Deniliquin captain Anthony Bull thought senior footy was a pretty easy gig when he made the step up at the start of the millennium.
Bull, who played all his junior footy with the Rams, stepped up to Murray Football League senior level in the middle of a dominant Rams run of four successive premierships between 2001-04.
He made his debut in 2002, but wasn’t a member of that year’s premiership side, and became a regular the following year.
Bull played in the 2003 and ’04 triumphs.
But much has changed since then.
The Rams’ dominant period ended and Bull has transformed from a fresh-faced ruckman going up against brutes in the middle to a seasoned leader of the Rams’ outfit.
Bull said heading into Saturday’s grand final with Cobram would be totally different to the earlier triumphs.
‘‘In those other sides we had a lot of old blokes,’’ Bull said.
‘‘This time over we have a lot of young kids and for me personally, it will mean a lot more to me now if we won.’’
The Rams are the only team to have beaten the Tigers this season, once in the home-and-away season and then in a semi-final to advance to the season decider.
Bull said the Rams entered the match with confidence.
‘‘We are pretty confident, quietly confident,’’ he said.
‘‘We have beaten them well twice, but we obviously know that this game is going to be a lot closer.
‘‘We will take a lot out of the way we played against them last time.’’
He said the Rams’ progress this season had exceeded his expectations.
‘‘I knew we would be up there,’’ he said.
‘‘But I really didn’t think we would make the grand final.
‘‘We have just kept improving every game and the young kids who have come in have really stepped up to the level.
‘‘We are a big chance on Saturday.’’
Last Modified on 15/09/2011 11:13