Berkeley_Eagle
Current Status: 24/7 Manly Fan
Finals ducks, pranks and ice
By Matt Orford | October 05,
LAST year we did a full lap of the SFS after qualifying for the grand final. Not this time. We clap our fans after the 32-6 win over the Warriors, but we're straight back in the sheds talking about business ahead.
I don't get to sleep until 5.30am the next morning. I'm hopeless at sleeping after games anyway, but my ankles are throbbing. I've done ankles before and they're touch and go, you're never sure until you get scans.
On the way home from the game, I stop for some party ice. For 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off, I have my feet in and out of an ice bucket. It's a long night on the couch, watching movies to try and take my mind off it.
Sunday
I WAKE at 8am, have some pain killers, ice the ankles again and go back to sleep. A very boring Sunday.
Monday
THE mood starts to pick up with the return to training. The first small prank of the week and, typically, it's aimed at Dessie Hasler. The boys wet his chair for the team photo. I go for MRI scans on my ankles at 2pm and it's a nervous wait until the doc rings at 6pm. There's a little bit of scarring there, but nothing too serious.
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Tuesday
There's always someone up to no good at training, but I'd rather see that than blokes being really serious. Somehow, a duck finds its way into Dessie's office. Poor Dessie came in a few hours later and it scared the crap out of him. Dessie is on the war path. He grills his staff and threatens to sack them if they don't reveal who is responsible. He even sticks up a few posters of Glen Hall, Mark Bryant and Heath L'Estrange - "Duck-nappers Wanted''.
Brett Stewart and I have the same cars, so someone switches the keys on our keyrings. When I go out and can't unlock my car, I quickly work out the sting. I jump into Snake's car, drive it around the corner and ring him to make sure he acts naturally and drives off in my car.
Wednesday
DEFENCE day. A team session where we have our reserve-grade team running Melbourne's plays at us. I sit out but have a little trot with the physio, very low tempo.
Thursday
Up at 5am for the grand final breakfast, but I go a bit hungry after nearly choking on my tomato. Someone's smeared wasabi all over my breakfast - Brett Stewart and Michael Robertson are chuckling beside me.
Friday
WE go through a sharp session at Narrabeen and it's my first day going 100 per cent. The boys reckon that's normal for me. They started calling me "Thursday'' this season because they reckon I don't start training until then.
The kickers and catchers take a minibus to ANZ Stadium in the arvo. We didn't go to the ground last year, so it's good just to spend 40 minutes there. I have half-a-dozen kicks at goal and the ankles feel ok.
Saturday
OUR last session every week has been at Brookvale Oval, so that's how we want to finish our season. A 4pm session and we're ready.
Today
GAME day is a lazy one for me. I'll sleep in, jump on the pushbike to the beach, check the form guide in the paper and buy a few bananas to snack on. The last thing I plan to say to the team is how, for three years, this group has been working hard together. Let's enjoy the occasion, have no regrets and create some more good memories.
By Matt Orford | October 05,
LAST year we did a full lap of the SFS after qualifying for the grand final. Not this time. We clap our fans after the 32-6 win over the Warriors, but we're straight back in the sheds talking about business ahead.
I don't get to sleep until 5.30am the next morning. I'm hopeless at sleeping after games anyway, but my ankles are throbbing. I've done ankles before and they're touch and go, you're never sure until you get scans.
On the way home from the game, I stop for some party ice. For 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off, I have my feet in and out of an ice bucket. It's a long night on the couch, watching movies to try and take my mind off it.
Sunday
I WAKE at 8am, have some pain killers, ice the ankles again and go back to sleep. A very boring Sunday.
Monday
THE mood starts to pick up with the return to training. The first small prank of the week and, typically, it's aimed at Dessie Hasler. The boys wet his chair for the team photo. I go for MRI scans on my ankles at 2pm and it's a nervous wait until the doc rings at 6pm. There's a little bit of scarring there, but nothing too serious.
Related Links
Tuesday
There's always someone up to no good at training, but I'd rather see that than blokes being really serious. Somehow, a duck finds its way into Dessie's office. Poor Dessie came in a few hours later and it scared the crap out of him. Dessie is on the war path. He grills his staff and threatens to sack them if they don't reveal who is responsible. He even sticks up a few posters of Glen Hall, Mark Bryant and Heath L'Estrange - "Duck-nappers Wanted''.
Brett Stewart and I have the same cars, so someone switches the keys on our keyrings. When I go out and can't unlock my car, I quickly work out the sting. I jump into Snake's car, drive it around the corner and ring him to make sure he acts naturally and drives off in my car.
Wednesday
DEFENCE day. A team session where we have our reserve-grade team running Melbourne's plays at us. I sit out but have a little trot with the physio, very low tempo.
Thursday
Up at 5am for the grand final breakfast, but I go a bit hungry after nearly choking on my tomato. Someone's smeared wasabi all over my breakfast - Brett Stewart and Michael Robertson are chuckling beside me.
Friday
WE go through a sharp session at Narrabeen and it's my first day going 100 per cent. The boys reckon that's normal for me. They started calling me "Thursday'' this season because they reckon I don't start training until then.
The kickers and catchers take a minibus to ANZ Stadium in the arvo. We didn't go to the ground last year, so it's good just to spend 40 minutes there. I have half-a-dozen kicks at goal and the ankles feel ok.
Saturday
OUR last session every week has been at Brookvale Oval, so that's how we want to finish our season. A 4pm session and we're ready.
Today
GAME day is a lazy one for me. I'll sleep in, jump on the pushbike to the beach, check the form guide in the paper and buy a few bananas to snack on. The last thing I plan to say to the team is how, for three years, this group has been working hard together. Let's enjoy the occasion, have no regrets and create some more good memories.
