Round 5 – Collingwood v Essendon: Catching That Winter Sun

 

 

 

Is there anything sweeter than a blue sky and sunshine on a winter’s day?

 

That was exactly the situation that I was faced with on a recent sojourn to Port Fairy; a first for me. I’ve never been a beach person, it’s the peaceful meandering of a river that calls to me, but after only a couple of days along the coast, I feel I could easily become a lover of the beach in winter.

 

Living near Ballarat, I spend most of the winter months griping to my husband about needing to move further north. Harking back to my early teaching days in the Mallee or my short stint in the South Australian outback, the heat is my natural habitat. But I was pleasantly surprised at the way the sea air, and the crash of the ocean made my heart sing, even in the dead of winter.

 

It’s the writer in me that loves the idea of long walks along a sandy beach, which is all but deserted with the usual summer flotsam of humanity. The lighthouse on Griffith Island at Port Fairy was the perfect easy stroll, taking some time to mull over the next idea, while keeping a look out for whales and their calves, which had been sighted only the day before. The wind was bracing, but with beanie and jacket, the air was invigorating and the views spectacular.

 

I spent two afternoons soaking up the precious rays of sun and watching the kids play in the shallows of Pea Soup beach. A rocky outcrop sheltering the small inlet from the rough waves of the Southern Ocean. Trailing across rock pools, barefoot with my jeans rolled to my knees, I shared my children’s joy in discovering little marine creatures hidden away in crevices of rock. The water was icy, but none of us cared.

 

No trip is complete without sampling the local cuisine. In this case, it was the offerings of the local bakeries.  We were promised that Cobbs Bakery held the best jam donuts known to man-kind, and they didn’t disappoint! For me though, the winner was The Village Bakery with their fresh, flaky pies. Holding their warmth in my hands, I could almost imagine I was at the footy, waiting for the siren to go.

 

Two days, and a million miles away from the sunshine in Port Fairy, I’m back in Beaufort and rugged up to watch an early-July Anzac Day match, which typifies the craziness of the 2020 footy season. Without the high-leaping prowess of Jeremy Howe and the steady reliability of Steele, there was a brief crisis of confidence before the first bounce. Luckily, knowing that Treloar would be gracing the field for the first time this season made it slightly easier to bear.

 

Perhaps the only thing that measures up to the joy of catching sunshine on a winter day, is the thrill of watching the Pies beat their age-old rivals, Essendon. I’m in a tricky situation, bought up in a Bomber household, and married to a fervent Collingwood supporter, nothing is sweeter than watching the boys in black and white beat the Bombers in a nail-biter.  After last week’s two point loss, the pain of a close game is real. The start of the first quarter was great to watch as we kicked three straight, but then it was tough to watch. Into the last quarter I’d all but given up hope before we got to within three points with some quick goals, only to be thwarted once again.  It wasn’t to be.

 

One of the silver linings in tonight’s match, despite the disappointment, was watching Josh Daicos run around. No doubt it’s intimidating to be following in his father’s footsteps – a genuine Collingwood cult hero who played more than 250 games. But Josh is becoming comfortable in the his AFL role. He was smooth in his use of the ball, not only kicking a goal in the first quarter, but executing some crucial marks and tackles. At times he looked like he was moving the ball with all the time in the world, which bodes well for the team in coming years.

 

After suffering through the game tonight, I can only feel lucky that the earlier part of my week was filled with natural beauty and joyous laughs. If we keep losing close games, even the short 2020 season is going to feel like a prolonged one.

 

My take aways from the week that’s been – head back to Port Fairy as soon as possible, and ignore Dad’s calls for the rest of the week.

 

 

 

 

 

COLLINGWOOD                3.0       3.1       3.5    7.6 (48)
ESSENDON                        3.0       5.0      8.2    10.3 (63)

 

GOALS
Collingwood: Stephenson 3, Brown, Daicos, Mihocek, Varcoe
Essendon: Stringer 3, McDonald-Tipungwuti 2, McKernan, Parish, Shiel, Townsend, Zaharakis

 

BEST
Collingwood: Treloar, Maynard, Daicos, Stephenson, Pendlebury
Essendon: Shiel, Hurley, McGrath, Stringer, Ridley, Hooker

 

INJURIES
Collingwood: Nil
Essendon: Stringer (ankle)