The side's hearts would have been in their mouths when they entered extra time against the Bulldogs at Seiffert Oval last Sunday, with the scores locked up at 20-all, after having finished extra time in last season's grand final with a 17-16 loss to the Queanbeyan Kangaroos.

But Nicoll said once his team had re-grouped after the full time siren and before extra time, they struck together much better as a team, and he credited his men for this to give them their significant win- the first in six years.

"They're an unbelievable team," said Nicoll of his Blues teammates.

"We deserved it. We'd done the hard work all year, and it paid off."

Nicoll had a perfect start to the match himself, placing his kicks perfectly but putting on a step to get through the Bulldogs defence and score the opening try from close range.

He also had a hand in a number of other tries, and would have been a contender for teammate Scott Rutland's man-of-the-match honour.

He said he got a huge confidence boost for the rest of the match after scoring the first try.

"It was good to get the monkey off the back, and it felt all easy from there," he said.

Nicoll said his team did not think about last year's grand final loss leading into the game, but admitted it had made them a better side this year.

"It really hurt last year, especially losing to the Roos," he said.

"Not a lot had changed between last year and this year, but I think the loss actually helped us."

Nicoll admitted the win was so important for his men that some considered "taking a few days off to celebrate."