THERE’S something extra special about premiership number three for Grant Birchall.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Yet the 26-year-old from Devonport admitted yesterday at Launceston’s public celebrations of the Hawks’ triumph that it all hadn’t sunk in yet.
But he believed the challenges faced by the club this year had made Saturday’s demolition job over Sydney all the more sweet.
These challenges include losing key players such as Cyril Rioli and Sam Mitchell for long periods of the season to injury and coach Alastair Clarkson to illness for five weeks mid-year.
‘‘They are all good (the premierships), but this year we had to face a bit more, particularly during the middle part of the year,’’ Birchall said.
‘‘But that made the group a lot stronger and a lot more resilient, and that really showed out on Saturday.’’
While there was a big difference on the scoreboard, the 194-game player admitted it wasn’t until the last six minutes that he started to relax and enjoy the moment.
This is in comparison to his previous two grand final wins, against Geelong in 2008 and Fremantle in 2013. The results were still in question going into the final quarter, meaning there was less time to soak everything up.
‘‘When you are playing against a good quality team with tons of talent all over the park, you are never really comfortable, but with six minutes to go, when we were 10 goals up, I knew we had it, and I started to enjoy it,’’ he said.
‘‘It hasn’t sunk in yet, as I haven’t really had time to reflect, but I have no doubt that will happen in the next couple of weeks.
‘‘No doubt when the celebrations die down a bit, I will just sit back and reflect on the journey.
‘‘It is a pretty special feeling, and particularly the 10 minutes after the siren goes is the best feeling you can have.’’
Birchall collected 25 possessions against the Swans (his average in winning grand finals) going at a disposal efficiency rate of 80 per cent, with 23 of his touches uncontested.
He took seven marks and had one clearance, four score involvements and two inside 50s, with his run from half- back a prominent feature of the afternoon.
He described his individual performance against Sydney as ‘‘pretty consistent’’.
‘‘I just did my bit for the side, and that’s all we were after, just 22 contributors, as whenever we get that, we very rarely lose.’’
When asked about his ‘‘chat’’ with former teammate Lance Franklin during the third quarter, Birchall laughed off any suggestions of malice in the comment.
‘‘It was just a bit of fun, and a bit of banter.
‘‘We do get into each other a little bit, but it is all fun.
‘‘He’s been a great player for us for a number of years. We’ve got Jordan’s (Lewis) wedding in a couple of weeks, so we will catch up for a beer then.’’