Geelong, North Melbourne, Western Bulldogs

"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles."  Tim Cahill...

TRAVEL – It’s a word that circulates through the realms of every footy lover’s soul, season after season. How will we get to our destination? Why are we going there? In this particular situation, it would’ve been quite hard to understand why, from an outsider’s point of view. Is it really worth it for a neutral supporter to travel all the way to Geelong to see a boring NAB Cup clash?
Well, it was today, because for months me, Mike, Josh and Susie had arranged this as a much-anticipated day out together. Especially since we had all been contacting Susie for about a year, but never actually met her.
I have always been very fond of traveling as a concept. I’ve never been overseas and I’ve hardly left the state. As a result of this, Weather Watch Overnight is one of my favourite shows. I love seeing the mysteriousness of the World’s locations.
I met Mike at the train station and we ate some over-priced food for lunch. Mike laughed at my lifestyle, and once we got on the train, he likened the V-Line train to an aeroplane. I didn’t see the connection. It was a great trip, though. The seats were comfortable and opposite us there was a middle-aged man, with long hair and a beard, talking footy with us. It was the sort of conversation you have with a stranger now and again where nothing else matters other than your love of footy. He explained how he barracks for Carlton, which was comforting knowing there was someone in a similar situation to Mike and I. We complained about the preseason rules and discussed problems of different clubs. He was obviously very knowledgeable and obsessive about footy, but it was as if he couldn’t remember the names of anyone, not even: “ohhhh, you know, that good guy with the tattoos”. “ahhh, that guy who coached Collingwood to a premiership, and used to play for the Tigers”. “ohh, I’ve gone blank, what was the name of that guy who retired for you guys and took the drugs?” It was quite funny.
We didn’t see Susie on the train, but when we got off her mysterious identity was revealed. She was very lovely-looking, short, and what I imagined except her hair and her mouth were a bit different. I fished Josh out of the Cats shop and we finally all sat down in the second row on the flank. Unfortunately, I had the most awkward seat out of everyone, on the outside of a group of four and closest to Josh’s designated driver and father.
The first game, Geelong vs North Melbourne, got underway and North’s new recruits like Cam Richardson and Shaun Atley found plenty of possessions, but they broke down in the middle and the Cats swamped their own forward 50. It was 2.5 to 0 before Ben McKinley snapped a goal to the Doug Wade Stand end and the half was finished. The banter and Susie’s delicious brownies and biscuits kept me more entertained than the match itself as the Cats downed the Roos in scrappy fashion by three goals. Drew Petrie hit Darren Milburn hard. Steven Motlop looked good for the Cats, Majak Daw showed promise and Mike yelled at his old school companion Kieran Harper...
The second game was certainly the one I paid least attention to, as it would’ve been for most other people at the ground. Josh began to look glum as the Dogs galloped ahead. I guess we were all happy to just be together, however. Robbie Tarrant seemed to be running North’s defence, while Jarrad Grant was starring for the Dogs and Patrick Veszpremi snagged a couple. It’s amazing how different players can look playing for their new club. Jordan Roughead played like a man who will now permanently fill another man’s role. Lindsay Thomas kicked a nine-pointer in the second half but the Roos fell short by 31 points with a goal after the siren from Grant. Not that I was watching it very closely.
Geelong vs Western Bulldogs. It was definitely the game to be the most excited about, although, being the third game, it was hard to get too excited. The early evening sun shone on to the terrace. The Dogs gained some sort of ascendancy, with their duo of Father-Son picks finding the footy. Geelong made quite a few changes from their earlier game, bringing in S.Johnson, Hawkins and Ottens. Interestingly, Susie admitted that Ottens “Can’t get off the ground”, which was quite a bold statement from a Geelong fan. In the second half, we moved behind the sticks, and the Cats came charging home with multiple crowd-raising goals. Ben Johnson fitted perfectly in the Cats’ forward line. Geelong won easily, and Josh and his dad made an early exit. Revealed from my body language, Josh leaving was a much more emotional experience for me than Mike and Susie. After the siren, we left straight away to the station. We quietly chatted aboard the 7:42 train. I hugged Susie goodbye as she left at Werribee. Mike and I continued to talk.
Skilled Stadium – I learnt from today – is like your average brother or sister. They may be dirty, strange, unique and unappealing, but you just have to love them and you’ll never forget the experiences you have with them. Attending one of these junk games may be boring, but it also gives you more time to talk to and be with your lovely group of friends.   I got off the train and walked back towards the place where those dreams about traveling occur. 

Geelong 0.4.8 (32) North Melbourne 0.2.2 (14)

North Melbourne 1.2.2 (23) Western Bulldogs 0.8.6 (54)

Geelong 0.7.4 (46) Western Bulldogs 0.4.1 (25)

Crowd: 13,232 at Skilled Stadium.

• Geelong's new number 29 Cameron Guthrie takes a breather during the AFL NAB Cup between Geelong and North Melbourne at Skilled Stadium, Geelong.  Photo by Darrian Traynor. The Slattery Media Group

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