Former Brisbane Lions player Jamie Charman had waited two long years to run on in an AFL Grand Final until he finally had his chance in 2003.
The ruckman had just missed out on selection in the previous two seasons and says watching the 2002 Grand Final in the stands was one of the hardest moments in his career.
The disappointment,
The moment he’d been waiting for, for so many years was slightly derailed by an unusual Pies supporter. Australian Idol was in its prime in the early 2000s and its finalists, including Guy Sebastian, had been asked to entertain the crowd before
“I remember sort of standing in the race, just before we went out, and one of the Australian Idol contestants was a big Collingwood supporter,” Charman told Lions TV as part of their Premiership Pride series.
“I just remember her screaming out ‘go Collingwood’ in the race, right next to us. And the boys were telling her to shut up. So and that was sort of ‘well we’re on here.’”
“That feeling of running through the banner in front of a full stadium at the MCG is one of the most amazing experiences and still sticks with me today.”
In the 2003 Grand
“Last quarter there were a couple of moments where we just knew we were going to win,” he said.
“I just remember the guys giving a fair spray to the Collingwood players and that sort of motivated us to push ahead.”
One of his favourite moments was seeing roommate Richard Hadley kick a goal in just his fourth game of AFL. Hadley had made his debut in 2001 but was not recalled again until the 2003 Finals series.
“It was just really special, to kick a goal and experience that with him,” he said.
To this day, almost fourteen years later, Charman is still pinching himself that he can call himself a premiership player.
“It was just something that you’d never think you’d ever experience. It’s something special now that you’ve finished your career and you can look back on and say ‘I played in a Grand Final. I played in a winning Grand Final. I got to play with some pretty special guys.'"
Previous episodes of the Premiership Pride:
Episode Three: Marcus Ashcroft
