Ahead of the AFL Grand Final on Saturday in his first year as a Western Bulldog, Adam Treloar has revealed a pain he doesn’t want to taste again.
It’s a pain that no footy player ever wants to feel but Western Bulldogs star Adam Treloar has admitted that losing the 2018 Grand Final will haunt him for the rest of his life.
The 28-year-old star is in his first season with the Western Bulldogs but he’s revealed the scars are still raw from losing the 2018 decider.
Watch Fox Footy‘s massive line-up of Grand Final week coverage on Kayo including live pre-game, halftime and post-game coverage with full analysis from the best team in the business. New to Kayo? Try 14-days free >
Having played for the GWS Giants during their early unsuccessful period, Treloar joined the Collingwood Magpies on a six-year deal in 2016.
The Magpies weren’t much better, missing the finals in his first two seasons at the club before making the Grand Final against the West Coast Eagles.
Despite kicking the first five goals of the game, the Magpies couldn’t hold on to the early lead as Dom Sheed famously kicked the matchwinning goal with two minutes left for an 11.13 (79) to 11.8 (74).
While the Magpies made finals in 2019 and 2020, the side couldn’t go as deep either year, before Treloar was unceremoniously showed the door after it was revealed his wife and netball star Kim Ravaillion had signed with the Queensland Firebirds.
It was an ugly exit that Treloar called a “s***storm.
But Treloar also signed a five-year $4.5m deal with the Bulldogs, with Collingwood needing to pay $1.5m over the life of the deal.
While Treloar was slammed for his semi-final performance in the Bulldogs’ one-point win over the Brisbane Lions, he said he’s primed for the grand final.
And what he brings with him from his time with Collingwood is a determination to not lose another Grand Final, revealing he is still haunted by the loss in 2018.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360, Treloar revealed how tough the result was on him.
“It’s one I do look back fondly on, obviously playing in a Grand Final is something that you dream of being able to do,” he said. “Coming so close but feeling it so far, it will always hurt me, it will hurt me to the day that I die because we were up for pretty much the whole game and losing within two minutes of the game finishing. It still hurts me to this day.
“I did promise myself that this time around, no matter what the result is, I’ll enjoy it a lot more because building up to the game and then playing out and then not having the result go your way, it was hard for me to reflect and really appreciate what us as a footy club had achieved at that time and what I had personally achieved that time considering the year that I’d had with injury and whatnot.
“It’s quite funny because it’s been quite similar for me, the journey into this season in particular and now the situation I find myself in. It’s about just really enjoying the moment, enjoying each day as it comes.
“Each day that passes by is getting closer to that bounce and when we do get there and the bus arrives, two hours pre-game, it’s the greatest time of your life, or your week, each player says that. The fact that I’m part of a team that is getting to play off for that ultimate success which is what we’re chasing, it’s something that I don’t want to take for granted and something I want to appreciate whether we win or lose.
“In saying that, I don’t want to lose, I’ve had that feeling and I don’t want to lose, but I do want to enjoy every moment that I’m out there. Because when I’m old and I’m retired, I want to be able to talk to my own daughter and hopefully my own grandchildren about the experiences I went through and the fun that I had doing it at that same time.”
Shown footage of his devastation in the aftermath of the loss, Treloar said it was hard for him to see the images of the 2018 loss.
“When I think about that year and that game, it hurts me. Thinking about it now pulls at the heartstrings for me because we were this close,” he said. “I’ve actually never seen this vision before, never in my life and it’s actually quite emotional for me thinking about it because we were just so close to winning and it meant so much to so many of us.
“I made a promise to myself that I never want to feel that feeling again in any form and in that situation just to give my absolute best that I can give of myself to make my teammates better and that is hopefully winning a grand final. I don’t want to lose this week but I want to appreciate and be grateful of the opportunity that I have ahead of me.”
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
