"Proud as punch" was how Jane Blair described her feelings when arriving at her Melbourne home yesterday after watching her son, Adam, add a NFL Grand Final win on Sunday night to his already impressive rugby league resume.
It was a great moment for Jane, who was also celebrating her birthday.
"He's done it all now, he won a World Cup winners' medal last year and now he's won the ultimate prize - he's done so well since signing with the team in 2006," she said.
Adam Blair was one of the outstanding players for the Melbourne Storm as they held off a fast-finishing Parramatta 21-16 in the final. He scored the team's second try and set up Billy Slater's final try with a fantastic offload that eventually proved to be enough to win his first premiership ring - after missing the Storm's 2007 win through injury.
"To get a try was the biggest bonus ever because he's not really known as a try-scorer and to get a try and win the grand final is something he'll always remember," she said.
After the match, he came over for an emotional embrace.
"His father, William, passed away 10 years ago this year and he knew how I was feeling after the game. I told him his father would have been proud of him if he was here," she said.
Jane brought the family to Whangarei, from Pangaru, after her husband died. She will bring some of her family home from Melbourne to attend a memorial service for her husband on the anniversary of William's passing in November.
Jane decided to take the family over to live in Melbourne to get "a fresh perspective on life" at the end of 2007, and was pleased with the way things have worked out, particularly for her son, Keni, who is playing for the Melbourne Storm U20 side this year.
That team also won their competition in Sydney on Sunday, but Keni missed out on the starting line-up.
