PROPING UP: John Colgan had a change in position for Saturday's Blowes Clothing Cup grand final. Photo: JUDE KEOGH 0915city37
THE Blowes Clothing Cup grand final didn’t go the way Orange City forwards Nathan Short and John Colgan expected.
The pair knew their team could win but their roles in the victory was what surprised them.
Short was ready to take up his regular spot in the Lions front row until he was struck down with a virus early Saturday morning.
He spent some time on the field but regular No.8 Colgan was called on to pack down at the front of the scrum.
Short was happy after City’s grand final victory over Dubbo Kangaroos but the prop still looked unwell.
“I had a drip about an hour before the game and that made me feel all right. There was no way I was missing out,” Short said.
“Mick (Gray, City coach) said, “I’ll give you 20 (minutes)”. Twenty felt like running a marathon.
“The boys did well. Colgo hasn’t packed in the front row since, I think, the first round. He’s done a bloody fantastic job.”
For Colgan, his positional change away from the back row made for a tougher game than he has expected.
“It took me a while to get going. We started to work out what we had to do together and we started to feel a bit better later on,” Colgan said.
“It was harder for me. I thought it was a lot harder. Any win is satisfying. To win the grand final, nothing could top it.”
Colgan added Short might have a fight on his hands for the front row spot in 2013.
“I said on the field, “Why did Shorty start here all season? He’s gone,” Colgan joked.
“Nah, he’ll be back.”
Even though it was a tough win for Colgan, it was special.
“All my life I’ve lost everything I’ve played in,” Colgan said.
“To come to a club and lose again and then win like we have. We spoke about making history today and I think we did it.
“I said before the start of the game, this is what I’ve played my whole career for.”
