Finals Footy

It is the time of year that it all has been leading up to. Seven weeks ago we had a team meeting and dinner to discuss our goals for the home stretch and finals. Three past players spoke about not taking the opportunity in front of us for granted. Finals footy does not come around as often as you think and before you know it you have retired without a premiership. The club's last premiership came in 2001, but now we have a chance at 2 premierships in the same year. The Senior side finished the season on top of the Division 3 ladder, 2 games clear of second place Hurstbridge. The Reserve side finished in 3rd place behind Hurstbridge and South Morang.

I think the biggest difference between footy down under and footy in the states is the weather. In the states footy is a summer sport, but here it is a winter sport. This past week leading up to this weekend's finals games has been an emotional storm. With rain clouds in the forecast all week, we went into training on Tuesday night in semi hurricane conditions. Hard driving rain and a pounding wind could not keep us off the training track. We've played in some cold, wet windy conditions over the season, but nothing has been as bad as Nationals in Colorado last year.
Thursday night the weather let up a bit, but we were all dealt a sad blow. Coach called us in for a huddle at the start of training and informed us that the father of 2 brothers, who are the finest and most loyal clubmen at Parkside, was suffering from lung cancer and only had a short time to live. Friday morning we got the news that he had passed away, these 2 footy games now took on a new level of meaning, we all wanted to show our teammates that we have their backs whatever they need.

The Senior side was to set the tone in their game on Saturday afternoon. Walking in to the locker room pre game I could tell immediately that eveyone was focused on the task at hand. I knew right then and there that we would win. The boys came out on fire led by Jamie Gresham (the good Gresh) in the first half. Squizzy was hard at the footy as usual making plays all over the ground. We really set the tone early and never looked back, leading by as many as 10 goals at one stage. Dallas made his comeback from a 2 week suspension, making his presence felt early and often, kicking 6 goals. Darren Gresh performed some of his patented acrobatic chest marks and really shut things down in the back line. We ended up winning by 4 goals and after the final siren we paid tribute to our clubmen's father by walking over to the family, as a team, to show our support and thank them for their support all season long. Their mom has not missed a single game all season, she is clearly our number one supporter.

So of course she was at our reserve side game today to watch her other son play finals footy. We had probably our strongest side since round 2 and were confident going in to the game. We beat this team 3 weeks earlier so we knew their game style and vice versa, the x factor was the wind. It was blowing across the ground and had a dramatic affect on our goal kicking. Our midfield was in control early, but we managed only 1 goal to 6 behinds for the first quarter, while they were only able to manage 2 points. The 2nd quarter was more of the same and we had a 3 goal lead with 5 minutes to go in the half and that's when we lost our cool a bit. A couple dumb mistakes and a bad bounce found us tied going into halftime. Frustration was in the locker room, but the confidence was also still there.

We came out focused and determined to start the 3rd, but despite all our pressure we could not find a way to kick the ball through the big sticks, instead we had to settle for 17 behinds for the day. With a 2 goal lead at 3 quarter time we knew it was time to stand up and fight for our footy lives, next week is not guaranteed to anyone. It was gut check time and in our huddle before starting the 4th quarter we talked about all the hard work and sacrifice we made this season, it was time to put it on the line. We outplayed them again, but a couple costly penalties were keeping them hanging around. It came down to the final 5 minutes, we had a 4 point lead and everyone was desperate to get their hands on the footy. Shannon got a hold of it and knew exactly what to do. Dodging one defender he dashed inside the forward 50 from the wing and steadied himself to kick the game winning goal from about 35 meters. Great goal, great win!!!

All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten

At 3 Quarter time this past Saturday, on Parkside's home ground, I was reminded what it was like to be in kindergarten and your teacher scolding you. After leading by 6 goals at halftime we found ourselves 4 goals down heading in to the 4th quarter. The wind was the culprit, in footy terms it was a 7 goal breeze, but we managed to give up 10 straight goals. Needless to say, Coach was not happy. As the siren sounded at the end of the 3rd, we gathered in our team huddle and were told to sit down. The way we were told (by an angry coach) and how we sat down reminded me of kindergarten, it was pretty humiliating. Coach went on quite a tirade, but I wasn't too worried, I thought we could do it. It was an awful quarter, one of the worst I've ever been a part of, but no matter how bad it got I kept telling myself we would come back. That's exactly what we did, kicking 5 goals in the 4th to win by 3 points, 85-82. The wind was such a factor, I just felt that once we had it to our advantage we would be able to overcome. They put on some pressure in the last 5 minutes, but we played strong team defense and shut them down for the win. It was good to sing the team song again, now we have to prepare for the final stretch of the season and make a run for the Division 3 grand final. We had a team meeting last night to talk about making the most of this opportunity, should be a fun ride....

Check out our league website be sure to watch the video on the right and vote for Parkside in the poll below the video.

Round 4 Parkside vs. Reservoir at Parkside

Round 4 of the Northern Football League 2009 season is complete and the Parkside Football Club reserves at 4-0 are just 2 percentage points from the top of the ladder.

Over the weekend, we welcomed Reservoir to our home ground, but we never let them get too comfortable. The challenge we have with our team at Parkside each week is very similar to the challenge we have in Milwaukee, player personnel varies from game to game. So while the core of players remains the same, we tend to spend the first half of games trying to figure out how to best play together. This week it took 3 quarters and we found ourselves ahead by only 5 points at 3 quarter time. Then we flipped the switch in the 4th quarter and ran away with the game, kicking 10 straight goals. This meant that I basically became a spectator in the 4th quarter as I watched our on-ballers win the ball out of the square over and over and hit targets in the forward line. It was very similar to watching Rob win the ball and kick to Heath Whelan when he kicked 10 goals against Minnesota last season.

The first 3 quarters I saw a bit more action, but not much. The ball made it down to my end a handful of times and when it did I got my hands on it and made some good disposals. I'd like to have one of my handballs back, but overall felt good about another solid performance and am continuing to make strides in the right direction.

I was not able to stick around for the seniors game because I had to catch a ride to Sam and Jess's for their house warming party. They have a great house, great friends and of course looked after me so it was another great weekend with the Bells! Miraculously, the seniors found a way to win despite the absence of Peter the Greek, who's career has now officially come to an end following his knee injury last week at Panton Hill. The seniors are now 3-1 and will see the return of a couple key players from injury this week as we take on Diamond Creek. This will be the biggest challenge of the season so far and be a good litmus test for both sides.

Baby Bombers Reborn

It was another great weekend of footy. It all kicked off with the rebirth of the "Baby Bombers" as they ran all over reigning premiers Hawthorn on Friday night and concluded with league leaders St. Kilda pounding Collingwood on Monday night. I was there to witness both games, but of course it was the Bombers surprise victory on Friday that stood out. It was a memorable win as the youngest team in the competition showed no respect for last year's champs and ran them out of the stadium to win by 44, 116-72.

The endeavor for the Bombers was there all night as they ran hard and shared the ball. The Hawks zone defense is what lead them to their premiership run last season and has continued to be a challenge for other teams to figure out. The Bombers game plan was to attack the zone by running with numbers straight up the corridor. The Hawks could not keep up and by the end of the 3rd quarter Essendon had run them off their legs, conceding only 1 goal in the 4th quarter. The Bombers next opponent is unbeaten St. Kilda. Monday night was my first opportunity to watch the mighty Saints up close and boy do they look dangerous! It will take another incredible performance from the young Bombers if they hope to stay close.

Monday Night Footy

In the AFL's latest experiment with scheduling, they decided to follow the NFL's Monday Night Football format. The showdown between St. Kilda and Collingwood will be the only Monday night game on the schedule for this season. The game attracted 40,000 fans and the second largest TV audience of the season so far, this will no doubt have the league considering the addition of more Monday night games in seasons to come. As an American, it is very interesting to hear and read about the fans' argument against Sunday and Monday night football. While Sunday night NFL football has only gained national prominence in the past few years, Monday night football has always been a fixture, in my lifetime. But the argument going around against the late scheduled games is that the kids that go to the games are getting home late and not getting enough sleep so they are tired for school the next day. Other fans from the country suburbs complain about how long it takes to get to the game. It makes me laugh when I think about all the fans from Milwaukee and across the state that drive 3, 4 or more hours to Green Bay for Monday or Sunday night games. Yeah, you're a little tired the next day, so what! suck it up people! We do it in America every week of the season (across 4 time zones) and we seem to manage just fine! Furthermore, if the league was smart they would sell the rights to exclusively broadcast Monday or Sunday night footy to the highest bidder and then adopt the NFL's flex-schedule format, in which the best match of the week is selected as the game to be broadcast that week.

As for the game itself, between St. Kilda and Collingwood, well it wasn't much of one. The Saints established their dominance by halftime and it only got uglier for the Magpies in the 2nd half. The Saints marched all over them in every aspect of the game to win comfortably by 88, 128-40 and increase their league leading percentage to 208%. That leaves Geelong and St. Kilda as the only 2 unbeaten teams in the competition. That showdown is scheduled for Round 14 and already has the AFL considering moving the game from Ethiad Stadium to the MCG.

Bombers Fly up UP on Anzac Day!

Sing along if you know the words. 84,829 fans were
treated to a great game with an inspired victory on
the boot of a last second goal that capped a 14 point
comeback in the final 5 minutes of the game. Also,
meet the Milwaukee Bombers newest fans.

"It's an awesome experience, genuinely moving..." Is how James Hird describes what it is like to play on Anzac day at the MCG. I couldn't agree more. I recently read his book, "Reading the Play," and throughout the day I kept thinking about the chapter where he gives a glimpse of what the day means to him. He produced some of the most incredible plays on Anzac Day. Many reckon the Anzac medal for "Best on Ground" (BOG) should be renamed the James Hird medal. He is why I am a Bombers fan and a source of inspiration. In his book, he is very humble and credits all his success to the attitude that he has to outwork everyone. Check out his performace in the 2003 game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M0C338zQZU. I was completely swept up in the day, a day that was a collection of fun, memorable moments and the kind I have been looking forward to for years. I will look back on those moments for the rest of my life and be thankful I had the opportunity to be there and witness it all. I'm still trying to digest everything and am still flying high on the buzz.

I started the day trying to get myself psyched up for our game. The hardest part during the week leading up to the game was to keep myself calm. I lived a dream yesterday, I played on a professional AFL ground. Victoria Park is the former home of Colllingwood. They have not played there for 10 years, but the ground is still in great shape, the best I've played on. The ground was soft and the grass was short and played fast. Our home ground is some of the hardest I've played on, so this was a real treat. I started in the back pocket for the second week. On the locker room board, coach had drawn our kick out plays and next to that he had a list of points to remember. On top of his list was "Anzac Day medal" for Best on Ground. I knew right then I wanted that award. I had been focusing on the game all morning, visualizing what I wanted to do on the ground that day. I was determined to put together a solid, complete game. Last week, I played a strong half game and this week I was driven to improve.

I came out in the 1st quarter pumped, I was ready to play the game on Tuesday and had been building all week. As we walked out on the ground to start the game, I thought back to last season when we played Nashville and remembered how pumped I got for that game. I tried to recreate that same emotion from that day. I also thought of James Hird and took a moment to appreciate the history. I was standing on Victoria Park ground, the home of the Collingwood Magpies, the team that James Hird and the Bombers take on each Anzac Day, on Anzac Day! I looked around and thought to myself, "It doesn't get much better than this!" Then, the umpires called both teams together at the center of the ground.

Both teams lined up across and facing each other with the umpires standing in a line between us, facing both teams. Our opponent was the Fitzroy Stars a predominantly Aboriginal team. The head umpire blew his whistle and there was a moment of silence to commemorate the brave who we honored by playing the game we love. This was a great opportunity to take it all in and realize the significance of the day, the moment and the game. Then, FINALLY, it was time to get things under way! The first quarter started with us running hard and applying pressure all around the ground. This lead to some early goals and a strong start. They responded with a couple goals of their own and we in turn responded with a couple goals and this continued back and forth throughout the half. We took a 3 goal lead into the locker room. We maybe could have had a couple more goals, but overall it was a strong start to the game for a team that is still getting to know each other. Last week, we debuted 6 new players and this week we added another. I found the ball and made a couple hand balls and kicks to help push the ball through our halfback line. I also took a couple marks and didn't allow my man a shot on goal. I felt good about my performance and the team's performance overall. We were feeling pretty good about our effort in the locker room, but knew we should have been ahead by a couple more goals.

They came out motivated in the 2nd half and we were a bit lackluster for the first 10 minutes and they tied the game at 44. We kicked a behind to break the tie, but knew we needed to play better. It was a gut check stage in the game and for us as a team. Players stepped up all across the ground and we finished the quarter strong with a 2 goal lead. The momentumem we built up in the 2nd half of the 3rd quarter carried us right through the 4th quarter and we ran out on them early, taking an 8 goal lead. I had a solid game and wanted to finish strong. I was getting around to a lot of contests and sticking my head in there going hard for the footy. Our team showed great endeavour and half way through the 4th quarter we knew the game was ours and so did they. They hung their heads and my man even took a knee to gather his thoughts about their loss. They finished out the last 5 minutes and kicked a couple goals to make it a bit closer, but when the final horn sounded the scoreboard read 115-70. It was a solid win for us and now we have 2 wins to build from.

When coach went to annouce Best on Ground, I wasn't expecting him to call my name. I was ecstatic and a bit humbled when he did. I was proud of my performance, proud of our team and loving the feeling, it is why we play the game. I had to grab my trophy mug and run to the Bombers - Collingwood game.

I got off the train and ran to the gate to meet my mate who was bringing out my ticket. I arrived just at quarter time. The atmosphere was electric, with 84,829 fans decked out in their team's colors. The Bombers were 4 goals down to start the 2nd quarter, but responded by attacking the ball and some clever handballing through the middle. The game was tied 42-42 at halftime. The Bombers let themselves down with some shocking shots on goal and had to settle for behinds. The early story of the game was how would the Bombers respond after losing their ruckman in the opening minute of the game. His replacement was up for the challenge and the young bloke came of age in front of an ecstatic crowd!

The Bombers started the 2nd half the way they finished the first, handpassing the ball through the midfield and worked their way out in front by 13 points. That lead was short lived as in classic rivalry fashion, the Magpies responded and took a 14 point lead with 5 minutes remaining. What the Bombers had in store was something no one saw coming, but the Bombers message of the day was, "Never Give Up!" They certainly did not and pulled out the greatest comeback victory I have witnessed live. Nineteen year old David Zaharakis kicked the winning goal on the run from 45 meters with 5 seconds left on the clock! It was a sensational goal and unbelievable victory! Go Bombers!!!