ADAM Saad was slightly late to his own scheduled appearance at the 2022 John Nicholls Medal, where he was due to partake in a panel discussion with teammates Charlie Curnow, Sam Walsh and Jacob Weitering.
As he hurried to the stage two minutes into Jason Richardson’s interview, the reasoning came as to why Saad was walking his way through the room of a packed-out Plenary as the discussion started.
“Sorry I’m late! We pray five times a day, and I’ve just finished,” Saad explained.
It’s no surprise to anyone that Saad’s faith is central to who he is.
And as he and many others in the Navy Blue - players, coaches, staff and supporters alike - looked to make sense of the season just gone, his beliefs once again provided a sounding board.
It was the backbone of a conversation he had with Michael Voss in the aftermath of Round 23, echoing the AFL Senior Coach’s final words to the playing group following that agonising missed opportunity.
“I mentioned this to ‘Vossy’: being a Muslim, we understand that everything happens for a reason,” Saad said.
“Us making finals was never meant to be. But hopefully, in the future, we make finals, give it a good shake and hopefully win a premiership.
“‘Vossy’ mentioned after the last game - obviously we were all devastated - that at the start of the year, there was hope, but that is now belief. You can see the hunger and burning desire in our stomachs.”
As a 2022 All Australian, Saad joined Curnow, the 2022 Coleman Medallist, as well as Walsh and Weitering, the last two winners of the John Nicholls Medal who otherwise hadn’t had the chance to be acknowledged at Carlton’s night of nights due to Covid restrictions.
While some teammates took to the skies in the aftermath of the John Nicholls Medal for an overseas trip, familial commitments - his sister is getting married this week - kept Saad in Melbourne.
Not that he would’ve gone too far, anyway.
“You’ve just reminded me, she’s getting married next week,” he laughed.
“I’ll be hanging around the northern suburbs. I get homesick and can’t go too far away: I think I’ll just stay in Brunswick.”
