Andrew's Diary Continues

After arriving back in Sydney from a week up in Queensland I had quite a bit of work to catch up on with my internship. I am working with a Guy named Andrew Hill who runs a recreation and sports company for kids called SportsStar. I have been typing up and researching an application for a business award with him 

At practice on Tuesday I was proud to find out from the coaches that I would be sharing ruck duty in the seniors side. I was surprised as I am about 3 inches shorter than the current ruckman but the coaches are trusting my jumping ability. On Tuesday the rovers and ruckman stayed behind and we worked on our taps and strategies for the season. In preparation for our practice match against Sydney Uni on the coming Saturday we went over a lot of our plays for kick ins and re-starts. It is interesting as we near the start of the regular season how the numbers at practice have grown steadily for the fourth straight week. We now have enough number to field full seniors, reserve and under 18’s sides.

Saturday arrived and I was very excited to jump in for my first game of the year. As it was a practice match we only played 3 quarters but it was still a blast. Due to a low turnout I played in the ruck and on the half back flank. I played well and even though the game seemed to end quickly it was great practice and it made me want to play another game the next day.

That night was the opening round of AFL for the Sydney Swans and it was a blockbuster match-up with the West Coast Eagles, a rematch of last year's Grand Final. I got tickets form the club and headed down to Telstra Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park. The area was simply crawling with people and the Olympic Stadium looked amazing in the night sky. We got inside right after the opening bounce and had great seats behind the goalpost in the Swans Members Reserve. The Eagles came out strong in the first 2 quarters and by halftime had a commanding 30 point lead. As Swans supporters we were a bit bummed but in the second half the Swans put in the effort and with 3 minutes to go they kicked a goal to get within one point. An intense 2 minutes passed with the Swans controlling but not kicking the needed point. The horn sounded and just like the Grand Final, the Eagles won by 1 point. It was an awesome game and it lived up to all the hype. I can’t wait for the rest of the season.

- Andrew Lamont
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