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