Waratahs will miss Al Baxter
Tatafu Polota-Nau
From: The Daily Telegraph
June 11, 2011 12:00AM
AL Baxter has plenty of fond memories from 13 seasons playing footy at the Sydney Football Stadium.
The one he'll repeat most in the office tea-room when retired happened last year. It was Al's first try for NSW, which amazingly came in his 100th Super game.
It was a miracle try.
A 95-metre run, with several palm-offs, a goose-step and a staggering three chip-and-chases.
That's how he tells it, anyway. I seem to recall he dived over from a ruck less than a metre out, but these are small details.
Tonight, hopefully, we can give Al another SFS memory to treasure.
With Al retiring at the end of the year, tonight's game against the Highlanders doubles as an SFS farewell for him and a few other mates as well - Luke Burgess and Kurtley Beale.
We've spoken about it in team meetings and it is definitely no ordinary game.
KB (Kurtley Beale) and Burgo may well be back in other colours but Al is on his way out, and walking off the SFS with a smile on his face is the least he deserves.
It's hard for me to find the right words about Al.
He was the guy who showed me the ropes of the Waratahs as a young bloke, and though it must be a pain in the butt, he still does it for new guys every year.
In terms of front-row play he has been a big mentor and ally as well. But don't imagine Al and I sit around talking scrums and the best brand of electrical tape to wrap around your melon.
We love to chat about things such as the environment, current affairs, family, architecture. He loves talking about architectural styles and I like listening.
It's a pity the backs can't join in, due to their collective lack of IQ.
Hopefully Al's last game as a Tah is a few matches away yet, but a successful farewell from Moore Park is an important step.
The SFS has great sentimental value to us all. It's where we train, and next door to our headquarters, and it is a place where we pride ourselves on winning.
Walking down the tunnel onto the SFS is a massive rush, but just between you and me, once or twice I've found Billy Moore popping into my head.
The SFS tunnel where Billy famously screamed out "Queenslander!". Wearing NSW blue, you shake the thought off but that's what the walk out feels like: you are really hyped up. Maybe I should belt out a "Waratah!" tonight.
The Waratahs now have two homes, of course, and that's great.
We play the Brumbies at ANZ Stadium next weekend to finish the regular season, and if we get up tonight, it'll be a massive game.
It is a big-event ground and the boys feel that vibe. We've had our biggest crowds out there for the past few years.
As a proud westie, I reckon it's important we take the game out to God's country every now and then. It not only expands our supporter base, but to share the love out that way shows our commitment to western Sydney. We represent all of NSW proudly.
At both grounds, the aim is the same. To win and reward our fans for their support.
There's been plenty of publicity about Waratahs' fans this season. The strength of feeling that's emerged has reminded us how passionate our fans are. They want exactly what we want: success.
We were reminded when we played the Cheetahs that our fans genuinely care. We didn't play up to our standards and the crowd felt that. They deserved better from us as teammates, because every home game we consider the crowd as a 16th man.
We've listened long and hard, and the last thing we want is for our home crowds to underestimate their worth to us, particularly in those tough games.
Tonight will be one of them. We're at home and we have to beat the Highlanders to keep our finals alive.
We also have to farewell some great mates with a win.
So let's get stuck in from the kick-off. All 16 of us.
