He came to Souths, he played with all of his heart and thats all one can ask for.
I thank him for his efforts and I enjoyed watching him play.
I know I speak for many regarding the above.
He was part of the terrific and honourable 2007 squad. To a man they will be remembered for all time.
Irvine has his place in Souths history. For that, he can be grateful.
As a bonus, he will not be forgetten by the bears either.
So its double-treasure!
But the cold hard fact of the matter is that Souths is a business now.
We have no use for also-rans, the semi-good or O.K nor the terminally injured.
Every man who wears the red and green must be willing, fit and able do to unto us justice.
Whilst Irvine had a good season, there is not a soul on Souths LU who could honesty say that most of our retained players did not play as well as or better than Irvine.
Players like Williams, Buddy, Rogers, Cusak, Stuart, Merritt.
These guys came from stone motherless last in 2006 to finals glory in a single season.
I was harping on about it all season!
Sure its nice to have the eels fans here trying to make friends, but at the end of the day, the kind thoughts we hold for Irvine must not negatively impact upon our regard and esteem for our own. For those who got slaughtered by the warriors, came last for years and against all odds made the semi's with only a few new friends.
This heritage, the red and green blood that pumps through our hearts, it cannot be bought into the club by a single new player.
I salute Daniel Irvine and his heart of gold, his footballing gifts and talents and I will honour him in the greatest way I know how by saying that he wore the red and green.
But lets be steady during this intermission, lets not trip or blink.