Schwass urges teammates to soak up spotlight

BEARS young gun Hayden Schwass has encouraged his Burleigh teammates to relish the hype around their Queensland Cup grand final tomorrow.

The squad have been the centre of attention on the Gold Coast this week as the region’s last-standing football side, with hopes high they can snap the club’s 12-year premiership drought. Schwass himself has been kept busy in attending several photoshoots this week, plus a television interview, but said it was not a distraction.

“The big thing is to soak it all up – you don’t come across grand finals a lot,’' he said.

“This might be the only one you ever go to so I guess you have got to soak it up and enjoy it while you can and when the time comes Sunday, you just have got to be on.”

The 21-year-old secondrower was in a decider only two years ago while playing colts for Burleigh, though they were unable to overcome Redcliffe on the day.

Tomorrow he wants to turn the tables. To do that, the Bears’ forward pack must emulate their efforts from a fortnight ago when they steamrolled the Dolphins 40-24 in the grand final qualifier.