Here’s what Sam Lloyd’s coach and teammates had to say about his dramatic, after-the-siren, match-winning goal against Sydney at the MCG last Saturday night . . .
Damien Hardwick: “He’s a good shot for goal, ‘Lloydy’ . . . We were pretty confident. We do practise those a fair bit . . .”
Brett Deledio: “The ‘Deni Master’ would have kicked a million of those back there up at ‘Deni’ (Deniliquin), so backed him in the whole way. That’s the sort of player he is.”
Shane Edwards: “If I could pick anyone, I'd pick ‘Lloydy’. I didn't doubt him.”
Shaun Grigg: “’Lloydy’ is one of our best goalkickers, so I was pretty happy to see it in his hands. But you never know. It was a pretty tough game, and very late in the last quarter, so he’d be pretty fatigued. But he rose to the occasion and drilled it.”
Anthony Miles: “I was pretty confident. He’s generally a pretty good shot at goal . . .”
Ben Griffiths: “I think everyone had a lot of faith in him. He’s done a lot of work and I don’t think anyone doubted him slotting that one, the boy from Deni.
Daniel Rioli: “Out on the training track he rarely misses, so I backed him for sure. And, lucky enough, it came about.”
And, the man of the moment, himself, Sam Lloyd: “I was a bit nervous there when I got the ball, and I was sort of hoping the siren didn’t go. But I just took a couple of deep breaths . . . I was trying to stay in the moment and keep my head over the ball. I just wanted to make the distance as well, so I tried to kick the cover off it . . . To be honest, I thought this is going in, straight off the boot. I hit it pretty sweetly . . . I always dreamed of doing that as a kid. Just amazing. Thank God it went through. It was the only good kick I did all night.”
