The Miracle Goal
Page 6
‘I’m not that hot,’ he said. ‘I’ll just watch from here.’
For twenty minutes, Troy, Adam and Scott joined half a dozen Tocumwal locals making giant Tarzan swings into the river. The rope hung from a mighty eucalyptus branch, and was nearly as thick as Scott’s body. The water was exhilaratingly cold. The locals welcomed them like old friends, and there was much laughing and shrieking.
The three brothers couldn’t believe Joel hadn’t come with them.
‘What’s up with him?’ Adam asked Troy, as they dripped up the bank. ‘He loves the pool. He’s the king of tricks off the diving board.’
It was true. Joel and Scott were the keenest swimmers in the family. Brennan Park Pool was a favourite Selwood hangout. Joel sometimes even wore a wetsuit to protect himself as he tried somersaults off the one-metre board.
‘He’s just worried that he can’t swing as far as us,’ Adam said. ‘He knows we’re looking for his kryptonite.’
They returned to the car and found Joel glued to the Game Boy.
‘Wuss,’ Adam said again.
‘Yeah, you totally wimped it,’ said Troy. ‘Even Scooter was flying in off that rope. It was awesome.’
Joel barely glanced at his dripping brothers.
‘I just beat your highest score,’ Joel told Adam. The twins peered over his shoulder but said nothing.
Joel’s kryptonite certainly wasn’t Donkey Kong.
The Falcon powered on through the part of southern New South Wales known as the Riverina. Now there were fewer cattle, and more fields with wheat and other grains. The heads of wheat bent and rustled and moved like great golden picnic blankets being shaken out over the country. There were still footy grounds to the side of the Newell Highway, but now there were rugby goals, too.
‘Hey, there’s the turn-off for Wagga Wagga,’ said Adam.
‘Wayne Carey comes from there,’ said Troy.
‘And Paul Kelly!’ Joel added.
Wayne Carey had held up the premiership cup as captain of North Melbourne the year before. Most people thought he was the best footballer in the AFL. Paul Kelly was captain of the Sydney Swans and had won the 1995 Brownlow Medal. Joel desperately wanted to be like Paul Kelly. Fast, skilful and brave.
‘Can we go to Wagga Wagga and see where Paul Kelly played junior footy?’ Joel asked.
Dad laughed. ‘If we stop at every junior footy club between here and Mermaid Beach, we’ll never get there. I mean we’re about to go through Finley, where Shane Crawford grew up. Do you want to stop at Shane Crawford’s junior footy club as well?’
All four boys yelled, ‘Yes!’
Adam shouted the loudest. He barracked for the Hawks and loved Crawford.
Mum slapped her forehead.
‘But he’s Crawf, Mum,’ said Adam.
‘A good player?’ Mum replied.
‘A great player,’ Adam said. ‘I think he’ll win the Brownlow.’
‘So that means we need to see his junior footy ground?’ Mum said dubiously.
‘Ab-so-lute-ly,’ Adam said.
Mum glanced at Dad. ‘I do sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have girls,’ she laughed.
ABOUT THE SELWOODS
The Selwood brothers are four of the AFL’s favourite sons. Troy Selwood played for the Brisbane Lions from 2005 to 2010 and his twin brother, Adam Selwood, was a Premiership player for the West Coast Eagles. Joel Selwood is a three-time Premiership player, five-time All-Australian, four-time AFLPA Most Courageous Player and the current captain of the Geelong Cats. Youngest brother, Scott Selwood, was vice-captain of the West Coast Eagles and their 2012 Best and Fairest, before joining Joel at Geelong in 2016.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TONY WILSON is a much-loved Australian children’s book author and one-time Hawthorn draftee. His books include Harry Highpants, The Princess and the Packet of Frozen Peas, Stuff Happens: Jack, Emo the Emu and The Cow Tripped Over the Moon, which was an Honour Book in the 2016 Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards. Tony lives in Melbourne.
COPYRIGHT
The ABC ‘Wave’ device is a trademark of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and is used under licence by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia.
First published in Australia in 2016
by HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks
a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
harpercollins.com.au
Text copyright © Tony Wilson and Troy, Adam, Joel and Scott Selwood 2016
Illustrations copyright © Mike Jacobsen and Troy, Adam, Joel and Scott Selwood 2016
The rights of Tony Wilson and Mike Jacobsen to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
HarperCollinsPublishers
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ISBN: 978 0 7333 3546 4 (pbk.)
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Wilson, Tony.
The Miracle Goal / Tony Wilson; illustrator, Mike Jacobsen.
Wilson, Tony, 1972– Selwood boys; 2.
For primary school age.
Selwood, Troy — Juvenile fiction.
Selwood, Adam — Juvenile fiction.
Selwood, Joel — Juvenile fiction.
Selwood, Scott — Juvenile fiction.
Australian football — Juvenile fiction.
Australian football players — Juvenile fiction.
Biographical fiction.
Jacobsen, Mike, illustrator.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
A823.4
Cover design by Stephanie Spartels, Studio Spartels
Cover and internal illustrations by Mike Jacobsen