Alf Thomas’s grandson, Michael Robertson, has been hailed a hero of the grand final with his hat-trick of tries contributing to the 40-0 thrashing.

In the game leading up to the final, Alf said he thought his grandson could have scored “a couple more tries if they had passed him the ball”.

His wish was granted and Alf’s verdict was that Robertson’s three tries were a “big effort”.

“I never expected that,” he said. “Very good score.”

“He called me last night and I said I was proud of him. He said, ‘what about the rest of the boys?’, and I told him I thought he was a little bit above them.

“He laughed and said, ‘thanks pop’.”

Alf wasn’t the only local cheering Robertson on, with reports of the Wellington Hotel being filled to capacity with “Michael’s clan”.

“When he comes to visit, he goes to the Wellington Hotel for a few beers,” Alf said. “They all think the world of him.

“Even the publican and his wife - they were Manly supporters when they moved here from Newcastle.”

Alf is a loyal Manly supporter himself from way back, and has relished watching his grandson progress with the team through the finals series.

“Michael scored his three tries, but I thought they were going to cave but they just kept going and going,” he said.

“It was excellent, I’m very proud. The boy rang me last night, and my daughter from Brisbane, and they’re as happy as a pig in mud.”

Alf said he snuck in a couple of celebratory beers at the local in Wellington on Sunday night with the rest of his grandson’s supporters.

emily.wheeler@ruralpress.com