Orange Emus first-year fullback AJ Sykes, a self-confessed “mongrel” in terms of his footballing background, had no grandiose delusions when he joined the club this season - he just wanted to meet a few blokes and have a laugh.
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After years of playing rugby league in and around his hometown of Binalong, with a season or two of AFL and rugby union as well, Sykes didn’t even think he’d be named in Emus’ first XV, especially considering the club was coming off the 2015 Blowes Clothing Cup title.
After a bumper pre-season he did win a top grade spot though, and six months on he’ll line up at fullback in Saturday’s grand final against the Forbes Platypi as a red-hot favourite to claim Emus’ best and fairest trophy.
“A few guys I’d met around town were playing at Emus so I ended up there, they’re all bigger than me so I was a bit worried about lining up against them if I played somewhere else,” Sykes laughed.
“I played rugby league well into my 20s and a bit of rugby and Aussie rules as well, so I’m a bit of a mongrel in that regard. I don’t mind too much what I’m playing, I’m just happy getting a run around.
You can never complain about making a grand final … I’m lucky to have arrived at the club during a strong period.
- Emus fullback AJ Sykes
“Emus have been great, I was keen to join a club with a good social environment too which Emus has. But I do have one criticism, they haven’t managed the weather very well. There’s been a few unconfirmed cases of trench foot at Endeavour this winter.”
Sykes, a typically modest fellow, played down his own form this season, heaping credit on his teammates’ contributions.
“We’re playing with commitment and confidence, that’s contagious,” he said.
“Playing behind a dominant pack like ours makes life easy for little guys like me, being at the back with such strong wingers in Tom Green and Lachie Harris is a luxury too – they’ve been outstanding the last couple of months.
VIDEO: See what Nick McGrath and Matt Findlay predict for Blowes Clothing Cup grand final day on Saturday:
“You can never complain about making a grand final … I’m lucky to have arrived at the club during a strong period.”
Emus coach Paul Ringland couldn’t have been more complimentary of the custodian, who he labelled “very, very safe”.
“He’s reliable and at the back there he is very, very safe,” Ringland said.
“He’s smart and just takes the right options, he’s level-headed too. He’s been very good this year, we’ll be expecting another good showing against Forbes.”
Sykes said, for Emus, it’s just about playing simple, effective rugby. Like they’ve done all year, basically.
“That’s it – keep it simple, stupid,” he said.
“For us that means playing tough, disciplined footy, controlling possession and defending strongly. Defence wins big games.
“I can’t wait to get out there.”
Saturday’s grand final kicks off at 3.15pm at Endeavour Oval.
ORANGE EMUS: 1 Nas Havealeta, 2 Tom Goolagong, 3 Michael Graham, 4 Sam McLean, 5 Nick Hughes-Clapp, 6 Mitch Lockley, 7 Andrew Cosgrove, 8 Scott McLean, 9 Sam Green, 10 Carter Hirini, 11 Lachie Harris, 12 Zac White, 13 Nigel Staniforth, 14 Tom Green, 15 AJ Sykes; Interchange: 16 Steve Fergus, 17 Keith Howarth, 18 Simon Badgery, 19 Andrew Selwood, 20 Rob Thorburn, 21 Alo Finau, 22 Todd Freedman, 23 James Simmons
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
