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BEST afield honours capped what was an incredible grand final day for Golden Square captain Simon Rosa.
Just minutes after the siren sounded, Rosa was told his older brother Luke and his wife Meagan had become first-time parents to a boy.
All on the same day Simon and Luke’s dad, Colin celebrated his birthday at the footy with wife Leanne and their youngest son and West Coast Eagles midfielder, Matt.
“It’s been an amazing day,” Simon Rosa said as he reflected on a personal hat-trick of grand final wins.
“Every grand final win is special, but today’s would be the best so far,” said the gun ruck-rover who just kept on racking up possessions and finished with an equal team-high four goals.
Rosa was in the thick of the action as Square raced to a big lead and in the last when Gisborne fell a metre or two short of premiership glory.
“I had never played in a premiership team until I came back to Golden Square in 2010,” said Rosa, whose footy career kicked off with Brim Eagles and has taken in Bendigo Pioneers in the TAC Cup, Carlton reserves and then Bendigo Bombers in the VFL, and Peel Thunder in Western Australia.
“Today we had to work so hard. Gisborne is a quality team and never gives up.”
That was shown from earlier in the year when Gisborne fought back from an eight-goal deficit to draw the clash on Square’s turf at MyJet Oval.
“We didn’t play the precise passing game that we can, but a lot of that was because of Gisborne’s pressure and the occasion,” Rosa said of chasing what became a fourth consecutive premiership.
He could do little but watch Rodney Sharp’s kick at goal float for what seemed an eternity before the ball was punched clear from the pack near the line at the city end goal.
“I was behind the man standing on the mark and just hoped the kick would be off target or fall short.”
Rosa, 29, said the play of talented youngsters such as Che Walls, Dale Lowry, Jake McLean and Sam Wilkie in the grand final and throughout the season was a highlight.
Away from the footy field, Rosa is busy running his landscape gardening business.
He and wife Kristi are expecting another playmate for two-year-old Jake soon.
Rosa knows it will be an even tougher assignment to win the Bendigo Advertiser premiership cup five years running.