Mate, I tell ya what, that Stannies vs Pats game ended up being an absolute belter, especially in the second half. First 40? Bit of a slow burn, like a snag on low heat. Both sides were just feeling each other out, kicking for territory, throwing the odd hospital pass, and doing their best impression of a sleepy Sunday social.
But come the second stanza, the boys must’ve sniffed the oranges and remembered they were playing footy, not chess. All of a sudden, the pill started flying out wide, the pace picked up, and the crowd, mostly dads in bucket hats and kids with frozen Cokes, came alive. It was full tilt from both mobs. The lead changed more times than a Tinder addict on a Friday night.
Pats looked slick, found a bit of space down the edge, chucked a couple of cheeky offloads, and bang, they’re over out wide. And credit to the kicker, he nails the conversion from the sideline like it was a lazy training session. 3 minutes on the clock, and Pats are up by a whisker. Crowd’s on the edge of their milk crates, nerves jangling like a pub pokies feature.
But Stannies weren’t done. They kicked off long, like proper deep, almost put it in the next postcode, and came flying up in D like a pack of hungry dogs. Pats were under the pump big time, scrambling like a BBQ with no tongs. And boom, pressure turns into a penalty. Stannies get a shot at goal to steal it at the death.
Whole place goes quiet. The kicker steps up, you could hear a fly sneeze. Lining it up, does the whole deep breath routine, takes the shot…
…and it slides wide. Misses it. The collective "oooohhh" from the Stannies crowd nearly blew the canteen over. Pats boys jump on each other like they’ve just won the lotto, while the Stannies lads are left staring at the turf like someone just cancelled lunch orders.
End of the day though, cracking finish. Great game of schoolboy footy, full of drama, heart, and a bit of old-school grit. Would’ve loved a Stannies comeback, but that’s footy. One kick. One moment. And one very relieved kicker from Pats.
Regards, RB, OUT. 