Over 35C

 Saturday 31 January is where it all began: our first training session down at Dobell. It was a hot morning, but someone had kindly placed sprinklers all over the field to help keep us cool.

For the previous two years, we had been an average, mid-table team. It had been five seasons since our last promotion and seven since our last Grand Final. We could always be proud of the big turnouts at training and social events, despite disappointing on the field, but enjoying it was becoming harder each year.

Nearly 20 players turned up again. Eight new players had been aggressively recruited, which meant plenty of new faces to integrate. They looked good: players who could fill gaps in our squad and bring energy and optimism untainted by the past. The older players lifted too, keen to impress the new guys and prove they still had something to offer.

We talked over a beer after the session. What did the new guys think of their decision to join? What did the old guys have left in the tank?

There seemed only one thing to say: “Lads, let’s be clear – we’re here to win this.”

Round 5 at Bonnet Bay. After two wins and two defeats, we found ourselves 2-1 down to a newly promoted and clearly inferior set of players. We won a penalty to get back into the game…and missed it. Then we conceded again and lost 3-1.

We were disorganised, unable to use our strengths and with all our weaknesses on display. People were pissed off. There was friction in the group chat over the missed penalty. This was not what the new guys had been promised.

We knew we could do better – but how? Something had to change.

There was another big turnout at training. The troops were still ready for battle; they just needed direction. We talked and thought honestly about ourselves. What were our strengths, and how could we maximise them? What were our weaknesses, and how could we manage them?

For Round 6 against the runaway league leaders, we changed things. Players moved positions, and we put clear plans in place for when we had the ball and when we didn’t.

We lost 3-0.

But something was different: we didn’t feel defeated. We had played them off the park for long periods. They knew it, and we knew it. We were eighth, with only two wins from six games, but something had changed.

Round 7 was at home against the team in third. We doubled down on our new ideas and met in the changing room to go through the plan on the whiteboard. It became our weekly ritual, home and away. Everyone bought in. Everyone understood their assignment. Everyone couldn’t wait to get onto the field.

We won.

Then we won five in a row and lost only once in our next 13 games. We scored goals, the defence became tight, and we let the other teams worry about us. We finished second, coming home with a wet sail and in good spirits.

A late equaliser in the semi-final sent us into the elimination game. This time, we were the ones who found the late winner.

We were happy to be in the Grand Final, but those beers were going to taste much sweeter if we won. Our friends and families did us proud with their support. The guys who couldn’t be on the match card took it with good grace and embraced the responsibility of running the sideline.

Evans to Denis was the predictable combination, and we won it in the final minute.

I looked around and saw my teammates celebrating, full of smiles and experiencing joy seven years in the making.

It made me happy.

Little did we know that missing a penalty would be the best thing that happened to us all season – our sliding-doors moment. If it goes in, perhaps we sneak a draw and nothing changes.

It didn’t go in.

And everything changed for the better.

Akos – Uses red cards to get out of training. Someone get him a map to Anzac.

Andy – Runs so hard on Sunday that it takes two weeks to recover.

Baz – Captain Fantastic. Finally getting the hang of that coin-toss business.

Buck – The tallest tree off the field – and on it. Put mouthy opponents in detention.

Carts – Began the season misheard as “the mower” but finished it as “the motor”.

Corey – You’ve heard of drop bears; meet the drop-a-shoulder bear.

Denis – The younger, faster of the Denis twins. Scorer of goals.

Evans – Loftus-based Denis twin and dribbler. Provider of assists, winner of Olympics.

Geeza – Beer & BBQ sheriff. One name fits all.

Graz – A mysterious presence, appearing one Thursday and one Sunday per month.

Jenko – Can only text once a week, so has to use it wisely.

Jimmy – Defied age and his hip warranty between the sticks.

Juan – Colombian party expertise: spoiling theirs and enhancing ours.

Marrie – Protected the defence – but not his diamond-encrusted cochlear implant.

Mikey – Elite supplier of logos, hair and set pieces.

Pack – Putting out fires between the posts. Knows how to appropriately style red hair.

Parf – One hundred and eighty! Still working on his match fitness.

Pete – Most improved player. Being American is now his only weakness.

Reece – Two holes in his groin; none in the centre of defence.

Rich – Made America Great Again.

Ruben – Played valiantly despite a bad heel and bad hair. Rule of Ginger: Less is more.

Shane – Always there for the team – often from an offside position.

Steady – Anything can be solved with whiteboards, printouts and enough deep heat.

Tom – Trolling teammates and wingers alike.