Alexander eyes end to decade drought
Rupert Guinness
September 6, 2010
BEN ALEXANDER had to think back 10 years to when he last played in a championship team - to the under 15s.
When the Brumbies front-rower played 30 minutes for Eastwood in their 95-10 win over bottom of the table Parramatta at TG Millner Field on Saturday that secured them the Shute Shield minor premiership with a round to go, he felt an added dose of satisfaction.
While Alexander felt he only played a bit part in his first game back since being sidelined with a right knee injury, which required surgery, when playing for the Wallabies against Fiji in June, deep down, the 25-year-old knows it was anything but in the grand scheme of things. By surviving those 30 minutes unscathed, the mobile prop will have reassured the Wallabies selectors that if he can carry on through the Shute Shield finals series, he should make the Wallabies' spring tour.
Alexander is taking a cautious stance on those odds, and is focused on doing all he can to help Eastwood add a Shute Shield title to the minor premiership.
"It was a good game to come back to. I blew out a few cobwebs," he said. "The back is a bit sore, just getting back into the scrummaging side of things, but the fitness feels good. I just have to work on the timing of my defensive work and timing at the breakdown.
"I have to start putting some hours into that, now that my knee is fine to be doing all that sort of stuff."
So, what of his personal championship drought? "I haven't been a part of anything that has won for a while - a grand final-winning side or premiership side - for a number of years," Alexander said. ''Under 15s …
"It was nice to knock over the minor premiership. We have a tough game this week [at second-placed Southern Districts] … then we have a week off, which will give me time to do a bit more on my fitness after a couple of games under my belt.
''Then we launch into that preliminary final and hopefully the final. So get on the spring tour I'll be match-fit.
"But I can't say I've contributed much to [Eastwood's] cause, playing 30 minutes out of the whole season. The boys have been doing a great job. It feels that something special is building this year, with the same guys over the last couple of years."
In other round 21 games, Sydney University (5th) defeated Eastern Suburbs (4th) 33-13; Warringah (7th) edged Northern Suburbs (9th) 37-30; Southern Districts (2nd) beat West Harbour (8th) 32-16; Randwick (6th) prevailed over Gordon (10th) 24-8; and Manly (3rd) defeated Penrith (11th) 33-17.
