Proudest Pirate Liam Anlezark lists ultimate 1-17 team
Noosa Pirates club champion Liam Anlezark has named his dream team from a career that started in under-9s.
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Goosebumps still crawl up the skin of former Noosa Pirates skipper Liam Anlezark when he looks back on the 2017 premiership win.
It had been 10 long years since the proud club had tasted the spoils of success and Anlezark was determined to replicate the idols he'd grown up watching.
It's hard to believe the 2016 Pirates could barely field a team.
Rank outsiders, the Pirates snuck into the finals with a win on the hooter against Caboolture and chalked up famous away victories at Caloundra and Kawana en route to the grand final.
But a rousing speech at the grand final where Anlezark announced he would retire proved the catalyst to a complete performance with Noosa toppling minor premiers Maroochydore 24-6.
"We were on that game," Anlezark said.
"It was a special run that year, Caboolture were pumping us at halftime but the boys came back.
"Even though I played a few games in 2018, bowing out like that was amazing.
"It was a fairytale."
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It was the only senior premiership Anlezark achieved at the Pirates but one is more than enough.
"The hill on the side of the stadium (Sunshine Coast) was a sea of blue," he said.
"That's one of the things about our club, the supporters, they just love it. They get it.
"Everyone was carrying on.
"Going back to the club on the bus ride home to a hero's welcome ….
"We were a few beers deep that's for sure. I get goosebumps just thinking about it."
Naturally, that 2017 premiership side took up a large portion of Anlezark's ultimate 1-17 of Pirates teammates when he was approached by the Sunshine Coast Daily.
But it also includes the players who he admired as a junior and the ones who still have massive parts to play at the club for years to come.
Anlezark's love of the Pirates has never wavered, from juniors to his retirement in 2018, now a long-time role on the committee and coaching juniors - he's a through and through Noosa man.
"The club is a big part of my life," he said.
"Even though I went away to chase the dream, NRL, I always knew I would come back.
"It kept me on the right path through life."
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Here is Anlezark's ultimate 1-17 of Noosa Pirates teammates and, in his own words, his reasons for picking them.
1. Fullback: Jack Cornford - "Electric at the back, safe, great finisher and top bloke."
2. Wing: Blake Wilson - "Great young talent, fit, athletic and versatile in the back five. Kid can score a try."
3. Centre: Jordon Remfrey - "Special talent, will go a long way."
4. Centre: Zane Mcarthy - "Reliable, aggressive and a great finisher."
5. Wing: Seaton Reid - "Stuck with the club through all the hard years, versatile, great bloke. Absolute lunatic."
6. Five-eighth: Brent Warr - "Warry was a big part of our 2017 premiership charge, great game manager and cool under pressure."
7. Halfback: Noel Goldthorpe - "The little general, amazing game manager and vision, great to play with and a pest to play against. He could ice a game like no one at this level I've seen."
8. Prop: Kurt Flemming - "Flemmo has a massive motor for a big man. Aggressive and a great teammate."
9. Hooker: Sam Burns - "Burnsey would have to rank as one of the best I've ever played alongside. Champion bloke and hopefully he'll get his crack at NRL soon."
10. Prop: Trent Heathwood - "Tough workhorse in the middle, never took a backward step. Blokes didn't want to run straight at him."
11. Backrow: Colin Green - "Absolute leader on the field, tough as nails."
12. Backrow: Angus Stewart - "Aka Bus, Was a stable through the team through the glory days of 06, 07 and 08. True club man and someone I really looked up to as a junior coming through."
13. Lock: Mitch Brockwell - "Mr Fix It. Played everywhere from hooker to the outside backs. Tough and always played above his weight."
14. Bench: Zac Friend - "Tough, versatile, big mobile forward on an edge that can ball play like a half."
15. Bench: Ben Henderson - "Absolute competitor, work horse and led by example - joint captain with myself in 2017 grand final."
16. Bench: Rodney Macintosh - "Didn't say a whole lot, led by example, tough as nails and turned up to do his work all day in the middle."
17. Bench: Terry Carol - "TC, great bloke, teammate and player. Duel international for the Philippines."
Coach - Anthony Zipf/Ron Greentree.
Anlezark said the team selection was "great fun" but quite the challenge to nail down.
A couple of notable blokes to miss out were Scotty Hill, Aaron Fuller, Dylan Mcpherson and Sam Mcgregor.
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