Specky Magee and the Boots of Glory

by Felice Arena

  ‘So, Simon, are you excited about going back to play at your old school tomorrow?’

  Specky replied with a half-hearted ‘Yeah’ to Old Lady Nails as he brushed Sir Lancelot’s tail.

  ‘What sort of answer is that?’ she said. ‘You look like you have the weight of the world on top of you. What’s wrong, boy?’

  Specky had the urge to tell Nails everything. He wanted to tell her about the mysterious notes and how he was being blackmailed; how he wasn’t sure what he would do even if he found out who the insider was; about his old friends Danny and Robbo being upset with him and how they still hadn’t responded to any of his emails; and how he felt weird that he was going to play against them tomorrow. Specky wanted to tell Nails all of this, but he didn’t. He couldn’t.

  ‘Well, you really must have a lot on your mind,’ said Nails, not getting any sort of reply from Specky. ‘Whatever it is, it’s not as bad as you think. It never is. Take it from me, an old woman who knows.’

  Nails told Specky about a few times in her life where the world seemed too much for her. She told him how, as a younger woman, she had had the chance to ride in the Olympics equestrian team, but two days before the trials she had fallen and broken her arm. And she told him about her husband Ernie passing away after their thirtieth wedding anniversary.

  ‘You see, kid, when we’re tested like this in life – no matter how terrible the situation – we still have options. You can either sit around being miserable or accept what has happened and get on with it. I can think of something that might cheer you up, though.’

  ‘What?’ asked Specky.

  ‘I think you’re ready to ride Lance. He needs a little exercise.’

  ‘Really? But –’

  ‘No buts. Your lessons on the mares have been going very well and you have a real knack for it.’

  ‘You sure? I mean, no one rides him except you, and –’

  ‘No excuses, lad. I wouldn’t put you on him if I didn’t think you could do it. He really likes you. So put your helmet on and take him for a decent run.’

  Before Specky knew it, Sir Lancelot was saddled up and Specky was ready to ride.

  ‘Right, just take him to the end of the paddock and back,’ instructed Nails.

  He opened the gate that led out to an acre of vacant land directly behind the Gosmore school grounds.

  ‘And, Specky,’ added Old Lady Nails, ‘if this doesn’t clear your mind, nothing will. Yah!’

  She gave Sir Lance a good whack on the backside, causing him to bolt off toward the horizon.

  ‘WOAAAAHHHH!’ yelled Specky, holding onto the reins for dear life.

  ‘Slow down, Lance!’ he shouted. ‘Man, I’m gonna die!’

  Specky’s heart raced as he felt every powerful stride of the stallion. Lance’s mane flapped wildly in the wind, whipping across Specky’s face – he was flying. A minute into the ride, Specky realised he wasn’t going to fall off. In fact, he was now moving smoothly with each lightning step the horse took.

  ‘Yahooooooo!’ Specky shouted, gaining more confidence as he and Lance tore across the field.

  It was such an exhilarating feeling. It was almost as good as taking a high mark, and Specky totally forgot about his worries for a while.

  21. back to booyong

  Specky nervously chewed at his fingernails as the bus pulled up at Booyong High. He looked out of the window to see who he’d recognise first.

  ‘Hey, Legend!’ came a voice from nowhere as Specky hopped off.

  It was the Great McCarthy strolling by on his way to his next class.

  ‘Nice threads, fancy boy!’ he stirred, slapping Specky on the shoulder.

  ‘Hey, Dieter,’ replied Specky.

  ‘So, you gonna give some free kicks away to our boys, or what?’ joked the Great McCarthy.

  Specky caught some of his Gosmore team-mates shooting him dirty looks.

  ‘Yeah, right!’

  ‘Argh, too bad, but it should be a good match. The whole school is gonna turn out to watch. Your sister and I are gonna hang out near the Booyong Road end goals.’

  ‘Great,’ replied Specky, suddenly feeling more pressure to play well. ‘Look, I better go. I’ll catch ya later!’

  Coach Farrell, Mr Reager, Mr Brennan and the Gosmore team were already making their way toward the change rooms.

  Once Specky and his team-mates were changed, they clip-clopped out onto the oval and were greeted with jeers and jibes from the Booyong students, who had been released from their classes to watch the match.

  Whoa, Dieter was right, thought Specky. The whole school has turned out.

  Specky’s old schoolmates jammed themselves in right around the boundary line.

  Specky tried to ignore some of the boos and derogatory remarks directed at them as they warmed up and jogged around the oval.

  ‘Didn’t realise you came from such a feral school, Magee,’ sneered Grizza. ‘But on the other hand, that’d explain you.’

  ‘Yeah, well it takes one to know one, I s’pose,’ retorted Specky, who wasn’t in the mood to take any of Grizza’s grief.

  Specky looked back toward the change rooms. There was no sign of his old team.

  ‘Simon!’

  It was Specky’s mum. She was standing among a large group of parents who had come to see the match.

  ‘Mum?’

  Specky ran over to meet his mother.

  ‘Hello, darling!’ she smiled, grabbing Specky in toward her and kissing him on the cheek.

  ‘Mum, ease up,’ said Specky pulling away. ‘Where’s Dad?’

  ‘He got caught up at the gallery, but he’s going to try and make it for the second half.’

  ‘G’day, Specky boy!’ a familiar voice came from the crowd.

  It was Cedric Cockatoo, the father of Specky’s Great Footy Contest mate, Johnny.

  ‘Mr Cockatoo! What are you doing here?’

  ‘We live here now. Said goodbye to Katherine and moved down here two weeks ago,’ he said, with a broad smile. ‘But I think I’ve spoiled the surprise.’

  As Specky was about to ask ‘What surprise?’, he was drowned out by the crowd suddenly erupting into thunderous cheers. Specky’s old side had jogged out onto their home ground. They were led by Robbo and Screamer and following a few steps behind them were the rest of the Booyong Lions, including Danny, Gobba, Simmo, the Bombay Bullet, Einstein, Smashing Sols and, to Specky’s surprise, Johnny Cockatoo.

  ‘Hey, Specky, man!’ he hollered, spotting Specky straight away and making a beeline for him.

  ‘Hey! This is so weird,’ said Specky, slapping Johnny a high five. ‘Dad said you were moving, but I didn’t think it would be so soon. It’s so freaky to see you in my old school colours!’

  ‘What about you! Too bad we can’t play on the same side.’

  Johnny’s smile was just as broad as his father’s.

  ‘So, I hear you’re a big snob now, Specky, man,’ he said.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Robbo, Danny and Screamer told me about how you got stuck into them with your Gosmore mates and –’

  ‘That isn’t true, mate! It wasn’t my idea to –’ But before Specky could finish he was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder.

  ‘Hello, Simon. Good to see you.’

  It was Specky’s former coach, Coach Pate.

  ‘Miss Pate! Hi!’ stuttered Specky.

  ‘How’s Gosmore treating you?’ she asked.

  ‘Um, it’s good. It’s –’

  Again, Specky was interrupted.

  ‘Hey, Magee! This isn’t This is Your Life!’ snipped Grizza.

  Specky looked back over his shoulder to see that his Gosmore team-mates had gathered around Coach Farrell. He spotted Mr Brennan motioning for him to join them.

  Specky excused himself and ran off to join his team-mates.

  ‘Having a nice reunion?’ hissed Grizza, as Specky edged his way beside him into the huddle. ‘They might be your mates off the field, Magee, but
when we cross the white line they’re the enemy. You better not be thinking of taking it easy on those losers just because you grew up with them. If one of them gets in the road, we expect you to run straight through him.’

  ‘You worry about your game and I’ll worry about mine – like you give a damn about what happens to this team anyway,’ snapped Specky in a loud whisper.

  It wasn’t really the right time or place to let that out, considering Coach Farrell had already begun his pre-game rev up, but Specky couldn’t help himself.

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Grizza growled back.

  ‘How’s your letter writing these days?’

  ‘What the hell are you talking about, Magee?’

  ‘Um, excuse me for talking while you’re inter-rupting,’ said Coach Farrell, raising his voice.

  ‘Sorry, Coach,’ they responded simultaneously.

  ‘I need you two to focus. Grizzle, as I recall from last year, Booyong’s ruckman can really play. You have to get your hand on the ball first at all the ball ups and boundary throw-ins. And Magee, I know this is your old side, but you will have to drop all emotional ties with your mates. I’m hoping for the same magic we’ve had from you in the last couple of weeks.

  ‘All right, boys, Booyong are gonna be fired up to do what they can to win on their home turf, but it’s up to us to show them why we’re the current Diadora Cup champions. Now get out there and let me see you give it your all!’

  ‘Carn, fellas!’

  ‘Let’s crush ’em!’

  ‘Go Knights!’

  The Gosmore players encouraged each other as they separated and ran out to take up their positions.

  22. specky versus booyong

  As Specky made his way to the goal square, Coach Farrell’s orders echoed in his head – especially the comment about dropping his emotional ties with his old mates.

  Yeah, easier said than done, he thought.

  Specky jogged into full-forward position and found that Smashing Sols was his opponent.

  ‘Hey, Sols. You playing full-back these days?’ asked Specky.

  ‘Yep,’ he replied coldly, puffing out his chest and shoving his body into Specky.

  ‘Okay, whatever, just asking,’ said Specky, nudging him back.

  ‘Yeah, well, I don’t usually talk to someone who’s up himself.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Screamer told us about how you and your new mates think you’re better than us.’

  Specky shook his head in disbelief. ‘Is that what everyone thinks?’

  ‘Yep!’

  Smashing Sols continued to dig and nudge at Specky, trying to throw him off balance.

  Specky knew it was not unusual for footballers to find themselves playing against good friends. Some of the biggest names in the AFL had changed clubs over the years and ended up playing against their old sides and old team-mates. Nathan Brown, for example, had been a star with the Western Bulldogs and then changed clubs to play for the Richmond football club. Specky was determined to take his advice and treat this as another game of football and try not to think about the opposition as mates, but, for the length of the match, see them purely as opposition football players.

  Specky knew that Grizza and the rest of his new team-mates would be looking for signs that he was not as switched on as he normally was, and he was determined not to give them any reason to doubt how serious he was about the game.

  The umpire blew his whistle and the game was under way. The Booyong crowd screamed and cheered.

  Coach Farrell was right. Booyong were more determined than ever to shine in front of their home crowd. They got off to a good start, kicking a goal within the first minute of the match – thanks to a slick Robbo-Danny-Johnny-Screamer combination. But Gosmore soon answered back with a superb snap from Whispers. For the rest of the quarter it turned out to be a goal-for-goal contest. Specky outplayed Sols, and was happy to thread a couple through the big sticks.

  Halfway through the second quarter, Smashing Sols was replaced by Robbo. Specky thought it was an unusual move by Coach Pate, especially since he had been doing well in the ruck.

  ‘G’day,’ said Specky, while waiting for the ball to come his way.

  ‘Hey,’ mumbled Robbo, staring ahead at the play.

  ‘You know, Sols told me how you’re all cheesed off with me, which really sucks,’ cause none of it’s true.’

  ‘Whatever,’ scoffed Robbo, still avoiding eye contact.

  ‘Yeah, okay, whatever then. I just thought we were mates,’ replied Specky, disappointed.

  Danny scored a goal at the other end. But within moments the ball was making its way back to Specky and Robbo. It was handballed by Grizza to Piggie, then onto Sticks, who thumped it long into the forward line. Specky began to lead, but as he did Robbo grabbed the back of his jumper, not allowing him to break free. Robbo worked his way in front and took an easy chest mark. Specky turned to the umpire, expecting a free kick, but the umpire had obviously missed it and he awarded Robbo the mark. Specky couldn’t believe that the umpire had missed such a blatant free kick, but he decided to bite his tongue and simply stood on the mark with his hands in the air.

  As Robbo took his kick, Specky was very aware of a familiar voice from the sidelines.

  ‘Well, folks, this could be a masterstroke from Coach Pate. Taking Smashing Sols off Magee and replacing him with big Robbo has had an immediate effect. The big fella seems to have got the better of the former Booyong High star, and it just might swing the match back in Booyong’s favour. Maybe he’s not as good as he thinks he is.’

  It was, of course, Gobba – he was more interested in calling the game than playing it. Specky hated to admit it, but it was getting on his nerves.

  Specky clenched his teeth and tried to block out what Gobba had just said about him, but he couldn’t – it was like getting shot in the back with an invisible arrow.

  Specky had an opportunity to make amends a short time later when once again the ball made its way down toward the full-forward position. Just as he was about to launch himself into the air in an attempt to take a big specky, Robbo blocked him, denying him the opportunity to have a fair run at the ball. He stood on his toes at the same time, just to rub it in. The Lions’ second ruckman, ‘Lurch’ Langdon, floated in and took an easy, uncontested mark.

  This time Specky couldn’t control himself. He turned to the umpire and said, ‘Come on, ump, are you blind? That’s the second time he’s stopped me going for the ball. Open your eyes and do your job!’

  The umpire blew his whistle and awarded a fifty-metre penalty against Specky, and the Booyong players and the crowd went wild.

  ‘Good on ya, Specky, sooky la-la.’

  ‘You’re not so cocky now, are you, Magee?’

  ‘Don’t like it when you get beaten, do ya, Speck?’

  Specky heard every one of the taunts that were directed at him as he jogged the fifty metres back to where the kick would now be taken from.

  Robbo ran the whole way alongside him, taunting him about how undisciplined he had become since he left them.

  ‘Getting a big head, are you, Speck?’ he said, laughing.

  Specky was shattered. He had prided himself on not letting himself get sucked in like this, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had given away a fifty-metre penalty. He still thought he deserved the free kick, but he also knew that it was stupid to argue with the umpire, no matter how frustrated he was.

  As he was standing the mark, Grizza ran past and snarled, ‘Pull your head in, will ya, Magee? Stop thinking about yourself and get your mind back on the job.’

  Specky knew he was right, and hated that he had given Grizza a chance to criticise him in front of everyone. Just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, the team runner made his way toward him.

  ‘You’re off, Specky, Coach wants you to have a spell. Go and cool down.’

  Specky went bright red, a combination of embarrassment and frustration, as he mad
e the humiliating jog to the interchange bench.

  Of all the places for this to happen, could I have picked a worse one than here, in front of my old home crowd? he thought as he crossed the boundary line. It seemed that every person in the crowd and on the field had something to say as Specky was dragged by his coach. The only one who seemed upset for Specky was Johnny Cockatoo, who, as he jogged past, said out of the corner of his mouth, ‘Don’t worry, Specky, man, we all make a mistake every now and then. You’re just human.’ It was a nice gesture from Johnny, but Specky was too disappointed to respond.

  At three-quarter time, Booyong High was well in front by twenty-six points. Coach Farrell was not impressed as he addressed the team. Eventually, he got to Specky.

  ‘Simon, I know you’re receiving a lot of extra close attention, and we can all see that some of it is outside the rules, but that’s just footy, mate. Take it as a compliment – they’re worried enough about you to try some tactics that aren’t in the spirit of the game. The umpires are there to sort that stuff out and we just have to trust that they will pay the free kicks when they see them. If they miss a couple, we just have to cop it on the chin. You giving away a fifty-metre penalty is exactly what Booyong is hoping for. It’s not always going to go your way, buddy. We know you’re better than that, and we’re right behind you.

  ‘I don’t expect you to kick six or seven goals every game – the rest of the team will share the workload. I’m going to move you out to centre half-forward now. Just give us a contest every single time you’re involved in the play and the rest will look after itself.

  ‘Boys, if Magee is not taking marks, that means there will be a lot of crumbs at ground level for the rest of you. Simon, concentrate on your tackling and shepherding, and things will start to turn for you.

  ‘Whispers, you go to full-forward. They won’t be expecting that, and we might be able to catch them on the hop a bit. Let’s just try and peg them back, goal by goal, and we will win this game. Now get out there and get stuck into it.’