Shaun Lane’s second half of the Eels’ preliminary final win will go down as one of the best from a forward in recent memory.
He set up Maika Sivo’s matchwinner and made a try-saving — arguably season-saving — tackle on Jordan McLean late in the game.
Whether it was an offload or a tackle bust, Lane basically threatened the Cowboys every time he touched the ball.
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It was a performance that capped off a stellar season that has him in contention for not only second-rower of the year, but perhaps a Kangaroos jersey too.
He has one more game to go — the biggest of his career — but no matter the result on Sunday, Lane is already a winner.
The 27-year-old has gone from being a fringe player bouncing between clubs and struggling to realise his own potential to a grand finalist that’s set to ink a three-year extension reportedly worth close to $2 million.
CAREER-BEST FORM
Lane was a favourite of the thousands of fans that were at Kellyville Park on Monday to celebrate their beloved Eels’ first grand final since 2009.
He was one of the last players to finish signing autographs before discovering there was a line of journalists keen to get an insight into his rapid rise.
Speaking to foxsports.com.au Lane agreed that he’s in “career-best form” and added: “I’m getting a great amount of opportunities, I’ve worked pretty hard to enhance my skill and it’s all coming together at the right time.”
Teammate Reed Mahoney couldn’t believe Lane didn’t give himself a bigger rap.
“You’re kidding,” Mahoney laughed… But he jumped at the opportunity to do it for him.
“He’s probably been one of our best players this year,” Mahoney told foxsports.com.au.
“He’s a big body and he’s skilful but he just hasn’t backed himself (in the past) as much as he has now and it’s all coming together for him.
“He knows what he needs to get himself right for every game. People think it’s easy but it’s not, you’ve got to understand your body and your mind and what works for you. He’s obviously got that right, he’s been unreal.
“He’s really matured and he’s a senior player in our team (now). He’s really taken that on, I think Brad (Arthur) has challenged him with that and he’s grabbed it with both hands.
“He just does his job, he’s an eight out of 10 every week… This is the best I’ve ever seen him play.”
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THE BIG CHANGE
Lane believes his form this season has a lot to do with growing up — both on and off the field.
“I’ve just matured a fair bit in the last few years… I was quite immature when I first came to the club,” he conceded.
Asked if he took opportunities for granted earlier in his career, Lane said: “Yeah, somewhat I think it was around that.
“And also more about understanding the potential that I had in myself, the possibilities and chances that I’ve been given rather than sitting around moping about things that don’t go my way here and there,” he added.
It took a shift in mindset around his footy and changes in his personal life to finally unlock the true talent of a 198cm, 110kg athlete with skills to boot.
“It was just about knuckling down and putting in the work necessary to get where I wanted to go and be where I wanted to be in life,” he said.
“I just got myself in the right head space to do all those things around footy and the rest of my life as well.
“You just have little moments of realisation here and there through interactions, it’s hard to pinpoint one person or one exact moment where I had a real moment of clarity.
“A lot of people have to go through some things before they actually mature and I feel like that’s what I’ve done in the last few years.
“It would definitely be a combination of both (footy and personal life) and I think the two feed into each other.
“The better I’m feeling about my personal life, the more stability I have off the field, the more happiness and the better my wellbeing is then it translates onto the field for me.
“I’ve found that I’ve been playing better when I’ve taken care of that.
“I feel it’s the same for every job. If you’re having issues at home or in your own personal life and you’re struggling with things then you’re not going to come to work and be your best self and bring the best energy that you can.
“I’m feeling the happiest I’ve ever felt really and it’s translating onto the field.”
THE JOURNEYMAN
Lane came through the Bulldogs’ under 20s and reserve grade sides before making his NRL debut in 2015.
There were glimmers of his potential throughout the 14 games he played for the Dogs, but the club wasn’t keen to keep him.
A month or so into the 2016 season he joined the Warriors in a swap deal that allowed Raymond Faitala-Mariner to arrive to Belmore a year early.
Lane said it was a “mutually beneficial” situation and an opportunity for him to play regular first grade.
But he conceded it was also “a bit of a gamble.”
It wasn’t a match made in heaven. He only played one NRL game for the Warriors before packing his bags to return to Sydney.
However it was the beginning of the personal journey that’s led him to today.
“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into over in New Zealand, but I summed up the risk and the reward and I still feel like I made the correct decision,” he said.
“I don’t regret it at all and even though things didn’t really work out for me in football over there, I learnt a lot and that was one of those big moments of me maturing as a person and a player as well.”
Next stop was Manly — but the Eels kept a sneaky eye on him… More on that later.
Lane was stuck behind the likes of Frank Winterstein and Curtis Sironen for most of his first season but by half way through 2018 he had nailed down a spot in Trent Barrett’s starting side.
That was a horror year for the Sea Eagles, but an important one for Lane, who had pieced together 24 NRL games — his season-record up until that point.
“I knew I wasn’t happy in New Zealand and that I wanted to come back to Sydney to be with my friends and family and take care of myself,” he said.
“Manly were one of the clubs that were interested and saw potential in me. Luckily enough I kind of gathered myself there in the second year and started performing to my abilities.”
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FINALLY FINDING A HOME
That second season with Manly was enough for the Eels to finally act on the interest that Lane revealed on Monday was always there.
His one-year deal turned into a three-year extension after finishing his first season with the Jack Gibson Coaches Award.
It turned out that Brad Arthur’s decision to play the long game with Lane was the right one.
“I think Parramatta kind of always saw some potential in me ever since I was at the Bulldogs and were kind of interested (back then),” Lane said.
“But I think they saw that I needed to mature as a player as well and then that second year when I was at Manly where I was showing signs of improvement and being a lot more consistent they were keen.
“I think Brad’s always been a fan, he’s always been great to me and has always shown a lot of faith in my abilities.”
The feeling is mutual, with the ‘Lane Train’ also being a fan of Arthur.
“There’s two elements to being a coach — strategic and how you handle your players,” he said.
“I’ve always said Brad is a very personable coach, he might not say things that you like sometimes but it’s things you need to hear.
“He has a reputation for being that type of guy and I’m thankful that he is because he doesn’t beat around the bush, he just tells you what you need to hear. That’s definitely helped me a lot.
“On top of that he shows a lot of faith in his players and he’s obviously recruited the players that he has for a reason because he believes us.”
STAYING IN PARRA-DISE
It was reported last week that Lane was closing in on a new deal with the Eels.
He confirmed his desire to recommit to the club — but he won’t put pen to paper until after the grand final.
“I love Parramatta so I think we’ll be working towards staying here, but we’ll obviously take care of it in the off-season,” he said.
So with his future all but settled, a 50/50 chance of winning a premiership, what else does the matured version of Lane want to achieve?
“Whatever I can really,” he said candidly after taking a moment to think.
“I want to burn the candle out and do everything there is to experience as a football player, just soak it up and enjoy the ride.
“It’s not necessarily about the accolades for me, it’s about the experience and at the end of the day you can’t take trophies and rings to the grave, you can only take memories so that’s what I want to achieve.”
