INVINCIBLES: Doing double is dream come true for Blackburn Hawks

Sunday was a special day - the culmination of a season’s hard work with us doing the double, maintaining our unbeaten status and lifting the play-off trophy.

It’s hard to describe what it means to be captain of this team. I couldn’t hold it together when the buzzer went in the final. A few tears came down.

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We have all worked really hard this season to get where we’ve got, although at the moment it all still feels a bit surreal.

The final against Billingham Stars was the right final, with us finishing first and Billingham second. It was a tough game, and tight in the early stages. But there was no way we were going to go up there and lose. It was never in our mind.

Having not lost a game in the league, though, and going into the play-off final weekend as favourites the pressure was on us.

We took a 2-0 lead in the semi-final with Sheffield Spartans through brothers Adam and Luke Brittle.

Spartans scored two quick ones to equalise and in previous years we would have probably been rattled and thrown it away. But we have found a way to win and I think we deserved to, with Aaron Davies putting us back in front and Luke adding his second for a 4-2 win.

We started the final well but then we got a few penalties which gave Billingham - who had beaten Solway Sharks 9-6 in the other semi-final - a bit of momentum.

They scored first, we equalised through Luke, then Aaron scored again to make it 2-1.

Billingham went 3-2 up at the start of the third and final period. But we were never worried. We knew, having watched their semi-final, there were weaknesses defensively so we knew we could cause them a lot of problems.

We were pretty tight at the back and our attack took care of itself, so in the end it was comfortable for us, with Luke and Aaron adding to their tallies and Tom King and Jordan Bannon wrapping up a 6-3 win.

It is now that it’s all over we can realise what we have done.

It will be tough to follow that and do it again, especially next year when there will be more teams in the league. But who knows.

I’m just delighted we’ve done it this year - for each other and for the fans.

On a personal note, to be voted fans’ player of the year and man of the match in the final are two special achievements.

Adam Brittle won player of the season and Luke was the top points scorer. Jared Owen was rightly voted coach of the season.

But it’s hard to single out one individual for praise. It’s been a team effort. We’ve earned it and we’ll enjoy it.

It’s not really sunk in yet. My phone’s been blowing up with everyone congratulating us.