Roosters fans celebrate with players morning after Grand Final win
Sydney’s Horden Pavilion was awash with red, white and blue as hundreds of bleary-eyed fans waited behind crash barriers in the hope of snapping a selfie with their favourite player, or landing a jubilant high-five after last night’s dramatic Grand Final win.
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The drums banged, the balloon-festooned double-decker bus rolled in and the fans erupted into ecstatic cheers as Roosters players stepped out to party with fans the morning after their back-to-back NRL premiership success.
Sydney’s Horden Pavilion was awash with red, white and blue as hundreds of bleary-eyed fans, many of whom had not slept a wink after last night’s 14-8 win against Canberra Raiders, waited behind crash barriers in the hope of snapping a selfie with their favourite player, or landing a jubilant hand-slap.
“Here we go, here we go, here we go,” fans chanted as captain Boyd Cordner stepped off the bus holding the bronze trophy skywards.
Cheerleaders shook their sparkly pompoms hard as hooker Sam Verrills, 20, the youngest player in Sunday’s NRL Grand Final, emerged looking emotional high-fiving the throng along the parade to the stage.
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“Is there anything better than winning premierships?” head coach Trent Robinson told the baying crowd.
“And to do it in the way we did last night, with all our principles held up, I couldn’t be prouder than all the guys.
“Seventeen guys answered the question last night, that’s why we’re here today.”
Outgoing halfback great Cooper Cronk dampened spirits a little as the crowd begged for “one more year?”
“You get judged on your games of football but your greatest achievement now in retirement is the mates you make and I’m glad I made the move to Sydney,” he started.
“But I plan on never making a competitive tackle again in my life — I’ll be lying on the beach in Bondi for the next month, come see me there guys.”
Verrills told The Daily Telegraph he dedicated his performance to his dead brother.
Verrills was preparing for a junior footy match in Manly when his brother Jack took his own life five years ago. Jack was a promising footballer himself.
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“The grand final week was pretty crazy, the hype, the build up another awesome win, “he said
“I couldn’t of done it without these guys, this is for Jack, I played for him, this means a lot to me, I know where he is now, I know he’s up there jumping up and down for us.”
Verrills fans Rebecca Warian, 18, and friend Caroline Manookian, 17, snapped a selfie with their favourite player.
“I love Sam, he is so good-looking, said Rebecca from the northern beaches.
“After the game we went straight to Easts Lakes club and partied in the street.
“We had a few hours sleep and we’re going to get going again now.”
Roosters diehards Chris Mulliett, his son Maximus, 10, and friend Steve Borg drove from Toongabbie, 30kms west of Sydney, for the match in their souped-up Ford Ute with a rooster perched on the rooftop.
“We’ve had no sleep, we watched the game last night, then drove straight home, watched the game again on the TV, and then drove back this morning to celebrate with the players,“ said Mr Mulliett.
“It’s Maximus’ 11th birthday tomorrow, this is the best present he could hope for — and the best for us too.
“The Roosters are our boys and they haven’t let us down.”
Cousins Kimi Rivera and Stella Joson, both 12, got a selfie with their favourite, fullback Latrell Mitchell.
“The girls got a selfie and I got Latrell’s signature on my jersey,” said Kim’s father Patrick from Randwick.
“Girls are so excited, they’re slightly in love with Latrell ”
An hour later at 11.30am, the back-to back champions clambered back on board the bus, the drums banged some more, the cheerleaders danced and the fans booed as it rolled off into the distance.