Footy ... but in a whole new era
IT was odd, it was eerie, but it was still footy. Ever wondered what it’s like inside an AFLW “ghost” game?
What it was like to sit inside an empty Mineral Resources Park as the reality of a vastly different Australian sporting landscape bore down on players and staff alike?
It was nearly the perfect day for footy on Saturday when the Suns defeated the West Coast Eagles in Perth. Blue skies, a slight breeze blowing from end to end and warm enough to go without a customary jumper or even red and yellow scarf.
Security stood at each entry point, analysing the credentials of each patron, with only media and staff permitted in.
A select group of family, who had made travel plans back when “corona” represented a popular carton, were allowed in. Others watched on from outside the steel fence that ran laps around the oval, wrapping their fingers around each ring of metal to bring themselves ever slightly closer.
They cheered, screamed and exclaimed when play was within earshot, and even when it wasn’t. You could hear the Suns from their changeroom, even buried beneath the depths of the spectator stands.
Cheering, yelling and even a bit of singing, they carefully whipped themselves into a frenzy in absence of their adoring home crowd before charging out under a guard of honour formed by staff.
As the siren rang out, normality instantly returned. There was footy to play. Each kick, each call and each clash of bodies reverberated around the ground. Communication
IT HAD ALL THE CHARACTER OF SUBURBAN FOOTY BUT THE SKILLS AND WILL OF A NATIONAL SPORTING SIDE
was simple as runners barked instructions from the boundary line and players quickly responded. It had all the character of suburban footy but the skills and will of a national sporting side.
Ellie Hampson was creative on the mark, taunting “are you going to kick left or right? Left or right foot? Left or right” as her rival strode towards goal.
Defender Jade Prengelj even ran from full back to full forward to celebrate one of Kalinda Howarth’s four goals.
It was footy delivered differently. I only hope it’s not the new normal.