Walking around in the stinking mud at the T.H. King Reserve on Saturday morning took me back to my childhood, growing up in the countryside north of Bendigo, visiting my mates at their dairy farms. It took me straight back to the crisp winter mornings with the golden sunlight sparkling off the frost-covered grass. I used to love riding the 4-wheeled motorbike, so when Rorey one-day offered to let me ride it down to the dairy for the morning milking, I was thrilled, until half-way through the 2km ride, both my hands and my face went numb, and I lost the ability to squeeze the brake, or push the accelerator, or turn, and had to drive straight past the dairy and keep going down the road until the motorbike ran out of petrol.

 

Riding around on 4-wheel motorbikes was how we spent most of the school holidays. We would hold races around the old house and shed, but because there were two of us and only one bike, the only way we could determine who would win was by one of us timing while the other raced around the house, past the clothesline, around the water tank, back in between the two sheds and over the finish line (garden hose). My mate, Rorey was always faster than me. No matter how hard I went, he would always beat me by at least a few seconds, until I finally pushed it too hard, and as I came hurtling between the cow shed and the hay shed, I hit the slippery concrete and lost all traction, hitting a brick wall, popping a tyre and smashing the handlebars into my stomach. It wasn’t until years later that Rorey told me he had been adding a few seconds to my time each lap.

 

One of the first things you need to know about farms is that electric fences will hurt you. I remember jumping a fence to fetch a stray cricket ball and getting zapped, then realizing that the zap didn’t do any long-term harm, so picking up some wet grass and giving yourself a little zap was a good idea, then grabbing the fence and your mate at the same time so the zap went through to him, then challenging your mate to hold on to the fence for longer than you could, until you both had to let go and sit down for a while, then going back home and training for the next few days by walking over to the paddock with the electric fence and holding onto the medium-voltage wire until the heart palpitations started.

 

2s

Tommy Angel was really good again in the two’s, throwing himself around willy-nilly, while Simon Yule was excellent in the ruck, Jesso was indefatigable all day, Ando relished the slippery conditions, Crameri threw his weight around, and Hamish Guthrie was solid in defense.

 

At this stage, the two’s still have a mathematical chance of making the finals, and as Steven Bradbury will tell you, a chance is all you need.

 

 

	1QG	1QB	2QG	2QB	3QG	3QB	4QG	4QB	PTS
St Kevins	4	4	5	8	7	11	10	12	72
University Blacks	1	1	2	4	2	6	4	6	30

 

Goal Kickers: J. O'Keefe 6, C. Randles 2, D. Gibbs , P. Aughton
Best Players: S. Landers, J. O'Keefe, P. McLennan, J. Giansiracusa, H. Townsend, D. Gibbs

Goal Kickers: T. Bell , J. Crameri , T. Angel , N. Holt
Best Players: T. Angel, S. Yule, A. Jesse, I. Anderson, J. Crameri, H. Guthrie

 

 

 

1s

It is always a passionate game against St Kevins, and Saturday was no exception. There was plenty of heat in the battle, but they proved too good for us on the day. Ninja Batten was excellent all day, after trying to convince The Black Bear before the game that the goal posts were further apart than usual. I tried to explain that it just looked like that, because they are shorter than usual, but he wouldn’t cop it.

 

Tommy “El Swine” Napier got his snout in the mud, and lifted the team with a piece of contact on the opposition ruckman that made even the hardest observer wince. Michael “Scotchy” Cousins was a baby-faced killer, while Scotty Weekly got in the best simply for letting Tony Costello put four staples in his forehead, Josh Gaylor was playing with his own ball, and Huw Lacey wore a short-sleeved jumper.

 

The ones are in no-mans land this year, so the game this weekend against Hampton could have anything. I’m tipping Tony Evans will be trying his best to take hangers and kick miracle goals, but apart from that, anything could happen.

 

 

	1QG	1QB	2QG	2QB	3QG	3QB	4QG	4QB	PTS
St Kevins	4	6	11	10	13	15	15	15	105
University Blacks	3	2	9	3	12	6	14	6	90

 

Goal Kickers: M. Giansiracusa 4, B. Dowd 2, T. McPherson 2, A. Lynch 2, T. McDermott , P. Edgar , D. Newman , K. Wissell , K. Brick
Best Players: A. Lynch, T. McPherson, B. Dowd, J. Keogh, D. Mount, M. Shanahan

Goal Kickers: J. Foster 3, H. Lacey 3, A. Drysdale 2, S. Weekley , B. Mill , J. Gaylor , N. Batten , C. Richardson , T. Napier
Best Players: N. Batten, T. Napier, M. Cousins, S. Weekley, J. Gaylor, H. Lacey