Brett Stewart Interview & Article

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Berkeley_Eagle

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Brett Stewart Interview & Article

http://bigpondvideo.com/NRL_Eagles/340632

Part 2 on Thursday

Manly captain Brett Stewart set for emotional homecoming to Brookvale after two years of turmoil

Dean Ritchie From: The Daily Telegraph March 23, 2011

IT WILL all start when Manly fans bang on the old caged tunnel that leads on to the famous Brookvale Oval.

Manly skipper Jason King will then lead his team down the weathered concrete path - the same path trodden by every maroon and white legend - through the players' dug-out and into the Northern Beaches sunshine.

Daddy Cool's Eagle Rock will be playing but, for the next few seconds, everything at Brookvale will become secondary.

Running out in the No. 1 jersey moments later will be Brett Stewart - the Prince of Brookvale.

Sea Eagles officials know the Manly faithful - probably 17,000 of them - will rise as one and cheer Stewart, a superstar player who has been forced to visit some dark places over the past two years.


It is about now that Stewart is resigned to tears welling his narrow brown eyes.

He will run toward a packed eastern hill and no doubt give a gentle but heartfelt clap to the fans that have stood solid behind him through court cases and long-term injuries.

This will be the most emotional day in rugby league this year. Stewart is back at Brookie to play the Newcastle Knights after nearly two years away.

Asked would this be a special moment, Stewart said: "One hundred per cent. It's going to be an emotional day. I have thanked the fans verbally but probably the best way to thank them is to go out there and be part of a winning side on Sunday.

"The maroon and whites have really got behind me. I love playing at Brookie.

"I seem to score a few more tries there than anywhere else.

"The faithful support I got from the club and supporters of Manly has been phenomenal. I can't thank them enough, to be honest.

"They never doubted me once. The club received a lot of fan mail that I have read personally. The support was overwhelming.

"There wasn't much light [at the end of the tunnel at times]. Basically the club and my family. I've got Des [Hasler] to thank for where I am and getting through the last two years."

And Stewart knows what would really rock Brookie - a tryscoring double.

That would take him to 100 tries in the NRL, joining an elite group of rugby league champions.

"I can't really get over the hurdle at the moment. I'm on 98 [tries]. One or two would be nice," he said.

"I have played two games [this season] and can't seem to get over - I can't get the bounce of the ball.

"It would be nice to score one or two tries but the win would also be nice."


Hasler himself has been Stewart's rock. One wonders where Stewart would be today if not for Hasler's steady and unrelenting encouragement and support.

"No doubt Brett is one of the favourites - they come to watch him, and so they should," Hasler said. "We are really hoping for a big crowd, we want a big crowd, we need a big crowd.

"The fans have supported him. Brett is a very special player to the fans and the club. Brett just wants to get on and play."

Asked how long before Stewart was back to his rip-roaring best, Hasler said: "Not much longer."
 
Re: Brett Stewart Interview

That Salty Chicken is not good for Zorba, on the other hand it stops big George from getting any bigger.
 
Re: Brett Stewart Interview

tookey link said:
[quote author=manlyforever08 link=topic=187044.msg326268#msg326268 date=1300784640]
Great to see him so relaxed :)
Zorba's always relaxed
[/quote]
haha i meant Brett! :p
 
Re: Brett Stewart Interview

manlyforever08 link said:
Great to see him so relaxed :)

tookey link said:
[quote author=manlyforever08 link=topic=187044.msg326268#msg326268 date=1300784640]
Great to see him so relaxed :)

Zorba's always relaxed
[/quote]

he just had salty rooster again
 
Re: Brett Stewart Interview & Article

Stewart puts Origin on backburner
Margie McDonald From: The Australian March 23, 2011 12:00AM

HE was an automatic selection as NSW fullback in 2008.

Now, after two years in the wilderness, Brett Stewart is back on the field and the speed and elusiveness are returning. But he has no plans to wrestle back his Origin jersey.

After serious injuries to his right knee in 2009 and left one last year, Stewart is just happy to be wearing the No 1 jersey for Manly.

"My focus at the moment is Manly and winning some games for them," Stewart said at training yesterday.

"If it comes it comes (Origin selection). But I'm just happy to be back playing for Manly."

Jarryd Hayne is the incumbent Blues fullback but Newcastle captain Kurt Gidley, Canberra's Josh Dugan and even Roosters' former Golden Boot winner Anthony Minichiello also loom as contenders for the Origin job.


Stewart, 26, has admired all of them after being forced to watch from the stands for most of the past two seasons.

"Sometimes you just sit back and appreciate some of the footy that gets played by the other fullbacks," he said.

"But I'm just looking at my own performance and wherever that takes me, it takes me.

"It's been pretty frustrating really sitting on the sidelines. It's just good to be back on the paddock and not in the dug-out."

Speaking for the second time in as many days after two years of silence while he fought the sexual assault charges he was eventually cleared of, Stewart spoke openly of some of the pain he has been through - both emotional and physical.

He will play his third game this year against Newcastle on Sunday at his beloved Brookvale Oval where he has scored 51 tries in 54 appearances.

Stewart has not played there in 18 months. "The (fans' support) has been overwhelming . . . I can't thank them enough to be honest because what some of you write and what happens are two different things," he said.

"I can't really blame some of the public for believing what they read at the end of the day."

Stewart hopes to swap words for actions by scoring tries. "I've played two games and haven't got over yet. I can't seem to get the bounce of the ball," he said.

Stewart is anchored on 98 tries from 120 games, and a century in front of the Sea Eagles faithful would be appropriate.

Stewart is counting on striking up the same style of try-scoring co-operation he had with former Manly pivot Matt Orford with young halves Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans. Stewart has never played with Cherry-Evans and only four or five times with Foran in the Kiwi international's 34 NRL games.

"We're still learning each other's game," Stewart said of Foran "but I've been watching him pretty closely. And Cherry also. They play both sides of the ruck and they're both creative with the ball."

Those qualities will suit Stewart to a tee, although he conceded he needed a few more games to get his confidence and instinctiveness back.

Stewart will relinquish the captaincy after one game to Jason King, who is back from suspension. Also returning is Stewart's brother Glenn and winger David Williams from injury.

Post  automatically merged: [time]1300924029[/time]

manlyseaeagles Watch part 2 of the EXCLUSIVE Brett Stewart interview here! #gomanly


http://bit.ly/dUvMb9
 
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