SYDNEY Swans co-captain Brett Kirk is confident his club will quickly move on from his retirement and continue its climb up the AFL ladder.
Kirk’s superb AFL career ended on Saturday night when the Swans were knocked out of the finals by the Western Bulldogs.
After missing the eight last year, the Swans fell just five points shy of a preliminary finals berth as the Dogs came from behind to win 11.11 (77) to 10.12 (72).
Despite all his experience - the match was Kirk’s 241st - the veteran said it hurt as much as any close defeat.
“I think you’re just gutted,” he said.
“You just lost a game of footy. You’re a week away from playing in a prelim, to get yourself in a grand final, so [you’re] gutted for yourself and your teammates.
“You’ve worked so hard to get to a point and now the players have to go back to November, work our way back, try to get back into the finals.”
Kirk acknowledged he didn’t have his best night from a personal point of view, but his trademark courage could not be questioned.
He left the field in the third term after sliding in for a possession and was forced from the field under the blood rule. That act might have lifted his side, but not enough to help them across the line.
“I was always going to leave it all out on the field,” he said.
“I was going to go and go and go until I fell over ... I think I’ve had a dog of a night tonight but I kept cracking in.”
As for his career in the red and white, the 33-year-old realised that is now over. Not only for him but also for coach Paul Roos.
But he says the club will move on.
“We’re only passing through, there’s other guys that’ll take our spots and the footy club will move on; it’s not the end of the world,” Kirk said.
“I’m just so grateful to be able to do something I love for so long, so grateful to be part of the footy club, to be coached by Roosy - there’s no better leader going around to get the best out of people and he’s got the best out of me.
“And I just really care about the place and I’m really proud of being a part of something we built but also proud of the guys that have stepped up.”
Kirk said he was unsure what lay ahead.
“For me, I made the decision with my heart, so it was always going to be honest and it was instinctual when I felt it,” he said.
“I spoke to Paul and that’s when I told everyone else and that’s the way it was always going to be.
“Whatever I do next it’ll be something that I’m passionate about and I care about and it’ll be at 100 miles an hour.”
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