GOAL-DEN SPARK
PURPLE PATCH BREAKS BACK FOR TIGERS
WHEN Thomson needs a spark, it looks to Daniel Freeman.
Freeman is crafty, he is dangerous, he is energetic, he is annoying and, boy, he loves a goal celebration.
On Saturday the crafty forward ignited the Tigers exactly when they needed it, kicking three goals in time-on during the second quarter — including two in a minute — to hand his team what would become a match-winning lead soon before half time.
He bobbed up again later in the game to kick the matchsealing goal, breaking Inverleigh hearts in the process as he wheeled away to celebrate in trademark style.
“I was just thinking to myself, ‘I’ve done nothing, I better stand up here or do something’, and it just went my way,” Freeman said of his second-quarter burst after Thomson’s 30-point GDFL grand final upset.
“The boys get around me to get me up-and-about, and I’ve been told to get up-and-about — it gets the boys going.
“It’s something that gets me going, so it’s good.”
It is easy to see how Freeman can ignite his teammates.
He does not need many touches of the footy, but when he does touch it, something good normally happens.
How Freeman describes his goals sums him up perfectly as a footballer. Raw, uncensored, exciting.
“It got me a bit of a spark, and I kicked the first one and thought, ‘I’m on here’,” he said.
“I sold a bit of candy (for the second), got around him and kicked a sausage roll. It was good.”
Co-coach Brent Taylor said the energy Freeman brought was crucial for the team.
“He is an opportunist. Sometimes he is hard on himself and thinks, ‘Oh, I’m not doing enough’,” Taylor said.
“But he’s a tough match up, he’s dangerous, he’s annoying, he’s a nightmare for backmen.”
Speaking post-game with a beer in his hand and a premiership medal around his neck, Freeman said it “means the world” to have won a grand final in purple and gold.
“This is what I play footy for,” he said.
“I’ve played in five of them (grand finals) and I haven’t won one.
“To win a premiership with this group here, is something special.”