A PREMIERSHIP medal at East Wagga-Kooringal is mission accomplished for Hawks captain Ben Absolum.
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Three years ago, Absolum made the brave move to leave Collingullie-Glenfield Park for a return to his junior club, EWK.
His family heritage is at the Hawks and on Saturday he etched his own name into the history books by leading the Hawks to a drought-breaking premiership.
Not only is Absolum now a premiership captain, but he also claimed the Nitschke-Schmidt Medal for best-on-ground.
“It’s unbelievable,” Absolum said.
“We probably didn’t play our best footy but you know, on grand final day you’ve just got to get it done. I think we did what we needed to to get the job done.
“As long as that scoreboard over there’s got us in front, I’m happy.”
Absolum’s return was a turning point in the Hawks’ on-field performances.
They lost grand finals in his first two seasons, but finally cracked it for a victory against Coleambally on Saturday.
“It’s probably a bit of relief,” he said.
“The last two years, it was pretty hard to cop them losses and I think that’s what drove most of these boys.
“This club has come a long way in the three years I’ve been there so to get the reward for the club, it’s just an awesome day for the club.”
Absolum was a popular premiership player at Collingullie when he surprised many and returned to Gumly Oval in 2014.
The 27-year-old conceded it was a brave move at the time.
“Yeah, definitely. Some of my best mates are still out at Collingullie,” he said.
“I played a lot of games out there but the history, my name’s at the club here with my dad and my pop so it wasn’t an easy decision but it wasn’t the most difficult either because I knew it was time to give that club a go and see what I could do there.
“It made it easy with Gep coming along, he’s one of my good mates so it’s good.”
It was a family affair for Absolum, with father Steve, the club president, watching on.
Steve was brought to tears watching his son lift the Hawks first premiership cup in 34 years.
“Amazing. Proud as punch,” Steve said.
“That’s Ben’s ninth grand final and he’s lost seven so we’ve been on the receiving end many, many, many times mate so when you get one up, it’s an amazing feeling.”
Absolum put in a typical strong performance in the midfield in what was an even team effort from the Hawks.
In a change, this year’s Nitschke-Schmidt Medal was voted by the umpires.