Battered Kirk Says Swans Have The Players To Step Up
The Sunday Age
Sunday September 18, 2005
BRETT Kirk, the man most likely to captain Sydney in the grand final if Barry Hall is suspended, believes the Swans have enough firepower to win the flag regardless of the fate of their big full-forward.
Kirk offered no opinion on the likely outcome of Hall's clash with St Kilda defender Matt Maguire. But he said the club's improvement had been caused by the development of a group all capable of taking a leading role and no single player would control their destiny on Saturday. "Davo (Nick Davis) kicked four in the last quarter (last week), Schneids (Adam Schneider) has kicked three tonight," Kirk said after Friday's win. "We've got plenty of guys that keep stepping up." While Kirk was naturally hopeful Hall would be cleared, the bullocking midfielder demonstrated his own leadership credentials yet again with his third courageous performance of the finals series. Kirk left the field in the first quarter with blood streaming down his face, the consequence of an accidental knee in the head from teammate Luke Ablett. He returned heavily bandaged and, wearing a helmet, continued to hurl himself into the contest until the very end. "When you win like that, you just don't feel any pain at all," he said of his injury. "They (his teammates) put their heart and soul on the line for each other. It's just an unbelievable feeling." Kirk said that the strong leadership within the club had made it simply unacceptable for any Swans player to buckle, even on a night when they seemed set to be overrun by a star-studded St Kilda team playing on fresher legs. "We just keep demanding it from each other to keep stepping up to the plate," he said. "We just kept playing for each other and playing from minute one to minute 120, which is what we have been doing." All season the Swans have talked about the influence of their leadership group and how they have been empowered by coach Paul Roos, whose leadership has been a significant factor. "He's fantastic," Kirk said. "You want players to play for the coach and that's what we've got." Throughout the season, Roos has deflected most of the accolades to his players. But he allowed himself a very small moment of self-satisfaction in reaching his second grand final in more than 20 years as a player and coach. "When I'm sitting there (after the game) having an ouzo and Coke with my wife, I might pat myself on the back for about 20 seconds, then move on after that," he said. Goalsneak Schneider, the man they call "Schneiderman", put the Swans in front with the second of his three goals in the last quarter."Nick Davis got all the glory last week so it was my turn to stand up," Schneider said jokingly after the game. "No, we don't work that way. It doesn't matter who kicks them as long as we get them. "I had a pretty disappointing first half and I owed the boys and I really wanted to make sure that I'm in the team for a reason, and that's the reason (to kick goals)." -- With MICHAEL COWLEY
© 2005 The Sunday Age
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