Galuvao urges Eels to sit back, relax and enjoy the grand final ride
Greg Prichard | September 28, 2009
Joe Galuvao, the only member of the Parramatta side to have won an NRL grand final, has some advice for his teammates: ''You can't hide from all the hype in grand final week, so just enjoy it. The last thing you should do is go into your shell and try to block it out, because that's not going to help. Let it soak in, and when it comes to going out there and playing your footy, you will feel good.''
Galuvao played in the second row for Penrith when they beat the Roosters in the big one in 2003. The Melbourne side that qualified to play the Eels by beating Brisbane on Saturday have nine grand final winners - Billy Slater, Steve Turner, Greg Inglis, Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith, Brett White, Ryan Hoffman, Dallas Johnson and Jeff Lima, all with the Storm over Manly in 2007.
Eels coach Daniel Anderson, who took the Warriors to the 2002 grand final they lost against the Roosters, said after his side qualified by beating the Bulldogs on Friday that he was going to let his players enjoy their time in the sun.
That was music to the ears of Galuvao, who said: ''I remember 'Priddo' [former Penrith hooker Luke Priddis] talking like that when we made the grand final at the Panthers.
''He'd already won one with Brisbane, and he sat everyone down and said if we enjoyed the accolades and enjoyed the week, it would put us in good stead for the game, as long as we didn't let all the hype overtake our preparation.
''So we didn't try to hide from anything, but when it came time to train and prepare for the match, we concentrated on that. The result was that we got to the game feeling relaxed and confident in each other. We knew we'd all worked for each other and that if someone made a mistake, someone else was going to make up for it. It was an awesome feeling, to know that.''
Galuvao, who will leave Parramatta after the grand final to join Manly, said he felt his premiership-winning experience kick in when he was called into the action early against the Bulldogs on Friday.
It was there for all to see when he came off the bench after just nine minutes for injured prop Nathan Cayless and had a tremendous game, scoring a try and finishing behind only Fuifui Moimoi among the Eels forwards in the number of runs made and metres gained (18 and 139).
''When 'Caylo' got injured, every one of us had to step up,'' he said. ''It was no different for me. It helps having that experience of knowing what you have to do, especially when I'm one of the senior members of the team. Playing finals games and especially being in a grand final-winning team puts you in good stead for future finals games.
''Being in a team with a lot of young blokes, I'm one of those older guys who has to try to lead by example, but I think when Caylo went off, the self-belief everyone in this team has kicked in. You know you've got to fill the void, so you do what you have to do
Everyone in the forward pack knew they had to keep aiming up.''
