Q: What was thereaction amongst the players to last week's win over
A: It was mixed emotions. There was a bit of relief and abit of disappointment. It was good to get the win, but it's bad too becausewe've wasted the year maybe, because we can play so well but it took us untilthe 10th game to do it. That's why the boys were a bit mixed after,but it's always good to sing the song after.
The past monthcould've been so much different had a few things gone your way. Is that wherethe frustration and mixed emotions comes from?
Footy's about luck sometimes. Those three close games welost by less than a goal and if we'd won them, it would’ve made a hugedifference, whereas last year we won the close ones. Towards the end of theyear, everyone forgets how close the games were – it's just whether you got thewin or not – but that's how it's panned out this year and there's still half aseason to go and we're not going to give up.
Brad Green mentionedfinals were still a possibility earlier in the week. It may seem a massive askalthough it's not mathematically out of the question – is that how you see it?
No, it's not (out of the question), but personally I don'tlook at finals. I just look at it week to week otherwise it's just too much ofa load looking too far ahead. Hopefully in the last couple of games we might beplaying for the finals.
How have you ratedthis season after the breakthrough year in 2006?
I’ve been under the pump a bit down back, so I've beenworking hard and I'm a lot fitter. I think the last month I've started to playall right and held my man pretty well.
Last year, you formeda good partnership with Ben Holland, but he's been in and out this year and youjust haven't had a steady defence. Has that put a lot more pressure on you?
We haven't been able to get our fixed team out there thisyear, whereas last year, we had a set back six with guys like Jared Rivers, BenHolland, Clint Bartram and Matthew Whelan. There are four good players out ofthe backline and when they're in it, it makes a huge difference and probablyallows me to play with a bit more confidence, so I’ve certainly missed thoseboys.
Do you feel likeyou're a bit more of a leader now?
Down back I would be. I've got to be up and going becauseI'll be on one of the main forwards and I've got to help the other blokes outand tell them where to stand if a spare man comes back. I definitely have toshow a bit of leadership down back, but I don't say too much off the field.
You've become a bitof a cult figure amongst the fans with the moustache and the headband and yournever-say-die approach. Does that sit well with you?
It's good. Our supporters are great. When you get a bigcrowd at the ground, it's awesome. That's just part of my personality and ifthey enjoy that, then great. My hair got a bit long over pre-season so Iwhacked on the headband and it stayed. The boys give me a bit of crap. We don'tget to kick the goals down back, so I've got to entertain myself a bit.
There's a bit of talkabout state of origin at the moment. Coming from
Yeah, I'd love to. I'm proud of being from
