Matt Hall spoke with the conviction of a man who believed something important had just happened.
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He had skippered the Kangaroos to a dogged nine-point win (10.5-65 to 7.14-56) over the Swans on a sublime Saturday afternoon at No 1 Oval.
After back-to-back heavy losses to competition pacesetters New England and Inverell, the Roos have now won two consecutive matches.
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On a day that Swans player Ben Simmons suffered a serious leg injury in the first quarter, resulting in a long delay after an ambulance was dispatched to the ground, the Roos manufactured what Hall labelled a "massive" victory.
It may have only been a round seven match, but the first-year captain said it had provided the Kangaroos with their template for success.
"We didn't wanna be the team that just sort of falls into the finals; we wanna earn our place in there," he said.
So, basically, that game now sets the standard of how we play for the rest of the year.
It was also a "must-win game" for the Roos, Hall said.
"There was so much on the line, with the Billy Holder Cup, just the pride of the club," he continued.
"We were really playing for everyone today. So we couldn't go out there and play poor, which I'm glad we didn't."
It was the first of three matches that the sides will contest this year to decide the Billy Holder Cup winner. The Swans currently hold the Cup.
In prevailing in what Hall called "a really good game of footy", the Roos produced their best four-quarter performance of the year, he said.
Take a bow, Luke Sing.
According to Hall, Sing was not sure he would play this year because of his work commitments. Against the Swans, he was inspirational - first on the halfback flank and then in the midfield.
Hall said:
He really set the tone for us today, to put the head over the footy.
"He's not the biggest bloke, and he really proved to us that he deserves a spot in the team. We can't wait to see how he progresses in his career now."
In winning for the third time this season, the Roos have moved past the Swans into third place on the ladder.
Like other veteran Roos, Ben Evenis has tasted defeat on too many occasions. But on Saturday, as the day's dying light gracefully illuminated a picturesque ground, the vice-captain drunk victory from the Billy Holder Cup; to the victor go the spoils.
In the earlier women's game, the first-placed Swans won 3.6 (24) to 2.11 (23).
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