GERRINGONG hero Joel Roberts lost track of how many Lions fans wanted to buy him a beer on Sunday night.
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All he knows is that he didn’t have to reach into his pocket all night after his clutch sideline conversion with two minutes remaining secured a gripping grand final triumph over Shellharbour.
Roberts and his Lions teammates celebrated well into the night with their loyal supporters before the team gathered on Monday at their home ground for an all-day party.
‘‘We might get a copy of the game and watch it today, because it’s still a bit of a blur to be honest,’’ the 27-year-old fullback said of Sunday’s dramatic victory.
‘‘I just can’t believe it happened. We were up 14 nil then we were down 16-14 at half-time.
‘‘We never give up, and that was our whole mentality at half-time. No matter what happens, just go out and gave it everything for 80 minutes, and it worked out for us in the end.’’
The Lions have played in five of the past six Group 7 grand finals, capturing three premierships.
Roberts answered the bell with a late game-tying conversion from the sideline in 2010 before Pat Cronin knocked over a field goal in the dying seconds for a 21-20 win over Warilla.
The Lions lost 16-14 to Albion Park-Oak Flats in 2012 when Roberts hit the post with another sideline kick after the full-time siren.
When he lined up his kick on Sunday against the Sharks, he almost chuckled to himself at the sense of deja-vu.
‘‘I said to the boys ‘can’t we just win by 10 or 20 one year?’ It seems like I’m always in the same situation in grand finals,’’ Roberts said.
The Lions aren’t expected to lose any key players for their 2016 title defence.
‘‘I’m pretty sure everyone’s coming back,’’ Roberts said.
‘‘There was talk about Davo [captain Brad Davidson] but I think after that he might stick around.’’
Davidson was immensely proud of his side and their courageous performance against Shellharbour.
‘‘We’re just a club with blokes that dig deep for each other,’’ the experienced playmaker said.
‘‘It’s definitely going to be worth sitting back with a few quiet beers and watching it.
‘‘We’ll see how the body holds up and then make a decision, but with the group of guys we’ve got it looks like it’s going to be strong for a few more years, so we’ll see what happens. A couple of young guys are coming through and the club’s still got a big future.’’
Gerringong didn’t take the easy road to premiership glory.
‘‘The three games we had leading into the grand final were ideal,’’ Davidson said.
‘’That first loss to Kiama in the semis was a blessing in disguise.’’