Illawarra Cup Legend Wayne Bremner Hangs Up The Boots After Grand Final Heroics

Wayne Bremner's participation in the championship game was in serious doubt. A legendary farewell effort in the Illawarra Cup saw him play all 80 minutes.

Cooper Cronk's 2018 Sydney Roosters grand final heroics were on par with Wayne Bremner's Illawarra Cup grand final effort.

In a performance that will live on in Illawarra Cup grand final mythology, the veteran fullback played the whole 80 minutes despite being in obvious discomfort as the Thirroul Butchers defeated the Collegians 24-18 to win the championship.

After winning the Illawarra Cup for a second time, Bremner has decided to retire from playing at the age of 32.

Bremner's chances of playing in the championship game were in doubt when he hurt his knee in the semifinals a week earlier.

When Bremner realized he could have to miss his final championship game, "it was a strange grand final build-up in a way," he said.

The objective was to rest the knee and discover what was wrong by not running at all during the week.

I ran for 10 minutes on Friday morning as a trial and reported back to the coach that everything felt fine.

In spite of the odds, Bremner played his final game in the No. 1 jersey, and he not only finished the game, but he was also one of the game's top players.

Thirroul captain Hayden Crossland stated, "When he hurt his knee last week, you still had a feeling he'd make it for the final; you'd back Brem on one knee anyway."

Someone else said, "I'm pretty sure he made 25-odd carries on a bung knee, he was unreal."

Towards the game's halfway point, "around the 20 minute mark, I actually hurt the other knee tackling one of their wingers," Bremner added.

At the end of the second half, my damaged right knee was giving me a lot of trouble.

We had a fine young fullback on the bench in Dane Courtney, but I wanted to play in my final game, so I debated getting taken out.

Bremner's limp became increasingly noticeable as the game progressed, but he still managed to make contributions all over the field, including a game-winning tackle on Sam McCann along the left touchline and the instigation of a pair of Collegians dropouts with slick grubber kicks.

"Wayne was outstanding," remarked Jarrod Costello, head coach of Thirroul.

His dedication to making it onto the field and performing at such a high level is indicative of his character.

"He's the type of guy you want on your team because he's a good person and a straight shooter on the field."

After winning the Illawarra Cup in 2015 with Helensburgh, Bremner was ecstatic to win it again with his best friend and Player of the Match, Jarrod Boyle, at the final buzzer.

According to Bremner, "it was the perfect fairytale finish in a way."

When we were kids in the shire, we started playing football together. Throughout the season, I kept fantasizing about how great it would be to win another championship with my team.

It was ideal for us to do it and for him to play as brilliantly as he did.

As permanent members of one another's lives, "we had a special moment, locking eyes from afar and just having a massive hug."

"Both premierships are incredible milestones for various reasons; one, I was a young guy and had poured years and years into a club before ultimately getting it done, so that one is especially meaningful to me. Having feared my career was over and coming so close to not being able to play, this one was memorable for its own reasons.

Bremner is retiring from his profession and moving on to the next phase of his life. Now that he's expecting his third child, he also has to care for the next generation of Bremners.

In his own words, "I'm just keen to slow down, spend time with the family, and start surfing," Bremner declared.

To paraphrase, "I'll still get up and watch some games of footy, and I might get back involved with the club when my kids get to the age of playing."