SPORT
Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
RUGBY LEAGUE
WESTS RLFC - Grand Final
September 1995
The Grand Final would be 3 games in 7 days and although we all felt that United had a significant advantage of having a week off, none of us felt that we would be running around just making up the numbers. The general consensus from the public and punters was that United would win as they were the fresher team - but you know what? There's a reason why two teams face of in a final.
Our game plan was pretty simple, stick our strengths, try and get a lead and hold on to it for all we were worth. This worked for 60 minutes, but all matches go for 80 minutes and when United went ahead you could see their attitude had changed to one of "we've got this run & won".
On the other hand, our attitude was one of "fuck it, we'll just keep having a crack" and scored under the posts on the siren to even up the score. In slotting the conversion to seal a two point victory, most of us while being elated at winning a Grand Final, we somewhat in awe in what we had actually been able to achieve as a team.
I'd have to say that I've been fortunate to celebrate a few Grand Final wins over the years, but this one was something special. Not sure if it was due to the fact that quite a few of us were a bit older or had played a lot of years together or whatever, but playing with the adversity that we had over this season, made this win ever so memorable. We felt we had achieved a lot not only as a team, but we'd also grown immeasurably as individuals.
This match would also be my last game of rugby league, as I would shortly be moving to the United States to live on a permanent basis.
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