He’d been driving them hard now for weeks, down a road that seemed to be made of barbed wire and broken glass, their hearts straining louder than a clapped out diesel motor going up a hill, but they were now tough, armour plated skins as thick as Patton tanks, double insulated against any swoops of misfortune. As they entered the city limits and the coach slowed down a bubbling energy began to grow inside them, they were fizzing away like a shook up can of coke, ready to explode with enthusiasm and fervour.

The stadium loomed like the Coliseum in Rome, MCG walls towering up like the cliffs of Dover over their heads. The bus entered a hole in the walls and it’s diesel exhaust reverberated around the naked concrete walls briefly before depositing them on a well swept apron. Outside they could hear the swell of the crowd as the Grand final progressed through the second quarter. Soon they would have their moment in the sun.

In the change rooms they struggled with their #4 footy boots and drooping shorts, but this troop of kids was gonna show ‘em out there!. Big Jim’s dream had always been to get a team to the grand final -any grand final and today it was the Murrumbeena under Tens. Through the bunkers of concrete they heard the wail of the half time siren and licked their lips with the anticipation of walking out onto that MCG turf for their ten minute kick to kick final – they were definite winners thanks to the effort of coach Jim.

As they ascended the tunnel into the bright October sunshine Jim transfigured himself to become his childhood football hero Alex Jesulenko , the hubbub of the crowd tasted like Belgian chocolate to his ears…..