Maitland Pickers grand final reflections - players - video Dailymotion

The Maitland Mercury

Maitland Pickers grand final reflections Alex Langbridge, Jayden Butterfield, Gary Anderson.

Transcript

00:00You've earned the script in the second half.

00:05Yeah, that's sort of what we wanted.

00:08They gave it to us in the first half, but we knew we had the resilience to kick in there.

00:14I think our boys, we just hung tight and come over the top.

00:17That's all you can ever ask for from a playing group, so yeah, really pleased.

00:20Great way to finish the tie.

00:23Yeah, it is.

00:24When I first came to Maitland, we sort of set out to build a culture and build a club.

00:28I think what we've done is exceeded any expectations that I have when I come in.

00:31To finish with a win, with a special group, with my brother and a whole bunch of really good mates,

00:36it doesn't get much better than that.

00:38What has been the highlight of this time?

00:43My highlights are generally stuff away from the footy field, just hanging out with the boys

00:48when we come together as a group for whatever function and just spending time with each other.

00:52I know these games and these moments are fantastic and I'll always cherish them,

00:56but it's those little moments along the way that's what it's all about.

01:00It says so much about the culture, doesn't it, that you guys have been able to build?

01:04It really does.

01:05A connected group is what wins those games.

01:08If we're not connected, I don't think we win there.

01:10So, yeah, very happy just to hang in there.

01:13Jimmy and Butts are coming on at the end and grinding out. It's just fantastic.

01:17What about the coach, Breein, at the end?

01:19Oh, yeah, made that impact.

01:21My boy Sammy at the start of the game, for him to come off after eight or nine weeks of no footy

01:26and just come in and absolutely rip in and dominate, it's a testament to him.

01:29Buttsy and Jimmy just laid the foundation for us at the start of the game

01:32and they come on and finish it at the end for us.

01:35We're very lucky to have those boys in our team.

01:37When did you know that Sam was going to be part of it?

01:40Probably Thursday this week.

01:43We had an idea, but it wasn't until Thursday and I spoke to Matty and we said,

01:47yeah, let's get him in there.

01:49As soon as we sort of knew that he was 100 per cent, it was always in our mind.

01:53A player like Sam, you've got to have him in your team.

01:55He's a champion, he's a leader, and just having him a part of our group,

01:59it showed today why we needed him in our team.

02:04And again, all praise to Dan for receiving that call from Connor.

02:11Yeah, he played really well.

02:14Dan grinded us through the middle as well and he's just a tough kid.

02:18We're really lucky to have him as a brother and get to play footy with him.

02:23That was really cool.

02:24How did the backs fare?

02:26Yeah, it was a fast game and our middles worked hard in defence

02:30and our outside backs got us out of trouble, so they did a great job.

02:34Fancy, how did that feel?

02:36Yeah, good.

02:37Yeah, it's pretty good.

02:39Three in a row, that's pretty outstanding.

02:41I'm pretty happy.

02:42It hasn't really sunk in yet.

02:44I'm sure once we get back to the club and we're just a team,

02:46we'll be thinking about how special it is what we've just done.

02:49But really, that second half, when you come on, you just revamped the pack.

02:55It meant something to you, didn't it?

02:57Oh, it did.

02:58You want to win all week.

02:59It's just talking about how good they are and it's ours to lose,

03:03and I just really wanted to blur that out, but there's always two sides to a story

03:08and it was ours to tell today, not theirs.

03:10But your little bloke, he's not going to know what it's like not to have a friendship.

03:15Nah, it's good.

03:16I'm training him now.

03:17I'm training him now.

03:18He's in training.

03:19Congratulations.

03:20Bless you.

03:21Well done.

03:23So is he going to be a front-runner?

03:24I'm training him to be a half-back, but he'll probably wear the eight.

03:26Congratulations, mate.

03:29Thanks, man.

03:30Yeah, mate, that was the toughest one I've definitely been a part of, for sure.

03:33Was it nice to have that challenge?

03:35Sorry?

03:36Was it nice to have that challenge?

03:37Yeah, definitely.

03:38We needed that.

03:39We haven't had that in the past too, but it definitely kept us on our toes.

03:42So it was good to get the win.

03:44And nice to say goodbye to the Vickers for a few years.

03:48Yeah, hopefully.

03:50Just a training trial at the moment, but hopefully the shoulder holds up.

03:54Be a nice bloke.

03:56You've been up to Queensland before.

03:58Yeah, I had a little stint there, half a year.

04:00But hopefully, like I said, the shoulder's sweet and get a bit more of a crack.

04:04Excellent.

04:05But how special was it with the bloke, the mates you've got here?

04:10That's the best one, for sure.

04:12Especially after all the boys, the corner and after today.

04:16Yeah, we needed that one.

Maitland Pickers grand final reflections - players

Category

Transcript

Recommended