Roughie composed ahead of big clash

THIS Saturday Hawthorn is attempting to win its way into an exclusive club and join only five other teams to have won three premierships in a row.
Local Hawks’ hero, Jarryd Roughead, will play in his fifth grand final but said, “It’s never easy.”
“As a team we have worked so hard to get there. It hasn’t been an easy run this year.”
Roughead says the word ‘three-peat’ which is being bandied about by the press has no currency inside the club.
“There has been no mention of it,” he said.
Famously, Leigh Matthews coached Brisbane to a third premiership and referred to the hat-trick only twice that year; once pre-season and then again at three quarter time in the 2003 preliminary final when the Lions were leading the Swans by only two points.
He used it then as a spur, to motivate his team when he felt it might make the difference between the two teams.
Having played in four grand finals, Jarryd Roughead says he has no special routine way of preparing for the big day.
“You never know if you’ll ever be back there again so it is a matter of sitting back, enjoying the week and having fun. They are some of the best days of your life.”
The Hawks have beaten West Coast just once this season, a round 19, 14 point win. This result has no real relevance on the Hawks’ chances of winning this weekend says Roughead.
“We have scouts who keep an eye on our opponents and plus we have seen them play on television.
“If anything it makes it more exciting for us, a new opponent is a new challenge.
“We will go out there to make amends for being beaten by them three weeks ago in the qualifying final.”
(The Eagles beat the Hawks by 32 points at their home ground, Subiaco).
As West Coast plays a team defence the Hawthorn forward is not expecting to have a direct opponent to combat.
A number of other senior Hawthorn players have significant grand final experience and none more so than Shaun Burgoyne who has played in six.
“Those players are a bonus; they are like having coaches on the field,” said Roughead.
“They know what to expect.”
He said the club is proud to have reached where it is.
“We have kept going on, we have built on what has been achieved in previous year.
“Our blokes want to go on getting better.”
Speaking to Jarryd Roughead gives you a clear sense of the composure and confidence which is so vital in a grand final.
No doubt he will be a mentor on the field to any team mates who need reminding of what is at stake.
Roughead watched his old team, the Leongatha Parrots, go down to Traralgon in the Gippsland League grand final on Saturday.
“It was a bit disappointing,” he said of the day on which not only did the Parrots lose the football, but Drouin’s A Grade netball team, with his fiancé Sarah Dunn on court, lost by five goals to Traralgon.
“All credit to Traralgon,” he said and when asked about Traralgon’s captain/coach Mark Collison playing in the grand final with a severe reprimand following a striking charge for which he was found guilty, Roughead said, “I have seen the incident. There wasn’t much in it and Collison has a clean record.”
Roughie, as he is affectionately known locally, missed two games while being treated for a melanoma on his upper lip and is thankful that this is well behind him.
“It is two months behind me now. I’m not worried about it but have to have regular checks and be diligent about exposing myself to the sun.”

Prize fighter: Jarryd Roughead in action in the second preliminary final against the Fremantle Dockers on Friday night after booting one of his two goals. Photograph courtesy of the Herald Sun.

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Posted by Sarah Vella on Sep 29 2015. Filed under Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry