Sydney midfielder Kieren Jack says the bitter grand final memories that still haunt his father, rugby league legend Garry, are providing fierce motivation ahead of the AFL premiership decider against Hawthorn.
Once considered one of rugby league’s best players Garry Jack suffered back-to-back grand final defeats with the Balmain Tigers in 1988 and 1989.
The Tigers’ extra-time loss to Canberra in 1989 is widely considered the greatest rugby league grand final ever and also one of the code’s most heartbreaking defeats.
Former Australian fullback Garry is one of a host of former Tigers players who still struggle to talk about that day and Kieren, who will play in his first grand final on Saturday against the Hawks, is determined to learn from his father’s heartbreak.
“He can’t give me too much advice on the game, he doesn’t know a whole lot about it but he has been a part of grand finals twice,” Kieren Jack said on Tuesday.
“I haven’t really spoken too much about it to him yet but I know how bitter he is with the 88 and 89 grand finals and how much he wishes things could be different.
“It still hurts him today. That’s probably a message in itself for me, you play in a grand final but you might not get another opportunity, so you want to take it with both hands and make sure you leave no stone unturned on the day.”
Garry Jack nor Balmain played in another grand final following their 1989 defeat, with the financially stricken club merging with Western Suburbs to form the Wests Tigers for the 2000 NRL season.
The Wests Tigers claimed their first premiership in 2005 and Kieren said he hoped to bring premiership success to the Jack family with the Swans this year to help atone for his father’s disappointment.
“I think we are all in the same page thinking this could never happen again so you have to make the most of it,” Jack said.
“We play to win, we are competitors, to see dad lose two in a row it still hurts him so hopefully I can turn that around.”