On a very frosty cold morning the Jets gathered early to begin the long voyage south for a weekend chock-a-block full of footy. Whilst I was very much looking forward to the trip, saying goodbye to loved ones is never easy for me. The tears, the hugs, the long lingering kisses – I’m just glad my wife and kids weren’t there to witness it all.
The bus looked very comfortable and was even fitted with a toilet and a large screen telly. Loading the luggage took longer than expected as it just kept coming and coming. After some questioning it turned out that 10 of the bags belonged just to Cam Evans.
As anyone who has ever travelled on a long bus trip knows, it’s pretty easy to get bored and understandably this led to several minor incidents breaking out, including some good-natured horseplay, full-on food fights and an impromptu game of kick to kick. However, and to the players credit, as soon as the driver announced that the bus was about to depart they all resumed their seats for the long trip ahead.
After playing musical chairs for the first hour or so the players eventually settled into their spots, only to be interrupted by our first stop at Holbrook for a leg stretch and much needed (for some) toilet break.
Next stop was the Macca’s at Seymour for lunch where despite being pre-warned by the bus driver en-route, the Jets kept staff on their toes with probably their busiest lunch service ever ! Upon arrival at the accommodation (Urban Central) we were handed a list of ‘housekeeping’ rules by the Hotel staff that were then shared with the group. One of the rules stated that hair dryers, hair straighteners and hair sprays were strictly banned from being used in the rooms…the U17 boys were devastated.
I would describe the Urban Central as ‘up market back-packers’ which while not up to my usual 5 Star standards, was more than appropriate for this bunch of teenagers. I’m not sure if the Swedish back-packers quite knew what to expect !
That evening we attended the MCG for the Collingwood versus Hawthorn block buster. It was a great game with a massive crowd in attendance. Mitch McGovern, who recently broke his jaw, found that the nature of the injury combined with tiredness and the cold made it hard for him to speak clearly. In fact he was mumbling and very incoherent towards the end of the game. This proved however to be a real bonus as some of the boys had become accustomed to Mitch’s speach and on the way out were able to translate some of the conversations the Collingwood supporters were having.
After the game we wandered back to the hotel. Even though it was late the streets were still full. Melbourne is certainly a city of contrasts.
Saturday morning had us walking to the Queen Victoria markets. The players spread out and scoured the multitude of stalls selling high quality and obviously authentic brand name merchandise at a ¼ of what you would expect to pay in the glitzy malls. I’m sure many a bargain was obtained.
From here we journeyed to the MCG again to watch my mighty Tiges take on the Giants. The first three quarters saw the Tigers playing some pretty poor footy and the crowd was absolutely giving it to the players. For many of the younger boys and girls it was a real lesson in just how passionate Richmond supporters can be. One of the under 13s was overheard saying it was like the National Zoo & Aquarium’s “Zooventure Tour” but without the safety fences.
That afternoon we had some free time in between games and so we quickly arranged a training Melbourne Footy Tour continued session for the boys that focused on hard leads, blocking and fast running to space. Whilst the training run went well, it was a little challenging as the area in the hotel lobby was limited. The best drill saw big Ryan McCubbin put on a nice block for Michael Wallace allowing him to take a strong mark over a pile of linen, handball off to Eric Wyndham, assisted by Deion McNair who put on a great shepherd keeping a young Danish couple at bay, who then kicked to Connor Hart who finished off snapping a goal over his head taking out the “No ball games permitted inside” sign. Ryan’s block was so well timed he almost put a young Swedish backpacker through the vending machine. Good news was that it knocked the jet lag out of her and resulted in two free cans of Coke being dispensed. The other highlight was Connor Hart’s five minute post goal celebration which really impressed a small group of Japanese tourists. The camera flashes were constant. The moves in Connor’s routine were so impressive that I think they thought he was a member of a famous boy band.
The hotel was situated directly across from a McDonalds store. Prior to the night game the boys said that after many meals of junk food they decided that they’d give their bodies a break. It was agreed that Hungry Jacks was the way to go.
Saturday night we headed to Etihad Stadium for our third game to see Carlton take on the Bulldogs. Being a mad Blues fan our club Umpire Ambassador Steve Wall was very much looking forward to this game. It was interesting to stand next to Steve to listen to his ongoing commentary of the umpiring decisions during the previous games. It was great to see however that ‘Steve the umpire’ departed and was replaced by ‘Steve the passionate Blues supporter’….wow, what a contrast!
As the bus pulled out to commence the long trip home I’m sure a great time was had by all.
Tim Hull – Under 17 Coach
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