DIGGERS Rest’s Tom Gleeson bowed out at the highest possible point, named best afield in the Riddell District Football League grand final.
The Burras skipper was instrumental at both ends of the field on Sunday, kicking one goal and taking multiple powerful contested marks when the game was in the balance to be named the Doug McIntyre medallist.
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Gleeson is moving to Canada with his partner for at least two years this week.
The captain said his team always had the belief it could win the flag.
“We were pretty disappointed after last year — we thought we had the side to get there,” Gleeson said.
“We stumbled a couple of times and with ‘Simsy’ (former coach Shaun Sims) not coaching us anymore, it was all against us.
“(Player-coach Jamie Lobb) ‘Lobby’ got us all together and back on track and we always had belief. We knew we could win it.”
Tom Gleeson was the Doug McIntyre medallist for best afield. Picture: Aaron Cook
Although thrilled to have two medals, Gleeson paid tribute to Taylor Hine and declared him “the stiffest man in Australia right now, I thought he was incredible all day”.
“But you look around and everyone pitched in,” Gleeson said.
“There was one moment where every player did something they had to … it takes 22 guys and we had 44 today, luckily enough.”
While the Burras’ 2016 premiership lifted a weight off the club after three consecutive grand final defeats, Gleeson said this triumph was for the players.
“It’s pretty hard to top of this feeling at the moment — top of the world,” he said.
