 points.

What happened next, was one of the best things that I’ve ever witnessed in my 20 years of watching AFL.

Someday I hope that my future grandkids will ask: where were you in 2005, when Nick Davis kick 4 final quarter goals to seal a historic victory? And I’ll remember it as if it was yesterday.

Of course, as is mentioned above, the story of Nick Davis is a great metaphor to working in recruitment and leadership. I’ll explain the metaphor below.

Like the great Kevin Garnett said; “anything is possible”. As the story goes, the Sydney Swans captain Brett Kirk went over shortly after that goal was kicked and proceeded to tell Nick Davis that the resulting goal was on him, and it would be up to him to fix it.

Those words seemed to work. Nick Davis then slotted a fantastic goal from out of nowhere, and the snowball was in full motion.

The second and third goals from Nick Davis came through via two incredible passages of play. The second came from a mark, where David was surrounded by four Geelong players. Despite that, Davis went for the opportunity that presented itself, and found himself with the perfect opportunity. The third came from David running with the ball across the face of goal, and snapping perfectly for another.

These opportunities didn’t happen out of thin air. They were made through Davis’s recognition of the role he was playing and taking it upon himself to create those opportunities in the role. If a person is willing to create opportunities, then they also must be willing to capitalise on them when they come through. Davis did both.

Davis’s last goal is one for the ages. With 10 seconds to go, from a ball up deep in the forward line, Nick Davis somehow found himself again with the ball in hand. This time however, it wasn’t really in any hand, as he slipped and fumbled it. On the way down he stuck his leg out, and the ball connected. The rest is history.

Sometimes, even when we don’t think we are succeeding, we do.