by Felice Arena
As he approached, Specky could see that the man had blue eyes, and a steely gaze. He didn’t look sideways at the people who were starting to gather around him, but maintained his focus on the scoreboard over Ernie’s shoulder.
Specky was awestruck. He had heard his parents talk about people who had ‘presence’ – people who, no matter where they were or who they were with, made others sit up and take notice. This man had more presence than anyone Specky had ever seen, all of his favourite AFL players included.
He had on a grey singlet, khaki shorts and was barefoot – a battered leather bag in his hand. A rusty-red blue heeler walked alongside him, matching him stride for stride, not taking his eyes off his owner.
‘Well, as I live and die, is that really you, Jack?’ Ernie seemed almost speechless. ‘What’s it been? Must be over twenty years.’
‘Somethin’ like that, Ern. It’s good to see ya.’
Razorback Jack had the deepest voice Specky had ever heard.
‘What brings you back, mate?’ asked Rory Shinn as he walked over to shake the hand of his premiership team-mate.
‘Overheard a couple of young ’uns camped out in the bush last night, talking about the big game. Thought I might see if you needed a hand.’ With the hint of a smile, Razorback Jack turned to Danny. ‘Sorry about disturbing your toilet break, matey.’
While all this was taking place, the doctor had finally stabilised Dean’s knee and was taking him off the ground. The game was just about to recommence when Carl Sharkey appeared.
‘There is no way in hell he’s playing,’ he shouted, pointing a finger at Razorback. ‘He’s not even registered.’
‘We’ve registered all of our premiership players every year since they won the flag, as a sign of respect, Sharkey,’ said Ernie. ‘So get back in your box and worry about your own mob. They’re going to need it.’
The players sprinted back to their positions, but Specky just stood and stared. He couldn’t believe he was actually going to see the legendary Razorback Jack in action. Razorback calmly got his footy gear out of his bag and pulled on a guernsey and boots in the interchange box.
‘We’ve got a couple of great kids playing out there, Jack,’ said Ivor Richards, who looked like he’d seen a ghost.
‘I know, Ive. See that big, gnarly gum tree over the back there? You get a pretty good view of the ground from way up the top. I was hoping the boys would get them over the line without me having to make an appearance, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. I’ll see you in a couple of minutes.’
Razorback Jack jogged over to Specky. He put a huge hand on his shoulder. ‘Why don’t you go back to full-forward, son,’ he said. ‘And I’ll see if we can’t get the ball down to you.’
Specky gulped, couldn’t find anything to say, then turned and sprinted down to the goal square.
The ball was on the Redfins’ full-back line with only four minutes to go.
Desperate times are upon us now, Ben. Shinn kicks the ball to Brian Edwards. What a mighty game he’s played. Edwards plays on quickly and hits Peter O’Leary on the chest. O’Leary plays on, spins out of trouble and flicks a handball to young Castellino who hurriedly kicks in the vicinity of, of, of… Razorback Jack McCracken. And he’s got it, folks! He’s sixty-five metres out from goal. He would have kicked this in his heyday. Magee has darted one way, and then another. McCracken indicates he’s going long, and… he does. It’s a booming kick, but it’s going to drop short. Grunter Galloway, for the Bull Ants, looks like he’s going to save the day.
Specky’s dad, who had barely moved from the spot that his son had marked for him on the oval, ran at Grunter.
Grunter took his eyes off the ball and, locking his arm with Mr Magee’s, set himself to take the mark. It was just the split second Specky needed. He leapt off one foot just as the ball was starting to drop. One knee crashed into the side of Grunter’s ear and the other found a further launching pad on the top of his dad’s head. He straightened his body and locked both hands cleanly around the ball.
Specky landed lightly on both feet as the other two crumbled into a heap.
Grunter mumbled something almost unintelligible as he looked up at Specky. Specky thought it might have been, ‘Not you again!’
Specky bent down and helped his dad off the ground, car horns blaring in the background.
‘You’re a footy hero, Pop!’ he said, with a grin, and he went back and drilled through the goal.
The Redfins were four points down with two minutes to go.
There was chaos on both benches. Carl Sharkey was kicking water bottles and throwing anything he could get his hands on. He pushed his two wingmen down into defence to try and crowd the Redfins forward, and into Specky’s space.
Brian was urging on the Redfin players in the middle of the ground. Razorback Jack stood calmly at centre half-forward, now with two opponents.
I can’t stand it, Ben. I think I’m going to have a heart attack. You better call the final minutes.
Gobba grabbed hold of the microphone, his hands shaking. Specky heard his voice, loud and clear, booming out of every radio in every car around the boundary.
It has all come down to this. The ball goes up, Roberts wins the tap, but it’s trapped by Fitzgibbon for the Bull Ants. He hurriedly kicks it into the forward line, where Clarry Cox stands his ground. The ball is punched to ground. Players from both sides desperately dive on the ball and the umpire calls for a ball up. There’s less than a minute to go. Ball up… it spills toward Castellino. He’s bumped aside by Biff Sharkey. Sharkey has been moved onto the ball for the last minutes. He picks it up and sprints toward goal. He has one bounce, steadies and shoots at goal. Could this be the match winner? It’s on its way… IT HITS THE POST! IT HAS HIT THE POST! The Bull Ants now lead by five points. Shinn wastes no time. He finds Brian Edwards in the pocket. He handballs to his brother, James. James, with not a second to spare, kicks wildly toward the middle of the ground. Fitzgibbon is under it. He looks like he’s going to save the day for the Bull Ants…
Motormouth Mick couldn’t help himself and he took over.
RAZORBACK JACK! Razorback Jack has taken the mark. He’s pinched it right out of Fitzgibbon’s hands. Where did he come from? I don’t know! Who would know? Siren… there goes the siren. Never in a million years could I have imagined this. The Redfins are down by five points. Jack McCracken has got the ball just forward of the centre circle. Oh my lord, folks! Rewind the clock twenty years. This is not happening! This is not happening! Tell me I’m dreaming!
Players from both teams slumped to the ground. Specky watched it all unfold in front of him, not believing, either, what he was witnessing. Ernie stood there, dumbfounded, not able to move or speak.
Robbo, Jimmy Prior and Matt Connelly ran to the goal square in case they were needed to help shepherd the ball through.
Specky jogged to the middle of the ground and stopped, just next to Razorback Jack. He watched him take a couple of deep breaths and walk back to the start of his run up. Brian had not moved since the siren had sounded and was joined by his brother and his dad. The only person at the game who didn’t seem concerned was sitting calmly in the dug out of the interchange bench. Ivor Richards didn’t even move when his wife, Doris, sat next to him and held his hand.
‘Don’t you worry, Dorry,’ said Ivor. ‘That’s Razorback Jack McCracken with the ball in his hands.’
Specky wanted to say something, but didn’t dare. Then, just before Razorback Jack commenced his run up, he turned to Specky and said, ‘Never kick it too hard, son.’ He held the ball loosely in his hands and glided to the top of his run up. Specky felt as though he were watching it all unfold in slow motion. Jack effortlessly dropped the ball onto his boot, and in the almost supernatural quiet that had descended on the ground, Specky heard a soft, gentle fwooomph as the ball made contact with the boot. It really was as if Razorback Jack had kicked a cushion.
There was never any doubt from the moment
the ball took off that it was going to be a goal. It was the most beautiful thing Specky had ever seen. It did not deviate from its trajectory and just kept climbing higher and higher.
Once it reached the top of its arc, it flattened out for about twenty-five metres and then slowly started to descend. It sailed straight through the middle of the goals, at half goal-post height. It even cleared the cars parked behind the fence.
What happened next was just a blur for Specky. The ground was swamped by thousands of supporters as Brian ran toward him. They toppled to the ground and were joined by more of their delirious team-mates. They were shouting and crying and hugging each other, and none of what they were saying made much sense at all. They were overcome by the enormity of what they had achieved.
Everyone eventually made their way over to Ernie and Lizzie, where Specky was joined by Robbo and Danny. Ivor was still sitting in his seat, just about the happiest man Specky had ever seen, a big gummy grin plastered all over his face despite Doris’s best efforts to give him his false teeth.
Motormouth Mick had joined them in the dug out, leaving Gobba to fly solo on top of the ute.
If I live to be a hundred and twenty, there is nothing, I repeat, nothing, that will ever compare to this day for heroics. It sounds dramatic, but it has felt as though the very future of a town was riding on today’s result. And thanks to the collective efforts of the team, one mark from an up-and-coming great, and one kick from a former legend in the last seconds of the game, this match will go down in country football folklore. Now for goalkickers and best players…
While Gobba wrapped up the day on radio, Specky slowly worked his way through the crowd, searching for only one face. He couldn’t find it anywhere, but just when he was about to give up, he heard a dog bark from behind the interchange dugout. He wandered over to the bench, ducked under the fence and made his way around the cars that ringed the oval. There in the distance, slowly walking back into the bush with his dog beside him, the same way he had appeared, was Razorback Jack McCracken.
∗∗∗
Specky walked back to the celebrations, Razorback Jack very much on his mind.
As he rejoined the group he was taken aside by Brian’s dad. ‘Simon, there you are! We’ve been looking everywhere for you,’ he yelled over the raucous cheering. ‘Your mum has been taken to hospital.’
‘What? What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing’s wrong! She’s in labour – she’s having the baby, right now.’
When Specky, still in his footy gear, rushed into the Mildura Base Hospital, he learned that his mother had just given birth to a healthy baby boy.
‘Wow, I can’t believe I have a brother,’ he gasped as he hugged his dad and Alice in the corridor.
‘Yeah, you should see how small he is,’ gushed Alice.
‘Well, he’s a little earlier than expected,’ said his dad, sounding relieved and happy.
Mr Magee told Specky that he should wait with Alice and he would get to see his mum and his new little brother when the doctor had finished her check-up.
While Specky sat patiently in the waiting room, he heard a wave of loud voices approaching from around the corner. It was his friends – Brian, Robbo, Danny and Gobba.
‘Is it a boy or girl?’
‘How’s your mum?’
They were all talking on top of each other, but Specky tried his best to answer all their questions.
‘Dad said that even though the baby is a little bit early, he’s healthy and Mum’s doing okay, too. I’m just waiting for the nurse to call me in,’ he explained. ‘How’s everyone back at the ground?’
Brian grinned. ‘They’re gonna be celebrating all night, I reckon. And Ernie got his cheque from Sharkey.’
Specky gave him a concerned look. ‘Can we tell them now?’ he asked.
‘That’s cool. I already have,’ Brian replied.
‘See! I knew there was something going on,’ said Robbo.
‘No one has seen Razorback Jack since the game finished,’ added Danny.
‘Most players would have hung around to bask in the glory,’ said Brian, ‘but that’s never been what he’s about. We might never see him again, but he’ll be remembered as one of country football’s greatest-ever players.’
Specky wished he’d had the chance to sit down, just once, and talk some footy with Razorback Jack. There was a part of him that wanted to convince Brian that they should head off into the bush in search of Jack. But Specky figured they had to respect his decision to live a life of solitude. Maybe, one day, their paths would cross again. Specky knew he would never forget Razorback Jack McCracken.
‘In the meantime,’ Brian continued, breaking into Specky’s thoughts, ‘Rivergum footy club lives on. We’ve got money, and, since the game, heaps of new people have signed up to play.’
‘Oh, and a text came in from Christina,’ said Danny, handing Specky his mobile.
Specky read the message.
Danny, could u pass this message 2 Speck? Speck, call me asap. We need 2 talk things out. C x
‘Doesn’t sound good,’ said Danny, in his not-so-subtle way. ‘Sounds like she’s gonna drop ya.’
Robbo punched Danny in the shoulder.
‘No way!’ Specky said, pretending not to be concerned.
‘Goodness!’ said a nurse, stepping into the waiting room. ‘Are you all here to visit?’
‘No, just me,’ said Specky, following her to his mum’s room.
‘Hi, darling,’ said Mrs Magee from her bed.
Specky kissed his mum. She was holding a tiny bundle wrapped in a blanket.
‘So, do you want to meet your little brother – Jack?’
‘Jack? Like Razorback Jack?’ Specky was amazed.
‘Who?’ said his mum, looking puzzled.
‘Doesn’t matter.’
The nurse took the baby from his mum and gently placed him in Specky’s arms. Specky froze. He had never held a baby before.
‘Hey, Jack,’ he said softly. ‘I’m your big brother.’ He looked into his baby brother’s eyes in complete wonderment. ‘I’ll teach you to kick the footy in the backyard in a few years time, okay?’
Specky was overcome with emotion. What would happen between now and the time baby Jack learned to walk and talk and kick a ball? Would they win the State game? Would he still be going out with Christina? Suddenly, Specky realised that he would have finished school by then…
‘One day, he might be able to go to the MCG and see his big brother play in the AFL,’ said Mrs Magee, smiling. ‘Wouldn’t that be great?’
Specky paused and smiled at Jack.
‘Yep, that would be awesome.’
