AFL Round 2- Collingwood v Adelaide: Refunds of free tickets needed

After such a successful day, when a young fifteen year old has made a minor fortune for his adolescent savings in only his second shift at his first job, what could be any more deflating than a three quarter effort of football by his beloved team which yielded a measly three goals? Maybe a loss of money, but that wasn’t going to happen.

The Saturday had been glorious; I had woken up at the ripe time of 9AM (which was relatively early for my school holidays routine) and taken the train into the mecca of all national sports stadiums in the Melbourne Cricket Ground. From there I had walked down past the outdoor cricket nets and gone to the office of the AFL Record, where I had picked up my allotment of records for the shift along with the uniform before waltzing down to Gate 5 where I commenced my second ever shift. For the first two hours every single person that walked past was a treasure, as the curtain raiser didn’t attract many people at all. At least not on my side of the colossal stadium. But from 1PM onwards Bulldogs and Tigers fans alike flocked around the great stadium, as I was lucky enough to be allotted the Richmond cheersquad. The initial worry was defused quickly, as my fear of working on a gate all by myself couldn’t even be brought down by a dodgy bum-bag which threatened to disperse all of my earnings along the concrete walkway. Suddenly my hopes rose as many records tumbled out of sight, with plenty of people suddenly gravitating towards me with five dollars like I was a light for moths on a balmy evening.

The game finally started and the first quarter came and went, as many Richmond supporters decided to come out for a smoke at what must have been a stressful quarter, as I finally realised that maybe second hand smoke was the way I was going to pass away, with heaps of smoke filtering around the outside of Gate 5. Suddenly the clock struck 2:30 and I was off, with many Richmond fans deciding that a footy record would go well with their cigarettes before heading back into the ground for the commencement of the second quarter. All in all, I made 83 bucks for a tick over three hours work, which is a more than decent rate for a 15 year old working his first job. I excitedly dumped the money in my pocket and left, as it was 3:30 and I needed some lunch. The temptation of free entry to the rest of the Bulldogs/ Tigers game wasn’t enough, as it was already obvious that the Bulldogs would scrape through for a tough second win in as many weeks.

Off to Jolimont I went, where I boarded a train that zipped around the city loop (zipped may be the wrong word) until I arrived at Southern Cross Station, where I joined the herds of Collingwood supporters marching towards Etihad Stadium. On went my Collingwood cap and out came my membership card which granted me free General Admission entry, as I was tucked up inside the roofed stadium digging into Subway at roughly 4:30. With five minutes until starting time many supporters file into the few seats left in the area, as there seems to be a building crowd for the twilight game.

The game kicks off and hope reignites again, as the Pies look tenacious and as strong as they were in the first three quarters of their round one encounter. The feeling of hope and excitement lingers for roughly twenty minutes, as bewilderment sets in after Eddie Betts’ miracle check side goal to start proceedings. Suddenly doubt sets in, as the Crows streak away in the last five minutes of the opening stanza. The goalless start worries me, but with the erratic Pies that line up in 2015 anything can happen. Just look at Anzac Day last year.
But there is no Anzac Day miracle slated for today’s game, as the Crows continue where they left off, with a telling moment being Tex Walker finally getting off the leash of Frost to bag his first. Langdon and Blair are strong in the midst of the Adelaide barrage, but only Pendlebury and Swan lift with them. Finally Cloke is looking like a decoy forward, as he is lucky to get within a few metres of the ball. We at least bag two goals before half time, as Blair is the only forward who looks likely to bag one.

Going into half time the kicking skills on the NAB Auskick kids look better than some Collingwood players, as youngsters like Oxley and Langdon are the only ones who can hit targets consistently. The third term then gets underway as White starts to show more promise, slamming one through, until fading away like he did so badly in the second half of last season. Nathan Brown starts getting put to the sword in defence as our midfield in Pendlebury and Swan is joined by Elliott, who can’t seem to stop the tide. Jacobs shows Grundy how to play in the ruck position as only a select few Collingwood players put their hands up and do the hard work. The three quarter time total of only three miserly goals is enough to send me packing with my cap in my bag and my savings in my pocket being the only aspects that will make up for the terrible showing.

On the train ride back home I dream of more food and putting my feet up, as the long day has been compounded by the shocking waste of time at Etihad Stadium. I dissect each player on the way back home, as only Langdon, Pendlebury, Swan, Blair, Frost and Oxley being able to hold their heads high. If Oxley keeps on going then he has surely got to be up for a Rising Star nomination. Next week is the Saints, which, after our performance and the Saints’ scintillating one, might be a bit closer than first expected. But time will tell, as the hope that once filled me during the day cascades out as the train pulls further away from the city.

Collingwood: 0.2.2 2.4.16 3.7.25 9.9.63
Adelaide: 3.6.24 7.11.53 11.15.81 12.18.90

Goals:
Collingwood: Blair 3, White 2, Broomhead, Swan, Cloke, Fasolo.
Adelaide: Lynch 2, Walker 2, Dangerfield 2, Betts, Smith, Douglas, van Berlo, Cameron, Jenkins.

Best:
Collingwood: Pendlebury, Oxley, Blair, Swan, Frost.
Adelaide: Smith, Sloane, Dangerfield, Henderson, Talia, Jacobs.

Crowd: 33,771.

Comments

  1. Dave Brown says

    Sounds like a productive day, except for the football, Sean. Great to see a Victorian use checkside, too. Bad news on Oxley is that at 22 he is not eligible for Rising Star.

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