Brady Phillips blog

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Brady Phillips' blog entries:

Brady Phillips and the Indian Ocean!

6/22/09
It's been getting quite cold out lately. Well that's what all the locals have been saying. So now that we're well in to winter I find that I like the winter's here much better than those in Kansas City, Mo. There's no snow here just plenty of rain, but when it doesn't rain it's pretty much the perfect spring or fall day. Not too hot not too cold. Perfect weather to play footy.

Things have been going along swimmingly as you might imagine. Still haven't earned as many marks in the win category as we probably should have, but as they say 'such is life'. Not to make any excuses but Donnybrook is the smallest town in the competition. Which I would assume means we have less funding and sponsorship. Teams that you would find in Bunbury (the second largest city in WA) would have quite a bit more money which I'm told is usually spent on paying their best recruits. It's rumoured that some of the best players in out league could be earning near $1000 a game. This may be why people claim the SWFL to be one of the most competitive leagues. That's my theory anyways.

Beyond the drama's of money and sponsorship everything else is quite nice here now. I do have to report that I've slightly twisted my ankle and will be questionable for the end of the year national tournament in Ohio. I plan to use my time off to figure out a way to get sponsered to play back home. I figure if you count the charm and good looks I should be worth atleast a carton per game, but American beer please not the Emu Export they've been feeding me here.

Sorry haven't taken any new pics.

5/18/09
Things here have been going well, we had a big win last Sunday over Harvey Bulls. Which carried us through training and things were looking up for the game against Collie. Practice went better than average and we were expected to beat Collie... Things don't always go as they should though. The ressie's rocked up with only 16 players against Collie's full side. It was very disappointing because we were only down by 2 goals at the half. I have no doubt in my mind that we would have won if we had a full side. The league side didn't go well either. They should have won but due to poor skills and a few bad decisions kicking out of the back line killed.
Good news is that Footy is still fun to play even when you loose, because there is always the next week to refresh and forget about the previous game whether you win or lose. I've been doing some extra work to ensure that I'm doing everything I can to help my team to win. I've been running more k's during the week and even went as far as buying a gym membership so that I can really make sure I'm in top shape. 

5/4/09
It has been some time since my last entry. I have been quite busy working on the farm five days a week most of the time then training twice a week followed by a game. The rest of the time is spent hanging with the boys. I'm pretty lucky to have joined a team as tight knit as this.
As far as playing goes I did well in my first two ressie's games being one of the top players. I'm told I will eventually be playing league. Good news since, well that's really what I'm here for.

I traveled to Perth for a rendezvous with my good friend Anthony 'Mano' Mansfield. We had a blast checking out the sites, as well as, hitting the beach every day. It was all good until the day I had to leave and I missed my train, rand out of mobile credit and became stranded in Perth. Luckily one of the DBK boys was up and was able to give me a ride home Sunday morning before the game. I was very grateful because if not for Adam 'Fordy' Forward I would have missed the game. For all that trouble I didn't end up playing very well. I guess taking a week of will do that to you. Everything is well now though and I'm looking forward to next week.

3/31/09
I participated in my first game over the weekend. It was a scratch match set up as a round robin tournament. We played two teams, first was Margaret River which we won and did not allow any goals to be scored. The second was Bussleton and this was a much harder fought game. We ended up winning by 4 points and will be playing in the final Wednesday against the reigning premiership champs, Brunswick . The winning team takes home $1000 grand prize. I’m also told that it will be good publicity to lure in sponsors.

I got to play a few minutes in the first game but I played a bit more in the second. The pace is pretty quick, but it’s hard when you hardly know your teammates names. Also playing 18 aside on the same size fields I’m used to playing 16’s or less means it is much more congested which I would say quickens the pace. I only got my hands on the ball a few times playing in the forward line, but I was lucky enough not to spray any kicks. Although I did take a blind side shot to the jaw. After that game I am excited for the season because I can tell that my skills and fitness will be raised quite a bit by the time the season has ended.

3/26/09
I had my first training last night.  It was a perfect night for it too. I was a bit humbled coming  here with no training except for what I was able to do on my own. The boys pretty much ran circles around me since they had all been training hard since December.

I’ve been told I will jump right into my first game/scratch match only a week after arriving. I will probably only play one quarter or so, just enough to get a feel for the pace and the way things go. I think I will need to put in some extra training throughout the week and weekend. Especially if I expect to be near the rest of my teammates fitness level come the start of the regular season.

Apart from footy, I will be starting my first day of work tomorrow morning. Shane’s (Sugar or Shoog as I found out he is called) father Rod was kind enough to give me some work on the farm. Rod is a sincere person and assures me that the labor won’t be strenuous in the least. I’ll be alright I think.

3/23/09
Upon my arrival in Perth I was happily met by Shane and Julie Atherton.  They were nice enough to pick me up and take me around Perth a bit. Just to see a few of the sites and grab a bite to eat.  We were then off to Donnybrook and to the Atherton residence. My temporary home until I move in with Chris Sheehan (Cracker) and Smithy on Cracker’s family farm near  the back of the property in a vacant house.

Once we arrived at Shane’s I only had enough time to shower and get ready to head to an event hosted by the DFC (Donnybrook Football Club). I came in to find their horse racing extravaganza well underway. Replacing the actual thoroughbreds was of coarse team members or ladies.

One at a time they were bid on going for as high as $230 AUD. Once there were six contestants they started by rolling two sets of dice. The first of which indicated which horse would move and the second indicating how many spaces forward they would move. These were large foam dice by the way. This continued until one person eventually crossed the finish and was crowned the winner. The winning bidder earned 70% of the total winnings and 30% went to the club. This went on for a total of seven races. I happily participated in the race under my track name ‘KansasKid’ (I didn’t bother to tell them I’m from Missouri ). I brought one of the highest bids, though I never even made it out of the gate.

Apart from the activities there was plenty of delicious food to eat as well as fridges and taps full of alcohol. The night drew to a close a close with a few other games, as well as, a short dance. After that most everyone stuck around for a few more drinks before heading home around 1.a.m.

The following day started with a short run down to the oval and back. After the run I geared up to meet Shane’s brother Darren at his place of employment which happened to be Brookhampton Estates vineyard.  I was lucky enough to even taste the grapes. Earlier that morning Darren had thrown out some traps to catch some Marron in one of the vineyard’s several damns. Marron are a freshwater crayfish like that found in the states only these grow to the size of lobsters.  They were delicious by the way. 

I was also treated to a trip to the Atherton family fruit farm where I met Shane’s mother and father, Rod and Annette, as well as his young son and daughter, Kane and Ella. Kane and Ella had been staying with their grandparents while I settled in to Shane’s . Shane took me down to look at his 66’ Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. A parts car he was using to put together a 70’ RR Silver Shadow long-wheelbase.  Once he fixes that up he tells me he plans to buy a 69’ Chevy Corvette convertible.

After that I headed down to the Sheehan farm near the back of the property to have a look at where I would be staying the duration of my trip. There the boys had a barbi going to meet some of the guys I had met the prior night as well as few new ones. Not long after arriving I headed out again with Cracker and Fez to experience what they call ‘piggin’. Pigging is a term used to describe pig hunting. They basically drive around the bush until they spot some pigs. They then let the dogs loose to track them and once they catch up they decide whether it’s large enough to kill for food or they just let it go. It was quite a different experience, but a few of the boys reckon it’s good fun.

Along the pigging route I was lucky enough to see see some more Kangaroo’s  happily bouncing around the edge of the bush as Cracker hopped out of the UTE and took on down with his 22/250 rifle. Not quite used to that yet but apparently they can be a bit of nuisance kind of like deer are back home. The animal doesn’t go to waste because it’s good to eat and they also use it as dog food.

The night ended with a couple of beers and some good wholesome food prepared by executive chef Smithy. Cow and lamb chops were on the menu, as well as, beef sausage, fresh salad, and watermelon. That was all followed by fresh apricot pie and ice cream. I think I’m going to be spoiled with all this delicious organic food.

3/19/09
I have had some time to reflect back on the day that I was told I would be one of the chosen to go to WA to play footy for a season. I was overwhelmed with excitement. I have always dreamed of taking a trip to Australia, but never before did I believe that I would be going to play footy for an entire season. This is truly the most exciting time in my life thus far.

After allowing the shock factor to subside I realized that I had never been outside of the country before. At least not to another country that wasn't bordering the states. So I began to do everything I needed in preparation. The final sigh of relief came when I booked my flights and had my Visa approved.

I then of coarse took a double take under the column that read, flight duration. This would definitely be the longest time I'll ever care to be inside of a flying sausage with wings. All that aside, I leave tomorrow morning and I'm still not sure if it has hit me that I'm going to Australia for half of the year. What else is there to say besides, no worries. 
 

- Brady Phillips