Round 8 – Port Adelaide v Gold Coast: Take Me To China

 

Take Me To China

Port Adelaide versus Gold Coast

1.15pm, Sunday 14 May

Jiangwan Stadium, Shanghai

Aidan Hammond Aged 11

 

 

The AFL and Port Adelaide have been trying hard to get a game in China! Walkerville have been trying hard to best Payneham. Sadly only one of the 2 worked out. Happy Mother’s day, Mum! I am going to give you some breakfast in bed. I write up a menu with lots of things on it. Mum ends up ordering 2 fried eggs, peanut butter toast, strawberry yoghurt and a cup of coffee with no sugar and medium milk. After that I get ready for the game. Socks Up! Shorts on! Guernsey on! Jacket on! Boots on! Mouthguard in!

 

I’m ready to face our biggest rivals from across the river. Payneham vs Walkerville. This will be a ripper. We are 3rd, they are first! I wonder if they made it across the river ok, to the amazing Walkerville Oval. I get there and I head straight for the change rooms past the smaller kids’ ovals. I get in there and I am one of the first to arrive. I catch up with my teammates a bit and kick the footy around to myself.

 

Then the coach tells us where we are playing and all that. I am playing back pocket. We get addressed and told what we have to do as defenders and some tactics. Then after that, we get out from the back entrance and onto the training grass. We do some leading and some kicking. Some picking up of the ball and all of that stuff, just to wake up our skills so we come out firing in the first quarter! We go back inside and we get a final run over as a whole group, for the message that we have to do for the game and how we will beat the table toppers.

 

We run out onto the oval and the mums form a guard of honour for us as we run out onto the field ready to get Payneham swimming back over the river. We have quite a good reception in the grandstand. Looks pretty much like capacity. We might need to start selling tickets! So we get onto the Oval with a good cheer. We run to our end of the oval. We do some stretches. We get ready. The toss happened.

 

There is no wind at all today so that won’t be a factor. I am starting off in the back pocket on an average player. Halfway through the quarter it is Walkerville 0, Payneham 1. The runner tells me to go to full back, I am on a better player this time. For the end of the quarter nobody scores. We get a lot of the ball but we are really bad at converting into scores. Then at quarter time, our coach tells us that we are playing really well against the top team. If the Dees can beat the Crows then the cats can definitely beat Payneham. In the second quarter, we score a point. Sadly then they score a goal. Luckily it wasn’t my man. They score another goal.

 

Oh no. We’ve got to fix this. At half time we get our pep talk. I can’t remember the rest of the game, but all I can remember is that I get my player moved off me. No one scores against me. I am three on one in the goal square but I was concentrating on my player. Someone else marks it. They score. We get an opportunity right in front twice. We miss. We lose by less than a goal. Against Payneham. Our arch rivals. We are in under elevens so we sing the song. Even though we lost. I sing the song. The satisfaction for singing the song didn’t come.

 

Only because we lost. Against Payneham. Our arch rivals. I am really tired. We get the presentations in our change rooms. I hope I win an award. If I get one I hope I get the Gatorade. I win an award and I get a pack of snakes. I go to the bakery and then get a roll. I also get an Ice tea. When I get home I freeze the Ice tea in a protein shaker so I can eventually eat frozen ice tea for dessert. Then I have a protein shake because I am really hungry and I am low on protein. I also have some lolly snakes because my blood sugar is low.

 

After that I watch AFL Game Day and The Crows Show. I also write my report on Adelaide vs Melbourne. I am very disappointed in the Crows. I can’t believe the Crows lost against the Demons. It seems like other teams are studying the Crows and learning how to beat them, the Crows need to learn how to beat them. I think from the last results against Brisbane, the Crows know how to beat the Lions, Then again the Crows knew how to beat Melbourne and North Melbourne so I don’t know. After that I go to my grandparents’ house for a mother’s day afternoon tea.

 

Before, when I was getting my roll from the bakery for lunch, we also got some melting moments for the afternoon tea. So we drive to my grandparents’ house and we have one of the cousins sulking. I showed him my fidget spinner and let him have a couple of goes. Then I convinced him to come outside and have afternoon tea and it worked.

 

So we get outside and we see what is out there, there are melting moments, chocolate cupcakes, jam scones, Portuguese custard tarts and more. After that I go into the family room and watch the television. I see that Port Adelaide are winning by a lot, they are playing so well that they are making me scream “Take Me to China!” , my cousin is on the computer, he is asking us how the match is going.

 

I say Port are winning by quite a bit, it is 20 points, and then my Uncle says clearly from last night 20 points isn’t enough. Yep, I’m still depressed about last night. 20 points might not be enough, but Port definitely know that, so then they make the margin bigger. I have to hang out with everybody. I see a video of Justin Westhoff’s goal which definitely could be goal of the year.

 

We get home in the fourth quarter, we see that Port are demolishing, the Port fans would be really happy. I make mum a bath with bubbles, salts, candles and champagne. I see the last minutes of the game and it is really cool seeing a game in China. I see this brick stand that looks like a castle, it looks so cosy. It is making me scream “Take me to China”, then I work on my Adelaide vs Melbourne Almanac report while watching AFL Game Day and The Crows Show. After that I have dinner, I have my frozen ice tea.

 

GOLD COAST SUNS    1.1   3.5   4.9   4.14 (38)
PORT ADELAIDE         4.4 10.5 13.10 16.14 (110)

 

GOALS
Gold Coast Suns: Barlow, Lyons, Kolodjashnij, Joyce
Port Adelaide: Ah Chee 3, R.Gray 2, Dixon 2, Impey 2, Boak 2, Amon, Polec, Westhoff, Trengove, S.Gray

BEST
Gold Coast Suns: Hall, Harbrow, Lyons, Saad
Port Adelaide: Ebert, Boak, Hombsch, Wingard, Jonas, Impey

 

INJURIES
Gold Coast Suns: Rory Thompson (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Keegan Brooksby
Port Adelaide:

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Brendan Hosking, Matt Nicholls, Sam Hay

Official crowd: 10,118 at Jiangwan Stadium

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Comments

  1. Well done Aiden, fantastic write up. I loved the way you incorporated the fact that it was Mother’s Day, the visit to your grand parents, even the sulky cousin…and the afternoon tea. I have a boy your age and on footy trading nights 1-2 x each week he brings home a couple of boys after school for afternoon tea. I haven’t made melting moments in ages so I might make some for next weeks trading night.
    Good luck in your next game.

  2. Dave Brown says

    One of your cousins sulking is a permanent state, Aidan. Sometimes both… Those Portuguese tarts were the bomb! Port were quite good too I suppose

  3. And sorry… footy ‘training’ nights not trading, typo

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