Bayside Bombers Coach, Doug Knight, entered the other team he’s passionate about, the “Pistas” Parrots (Silver medallists in the 2010 Pan Pacs) into the 2012 Pan Pacific Masters Games. This year it was a team of misfits from the AFL Masters fraternity with the likes of MAFQ President “Wolfy”, Fittest man on the planet “Brownie”, 2nd best ruckman “Uncle Charlie” (Bag’s mate - ed) from Victoria, “Tank” and many more footy nicknames I can’t remember…
The Parrots never looked like winning a game over the 3 days of competition but we have fun trying.
Day 1, lost by 44 points to Gold Coast Sunsets.
Day 2, lost by 77 points to Sandgate Hawks.
Day 3, lost by 20 points to Gold Coast Southerners.
The likes of Sandgate Hawks, Sunshine Coast Rayners, Morningside Supercats & the Gold Coast Sunsets (Coolangatta & Burleigh) all played mostly with the team they run on the field with during the MAFQ season so they were the dominant teams in the comp and were always going to be battling it out in the finals.
FINALS GAME 1 - Sandgate Hawks 7.13 (55) Defeated Morningside Supercats 6.8 (44)
Low on numbers due to injuries during a couple of days of hard competition, I was asked to play for the Sandgate Hawks in the finals against Morningside Supercats. The Hawk boys take their football very seriously with full warm up drills and stretching sessions before the game, lots of “Bring it in tight fellas” huddles with motivational talks from their coach Pete then an angry outburst from their Captain Stix to fire the boys up before heading back onto the field.
It was a tough game in wet conditions as it rained all day. I had a good run with plenty of possessions playing in the mid-field and bagged a couple of goals. In the first Qtr I copped an elbow to the nose and another to the forehead in the same marking contest. I had blood everywhere as was taken from the ground for some repairs. Nothing a little Steri-Strip, Vaseline and some tape couldn't fix then back on the paddock. It was tough and scores were tight until the very end but we just pulled away in the last 10 mins capitalizing on the tired legs of the opposition.
Again the Hawks bought it into a tight huddle on the ground to cheer out their club song at the top of their lungs for all the spectators to hear (official crowd attendance about 48 including Peter “Spida” Everett). This win guaranteed the Hawks a medal but what colour? Bronze or silver? We would have to wait for the result of game 2. Back to the change rooms for a cold beer and the Hawks cool down stretching session.
FINALS GAME 2 - GC Sunsets 10.1.6 (78) Defeated Sunshine Coast Rayners 2.1.11 (35)
Sunshine Coast put up a good fight early leading in the first Qtr but the GC Sunsets were just too strong running away easy Gold Medal winners. This result gave the Hawks silver place on percentages.
Final Placing
Gold - Gold Coast Sunsets
Silver - Sandgate Hawks
Bronze - Sunshine Coast
It was a good week of footy and fun was had by all, especially the nightly parties back at Games Village “The GC Convention Centre” with entertainment every night with the likes of The Black Sorrows, Magic Carpet Ride, Jon Stevens and Dragon playing main stage during the week.
Thanks to Dougy for the invite to play for the Parrots and an awesome week of footy. Thanks also to the Hawks for a great game and letting me take a Silver medal home (another Flash -ed)… They are a good bunch of blokes and a good team but I’m looking forward to beating them in the 2013 MAFQ season.
Last Modified on 23/11/2012 15:45