ED McGrath made his debut for the Grafton Redmen at the tender age of thirteen.
Eighteen-years later, and with 154-games and 48-tries under his belt, one of the Redmen’s favourite sons has been handed the first-grade captaincy.
With regular captain Kyle Hancock unavailable at the start of the year, Redmen coach Gary Powell saw leadership qualities in the rangy backrower who freely admits he was taken aback by his new role at the club.
“At first I was shocked,” McGrath admitted.
“I guess it was something that I thought I would never do or achieve, but I feel honoured and privileged to lead the side.”
Asked if the role has changed his approach to the game, McGrath said he has not altered his own playing style but added with the captaincy, there is more added responsibility.
“I do feel there is a lot more pressure, but it is getting easier and more comfortable as the season goes on,” he said.
“Ask Kyle Hancock…I’m not much of a forward-thinking rugby player, it’s more or less a case of give me the ball and let me go forward and hopefully lead from the front.”
McGrath is no stranger to pressure; he’s played representative rugby at a high level and loves nothing more than a challenge and proving himself against the best.
On Saturday he will need to be at his barnstorming best against Hastings Valley Vikings who have not tasted defeat all season.
“Vikings are a very good side. They struggled last season but this year they are playing quality rugby,” McGrath said.
“They have a very big and dominant forward pack and are well drilled. If we can match them in the forwards our backs could be the key to coming away with the competition points.
“They only beat us by seven points last time we played them, and we had a player red-carded for most of the game.”
Nico
