Robertson eager to be snooker role model

Neil Robertson has vowed to be a role model for snooker after clinching Crucible glory and striking a fresh blow for Australia in his country's sporting rivalry with Britain.

Robertson was jetting out to Oslo to show the Betfred.com World Championship trophy to his Norwegian girlfriend, Mille, who is due to give birth any day now, but before he departed he was keen to savour his victory against Scotland's Graeme Dott.

Robertson knocked out three Englishmen en route to the final, including six-time winner Steve Davis, and said: "England can have the Ashes at the moment, I'll have the World Snooker Championship. It's another sport we've become a world champion at, and hopefully I won't be the last Aussie to do it."

The 28-year-old knows he will be expected to be squeaky clean and the man every player will look up to during his year as world champion.

"It's definitely something I was aware of before this final," Robertson said. "I think it's the case not just in snooker. You've got Roger Federer in tennis and people like that, and before he was the champion he became he was pretty temperamental.

"I don't have that in my game. I think I'm a pretty calm kind of guy.

"Obviously there's a lot of added responsibility now, not just here but for the people back home as well.

"I've probably been dealing with it anyway because I've been representing Australia, and if there was any hope of more Australian players coming through I had to have a good reputation.

"That's definitely important and it's something I'm going to have to handle.

"Barry Hearn can probably pull me aside and give me some coaching on it! It's a really big responsibility and it comes with the package."