My Time At Pines Football Club
These years were spent in the under 17’s and were fairly shitty as far as success went. We weren’t that bad but 6th or 7th was our best result. Both years we had a fairly good top 6 but it fell away a bit after that. One thing though, we had a crack. I honestly cannot recall a side I played in where we didn’t give 100%.
I was still acting like a spoiled brat when things didn’t go my way but as I said previously, this was probably because we hardly won. Using reverse thinking on this tells me that if me and a handful of others didn’t carry on, we might have had more success. Go figure.
I think the only time I behaved was when the coach told me before a game that the scouts from StKilda were there to watch me. Fuck, butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth when I knew Ian Drake was there watching me.
I clearly remember taking a mark on the boundary near the light pole at the shops end and seeing Drakey standing just there. I did what any good forward would do and drilled a boomerang straight through. I was pumped… until I got dragged for not centering it. Typical.
Watching the firsts was still a buzz for me. Burkey, Butch, Bull, Colin Moorhouse etc etc. They won Pines fisrt ever senior flag in 76. After the game it was back at the community centre over near the shops. I was just a skinny 16yo walking around in 2 inches of beer. The joint was a mess that night. I never seen so many pissed heads in one place.
I really looked forward to 1977. Often the ones had an injured player before the game and they dragged an under 17 up to play. Being a second year player I thought I would get the call up. I had the runs on the board. You reckon I would get a guernsey. Nope. Didn’t fucking look like it. hahaha
Two reasons for this. One, I was still a complete fuckwit on the field and number 2, we had a first year player named Steve Longham and couldn’t this kid play footy. A friggin champion. Steve was another kid from the juniors and was a freak. He got called up many times and it was obvious why.
The only reason he never played VFL was the fact his knees were stuffed at 16yo. He ended up playing a bit of local footy but his knees prevented him from being a dead set legend.
In 1977 I was also invited up to StKilda in what they called a junior development squad. That was great. Alan Jeans was our coach and he soon whipped the dickhead out of me. He actually spent some time with me. Dunno, maybe he saw something.
So 1977 wrapped up and so did my junior career. It had been a head spinning 4 years filled with plenty of ups and downs. Highlights included the trip away of 76. We went down Gippsland way. Forget where exactly. We had a guy who played in our junior teams who had moved down that way the year before so we thought we would stop in at his joint and say g’day.
The lights were on but he wouldn’t answer the door so 6 of us just walked in. Fuck him. We heard him in his bedroom and barged in to suprise him. You had to be there but imagine our shock when the kid wasn’t there but his Dad was. And so was this young sheila and he was going for it like there was no tomorrow. Poor prick. We never told our mate about it though.
On the Saturday night a few of the boys got in a fight with some local cowboys and copped it pretty bad. One of them rung the clubrooms at Pines to tell them about it. The firsts had just played a final so the rooms were fairly busy. As soon as the phone call came, they shut the rooms and 5 car loads of guys drove to where we were to get the cowboys.
It was fucken vicious. We won. It is amazing how tough you become when you have 20 men with you… and Piddles.
The Story So Far:
1974: Club B+F and Interleague U/14’s
1975: Club B+F, R/U League B+F and Interleague in U/15’s and played in U/17’s Premiership
1976: R/U Club B+F U/17’s
1977: Club B+F, R/U League B+F and Interleague U/17’s and StKilda Development squad.
I was really looking forward to 1978. I was finally going to play in the seniors and was going to achieve my goal of playing ones for Pines. I was fairly certain it would happen and lining up with Burkey had me pumped.
But it all blew up in my face. Barry did not apply for the coaching job. He got offered the coaching job at Clayton. I was fucking shattered. I really was. I did not know what to do.
During the year StKilda had told me that they wanted me to start trianing with the seniors in November but I told them I cannot. I was going to play a year in the seniors with Pines and go back up there the following year.
I was desperate to play with Burkey but that wasn’t going to happen. Pines appointed Stephen “Kermit” Clarke as senior coach. Kermit was a legend from Frankston VFA. Great player. He had teriffic skills and was as hard as nails. A perfect fit for Pines really. But it wasn’t Barry so I told Pines I would be playing at StKilda.
When I told the Saints I was playing with them and they quickly told me that I was not training with the Seniors and to get my arse down to uner 19 training. Bummer. I fucked up big time there.
My time at the Saints and beyond…….