The roller-coaster ride of a proud dad

MY daughter Kate rang me, crying for joy, at 5pm Friday. “I’m playing,’’ she blurted between sniffles.

Finally, Kate knew she was going to realise a life-long dream to play football at the elite level after being left out of Collingwood’s AFLW team for the first three rounds.

Don’t tell anyone, but I think I might have shed a tear, too. Just the one.

Little more than 24 hours later, the tears were flowing again . . . tears from shock, pain and confusion as she lay on a rub-down table in the visitors’ rooms at Whitten Oval, her left knee packed in ice, her career over with only one “handball receive’’ to her name from 10 minutes of game time.

The rooms were like a morgue at halftime. The family was there, as were several close friends. As were Collingwood president Eddie McGuire and chief executive Gary Pert and his wife, Andy, plus the doting Collingwood medical staff.

Whatever we outsiders might think of Collingwood, I couldn’t be more relieved to know that if my daughter had to fall while representing any club, I was happy it was Collingwood.

Ed consoled Kate and whispered to me: “She’s a Collingwood player now; we’ll look after her.”

An hour before the game, I had been invited to present Kate with the No.24 Collingwood guernsey, the jumper she chose to honour her friendship with Sydney chief executive and former Collingwood defender Andrew Ireland.

It was a special moment — I didn’t realise how special it would become — her dream was a reality and her teammates obviously loved her, such was their enthusiasm when she raised the jumper . . . with more tears.

I have watched and/or covered about 2000 games of AFL football over the past 60 years; I had never been so heavily invested in one. That’s what blood does.

When Kate was drafted by Collingwood late last year, she declared it “the best day of my life”.

When she was reminded she had a husband and a son . . . she paused, then gave a look that suggested “I’m not sure anything has changed”.

I reported on lots of players and their disastrous knee injuries; I now appreciate the full impact of those injuries and how broadly they hit.

It was a sad night, Saturday night, but Kate Sheahan will be able to say she realised her dream; she played at the highest level . . . albeit for 10 minutes.