SG Ball Grand Final: Updates
Moderator: GH Moderators
top work boys... geez the raiders are firing.
THE GREEN MACHINE PODCAST - https://soundcloud.com/user-792269565
-
Canberra Milk
- Laurie Daley
- Posts: 15273
- Joined: January 6, 2005, 8:44 pm
- Favourite Player: Leipana
-
Prodigiousman
- Clinton Schifcofske
- Posts: 539
- Joined: January 17, 2005, 10:18 pm
- Location: Sydney, Australia
- Contact:
-
edwahu
Interview with Dave Hamilton
May 16, 2005
The Canberra Raiders Under 18s showed remarkable club spirit to take out the SG Ball premiership on the weekend, defeating the Illawarra Steelers 34-12 in the decider. Coach Dave Hamilton talked to raiders.com.au about the *'s stunning turn-around, Raiders stars of the future and the “legend of the flagâ€.
Q. Dave, how do you explain the *'s incredible form reversal in the second half of the season?
A. I remember talking at the start of the season how we wanted to be the best defensive team in the club. After two rounds we had 100 points scored on us.
Just after the St George game in Round 6 we had a soul-searching session. We were really honest with each other. The boys pointed out a few things to me, so we simplified our game plan a bit. We didn’t look back.
Q. What were the goals at the start of the season?
A. I knew we had talent and I thought we could make the semis. The boys thought we could make the top-four and that was a goal they set themselves when we had our pre-season camp. In the end, the more they played the better they got and the more they believed in each other. Everyone improved out-of-sight with each game.
Q. Midway through the season you’d lost four of your first five games. Did you think you’d make the finals from there?
A. My assistant coach had two weeks holiday due and thought he’d book a trip for the end of the regular season. I said ‘you might as well, I can’t see us making the finals’. But after a bit of soul-searching going into Round 7, I said *'s still a slight chance for us if we win our last three games. From there the boys got stronger and stronger and believed in themselves.
Q. Tell us about the legend of the flag.
A. The flag was something we started at the beginning of the year. The U18s and 16s staff talked about trying to get a tradition in the club for the juniors, so we came up with the idea of using a Raiders flag. We took it away to every game and hung it in the sheds. *'s a symbol of commitment to the club, putting your body on the line, dedication and whatever else comes with it. We thought if the boys touched the flag as they ran out to the field, they were committing to doing everything they could to play well.
As we got to the semis, it was Anzac Day and I thought how legendary is that. I told the boys, ‘*'s make this flag something special and put a story behind it’. Yesterday I said we should make a movie about this – if we were in America we probably would [laughs].
Q. Is it true you threatened to throw the flag in the bin during the first semi-final against Parramatta?
A. You bet I did. I was about to walk into the change-room at half-time and a Parramatta guy I knew came up to me with a bit of a smirk on his face, he patted me on the back more or less saying bad luck. I said *'s another half to go yet - we were down 20-6.
So I walked into the sheds and the first thing I saw was the flag. As I walked through the sheds everyone shut up, I walked past them, grabbed the flag, and said ‘obviously this doesn’t mean much to you’ and opened up the bin.
But a couple of the boys came and grabbed it off me and they laid it down on floor. Everyone got closer and we spoke about commitment and whether the flag meant anything. Not once did we mention the scoreline, we just said to each other ‘if you want to stand up, *'s the time’. After that they blew Parramatta off the park and we won 40-26.
Q. *'s the flag now?
A. I’m pretty sure [winger] Tsai Tui has it. The boys are now going to sign the flag and I’m thinking I’ll probably put it in a case inside the *'s gym. Every time next *'s junior squads go away, they can take the flag with them. Hopefully the coaches will tell the story and it will become a special tradition for the boys.â€
Q. Who are the kids to look out for in the future?
A. “I think [five-eighth] Marc Herbert and [fullback] Troy O’Sullivan will be special players. [Centre] Junior Sau has got something special. You can’t teach what *'s got - power and speed and he knows where the tryline is. [Winger] Tsai Tui and [centre] Kose Lelei - *'s got an amazing fend, good strength and speed. I don’t think he realises how good he is.
Q. What will happen with the team members for the remainder of the year?
A. *'s probably 10 of our boys who will go up and train with the Under *'s, and some of those boys will go into the ACT Academy of Sport. I’m also looking at creating a development squad for some of the other boys, so that once a fortnight we can train together and we can keep them up to the standard we’ve got them at the moment. *'s also 10 players from the team who are still *'s and can back up again in the 18s next year.â€
Q. What does the premiership mean in the big picture for the Raiders club?
A. I remember saying to our CEO Simon Hawkins that I believe we can set this club up for something special in the future. I think with Matt Elliott at the helm, Terry Matterson and Wayne Collins, I’ve learned so much as a coach from them. I’ve just got a feeling *'s something special brewing at this club. We had the Premier League team come and watch us in the semis, the first grade boys rang to wish us luck when we were on the bus going to the grand final. It shows *'s a club spirit building here.
May 16, 2005
The Canberra Raiders Under 18s showed remarkable club spirit to take out the SG Ball premiership on the weekend, defeating the Illawarra Steelers 34-12 in the decider. Coach Dave Hamilton talked to raiders.com.au about the *'s stunning turn-around, Raiders stars of the future and the “legend of the flagâ€.
Q. Dave, how do you explain the *'s incredible form reversal in the second half of the season?
A. I remember talking at the start of the season how we wanted to be the best defensive team in the club. After two rounds we had 100 points scored on us.
Just after the St George game in Round 6 we had a soul-searching session. We were really honest with each other. The boys pointed out a few things to me, so we simplified our game plan a bit. We didn’t look back.
Q. What were the goals at the start of the season?
A. I knew we had talent and I thought we could make the semis. The boys thought we could make the top-four and that was a goal they set themselves when we had our pre-season camp. In the end, the more they played the better they got and the more they believed in each other. Everyone improved out-of-sight with each game.
Q. Midway through the season you’d lost four of your first five games. Did you think you’d make the finals from there?
A. My assistant coach had two weeks holiday due and thought he’d book a trip for the end of the regular season. I said ‘you might as well, I can’t see us making the finals’. But after a bit of soul-searching going into Round 7, I said *'s still a slight chance for us if we win our last three games. From there the boys got stronger and stronger and believed in themselves.
Q. Tell us about the legend of the flag.
A. The flag was something we started at the beginning of the year. The U18s and 16s staff talked about trying to get a tradition in the club for the juniors, so we came up with the idea of using a Raiders flag. We took it away to every game and hung it in the sheds. *'s a symbol of commitment to the club, putting your body on the line, dedication and whatever else comes with it. We thought if the boys touched the flag as they ran out to the field, they were committing to doing everything they could to play well.
As we got to the semis, it was Anzac Day and I thought how legendary is that. I told the boys, ‘*'s make this flag something special and put a story behind it’. Yesterday I said we should make a movie about this – if we were in America we probably would [laughs].
Q. Is it true you threatened to throw the flag in the bin during the first semi-final against Parramatta?
A. You bet I did. I was about to walk into the change-room at half-time and a Parramatta guy I knew came up to me with a bit of a smirk on his face, he patted me on the back more or less saying bad luck. I said *'s another half to go yet - we were down 20-6.
So I walked into the sheds and the first thing I saw was the flag. As I walked through the sheds everyone shut up, I walked past them, grabbed the flag, and said ‘obviously this doesn’t mean much to you’ and opened up the bin.
But a couple of the boys came and grabbed it off me and they laid it down on floor. Everyone got closer and we spoke about commitment and whether the flag meant anything. Not once did we mention the scoreline, we just said to each other ‘if you want to stand up, *'s the time’. After that they blew Parramatta off the park and we won 40-26.
Q. *'s the flag now?
A. I’m pretty sure [winger] Tsai Tui has it. The boys are now going to sign the flag and I’m thinking I’ll probably put it in a case inside the *'s gym. Every time next *'s junior squads go away, they can take the flag with them. Hopefully the coaches will tell the story and it will become a special tradition for the boys.â€
Q. Who are the kids to look out for in the future?
A. “I think [five-eighth] Marc Herbert and [fullback] Troy O’Sullivan will be special players. [Centre] Junior Sau has got something special. You can’t teach what *'s got - power and speed and he knows where the tryline is. [Winger] Tsai Tui and [centre] Kose Lelei - *'s got an amazing fend, good strength and speed. I don’t think he realises how good he is.
Q. What will happen with the team members for the remainder of the year?
A. *'s probably 10 of our boys who will go up and train with the Under *'s, and some of those boys will go into the ACT Academy of Sport. I’m also looking at creating a development squad for some of the other boys, so that once a fortnight we can train together and we can keep them up to the standard we’ve got them at the moment. *'s also 10 players from the team who are still *'s and can back up again in the 18s next year.â€
Q. What does the premiership mean in the big picture for the Raiders club?
A. I remember saying to our CEO Simon Hawkins that I believe we can set this club up for something special in the future. I think with Matt Elliott at the helm, Terry Matterson and Wayne Collins, I’ve learned so much as a coach from them. I’ve just got a feeling *'s something special brewing at this club. We had the Premier League team come and watch us in the semis, the first grade boys rang to wish us luck when we were on the bus going to the grand final. It shows *'s a club spirit building here.
Q. Tell us about the legend of the flag.
A. The flag was something we started at the beginning of the year. The U18s and 16s staff talked about trying to get a tradition in the club for the juniors, so we came up with the idea of using a Raiders flag. We took it away to every game and hung it in the sheds. *'s a symbol of commitment to the club, putting your body on the line, dedication and whatever else comes with it. We thought if the boys touched the flag as they ran out to the field, they were committing to doing everything they could to play well.
As we got to the semis, it was Anzac Day and I thought how legendary is that. I told the boys, ‘*'s make this flag something special and put a story behind it’. Yesterday I said we should make a movie about this – if we were in America we probably would [laughs].
Q. Is it true you threatened to throw the flag in the bin during the first semi-final against Parramatta?
A. You bet I did. I was about to walk into the change-room at half-time and a Parramatta guy I knew came up to me with a bit of a smirk on his face, he patted me on the back more or less saying bad luck. I said *'s another half to go yet - we were down 20-6.
So I walked into the sheds and the first thing I saw was the flag. As I walked through the sheds everyone shut up, I walked past them, grabbed the flag, and said ‘obviously this doesn’t mean much to you’ and opened up the bin.
But a couple of the boys came and grabbed it off me and they laid it down on floor. Everyone got closer and we spoke about commitment and whether the flag meant anything. Not once did we mention the scoreline, we just said to each other ‘if you want to stand up, *'s the time’. After that they blew Parramatta off the park and we won 40-26.
Q. *'s the flag now?
A. I’m pretty sure [winger] Tsai Tui has it. The boys are now going to sign the flag and I’m thinking I’ll probably put it in a case inside the *'s gym. Every time next *'s junior squads go away, they can take the flag with them. Hopefully the coaches will tell the story and it will become a special tradition for the boys.â€
What a fantastic story!!!!!!!! I just love it!!!!!!!!!! This is the sort of thing I just love about our game.
I'm so proud it is our club.
