Club champion bows out
LEWAYNE Barrett promises this time he means it, the boots will be hung up. He swears it.
But as deflating as it is for the Teachers West veteran to realise his playing days are done, lifting the premiership trophy one last time provided him with a lasting final memory.
The 36-year-old has been guilty of calling his time too early in the past, threatening to end his days on the field, only to return the following season.
In this case, he did not want to end with the same “sick feeling” he had after last year’s loss
to Brothers in the decider. Now, after his side’s 48-28 triumph over North Ward, those gut-wrenching emotions have been replaced by a new one: elation.
“I’ve been retiring for the last five years but this is definitely it,” Barrett said.
“To get it back and be a champion again is an awesome feeling.
“I’m looking forward to the Masters, I’m pretty keen on playing Golden Oldies. Let these young guys bash each other, I’m done, the body can’t take it anymore.
“Mine’s been a case of the body telling me to give it up, so win or lose I was going to call it.
“I was getting a little bit nervous last year when we lost, thinking that might be it.
“We were absolutely gutted, so coming back we didn’t want to have that sick feeling we had last year.
“It feels good to go out a winner. It’s definitely a good feeling.”
In getting back on top of the competition, Barrett said an early-season loss to North Ward was the wake-up call his side needed.
Having only lost two games in the past four years, he said the team needed to be humble and reminded it was not yet the finished product.
Barrett will stay embedded in the Teachers West colours, choosing to remain as club captain even if he will not take the field in the top level again. But there is no denying his onfield presence will be missed.
After 10 seasons as a Bulldog, joining the club after moving from New Zealand, he has become a name synonymous with the Teachers West dynasty. Six premierships in the past seven years, and all with Barrett as a prominent feature.
With a young family now to care for, the tireless hooker said the time had finally come for him to do something he never had previously – not put rugby first.
His love affair with the sport has taken him far but with every tackle and every hit-up this season, he realised the wear and tear of 18 years in senior football had taken their toll.
“I came to the club in 2012, and the moment I started they became my family,” Barrett said.
“Everyone that I associate with at this club knows they are a brother or sister, a mum or a dad.
“I’ve always put rugby first, and part of my retirement is I now have my own young family and I have to put them before rugby. (But) this will always be my family.”