I still can’t believe it. The boys are sitting in the rooms with the biggest smiles on their faces. We’re in another grand final. Those first 20 minutes in the rooms after you’ve won a game like that is the best feeling in the world. The rooms are packed and everyone is sitting around chatting away. I still can’t believe we’ve won. But we quickly sort ourselves out and get on the road back to Yarra for the awards. I’ve got the kids for the week and they all want Chinese for dinner. It’s 15 bucks — all you can eat. After all that, the kids don’t eat much but I managed to polish off a few plates.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It’s fair to say I didn’t get much sleep last night. Did I mention we’re in another grand final? Today is actually pretty low key. The kids and I went down the lake to feed the ducks and then went back into town to get some board games to fill in the day. The shopkeeper asks me how we went yesterday because he couldn’t get to the game. I told him I wouldn’t be in the shop if we’d lost. He liked that. Everyone pops down to the club that night for some recovery and it was good to see the boys again.
It’s a pretty quiet day before training, to be honest. ‘Keya’ (Chris Kennedy) spoke about the things we’d try and put in place for Sunday and then we did a bit of work. Xav Leslie took training with Drew out injured. He must have googled some drills or something. We split up into our backs, forwards and mids and had a chat again about the plans for Sunday. I’m going to play at full-back on big Setanta this week. Just kidding. Me and the kids went around to Craig’s for tacos, which was nice. They’re Leni’s favourite. We thought we’d go around and cheer him up after he didn’t get any votes in the Morris Medal. Seriously, how did that happen? He’s a bit flat, the little fella. I think a few people are making some “Vote 1 for Craig” signs to hold up in the crowd on Sunday.
It’s off to Wangaratta with the kids today. Tenpin bowling is on the cards with Daine and Bella Runnalls. It’s all fun and games but Daine ended up getting the chocolates. He wouldn’t let the kids win, which I thought was a bit too serious. But anyway. Ninja Turtles at the movies is next on the cards. Not a bad film. It’s back to Yarra and out for dinner with “uncle” Ed Bayles at the ‘Vic’ pub. We have a great feed there but the kids still aren’t cooked after a big day. They soon found a lolly machine and skill-tester, which they put plenty of coin through. I’m starting to think about the game a lot now. I can’t wait.
A big day today with our main training run tonight. The girls head off to the high school to help make banners and streamers for the parade. It was nice to have a breather! We trained really well and it’s the best night to train for the year. It’s awesome to see so many people there watching and everyone is up and about. The teams get read out upstairs after, with the netballers going first. Matt Gorman’s nan got up and read a poem from last year’s grand final, which was really good. There’s a few presentations — I got a photo for playing my 50th game — and then Keya and Barnes are back with the team. Unfortunately, Craig Whinray has missed out and Ricky Barnes has come in. Craig is pretty unlucky to miss out, but these things happen in footy. He’s a great team man and Yarrawonga person and I’m sure he’ll be the first person to get around the boys on Sunday. Now it’s all about getting ready for the game. We’ve got the parade in Albury tomorrow, and then some golf is on the cards on Saturday after our last training run. I’m looking forward to mum and the old man coming up for the weekend. All roads lead to Lavi on Sunday.