5 years, 137 days, 4 hours, 32 minutes later, complete silence and focus enveloped Dimma as he hunched over his 15,000 piece, 3D, map of the world, special edition globe jigsaw puzzle. It was 3am. He lifted it up. Only 1 piece to go – it had been a long time, and he was very proud. He turned the delicate globe slowly in his hands – aaaah…there was the small hole – the final part of a very frustrating, yet hugely satisfactory lifelong ambition.
RING RING, RING RING…the piercing sound shattered the atmosphere. Dimma jumped, startled. The globe slipped in his hands – falling, falling – it was almost slow motion… BANG – and there it was…smashed. All over the floor. In 15,000 pieces. Dimma stared. He couldn’t believe it. And the phone was still ringing. He picked it up.
“…hello?”
“Dimma. It’s Sheeds. I reckon you could have picked that up on the 2nd ring, like you always do. You still with me mate? You need to focus on the main game. Me. Now. Why the delay?”
“Well Sheeds – I was just finishing a jigsaw. And now…sob…”
“Dimma, Dimma, Dimma. Seriously. You are upset over a little jiggy wiggy puzzle wuzzle? Harden up mate. Just start again. I have serious things to talk about. I just had a dream. A marvellous dream. Wanted to call you like I normally do to talk you through it. But seeing as you don’t seem to want to know about it, because your jigsaw puzzle is more important, then…I’ll tell you about it tomorrow at the big game. Catch.” Click…
Dimma couldn’t believe it. His lifelong ambition was literally in pieces and now Sheeds was cross with him as well. Devastation ensued. So he did what he normally did in these circumstances. He got out the wristbands, and rolled them through his hands – a very calming and almost meditative process…he felt better already…However – I digress!! On to the game!!
A blustery chilly wind greeted Sheeds, Dimma, the U9 Blue team and their support crew on this Sunday morning, down at Elwood to play St. Kilda.
AND WHAT A GAME!!
Carolyne took the team for some stride throughs, which was made quite special as she still had her take-away latte in her hand. Talk about multi-tasking!!
The whole team was switched on. They ran. They chased. They manned up. They tackled. And Sheeds and Dimma were particularly impressed by how they were really starting to find their teammates in the clear. The mids were manning up, and pushing over to lock it in our forward line. The defence stood strong. 2 goals against the wind in the first quarter! Fantastic.
The rest of the game went the same way. Hard at it, maintaining the structures Sheeds and Dimma had put into place. They sensed they were right in it. And when the siren went, yes, the team were able to celebrate their first win of the season!!!! How good is that?!!!!!!!
Top games were played by Sebastian, Jack, Harry and Diesel but really, you don’t win games through 1 or 2 players. It was the whole team! So to Aiden, Alex, Angus, Arlo, Ben, Charlie, Dan, Harry, Jack, Jacob, Jason, Sam, Sebastian, Tim, Teddy, Niko and Tom – a BIG CONGRATULATIONS!! The win was dedicated to Cate and Xavier who unfortunately weren’t able to be part of it on the day. Sheeds and Dimma were seen giving each other a brief man hug and there were joyous scenes on the sidelines.
Yes, I know – we don’t keep score. Officially. However, the kids do, no matter what rules are in place. The team’s resilience, their dedication to training, listening to the coaches, trying their best and having fun – through the whole season to date – and never letting being beaten weigh them down too much was really the highlight for Rohan and Ben. We were so proud of them all. The Rovers song was sung with gusto!!!
Thank you again to all the parents for supporting, water, snakes, oranges, medical, timekeeping, B&F voting, umpire escorting, photos, running and goal umpiring. Thank you Maria (in Fi’s absence) for getting the team on the field, signing in etc etc etc. Thanks Razor again. Wouldn’t happen without you.
CARNA BLUES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#goBlues #goRovers
