Get out of the way Gorilla coming through ! :twisted:
Bags player ;-)
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Giving it your all beyond the call
When my brother-in-law came to the big smoke from the tough central west plains to play first grade, he was 18 years old - a long-striding, free ranging second rower. He had long wild hair and a good habit of running to the gap and launching into the clear. Legs pumping and the ball held out in front, he wouldnt step very often but he had pace and guile.
He was prepared to do the hard work. He had a responsible country up-bringing and, as the oldest boy in a big family, he expected responsibility. He joined up with a family style club with a lot of young players and a bright future.
He worked hard and matured as a footballer and a man. He improved and helped others improve. He made a name for himself amongst other forwards who have a code of honour amongst themselves that recognises the strong and the honest, that accepts players when they prove that they have the heart and mental toughness thats needed to take the ball into the teeth of the opposition.
He never made it to top honours - State of Origin or Tests, although he was mentioned by objective observers as well as his club. He played for Country teams, which made him and his family proud, but there was always a couple of proven, experienced forwards ahead of him.
As the years went by, he became known as a solid and reliable club man. Not often injured, always there to lead the way. Every now and then, hed have his troubles a period of bad hands or having to play close to the ruck and getting smashed. Toward the end of his time at the club, as a new hard and strong team began to form, the current coach gave him a different role. No longer the hard running second rower, he was brought into the ruck closer, now for good, as prop.
He banged heads and fought with the best of the props of the time, again earning their respect for his tough no-nonsense play. The coach only saw his future as a defensive player and the game plan called on my brother-in-law to put one cue in the rack and take down another. He played close to the ruck, tackle after tackle. Its a wearing role, one that grinds down the body, especially when its played without respite from the coach and by a player who gives it everything.
He didnt have time for yardage anymore, he was busy carrying his load and, at times, other players defence as well. He began to have trouble with his shoulders and his arms all that hitting and collision, somethings have to give no matter how strong your body has become. After his ninth season, the coach didnt have room for him.
We saw him play his last match before the home crowd hed known no other in Sydney. He left the field with his arms and head held high.
He gave his word to join another club, he had a young family and wasnt a spent force. At the same time the previous coach got the bullet and a young, hard man with a good brain took over. This coach asked him back, but he kept his word. The old team won the competition that next year and he watched it from the stands, saw the players hed helped and lost with, played and won with, finish the season as the best in the world.
Over the next three years, he played one more season with that second club, and two years with another. His shoulders got worse and his arms were sore he had to give it away. I watched one of his last games as the club he was with got caned by my team.
What really stands out was his honesty and commitment, they way he went beyond the call of duty and gave for his club, his team and the players with whom he would run out onto the field. He did what he was asked and told to do, even if it cost him his best, and he kept his word which is as much as we have.
I was always proud of my brother-in-law, as his family was, his club and his fans. I know, in his humble way, that hes also proud of all he did too.
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745 words between the ****
Gorilla