Culture change fuels breakthrough for Brothers
HOCKEY A CHANGE of culture has paid dividends for Brothers after holding on for a draw to progress to their first A-grade men’s grand final in 14 years.
Not even extra time could split a 3-3 full-time score as Brothers dug for a result good enough to progress thanks to a superior ladder position.
Brothers captain Peter Sceresini said there were a few nervous moments when a 2-0 lead against Saints was quickly erased after halftime, before the teams traded goals leading to a tense final 10 minutes.
“We just lost our way I think and tried to defend our lead rather than keep attacking, which is always fraught with danger, so we’ve got to learn from that for next week,” he said. “We went to extra time, five minutes each way and we just stuck it out and forced them to win the game and it worked well for us.”
Sceresini, who had only returned from representing Queensland Country in a losing national titles final 24 hours prior, said the players were obviously pumped at the result, but none more so than vice-captain Nigel Giacomo, who played in the club’s last grand final – a loss – in 2003. He said improving the culture was behind their 2017 charge.
“We decided we had to do more off the field, not just training, like running on the Esplanade and doing things as a group ... and that has given us the extra drive on game day,” Sceresini said.
Brothers will play Souths in the grand final on Saturday.