TEAM SPIRIT: The secret to success

WHEN loyalty runs deep, it creates an enjoyable culture and an unbreakable bond that forges memories and friendships that last a lifetime.

FLASHBACK: Khan Williams and Ben McLennan celebrate the Grafton Ghosts' 2011 premiership win after the final siren in the NRRRL 1st Grade grand final at Frank McGuren Field. This weekend McLennan, who has announced his retirement at the end of the this season, will play his last match in the Group 2 Rugby League First Grade grand final against Coffs Harbour Comets. c: Adam Hourigan/The Daily Examiner. Picture: Adam Hourigan

TEAM spirit. It's one of the key components of sport - amateur, professional or semi-professional.

If it's wafer-thin, relationships on and off the field don't crystallise, players don't gel, and all a match performance amounts to is a dozen or so aimless individuals speaking different languages.

But if those players believe in a common purpose, they form a seamless unit who intuitively understand their teammates like connected body parts.

When everything clicks it's a magical feeling. Individually, you don't have to be a world beater, you just have to acknowledge it's a privilege to be surrounded by such a unit and feel a genuine connection to the beating heart of a club.

WINNING FEELING: The South Grafton Rebels Ladies League Tag team won the Group 2 premiership in 2018 and as a result were named Team of the Year at the 2018 Clarence Valley Sports Awards. Picture: Matthew Elkerton

This energy is rare, and while many sides eyeing off grand finals in coming weeks will claim to have it, it also doesn't last forever, and can't be taken for granted.

Even among the same playing group, it can come and go, from season to season or even from week to week.

But it is typically found in sides who taste grand final glory. This is certainly my personal experience.

I felt a special type of energy when I played in the second row for the Dubbo Kangaroos Third Grade side when we won the 2007 Central West Rugby Union grand final.

That feeling was there when I captained Westide Panthers to victory in the 2008 Dubbo All-Age Soccer grand final. It was the only season I ever had the privilege of playing alongside my brother Doug, who hadn't played soccer since he was 18 when he had chosen to pursue rugby leagueand laterrugby union instead, but whose claim to fame on the soccer field was beating the Lucas Neill-led NSW City side 3-2 in the Under-15 National Championships at Melbourne as captain of NSW Country in 1992. We had a chemistry derived from childhood days in the backyard that had never seen the light of day. He either scored or played a hand in all five goals in the grand final whitewash.

Meanwhile, the time that most defined my connection to team spirit and success was the 2009/10 Dubbo Cricket Association 2nd Grade Pinnington Cup win with Rugby Cricket Club, when we only reached the finals in the first place from a seemingly impossible position.

I had moved three hours away to Tamworth for work seven weeks prior to the end of the season. But we were mathematically still a chance and as captain I committed to keep travelling back until we were done and dusted.

In the last round we defeated the minor premiers and leapt into the finals by a fraction of a point over another team whose bubble had burst and lost outright in the final fixture.

We had motivation - former teammate Danny Bower had passed away in a tragic skydiving accident during the previous off-season. He was a club legend, former representative cricketer and a personal mentor who was at the other end when I scored my maiden century four years earlier. He was also the father of two teammates. Getting the youngest teenage son to turn up instead of pig shooting each weekend was the toughest part of the job that season.

Suffice to say, that youngest son took seven wickets with his left arm orthodox bowling in the grand final, which we won, and for the first time I felt the shock of an ice bucket being tipped over my head, and mates who shared a common bond were formed for life.

That player, incidentally, was Mitch Bower, who rediscovered his love for the game and has gone on to represent NSW Country in recent years alongside former North Coast cricketer Jordan Moran.

In 2014/15 I had the privileged of being part of Clarence River's NSW Country Shield cricket knockout win at Tamworth. That success stands out in a string of mediocre years for Clarence River's representative side, built on a strong vision and commitment to the cause among the squad and management during that particular season.

That feeling was rich again in 2015 when Tucabia Bears won the NCF 3rd Division grand final 6-0 - in just the club's second year since reforming its senior ranks, buoyed by the dedication to the spirit of Kiara Joe, who had recently died in a tragic accident and was an in-law of one of our midfielders Kye Masters.

Just one year later, under the new name Yuraygir FC Utd, we repeated the dose in the higher tier 2nd Division grand final.

The most recent time I felt that team unity that drove success was as captain when Coutts Crossing won its first ever top grade premiership in the 2016/17 Cleavers Night Cricket grand final. The motivation - we beat Harwood, who had beaten us the previous two seasons!

Coutts Crossing won its first every top grade premiership when it defeated Harwood in the 2016/17 Cleavers Mechanical Night grand final at McKittrick Park. Picture: Judy Disson

There was a common thread in all of these teams I had the privilege to play for - the level of team spirit and connection among the players - and broader club - in the days, weeks and in some cases months prior to the all-important grand final performance.

Each of these also created the sporting moments I will never forget.

I've played in countless mid to low table sides, spending a fun yet ultimately forgettable season with friends by association. There's a very clear differentiation in the mood.

When loyalty runs deep, it creates an enjoyable culture and an unbreakable bond that - regardless of the level of success - forges memories and friendships that last a lifetime.

It's in those times that legacies are formed that give meaning to the existence of a club - not just for those moments, but for generations. It's why as a club member it is so important to wear the team uniform with pride and respect those who passed on the baton.

Good luck to the Grafton Ghosts in this Sunday's Group 2 Rugby League First Grade grand final against Coffs Harbour Comets at Geoff King Motors Oval - a team built on club loyalty with a roster boasting an enviable number of former club juniors.

Likewise, best of luck to South Grafton Rebels, who have defied the odds to reach the Reserve Grade grand final from fifth place and look to be mounting an attack based very much on a formula of team spirit outlined in this article.

And as the next month unveils dozens of sporting champions across multiple codes, good luck to all involved in upcoming grand finals and wear your heart on your sleeve.

Originally published as TEAM SPIRIT: The secret to success