by Felice Arena
The boys let out a huge roar, and Specky could sense the determination in every single player. He was still feeling miserable about being dragged from the ground and not being played in his favourite position, but he knew it was the right thing for the team. As they were heading out to their positions, Mr Reager gathered all of the forwards together. He was in charge of the forward-line group, and had had a big influence, even in a short period of time, on the way Specky approached the game.
‘You know my philosophy on forward-line play, boys,’ he said. ‘I don’t care who kicks the goals. All I care about is how many we kick as a team. Try not to crowd each other, give each other lots of space, and work hard on the defensive side of the game. If we can put some pressure on their defenders when they have the ball, we can make them fumble and turn the ball back over to us. Let’s win the footy back and score more heavily.
‘Simon, once the ball goes deep into our forward line, I want you to stay out on the half-forward line. If they win the ball back and kick it out of defence, I want you to form a wall with the other half-forwards – don’t let it get past you.
‘Everyone needs to lift. Now, off you go.’
Specky knew exactly what he needed to do, and he was going to work harder than he ever had. He took up his new position at centre half-forward. It caused confusion among the Booyong High team. Robbo didn’t know whether to stay at full-back or go out to centre half-back to pick up Specky. Screamer Johnson decided the issue for him.
‘You stay there, Roberts. I’ll take Magee. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time… I’m surprised you can still run, wimp. I thought you might have splinters in your bum from sitting on the bench for so long.’
Specky said nothing. He was focussed on doing his job and winning the game for Gosmore.
‘I wanna see your ugly face, Magee, when we win,’ his rival gloated. ‘I’m gonna prove to everyone that you’re not as good as you and your poncy Gosmore friends think you are!’
That struck a nerve with Specky. ‘I never said I was better,’ answered Specky. ‘You just told them that.’
‘Yeah, well, maybe I did. But I never told them that you can only make the AFL if you go to a school like Gosmore.’
‘I never said that, either!’ retorted Specky, angrily.
‘Then why’d you accept the scholarship?’
‘Because, I… because…’ Specky felt another invisible arrow pierce his back.
Do Robbo and Danny resent me for going to Gosmore? he wondered.
Before he had time to think anymore about it, the game got under way. Gosmore looked like a different team. The ball was booted out of the middle of the ground and sailed just over Specky and Screamer’s heads. Specky turned around and ran with the flight of the ball. Smashing Sols was charging at it from the other direction, not for one second taking his eyes off it. A collision was going to be unavoidable – Smashing Sols, looking up, did not see Specky coming at him.
Specky saw him, but kept running. He knew he could beat him to the ball. Very few footballers, even AFL players, would have kept going: it was the most dangerous position for any player to find himself in, but Specky knew he had no choice. If he pulled out, then everyone would think he was scared or wasn’t trying hard enough to win the game. He kept running, watching the ball, and lunged at the last minute. As the ball fell into his arms, Smashing Sols arrived and cannoned into Specky at a fearsome pace. The crowd all gasped and both players went sprawling to the ground. Specky was able to hold onto the mark, but he had been ‘shirt fronted’ right up the middle of his body, and was badly winded. Sols, too, had had the stuffing knocked out of him.
During the quiet moments that followed, only one voice was heard:
‘That was the most courageous act we have seen on a football field for a long long time. Magee, what an unbelievable effort. We all know he can fly with the birds, but that took guts and courage. It was like that game Stephen Silvagni played here as a schoolboy…’
Gobba went on and on, forgetting temporarily that Specky was playing for the opposition.
Everyone stopped, wondering if either player was going to be able to continue. Specky gritted his teeth and got to his feet. During his holiday he had seen a replay of the 1989 Grand Final against Geelong where the great Hawk Dermott Brereton had been flattened in the opening minutes only to get to his feet and kick an inspirational goal moments later.
The fact that Specky was up had caught everyone by surprise, and Specky was sure they all expected him to have a shot at goal. But he noticed that Sticks had snuck down into the forward pocket by himself, his opponent too busy wondering whether or not Specky was going to be able to take his kick. Specky took the opportunity and quickly chipped the ball over Screamer’s head – he was muttering to himself while standing on the mark – and Sticks ran into an open goal to narrow the margin to twenty points.
The Gosmore bench went wild. It was the most inspirational and unselfish piece of play that anyone could remember, and it seemed that nothing was going to get in the way of a Gosmore victory now.
Specky continued to play exactly the way Coach Farrell and Mr Reager wanted him to. He wasn’t dominating, but he was tackling fiercely and shepherding players out of the way, which allowed many of his team-mates the opportunity to win the ball. Robbo was still doing a good job for the Lions and was keeping Whispers quiet, but every time he booted the ball away from the Gosmore goals, Specky was standing at centre half-forward – in the way.
Coach Farrell sent the runner out to Specky with two minutes to go. Gosmore was behind by three points.
‘Okay, Specky, Coach wants you to go back to full-forward to see if you can kick the winning goal for us.’ Specky sprinted to the goal square. Screamer yelled out to Robbo to pick him up.
‘C’mon, Derek! Go and play on him! Don’t let that little twerp Magee run over the top of ya!’ Specky recognised the aggressive voice booming from the crowd. It was Screamer’s dad, standing directly behind the goals.
Well, he hasn’t changed, Specky thought.
But Screamer stayed where he was. If Specky was going to be the hero, then Screamer Johnson was not going to get the blame for it.
With less than a minute of the match to go, the Booyong crowd were beside themselves. It was down to the wire. The Lions were ahead by only three points. They were doing everything possible to stop the Gosmore boys running over the top of them.
But it was no use. Grizza burst through the centre and kicked a massive torpedo to Piggie on the half-forward line. He wasted no time in booting the ball in Specky’s direction. Specky was surrounded by four Booyong players – Robbo, Screamer, Danny and Johnny. The pack flew and everyone, including the other players on the ground, held their breath.
The ball spilled to the ground and bounced toward the Gosmore goals. Specky was one of the first to recover. As he looked up he saw Sticks go flying past him. The crowd was at fever pitch. Just as it looked like Sticks would run into an open goal and kick the ball off the ground for a winning score, the footy bounced at an unbelievable angle.
Sticks changed direction, gathered the ball in his hands and swung around onto his right foot. As Specky was running toward the goal square, he could see, out of the corner of his eye, a blinding flash of movement. It was Johnny Cockatoo, sprinting toward Sticks.
Specky knew that if Johnny tackled Sticks now, then Booyong would win the game. He ran towards Johnny, and as he approached he realised that Johnny hadn’t even seen him, he was so focussed on Sticks. His mate, the one player on the opposition who had actually been nice to him today, was wide open.
For a split second, Specky was torn. Johnny was running so fast and wasn’t expecting to be bumped so there was every chance Specky could injure him. But what choice did he have?
Just as Johnny was about to get his hand on Sticks, Specky, making extra sure his elbow was tucked into his side, shepherded Johnny out of the way with a crushing, but very fair, hip-and-shoulder bump.
Johnny and Specky both went flying, and Sticks waltzed into an open goal and kicked the winning six-pointer.
As Specky untangled himself from Johnny, the siren sounded and the Gosmore bench went berserk: spilling onto the oval, jumping all over each other.
But all Specky was worried about was Johnny. The trainers from both teams were now with him and he looked to be in a lot of pain.
‘Oh my God, folks!’ said Gobba in a subdued tone.
“That was one very solid bump. Young Cockatoo, in his first game for the Lions, does not look to be in a good way. Gosmore have taken the points here today, folks, but there is a tense atmosphere all over the ground.’
The Gosmore boys were making their way off the field, but Specky was still standing beside Johnny and the trainers and most of the Booyong team.
‘Good on ya, Magee, ya hero! Ya bumped the smallest bloke in the team.’ It was Screamer, but Specky thought a lot of the boys were probably thinking the same thing. Specky was feeling so awful, he didn’t even respond to Screamer’s baiting.
When Johnny finally got to his feet his arm was in a sling. The trainer said, ‘Okay, boys, out of the way, we have to get him to hospital for some x-rays. Looks like it could be a broken collarbone.’
‘What?’ exclaimed Danny, who had been unusually quiet. ‘How could you do that, Speck? It was his first game. First you dump us for that pretty-boy private school, now this! I can’t believe it.’
Specky started to defend himself, but Johnny cut him off.
‘Don’t worry about it, Speck. I should have seen you coming,’ he said, wincing, but still flashing his trademark smile. ‘Looks like I’m gonna have to eat more of my vegies so next time you’re the one that comes off second best.’
With that, they escorted Johnny off the ground. Specky turned to see his dad and Cedric Cockatoo standing close by. His dad put an arm around him and squeezed his shoulder.
‘He’ll be okay, Speck,’ Cedric reassured him. ‘It’s all part of the game. Footy’s a contact sport, young fella. It’s not the first and it won’t be the last injury he gets. I’m going to the hospital now, but I’ll let you know how he’s travelling.’ Cedric jogged off in the direction of his car.
Specky gave his dad a hug and ran toward the change rooms. He met Worm at the door.
‘I’m sure your old mates will get over it,’ Worm said. ‘After all, it’s only a game.’
‘It was more than that out there,’ mumbled Specky.
He watched his old friends disappearing one by one into the change rooms. He knew, there and then, that things would never be the same between them.
‘Well, that shepherd you put on that guy was perfectly fair and no one could have a problem with it,’ added Worm. ‘It’s never nice to see anyone get injured but, hey, that guy Sols didn’t take it easy on you when you took that awesome mark. And, besides, they did play an incredible match, we just fired up at the right time. You guys in attack and defence were pivotal to our victory.’
‘Pivotal? What?’ asked Specky.
‘I said, you guys were pivotal to our victory,’ repeated Worm, confused.
‘That’s it!’ Specky said, pop-eyed.
‘What’s it?’ asked Worm.
Specky didn’t answer – his mind was already somewhere else. He now knew exactly who the Salisbury insider was.
23. it’s you!
The next day after school, Specky didn’t have to help at the stables for long – Nails was at home, nursing a cold. He fed the horses and brushed them and then decided to finally confront the person behind the mysterious notes.
‘So, it’s you! You’re the one trying to blackmail me. You’re the Salisbury insider,’ said Specky, through clenched teeth. ‘I can’t believe I trusted you.’
‘What? Are you crazy? I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘Yeah, you do, Tim!’
24. piece it together
Specky had cornered Tim in the library. He was in the middle of stacking a pile of books.
‘You left the notes! You’re connected to Salisbury!’
Tim winced nervously as he struggled to respond.
‘Admit it! Yesterday Worm said the forward line and the back line were pivotal to us winning the match and it suddenly hit me. I knew that by myself I couldn’t have that much of an effect on the game. But if there were another player, someone else who could influence the match by the way they played… someone who was pivotal to the result.’ Specky glared at Tim. ‘Gosmore lost the past few games to Salisbury because they were beaten in the forward and back lines, remember? That’s why they went in search of us. With me at full-forward and you at full-back, we could put a stop to Salisbury’s dominance in those areas – that is, unless we didn’t play our best.’
‘You’re being paranoid,’ croaked Tim.
‘No way!’ said Specky. ‘The other night when I caught Sticks in the gym, you said you couldn’t sleep so you followed me. Then how come it took you so long to get there? I was wandering around for about forty minutes. Were you already outside? Meeting someone from Salisbury? I wouldn’t put it past you now, but I don’t get why you’re doing all this. Why would you want Salisbury to win the Boots of Glory? What do you get out of it?’
‘You’re losing it!’ said Tim, who had beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. ‘I can’t believe you’re saying this.’
He turned back to stack some more books.
‘I’m going to go tell Stevens,’ said Specky. ‘Everything!’
‘No, you’re not! Why would you do that? We’ll get expelled and lose our scholarships,’ Tim panicked.
‘I don’t care about losing my scholarship. Doesn’t worry me now.’
Specky turned and started to walk out of the library. When he got outside, Tim sprinted after him.
‘Mate, you’re not really gonna dob us in? You can’t!’
‘Yes, I can,’ said Specky, still pacing ahead.
Specky was bluffing, but hoped it would get a reaction out of Tim.
‘Just stop and think for a sec,’ pleaded Tim.
Specky picked up his pace.
‘No, stop! Okay, you’re right. It’s me. I’m the insider. But I never wanted to be!’
Specky stopped walking. His bluff had worked, but he almost wished it hadn’t. He turned and faced Tim.
‘I’ll tell you everything,’ whispered Tim. ‘But please don’t tell Stevens.’
Specky nodded and followed Tim back into the library, away from other students. And Tim told Specky everything.
‘Now, let me get this straight,’ said Specky, shaking his head. ‘Last year, you got an anonymous letter saying how would you like a scholarship to Gosmore? Tim nodded. ‘But it also said that you would have to help sabotage the Boots of Glory match?’ Again Tim nodded.‘But I still don’t know why you’d agree to do that,’ said Specky.
‘I told you why last term,’ said Tim miserably. ‘I had nothing to lose. My mum could never afford to send me here, and I’ve got to get to the AFL. So I thought, well, the Boots of Glory match is only one game, and I was going to get a scholarship for four years! This is the best footy school.’
Specky sighed as he let it all sink in.
‘So, you had to sign a letter saying that you would do all this. And then send it to a post-office box in Melbourne. And then a couple of weeks later you got a call from Gosmore saying you had been offered a sporting scholarship.’
‘Yep, that’s right.’
‘And you still don’t know who’s behind all this?’
‘No… well, I’ve got a name, but it’s fake: he calls himself Mr X.’
‘So you’re being blackmailed as well.’
Specky squinted as he tried to piece all the information together. ‘And this student from Salisbury who calls himself Crusha. You don’t know who he is either?’
Tim shook his head.
‘But he gives you instructions from this Mr X guy, right?’
Tim bit
his bottom lip and nodded.
‘Woah, this is just so bizarre,’ Specky croaked. ‘And when you said you thought you saw someone when we were in Stevens’s office that night, that was made up?’
‘Yeah. I told Crusha that we were going to steal the Boots, and I got a message back from him saying that we should make sure to go back via Regents Oval.’
‘Why?’
‘I guess Mr X could get a good view of us there, to film us. So he had something to blackmail you with.’
Specky sat down on a chair and exhaled heavily.
‘Woah,’ he whispered under his breath. ‘What sick, evil dude would go to all this trouble just so Salisbury could win the Boots of Glory?’
Tim didn’t answer Specky. He was looking straight past him.
Specky followed Tim’s gaze and turned to see Worm emerging from behind a row of books. He had heard the whole conversation.
25. mr x?
‘You gotta keep this to yourself!’ said Specky.
‘Why? We need to tell someone. Find out who is behind all this,’ answered Worm, glaring at Tim.
‘What’s that dirty look for?’ snapped Tim.
‘I can’t believe you would do this,’ exclaimed Worm.
‘Hey, you’d do the same thing if you were in my position.’
‘No, I wouldn’t!’
‘What would you know? You don’t have a clue what it’s like not having enough money to –’
‘Hold it!’ injected Specky. ‘Will you both settle down? What Tim’s done isn’t right, but it’s done. It’s useless arguing over it now. You can’t tell anyone, Worm – unless you wanna see us get expelled?’
Worm shook his head angrily. Specky continued.
‘What we’ve gotta do is find out who’s behind all this. It’s gotta be someone who was in a position to spot your footy talent in the first place, Tim, and convince Gosmore to take you on.’