"I couldn't think of a better place to finish off my career, hang up the boots, and go out a winner."
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That was Singleton coach Kerrod Holland's response after responding to an SOS from his hometown and delivering a Group 21 premiership a year after the club claimed the wooden spoon.
"It hasn't sank in yet, with all honesty," an elated Holland told The Singleton Argus after the match.
"We did it the hard way, 12-0 down. We've had all three grades in here: 18s, reserve grade and first grade.
"The 18s and reserve grade won, and we knew there was a real emphasis on us to win 3-0."
Holland said while the premiership meant a lot to the team, it meant just as much to the community, who celebrated a famous day for the Red Dogs in their thousands.
"You just saw the scenes after the game, and everyone just mobbed us.
"What does it mean to this town? You can't park anywhere near the ground. I think there are more than 5000 people here. It's brought everyone back,
"I couldn't think of a better place to finish off my career, hang up the boots, and go out a winner.
Holland scored a double, including a 90-metre intercept try to get the Greyhounds on the board and end Greta Branxton's domination, but his kicking was unusually off target.
"These old legs don't run 90 very often. I'm surprised the hammys didn't go," Holland joked about the intercept try.
"The kicking boots were well and truly off target. I think I missed five or six in a row.
"It would have helped if we scored anywhere near the posts, but we didn't, and I still missed one (penalty goal) to finish off the game.
"Luckily, we didn't need it today.
"We knew if we could get on a roll, just keep in there, we could come over the top.
Greta Branxton, who went into the game without fullback Brent Mendyk and had a couple of players under an injury cloud, played a man down for 60 minutes after a sin-binning, and then Billy Mitchell was sent off 10 minutes before the break.
Holland said he admired the Colts for their courage and effort.
"They were brave, they've been the best team all year and had everything to play for."
"They had a cracking effort, you can't fault them. We beat them by six points, and they were a man down for 70 minutes."
Singletong last won a premiership in 2012, but has a habit of winning back-to-back titles with its most recent premierships in 2007-08 and 2011-12.
Holland threw down the challenge to the 2026 coach Joel Brown, who was tremendous at hooker on Sunday, and the playing group to double up.
"It's always great to go out and win one, but back-to-back sounds better," Holland said.
