One of the first things Dylan Edwards did after the grand final victory was check on injured Parramatta winger Bailey Simonsson.
Edwards evoked memories of Scott Sattler’s heroics in the 2003 decider when he chased hard and tackled Simonsson into touch in the second half.
Simonsson, however, dislocated his left shoulder and came from the field in pain.
“I knew my shoulder was out, and he actually came up to me after the game and wished me well,” Simonsson said of Edwards.
“I tried to put my arm in a sling because my shoulder was so sore. I’ve already had surgery on the same [left] shoulder.
“I thought I had the space to go around him, but he came up with a great tackle – he had the good angle and used it wisely. He’s outstanding, and his efforts were second to none.”
Dylan Edwards evokes memories of Sattler with classic cover tackleCredit:Nine
When Edwards started to talk about Sunday’s performance and the jaw-dropping tackle on Simonsson, teammates Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo pretended to fall asleep because the fullback was being so humble.
The No. 1 later told the Herald: “I didn’t know it at the time but he [Simonsson] had stayed down for a while and had a crook arm. I wanted to check in on him afterwards.
“It wasn’t as crucial as Scott Sattler’s tackle, that’s for sure. We were up a bit, and he was a middle chasing down a winger. What I did was my job.
“I gave him my outside and then backed myself to try and take him over the line.
Bailey Simonsson dislocated his left shoulder and was awaiting scans.Credit:Getty Images
“The [best part is the] boys getting around you when you do something like that. They’re the sort of plays the boys feed off.”
Cleary heaped praise on Edwards and said: “That tackle was unbelievable. It was so similar to ‘Satts’ tackle. It sums up his year and who he is as a player. I’m so stoked for him.
“I thought he was hard done by in the Dally M and to not get any awards. It’s hard because there are so many great fullbacks. But the year he’s had, it’s great he could top it off with the Clive Churchill Medal.”
Edwards received one of the loudest cheers when he fronted for Monday’s fan day. He quickly shot down talk when asked if he preferred to be referred to as ‘Satts’ ore ‘Clive’.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga would have loved to have included Edwards in his 24-man squad, but pointed out he already had James Tedesco, a player he regards as the best along side Cleary, as well as back-up options Latrell Mitchell, Cam Munster and Valentine Holmes.
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