^^ A photo I never knew I needed HAHAHAHA
It's game day!
I am extremely happy that some sort of footy is back!
Obviously being around the boys, they seem very motivated to try and go out and win tonight, but we won't be too upset if we do lose as it is only a practise match and doesn't mean anything.
I park my car in the underground carpark of Marvel Stadium, before jumping out and walking up to the security guard who scans my pass, and I am let through to the rooms.
The vibes in the rooms is immaculate as there is music pumping and all the boys have started with their pregame warm ups.
"Made it in here alright?" Ads asks, pulling me into a hug and I smile.
"Yep, perfectly fine this time." I say and he smiles.
"I can't believe they weren't gonna let you in at the grand final."
"Please we should've known from that it was just gonna be a disaster of a game." I say and he chuckles.
"Probably right."
"How's Georgie and Kim going?"
"Yeah they're good, unfortunate they couldn't make it down for the game tonight, but they'll be coming for round one."
"Oh that's good, at least they'll be here when the game actually matters."
"That's very true, but this game does matter in some way."
"Of course, gives us an indication of where you boys are at."
"That's right." He says just as Josh joins us.
"Surprised they let you in." Josh jokes and I shrug.
"Must just be the Optus stadium security guards."
"Maybe." He says and I smile.
"Well, I should let you two warm up, yell out if you need anything." I say and they both nod and smile before I walk over to Baz, who is talking to one of the Physio's, Bella.
"Stop flirting with her and get to work mr." I say making Baz jump and Bella laugh.
"Sorry, I'll stop now." He says and Bella smiles, mouthing a thank you to me as she walks away to continue doing what she had been assigned.
"You're annoying the poor girl."
"She's cute, so obviously I'm gonna annoy her."
"You're pathetic and have no game."
"I have no game?" He says laughing. "Clearly you haven't looked at yourself in the mirror."
"I look in the mirror every day thank you very much." I say just as Dom walks over.
"Mate, calm down, save some for the game yeah?" Dom says and Baz smiles.
"I'm all fired up mate don't you worry."
"Yeah, too busy flirting with Bella." I mumble and Baz glares at me which makes Dom laugh.
"Just go warm up before you and I both get in trouble." I say and Baz sighs, walking away from us and starting his warm up.
"He's a baby." I say and Dom laughs, then nods.
"Yep, Baz is a very unique guy."
"Agreed." I say and Dom smiles.
"I didn't think you'd be let in tonight."
"Oh can everyone stop bringing that up." I say rolling my eyes and he laughs.
"Sorry, you know we will never forget it."
"It's fine." I say and Dom smiles.
"Come on, we should get to work."
"Oh so I have a little helper today?"
"Yep!" He says and I smile, as we start doing what we've been assigned...
Before we know it the boys are running out to the sound of the bulldogs faithful cheering.
There is only a couple thousand here but they are still pretty loud.
I am on water duty tonight, which should be fun as I've never done it before. I've always been sitting on the bench next to Em, helping her out. But Dom will be filling my usual role for tonight, and I couldn't be happier the role had been given to him.
A few seconds later, Brisbane run out to their theme song and their fans also cheer them.
It's looking like it's going to be a cracker of a game.
Both teams go through their warmups, before the two captains meet in the middle for the coin toss.
They shake hands, before the umpire tosses the coin, it lands on tails, which means Brisbane has won the toss. Their captain points in the direction they want to kick in, and it's to the away end, which means we'll be kicking to the Footscray end.
The nerves have amped up a bit over the past couple of minutes, anticipating what's going to happen.
That's the beauty about sport, is that it's unpredictable. A team could have all the odds against them, and still come out as winners. I've seen it first hand with this club.
A lesson I have learnt is to never underestimate the underdog, because the underdog is just as dangerous as the team that is expected to win, or that are favourites.
People seem to doubt that. Think the game is always one way, but it really isn't. I love it when the underdog wins. It just shows how quickly a game can turn if one team switches off.
The siren sounds, and the ball is bounced, the crowd urging on their team to get the first clearance, and the first goal...
The first goal is something we do get. We get it out of the centre, where Laith is tackled, but manages to handball it to my brother, who kicks it to Aaron, who marks it. He then slots it straight through the two big sticks...
The first quarter was a strong start from our boys. We lead by two points.
We did drop off a bit at the end of the first quarter, but hopefully it doesn't continue for the rest of the game..
The siren sounds and Brisbane have managed to win by 6 points.
We dropped off pretty badly in the 2nd and 3rd quarter, which arguably costed us the win, but I am happy that we managed to get back within a goal, and only lost by a goal.
We head back into the rooms with the boys a bit disappointed in how the game ended.
I guess a lot of the other clubs are ahead of us as they started back up at training way before we did, considering we played in the grand final.
But hopefully that doesn't affect our round one game, which I assume it won't.
On a sad note, we had two injuries with both Keath and Hannan going down. At first I was worried Keath did an ACL, but it was confirmed that he just got kicked in the shin. Although Hannan's injury might be a bit more serious with him clutching his ankle. Could be a syndesmosis at worst, as it didn't look like a rolled ankle.
When we get into the rooms, the boys all sit down on the floor. You can tell that they are puffed out and exhausted after that game, and I don't blame them, it was pretty intense, especially since Brisbane would've had a longer pre-season then us.
I slide down next to Aaron and smile at him.
"Hey." I say, and he looks at me, then smiles.
"Hey."
"You played well today, kicked 3 goals." I say and he smiles.
"Yeah I was alright I guess."
"You had a good game, stop trying to bring yourself down."
"I'm not bringing myself down. I just think I could've taken some marks that I dropped."
"Oh my god, you're totally putting yourself down." I say and Aaron smiles, shaking his head.
"I'm reviewing my game so that I can improve come round one."
"Alright, whatever you say. But please don't do you head in over this, it's just a practise match you know."
"I know Tahls, don't worry." He says with a reassuring smile, which makes me smile.
We sit there for a few more minutes before the boys are called in for their post game meeting.
I pull out my phone and have a bit of a scroll on instagram, before I sense someone sitting down next to me. I look up from my phone and smile when I see that Dom has slidden down next to me.
"Hey." He says.
"Hey Dom, why aren't you in the meeting?"
"I didn't really need to be there since I didn't play." He shrugs and I nod.
"I guess, but wouldn't it be better if you were in there?"
"Probably, but they'll never know, besides Bont will just tell me what's going on."
"You're right." I say with a chuckle and he chuckles too.
"Got any plans tonight?" I ask and Dom shakes his head.
"Nah, I'll probably go home."
"No Kaitlin?"
"Nah, she was out with her friends tonight."
"Oh yeah fair enough." I say and he chuckles.
"What about you? Any grand plans?"
"Nah, going home, straight to bed."
"Wow, didn't expect that from you." He says and I chuckle.
"I think my partying days are over."
"That's not true, you're still young."
"I guess, but I am getting older, I think my priorities need to change."
"Well, you should go out and live a little, whilst your single. Before Worps ties you down." He says with a smirk and I punch him lightly in the arm.
"I swear everyone is obsessed with him."
"No, we just want to see you happy." He says and I nod.
"I guess. But I've never been the type of girl to go to clubs every weekend, it's once in a blue moon for me."
"You clearly went at the right time in Noosa, considering you bumped into Worpel."
"Yeah, maybe it was a good thing I did go out that night. Thanks to Aaron and Baz who were trying to cheer me up." I say and Dom nods.
"Exactly, if you two get married you'll have to thank them." Dom says and I laugh.
"Dom. We're not even together yet. So once step at a time."
"Hey I'm just saying that they would expect that."
"They probably would." I say with a laugh and Dom smiles.
"Well, I should get going, I'll see you at training yeah?"
"Of course." I say and he smiles, pulling me into a hug before getting up and walking out of the rooms, leaving me all by myself.
There are a few minutes of silence, before a loud roar of noise fills the room and that's when I know it's time to go.
"You ready?" Aaron asks and I nod.
"Yep, just need to speak to my brother..." I say looking around to see where he is and Aaron chuckles.
"I spoke to him already."
"Oh... you did?"
"Yep, come on, let's get you home." He says and I smile as we walk out of the rooms and into the carpark to Aaron's car.
"You know I drove right?"
"Tahls. Stop stressing Em is gonna drive your car home."
"Okay I was just wondering." I say and he smiles.
"Did the meeting go well?" I ask and Aaron nods.
"Yeah, Bevo was slightly disappointed with how we dropped off a bit, but he also acknowledged that it was a practise match and that they don't mean all of a lot. But he did say it would've been good to get the win."
"Oh yeah that's alright." I say. "But what Bevo said is true though."
"Yeah it is." Aaron says with a smile.
"I'm just glad footy's back."
"Yeah same, it felt like forever waiting for it to come."
"Oh definitely." I say just as Aaron pulls into my driveway and I smile.
"Well, thanks for the ride home, I'll see you soon yeah?"
"Yep." He says and I smile again, thanking him for the ride before getting out of the car and walking inside.
I turn the light on in the kitchen, just so that Em and Marcus aren't playing murder in the dark when they get home before I head upstairs.
I turn the lamp on in my room, before getting changed into my pyjama's and plonking myself down on my bed, getting underneath the covers.
As I am getting settled in, I get a text message from someone who has been on my mind since our date last night.
James:
Hey, disappointing your boys lost, but at least it's only a praccy match ❤️
I chuckle at his message before sending one back.
Tahlia:
Hey, yeah disappointed at the drop of effort in the second and third quarter, but it's okay, we coming for the round one win 😁
James:
Of course! I was thinking of flying you down to Tassie to watch me play but I think I've left it too late :(
I smile at the message, shaking my head, before pressing on the FaceTime button and letting it ring.
James picks up within a few rings.
"How did I know you were gonna FaceTime me?"
"Well, you know how I hate talking over text and would rather see you."
"Any excuse to see me right?" He smirks and I roll my eyes.
"Whatever you say James." I say and he laughs. "So were you really gonna fly me out to Tassie?"
"Well yeah. If I thought of it earlier, I'd have to ask your brother for permission and he's probably too busy doing footy stuff and it's just too much of a hassle now you know."
"Yeah, if you mentioned it to me a day earlier, I may have said yes." I say and he chuckles.
"I know, but you will watch the game right?"
"Of course."
"And you'll come to our round one game?"
"Of course I will." I say and he smiles.
"Good."
"What you don't think I'll come to Hawks games?"
"Well that's why I was asking."
"Clearly." I say and he chuckles as I let out a massive yawn.
"Aw you tired bubs?" James asks and I nod, which makes him chuckle.
"Alright, I'll let you get some rest, sleep well beautiful." He says and I smile.
"Thanks, you have a good sleep too."
"Night." he says.
"Night James." I say before we hang up.
I place my phone on my bedside table, putting it on charge. I then turn my lamp off, and snuggle into my bed, before my eyes automatically close and I drift off into a deep sleep...
***
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Next update out Friday!!