by Felice Arena
Specky almost choked. Brian and his dad looked shocked. Twenty thousand dollars! They all knew that would cover Rivergum’s finances for at least another season and keep the grounds in good condition, too.
‘And if we lose?’ said Ernie coolly.
‘If you lose, and you will,’ Coach Sharkey hissed, ‘then Rivergum will drop out of this league and –’
‘Nup,’ replied Ernie, shaking his head. ‘Just because you own half of Mildura and have money to burn, Sharkey, doesn’t mean that I have to go along with it.’
‘Yeah, just as I thought. You’re all talk, aren’t you, Hegarty? Why don’t you admit it? Your little club is on its last legs. It’s dying. Eight forfeits already and no wins this season – it’s a disgrace.’
‘We’re not a disgrace!’
‘Brian,’ warned Mr Edwards.
‘Well, we’re not, Dad! Ernie, you should go for it.’
Coach Sharkey smirked. ‘Listen to the boy. Or are you really that gutless?’
Specky caught the indecision in Ernie’s eyes as he turned to see the Edwards’ reaction. It felt like the longest pause in history.
‘And?’ said Ernie finally.
‘And what?’ snapped Coach Sharkey.
‘You said if you win we have to drop out of the league, but you were gonna add something else.’
‘Ah, yes,’ he snarled. ‘But first – our agreement has to be confidential. It would be easy for you to get a full side if people heard that Rivergum’s very existence was on the line.’
‘Well, what would be wrong with that?’ asked Brian’s dad.
‘Nothing, if you want to be seen as a charity case. If you don’t mind the whole district knowing that the only reason you had a full side was because people felt sorry for you. Nope, for this showdown to happen you have to produce a full eighteen-man squad because they want to play for Rivergum. You can give them any reason you want to get them there, but the details of this bet cannot be revealed to anyone – otherwise we win by default.’
‘That’s fair enough, I suppose,’ Ernie said. ‘So what else did you want from us?’
Coach Sharkey turned his stare toward Brian. ‘If we win, young Brian here will play the rest of the season with us.’
Ernie and Mr Edwards talked angrily over the top of each other.
‘I’ll do it,’ said Brian quietly.
‘What?’ exclaimed Specky, who was the only one who had heard him over the outraged argument.
‘I’LL DO IT!’ Brian yelled.
The men stopped talking.
‘I’ll agree to it,’ said Brian. ‘But I’ll never have to play for them, ’cause I know that if we have a full side we can beat them.’
‘Son, you don’t have to –’
‘Dad, please,’ said Brian, then he turned to Ernie, looking into his eyes. ‘We can do this. I know we can.’
Specky felt for Ernie and Brian. He wondered if he would’ve done the same thing.
‘All right,’ nodded Ernie, turning back to Coach Sharkey. ‘You have yourself a deal.’
‘Great! And because I’m feeling extra generous, I’m going to suggest we play on a weekend your team has a bye, so you can have more time to round up whoever you need and you’ll only have to play one match. So, when will it be?’
‘Two weeks today,’ Brian said.
‘Good then – Sovereign Grove versus Rivergum, two weeks from today.’
Ernie and Coach Sharkey shook on it.
‘You all have a safe trip back to Melbourne, then. Oh! And, Brian? My boy wanted me to thank ya for the crayfish dinner we’re gonna have tonight. See ya, later.’
‘Yeah, then we came back and discovered the sheep’s head was gone.’
It was Monday morning recess at Booyong High and Specky was telling his friends about his weekend in Rivergum in the middle of a friendly kick-to-kick.
‘And we found out later that it was Biff,’ he added, booting the footy with an almighty thump.
‘And Specky took the most unbelievable mark anyone had ever seen in Rivergum,’ said Brian.
‘Yeah, but Brian was best on ground and we both won twenty bucks,’ Specky replied.
‘Your shout at the canteen, then,’ called Danny.
Specky, Robbo, Brian, Johnny and Danny were grouped on the edge of the oval while Screamer, Gobba, Smashing Sols and the Bombay Bullet stood thirty metres away.
‘So, Edo – why is this match against Sovereign Grove so important?’ asked Robbo, marking the footy on his chest.
‘It just is,’ said Brian, looking uncomfortable. ‘We’re playing our biggest rivals and it’s a really special weekend and…’
‘And they really need a full side,’ added Specky.
He and Brian glanced at each other. They both wished they could tell the others about the bet, but they knew it was too risky – they wanted to keep their word to Ernie.
‘Do you guys wanna play?’ pressed Brian.
‘Yeah,’ replied Robbo. ‘I can’t wait to play in the seniors league. But what about our school match on the Saturday?’
‘That’s no probs. The Rivergum match is on the Sunday,’ said Brian.
‘Hang on,’ said Specky. ‘That’s the weekend that Coach Pate said we have off. There aren’t any school games that weekend anyway. We could all go up on the Saturday.’
‘Then count me in,’ said Robbo, kicking a drop punt.
‘Me too,’ added Danny. ‘You reckon we could go crayfishing too? Or camping?’
‘Yeah, if you want,’ grinned Brian. ‘Ernie’s gonna be stoked. I’m gonna see if any of the others can play.’
Brian ran to ask the other boys.
‘What about you, Johnny?’ Specky asked. ‘You’d love it and they need all the players they can get.’
‘Nah, Specky man, wish I could,’ said Johnny as he handballed the footy off to Robbo. ‘I’m going away that weekend with my ol’ man. We’re heading up to the Top End for a few days.’
‘Gobba said he wants to come. But he won’t play,’ said Brian, jogging back. ‘He said he’s got an assignment for the Cometti School to call and record a match where he doesn’t know the players. So I told him he should team up with Motormouth Mick.’
‘Who’s Motormouth Mick?’ asked Danny, as he gestured for the others to kick the ball his way.
‘He’s one of the locals,’ Specky replied. ‘You wait until you meet them all! Motormouth and his brother, Ivor, are classics. Brian, what about Screamer and the others?’
Brian said they all had other commitments.
‘Hey, there’s Monique,’ said Danny, looking back toward the canteen area.
Specky turned to see her standing with a group of girls, including Tiger Girl. He noticed that Monique kept glancing up in his direction.
‘Speck, you gotta ask Tiger Girl which one of us Monique likes,’ Danny said. ‘I was so close to kissing her the other day, but the Pies had to go and win.’
‘What? What are you talking about?’ asked Specky.
Danny explained how on the Saturday he had bumped into Tiger Girl and Monique at the Richmond versus Collingwood match at the MCG – and how he had ended up sitting next to them for most of the game.
Specky thought this was odd. Close to eighty thousand people had gone to that game and it seemed like a crazy coincidence. Unless Danny had known they would be there.
Danny added that it was Monique’s first look at AFL and because of her friendship with Tiger Girl she had decided to barrack for Richmond.
‘Yeah, well, what has that got to do with kissing her?’ asked Specky.
‘Listen to this one,’ Robbo said, raising an eyebrow.
‘It was a close match all the way – goal for goal,’ Danny explained. ‘And Monique was getting so excited, jumping up and down every time the Tigers scored. So I got the idea that if Richmond won I could congratulate her – you know, hug her, maybe even go the big pash, which would make me the ultimate winner.’
‘You’re
already the ultimate loser,’ quipped Robbo, dashing off to mark the ball.
‘Yeah, whatever!’ continued Danny. ‘Anyway, the Pies broke away in the last quarter. Alan Didak and Josh Fraser were unstoppable and they won by over twenty points. Monique and TG were so crushed that they didn’t even stay for the final siren – and my plan was ruined.’
Specky exchanged a look with Robbo. It was typical Danny.
‘Sounds a little desperate, if you ask me,’ added Brian, kicking a beautiful-looking drop punt off his non-preferred foot.
‘Yeah, well, not as desperate as Gobba,’ replied Danny.
Gobba had apparently gone to the movies with Monique and Tiger Girl on Sunday to watch a horror film. Gobba’s plan was to get Monique so scared that she would cuddle in to him for comfort – providing the perfect opportunity for him to move in and kiss her.
‘But Gobba ended up packing it more than she did,’ snorted Danny. ‘I bet he screamed louder, too.’
‘What are you telling ’em, Castellino?’ asked Gobba, who had left the other boys to join Specky’s group.
‘Just how you’re the big man when it comes to horror movies.’
‘A little frightened, were ya?’ stirred Specky with a grin.
Gobba searched for a comeback before diverting attention away from himself by suddenly tackling the ball off Danny.
‘Hey, can I talk to ya about something?’ said Robbo, pulling Specky aside.
‘Yeah, what’s up?’ asked Specky, keeping an eye on where the ball was.
‘Um, I just wanted to ask you something before they come over.’
Specky followed Robbo’s gaze to see that Monique and Tiger Girl had left their group of friends and were making their way toward the boys.
‘What?’ Specky asked, noticing that his mate looked somewhat nervous.
‘Um, there’s this girl I really like,’ he mumbled quickly.
‘Yeah, yeah, I know – Monique,’ said Specky.
‘Nah, it isn’t,’ sighed Robbo.
‘But what about the competition to try and kiss her?’
‘I’ve changed my mind. I don’t care about the dumb competition,’ he said. ‘I’ll let Danny and Gobba fight that one out.’
‘Well, if you don’t like Monique, who is she then?’
Specky once again followed Robbo’s stare over his shoulder.
‘TG?’ he said. ‘You like Tiger Girl?’
Robbo nodded. Specky was taken aback – he hadn’t seen that one coming.
‘Anyway,’ continued Robbo, clearing his throat. ‘’Cause you’re pretty tight with her, I thought you could suss her out for me. Tell her that one of us likes her, and see how she reacts. And if she’s excited, then ask her if she had a choice, who she’d like it to be.’
‘Why wouldn’t I just say it’s you?’
‘Nah, nah. It would put her on the spot. By doing it this way we get to find out what she really thinks. And no one gets embarrassed.’
‘Man, you’ve really thought this one out, haven’t ya?’ said Specky, shaking his head. ‘But, yeah, um, yeah. I can do that for ya, mate.’
‘Sweet. ’Cause she’s here right now.’
As Robbo took off to join the others, Specky turned to find Tiger Girl only a few steps behind him.
‘Hey, bush boy, how was the country?’ she beamed. ‘Monique’s getting the lowdown from Brian now.’
‘It was good – great!’
‘And how’s everything going with you and Christina?’ she asked.
He shrugged. ‘Um, it’s fine.’ It had been a few days since they had texted each other and he’d been trying not to think about it. ‘Why?’
‘Um, well, there’s this girl I know who really likes you. And she just wants to know if you’re still serious about Christina.’
‘Who is it?’ asked Specky.
‘I’ve promised her I won’t tell. She just wanted me to see what you thought.’
Specky gave a lopsided smile. Is Tiger Girl for real? he thought. She already told me that Monique likes one of us. It’s obvious that it has to be her.
‘Funny about that,’ said Specky. ‘There’s someone I know who likes you, but I can’t tell you who it is, either. He just wanted to see what your reaction would be.’
‘Really?’ remarked Tiger Girl, in a surprised but happy tone. ‘Do I know him?’
‘Yeah, you do,’ said Specky, trying not to give anything away.
‘Hmm. Okay, great! So, if you’re not going to tell me who he is, what do you think about this girl liking you? Does she have a chance, even though you’re still sort of with Christina?’
Suddenly someone grabbed Specky from behind in a headlock.
‘Magee!’ barked an unknown voice, quickly letting go. ‘Big night coming up at your place, huh? McCart’s gonna blow everyone away with his mixes.’
It was one of the Great McCarthy’s mates, Justin Testi, known to everyone as Knackers.
‘What are you talking about?’ asked Specky.
‘Your sister’s birthday party – this Friday night. It’s gonna go off!’
After school, Specky confronted Alice.
She had decided to go ahead and plan her birthday party when she found out that Mr and Mrs Magee were going away to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Mr Edwards had invited Specky’s parents to take one of the houseboats over the weekend.
‘Mum and Dad are gonna flip,’ said Specky, sitting on the edge of Alice’s bed.
‘They’re not! ’Cause they’re not gonna find out,’ Alice hissed defensively. ‘And, I swear, you better not say anything.’
‘But if they find out, I’m dead. I can’t let you jeopardise my footy.’
‘Get over yourself, will ya?’ Alice snapped. ‘The world doesn’t revolve around you. This is about me, and they’re not gonna find out.’
‘But if they do…’ pressed Specky.
‘Then I’ll tell ’em you had nothing to do with it – didn’t even know about it. You happy?’
Specky nodded.
‘Just make sure Brian doesn’t let it slip when they’re driving him back home,’ added Alice.
‘Let what slip?’ said Brian, popping his head into Alice’s room.
‘Tell you later,’ said Specky. ‘Is my dad ready to take us?’
Brian nodded and both boys bolted out of Alice’s room, down the stairs, out the front door and into Mr Magee’s car – ready for another State training session.
‘So, what doesn’t Alice want me to tell your dad,’ Brian asked again, once he and Specky were out of the car and jogging onto the field.
Specky told him about Alice’s secret plan for a birthday party.
‘No probs. I won’t say anything,’ Brian sighed. ‘I’ve got other things to worry about.’
It was obvious to Specky that Brian was still thinking about the grudge match against the Sovereign Grove Bull Ants. Specky suggested that he should ask the State team if any of them were free to play for Rivergum.
But after a quick run around, there were no takers. Like many of the Booyong High players, some of them had other commitments. And many of the boys doubted that their parents would take them all that way to play for some random country team. Others were not willing to risk injury when the State match was only three weeks away.
‘Never expected any of them to play, anyway,’ muttered Brian, returning to Specky’s side. ‘I wouldn’t, for a team I didn’t know. I just hope Ernie can fill the side.’
Specky sympathised with Brian and didn’t know what to say. For a moment, he wondered if he should be playing. He was deliberately risking injury just before the State match – and he’d had a taste of how hard and dirty the Bull Ants played.
Nah, I’ll be right, Specky thought, shrugging off any doubts. I’ve gotta help Brian out. He’d do it for me.
‘Rightio, boys!’ shouted Grub. ‘I’m here now. Enough of the yakking. Let’s get started.’
All the players stopped what they were doing a
nd focussed on what Grub had to say. Specky admired the way he was always in complete control of his team. Over many years of coaching elite young footballers, Grub had managed to become both a figure of authority, and someone his teams loved to play for. He was a very hard taskmaster, but had a wicked sense of humour that all the boys appreciated.
‘The good news is that you don’t have to do a beep test today. We just got the bill from the basketball courts and we can’t afford to clean up after Magee again, if he decides to unload his lunch all over the three-point line.’
All the boys burst out laughing, and Specky felt his face turn pink, as bright as the beetroot that Biff had thrown at him.
‘Don’t worry, Magee – you pushed yourself to the absolute limit, and that’s what we want to see today,’ added Grub. ‘We’ve got a fifty-minute skills session and then we’ll finish off with some contested work.’
That training session was one of the most enjoyable Specky had ever taken part in. All the boys were well-matched and the ball rarely hit the ground. When it did, Grub was there, barking and grumbling and putting them under pressure, but also explaining to them what they had done wrong and how they could improve. It was a great atmosphere, and as the afternoon progressed they started to act like a real team. They encouraged each other and tried to inspire each other to greater heights. Making a mistake wasn’t the end of the world. Specky and his team-mates might have got a bit of a spray from Grub every now and then, but it was all constructive.
The whistle blew and the whole squad sprinted toward Grub.
Everyone had agreed that the last player into the huddle had to do twenty push-ups. The last one there was Aaron ‘Bear’ Gleeson, a nippy little rover from Warrnambool.
‘Down you go, buddy!’
‘Took your time, didn’t you, Bear?’
They all loved getting stuck into Bear – he was a good sport, one of those players that brought the group together.
‘But, Grub, I was getting the ball from behind the goals when you blew the whistle,’ he stirred with a goofy grin on his face.
‘I don’t care if you had to climb to the top of the goal post, Gleeson,’ Grub said. ‘Now you can do forty push-ups for whinging.’
