Bleacherites,
Saw him out of the corner of my eye as he breasted the bar tucked in behind Bay 145 at the Western Paddock.
He had on long sandy-coloured hair, that jutted out scarecrow style at a 45 degree angle from underneath a finely hand-crafted three-tiered Saints beanie, that looked more like some kind of extravagant Rastafraian hat in red, white and black, and was an abvious family heirloom.
He teamed that with the full-tote-odds navel-length beard straight out of ZZ Top and an ancient, well worn Saints guernsey that would have seen it's origins back in the early 80's, perhaps 70's, stove-pipe black jeans and black leather motorcycling boots.
He purchased one beer and went on his merry way, acting like a completely normal person.
Unlike the couple in their mid-30's who sat in the row behind us.
They appeared to be of Nordic origin, they wore no merch, did not eat nor drink, both had the earphones in - no doubt tuned to the NewsRadio call - and showed no emotion throughout, except for allowing themselves a little polite applause from time to time in appreciation of football well played, by either side.
Pretty sure neither of them smiled once.
Don't want to know what they were on.
Takes all sorts in the cheap seats.
More on my wave length was the boy a few rows in, guessing about 12 years old, who had obviously been taught by experts by the sound of his vocabulary of vitriol being directed at the Bamfords.
He was encouraging his mates to join in, but didn't find myself needing any encouragement in giving The Officials, who clearly had never read a Rule Book in their entire miserable lives, a few spittle-spraying words of wisdom, mainly touching on the high probability of their parents not being married on the occasion of their contemptible birth.
A nice touch that OPSM have found the good humour to sponsor the AFL Goal and Boundary Umpires this year.
Irony at it's best.
Just a pity that they don't wear numberplates on their backs, as the Field Umpires do, so you could go after them as well, personally.
Especially after their combined effort in the last quarter, when it was clear from our very close view of the southern goal from the cheap seats, that the defender had touched the ball after it had gone well over the goal line as a Swans speculator sailed high through the sticks.
A goal if ever there was one, and yet the Goal Umpire who was up to "look-at-me" prissy antics running about in small circles behind the line and not looking, and the two Boundary Umpires who were standing hard up against the point posts like they were on some kind of powerful mind-altering drugs, called it a behind.
With no less than six greenhorns in the Swans side, the match had an air of inevitablity about it against an uber-experienced St Kilda outfit.
When you get 9.0 kicked on you to half-time through a combination of free gifts to the away side from the Bamfords and some awful defensive work from Sydernee, it was always going to be a case of chasing your tail with catch up football.
None of the youngesters played very well, which is to be expected in a pipe-opener, while Jesse "James" White had a shocker, SC Roos said as much.
And someone as seasoned as Malceski having a brain snap and giving away a 50m free in the dying stages didn't help matters.
And how was it that Kozzie got 3 weeks for taking out Tadgh in the first quarter, and yet someone called Zac taking out Tadgh with a vicious head-high clotheline that left the great Irishman with concussion and a bloodied lip, got off scott free?
Why was it that the Bamfords and the Tribunal missed it entirely?
If it was BBB Hall, he would be been put in the cooler for a few weeks.
But there were a couple of snippets of good news to come out of the game.
On the event bus on the way home all agreed that the Lewis Jetta kiddie looks the goods for a very small centre-man; otherwise the harbingers wouldn't have been sounding the trumpets before him.
And with The Goodes Train [who probably did enough for at least two Brownlow votes] having the ball on a string, or not, as the case may be, as he scored two miracle goals both soccered off the ground, it was pleasing to note that Pim Verbeek, has picked Adam to be the main target for the Socceroos from free kicks just outside the 18 yard box during the World Cup.
Could do worse.
SYDNEY: 3.3 7.5 9.8 13.10 (88). Goals: Goodes 3, Mattner 2, Kirk, Jack, Malceski, McVeigh, Moore, O’Keefe, Bradshaw, White.
ST KILDA: 5.0 9.0 13.4 15.6 (96). Goals: Riewoldt 4, Gram 2, Koschitzke 2, Dal Santo, Goddard, Geary, Milne, McQualter, Peake, Schneider.
At Stadium Australia, Homebush.
Crowd: 31,333.
Think now and then what it would be like to be in Being Marshall's brain box
Take the chip kick off the left foot for Turqiri to score the "worth the price of admission alone" try in far left had rear corner of the in-goal.
Even from the outside looking in, you could see the cogs working overtime.
The jink, the step, the ball, the foot, the wide vision eyes to see where everyone is, the speed off a standing start, and the physique to carry the idea through.
Never mind Benji's terrible goal kicking of late, it probably keeps him and his mum awake at night; the well timed field goal just before half time when no one was looking, to the point where the TV very narrowly almost didn't get it, was the epitome of a thinker on his feet.
It's very clear now, in the luxury of 20-20 hindsight, that Marshall was thrown into first grade way too young, way too early, simply on the strength or otherwise of his prodigous talent.
There he was in the Miracle Year '05, barely out of his teens, playing outside Scotty Prince; and then proceeded to be bashed from pillar to post over the ensuing years.
The hurly burly of top grade rugby league is not an easy caper by any means, for even the fittest of bodies to put up with.
Benji's two shoulder re-constructions are testament to that.
And it doesn't help that you were a kid with plenty of ego to a-go-go.
But that's where SC Sheens steps in.
Did note mid week that over a morning coffee and croissant in some coffee shop in Chiswick, Super Coach Sheens scribbled out the terms of his one year contract renewel/extension on a paper napkin.
The Club Secretary was very happy to take that to The Board, who had been gently reminding SC Sheens through back channels of the results on the ladder over the past four years, but in the end rubber stamped it.
When news chattered in on the bush telegraph in the corner of the loungeroom that the deal had been done, SC Sheens got on the medium-wave radio and assured punters that if the Tigers did not make the final eight this year...
"I will sack myself, and seek to get out of the contract. The reverse of situation normal".
Magnificent.
Suppose if, after 26 years in the coaching caper, you can't do it on your own terms, there's not much point doing it.
When Marshall's father died in December, Benji wasn't surprised that SC Sheens, when word filtered through, was the first bloke on the phone, and the first bloke to come around and see him at his place.
But Benji was mightily impressed when SC Sheens turned up at the funeral in NZ a few days later, unannounced.
Although it's not for publication on the 'one game at a time' principle, there's little doubting that Tim and Benji would have had a quiet word with each other over a favoured tipple about the tremendous value in winning a second Premiership.
WESTS TIGERS 23. Tries: Marshall (2), Tuqiri (2), Ayshford. Goals: Marshall (1). Field Goals: Marshall (1).
PARRAMATTA EELS 12. Tries: Inu, Reddy. Goals: Inu (2).
At Sydney Football Stadium.
Crowd: 21,318.
