Well it seems this year is dithering along like a naughty
child not wanting to go home. Each week brings a certain dread. My son seeks
release having kicks in the street playing the part of Club saviour as all kids
have done no matter what the state of their club. On his back is an imaginary
14 for Fisher, his idol who has just come back.
I sit and watch him
through the glass and feel a distinct separation from the affairs of the team.
Oh how swiftly we fell. A few injuries, some poor acts that led to disqualifications
and suddenly we are the bottom team. Still it can’t be helped. We are young and
frail and we have been punished to ensure we are poor for a few years. If we
could have waved a magic wand and fixed everything then it really wouldn’t have
been a harsh punishment. It was harsh. That is the reality no matter a certain
journalist might want to bleat.
So the Bluebaggers are struggling and my mind has gone all
fuzzy, like a photo through a Vaseline lens to make Doris day seem young and
beautiful – it’s easier to reminisce than it is to watch some of the games we
are playing. I think it is something about not being able to hit the side of a
barn that makes me slide back into the glory years.
Lately I’ve been thinking about another 14. I have been thinking
about Rod Ashman. Remember him? A rover’s rover. We don’t really have them any
more do we? Rovers I mean. Nowadays we have midfielders, though really they
should just be called fielders ‘cos all they do is run all over the field.
There are your forward midfielders, your back midfielders, your in and unders,
your outside receivers and your bench warmer specialists who help rest the legs
of all the other types.
But once upon a time when ruckmen rucked and fullbacks full
backed and wings were not only found on birds – ahh Gary Crane what would they
do with you today? We had rovers. These guys were small, tough and worked in
tandem with the ruckmen. A symbiotic relationship where for many years the
ruckmen argued they made the rovers and the rovers argued they made the ruckmen
– like all good arguments the truth lay somewhere in between.
Now Carlton have had some great rovers, in fact once we had
a whole fleet of them called the mosquito fleet that buzzed so loudly they
drove the opposition wild but of all our rovers my two favourite would be Gags
Gallagher and Rod Ashman. Gag’s was an old, old rover, who just got the ball
and kicked it long, this was back in the black and white days of football when
we watched a kick, a mark, a kick, or a kick a spill, a crumb, a kick. Gags
didn’t fly for marks; he lived at the feet of Big Nick, always there for a tap,
a knock on or a short, deft handpass.
Rod was the next model. Small also, but fast, very, very
skilful and tough as an old football boot, with the long stops and the thick
leather patch covering the ankle, left on the back doorstep too long after
training. Rod never shirked an issue (which is why he eventually needed to wear
a helmet) but it was his ability to win the hard ball or to kick the much
needed goal that won my heart. Bearded Rod was one of those select group of
players that could be relied upon. When we needed a lift it was Rod taking that
mark forty meters out on a wet day and slotting home the goal. Or Rod breaking
free in the centre to get the ball out to another runner and we were off.
Many, many kids – usually the smaller ones, wore the number
14 proudly on their duffel coat. Rod was someone we small, would be rovers,
identified with. When I played football with Shane O’Meara and we talked about
where he would tap the ball I do not know who was in his head, but in mine was
Rod Ashman, and on my imaginary Carlton
jumper was the number 14. Many, many times we played at school or at training
or in my front yard and practised the art of ruckman and rover and each time in
my head I was Rod Ashman, rover supreme.
Oh and wouldn’t it be nice to have a Rod now to help out our
midfield. In fact lately it would be nice to have a few of the old players.
Kenny on the back flank beside Doully would be handy. Of course Jezza and Buzz
to help out Fev would make life interesting. Or SOS in the backline and The
Dominator and Bucks in the middle with Rod and we’d be away again.
But players like Rod have had their time in the sun and have
had to move on. We as a club have also had plenty of bright moments to stand
and scream about until we are hoarse with pride. So even though now things are
not going so well and we sit lower than will ever be comfortable for a
Bluebagger supporter, even so, I have faith in the boys down at Carlton.
The AFL made sure it was a long way back and many people are
happy to see us struggling to keep up but we have a young list and the boys are
learning and we’ll be back. I have no doubt.
We’ll return to the top and this time I hope we remember to
do a Rod Ashman and always, always, keep our eyes on the ball and our feet
firmly on the ground. Leave the fancy stuff to the other clubs Carlton has
always been about hard work and success, for a time we just forgot that’s all.
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