IF you were to think about the most passionate players who have worn the blue and white of St Pat's in men's Premier League Hockey this season, Brent Naylor would certainly come to mind.
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Naylor epitomises what it means to wear one's heart on their sleeve, so if the club he has been playing for since he was four-years-old is to win this Saturday's grand final against Orange Wanderers, it will mean plenty to him.
Though he is one of the older members of the Premier League squad at 37, he has not played in any of the five previous grand finals the Saints have qualified for this decade.
"I haven't played in one for years, I think my last one was about 2004, so yeah, it has been a while in coming," Naylor said.
"Any grand final is awesome to be a part of ... I am nervous, there'd be something wrong with you if you didn't get nervous I think. I get nervous before every game."
READ MORE: Saints are ready to take down Wanderers
A fierce competitor, Naylor freely admits he was frustrated and disappointed to see both Souths and Lithgow Zig Zag withdraw from this year's premiership.
But he felt the pre-season nines competition "was awesome" and that Saturday's grand final is a reward for the work both the Saints and Wanderers have done to develop and promote junior talents.
"They were always a dark horse, mainly because of their youth, but I think Parkes and Panthers might have got a bit complacent. You've got to give them the respect they deserve, they're young and they're fast," Naylor said.
"They've got a really young nucleus to their team, it's a credit to them and I guess credit to us because we've got the same thing as well. The amount of youth in their side and our side - bar me - I guess it does pay to look after your juniors.
"I wreck the average, but if you took me out, the average age for Pat's would be low 20s. It makes it hard when you're chasing them around when you get older though," he added with a laugh.
"If we do what we've been doing, we're pretty happy with the way we've been going, so if we can stick to our game I think we can beat anyone."
Saturday's grand final in Orange starts at 2pm.
