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I am introduced to the two captains – both of them eyeing off my stitching and the prominent swoosh symbol that everyone instantly recognises. I meet Steph Catley – NTC Captain and ‘Matilda juggernaut’ who I must say winks at me. I am flattered by the attention from such a lovely young lady – maybe she will take me home tonight? No chance, she just wants to control, manouevre and direct my every move across the pitch or in the air this evening and hopefully into the back of the net.
A size 10 studded puma holds me in place, the whistle sounds and immediately I am shunted backwards towards an oncoming stampede of boots all grappling for the chance to strike my glistening synthetic leather exterior as hard as possible.
The boys are ‘up and about’ early looking to draw first blood in a highly anticipated match up by both genders. On a previous encounter, the mighty Brunswick rocked the NTC Girls with a resounding defeat and as we all know, Girls have very long memories and so they were out to redeem some pride for the Yellow and Blue tonight. The FFV hierarchy had fronted at Darebin and standing stern faced on the sidelines watched intently as they evaluated the progress of Victoria’s elite female footballers on display tonight.
Within seconds I find myself deep in the Brunswick forward half being snapped by midfielders and wingers alike, backwards and forwards across the artificial turf, bouncing like a pin ball from boot to boot. I feel quite dizzy and it’s only minutes into the game as I have travelled from one end of the pitch to the other through some very well controlled passing by both outfits.
Then, I am suddenly nestled in the gloved hands of the NTC keeper – Tori Snelleksz as she attempts to rub my exterior like I that of a genie bottle to ensure her grip allows easy clearance from defense for the NTC Girls. I meet Bella Scott, a nuggetty defender who I must say has no issue driving me high and wide up the lines for the forwards to run into my path. Bella fights hard for my attention and uses her body well against tough competition, all to keep me under her control.
After failed attempts by both teams, it was the 5th minute mark when I was held up in traffic and then distributed wide to a Brunswick lad who slotted a lovely left foot shot to register the first major for the evening past the NTC Keeper and into the coarse net. 1 Nil to the boys.
The pace was furious from the start and the girls were now gradually starting to pick up the tempo with a tirade of relentless pressure coming from the Brunswick boys on the NTC defense. With so much time spent in the NTC defensive line early, it is here I meet Maddy Stockdale and Alex Natoli – the glamazons of the NTC Girls defensive line. Spending considerable time at the feet of these two young defenders, it was incredible when I looked up to see that it was a very long way to the top of these rigs. They move a little slower than the boys but best if you don’t get in their way when they are coming through as a few boys encountered on the night. Their physical presence demands respect from the opposing teams and they are focused on transitioning me out of the back as quickly as possible.
I am quickly switched to the left side of the pitch and sure enough there’s that girl Steph Catley again – caressing me with the inside of her left foot and weaving me up the left back to the feet of another left foot receiver - the elusive and deceptively quick Beattie Goad. Beattie rolls me forward, in and out of traffic then nonchalantly takes on one, two and then three opponents to provide a stella cross to the waiting forwards hovering at the top of the box.
I rebound off the feet of a Brunswick defender into the path of the mercurial Cindy Lay. I like Cindy – she is strong, very aware of players around her and capable of miraculous things on the ground and in the air. I am quickly introduced to her two partners in the midfield, Kate Fotopoulos and Zoe Stamatopoulos. I feel safe when Zoe is standing over me. Guarding me like a prized possession so that no-one dares to attempt a steal.
Kate takes over and just meanders around like she has all the time in the world and I feel like I am on a Sunday morning walk through the park. She has incredible space and time before distributing to the forwards for attempts on goal.
A short sharp pass introduces me to Lucy Kennedy running up the right wing who looks to cross me through a solid combination of passes to the waiting Elly Curo. Elly has the longest legs I have seen. Maybe it was her socks pulled up past her knees that threw me off but she would run into my path from Lucy’s precise pass and hold me up, waiting for the chance to distribute to Steph, Cindy or Beattie on either side of the pitch.
With 3 minutes left in the second half, the ongoing pressure finally mounts on the NTC defenders allowing Brunswick to clinically dispatch me into the back of the net on two occasions giving the NTC keeper no chance of saving anything and taking the score to 3 Nil in the boys favour at the break. The girls were valiant and apart for the first five and the last three minutes, had withstood the pressure really well.
With renewed vigour, the NTC girls were determined to slow the scoring and concentrate on creating forward plays themselves that could result in a score. With a numbness from the constant striking of my shell, I was now being tightly controlled by the NTC Girls who had several attempts on goal from a solid buildup of possession football. Every chance to sneak me into the net against the boys was rejected.
I must say, the majority of play in the second half was through the NTC Girls who displayed a steely resolve to maintain possession and not be intimidated by the opposition.
A long range shot from way downtown by the Brunswick boys scooted past the outstretched arms of Beth Mason-Jones who replaced Tori Snellecz taking the score to 4 nil. A scoreline that did not reflect the actual basis of how the game was played. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the NTC Girls, their tenacity and hardness at the contest was evident and the resultant level of respect from around the ground was a topic of discussion after the final whistle.
It was so much fun being the center of attention tonight. I think the NTC Girls really liked meeting me and wanted to keep me to themselves – especially given my waistline is no more than 28 inches (71.1 cm.) and no less than 27 inches (68.6 cm.). And every time I play, my weight at the start of the game can not be more than 16 ounces (0.448 kg) or less than 14 ounces (0.392 kg). So my figure is really important after all.
In the old days, I was made of leather but now I am made of synthetic leather because leather has a tendency to absorb water which causes me to become very overweight.
I wonder what its like to be a corner flag?
Stocky