Roaming With The Boorowa Rovers: Australian Capital Territory

THIS IS HOW THE WORLD ENDS,

THIS IS HOW THE WORLD ENDS,

THIS IS HOW THE WORLD ENDS,

NOT WITH A BANG....

BUT A...."WHAT THE #@%^ HAPPENED"

(with apologies to TS Elliott)

THE RESULT: BOOROWA 14 - BUNGENDORE 35

NO SHAME BOYS, NO SHAME AT ALL. WE WERE ONLY ONE STOP FROM A GRAND FINAL APPEARANCE.

A GRAND EFFORT!

A great bunch of blokes.

The Canberra Waterboy Comments:

It was a quiet weekend afternoon in January 2012. A warm, lovely day in a summer that had not been so great. An oldish chap was sitting alone with his brain in neutral. The mobile chirps and disturbs the peace. He answers.

"G'day this is Laurie"

"G'day mate what's happening," Danny Lalliard (son-in-
law).

"Not much young fella. Whadyaknow?" Good Aussie conversation.

"Looks like I'll be taking on the coaching job for that Boorowa team...you know...the Rovers."

"Ok, that sounds great. When do you start."

"First training run is on Tuesday evening, about 6.30. We'll be at Mawson playing fields. Was wondering if you would like to drop in for a look."

"Yep, love to mate. See you there."

A few days later and it was early evening in Mawson (Canberra suburb). The old bloke pulls up in his work van and is quickly introduced to a bunch of youngsters. He know's his grandson, of course, and seems to recognise a few other faces (Facebook photos of a blokey trip to the US seems to ring bells).

Its hot! The boys are working out. The only refreshment appears to be a bag of ice and a couple of poxy water bottles. Clearly, water supply was going to be a problem, as the club water bottles weren't going to make it to Canberra for training.

Laurie to Danny, " Listen mate, I'll try to find some cheap bottles on the net. My shout."

And with those few words, the Canberra Waterboy, unknown to him, was born.

A couple of months and many training days later, it was Round 1 against Hall. The old bloke was on the sideline, wondering what use he could be apart from filling a few water bottles. He searched in his pocket and, hey presto, out came a neat little camera.

"Oh well, nothing else to do! Might as well take a few pic's," he thought. "I wonder what I can do with them though. Will think of something I suppose."

You guessed it. That is how the Blog "Roaming With The Boorowa Rovers" came to be.

That old bloke never played a game of footy in his life. So the experience of being so closely involved has been a life changer. He has seen courage, determination and loyalty to mates that gives confidence the Aussie spirit is alive and well.

So, from one old bloke to a bunch of younger blokes - and a couple of wonderful sheila's - thankyou for welcoming me in, thankyou for your friendship and, most of all, thankyou for the inspiration.

To the good folk of Boorowa, a special thanks for allowing a strange old bloke from Canberra (and many other places) be part of the journey.

Introducing the players who were part of the fun.

You will know who they are.

OOPS!!!! Sorry didn't mean to put those stolen ones in. Oh dear!

_______________________________________________________________________________

A special welcome to our world - Noah James Cockburn - Friday 7 September 2012 at 6.57am.

A new Rover for Dez and Tia and a brother to look after Isabella.

Well done!

_______________________________________________________________________________

LAST GAME COMMENTS.

Coach Danny Says:

Great effort this year guys. Unfortunately it wasn't our day on Sunday. I would have loved to see a game this year when we didn't drop so much ball or even got 50% of possession. I think we would have really given the GF a shake. Thanks to all you blokes for putting up with decisions Blue & I made throughout the year. We know we can’t keep everyone happy, but we did try (sometimes). I enjoyed the year and hope you guys did too. Special thanks to Laurie turning up to training and games with water for all you guys, surprised him with all the paperwork ( I know you loved it!!) and for getting this blog up and running for the Rovers. Mick Elkins mate, without you I don’t think I would have got through the year. The amount of things you did for the club this year is too long to list. Thanks Mate!
Can’t say see you at training, but I hope you all saw me smoke Smitty at training last week ( how does it feel to be beaten by a 41 yr old fat man Smit?)

Coach "The Blizzard" Bluey Says:

You blokes are lucky there was no training this week. We have spoken all year about discipline and not retaliating. To have someone sent to the bin in a semi-final is inexcusable and penalties would have applied. In all seriousness, we had a great year and just stumbled at the end. It was a pleasure to be involved with such a committed group. You should be proud of your efforts and a minor premiership is still a great achievement. Thanks for the year.

Captain Will Says:

Gutsy effort boys, but we probably didn't play well enough to deserve the win. Too much drop ball and silly errors cost us.
It was a great season finishing minor premiers is a great achievement. Premierships do not win themselves and they are something only a few footballers get to experience. Hold your heads high boys. We had many good wins this year and even more laughs.
Couldn't ask for a better bunch of blokes to play with and I'm so proud of you all.

Cub President Danny Cassells Says:

Congragulations on a great season. It just didn’t work out how we had hoped, but in saying that for a side that only came together at the start of the year I thought it wasn’t a bad result. Lots of people to thank Players, Coaches, Supporters, Wags, Sponsors, Committee and everyone that helped with fundraising throughout the year. Anyways its not the end of the world so lets enjoy the Presentation Night and go you Raiders/Rovers.