Recently, I was a little disturbed that I was not called on to offer my silky skills to the newly-formed “Timor-Leste Crocs” AFL football team *. Obviously, the news of my dog bite and tree incident travels fast and they assumed I was on the injury list. The Crocs went to Bali to play in the 2008 Bali Nines competition (because 9 players fit more easily into the much smaller soccer pitch playing area).
However, I have made myself available for the next match which is coming up soon I believe here in Dili. My health insurance is paid up and I need a trip to Darwin anyway 🙂
I think the Crocs came 6th out of 9 teams and played against the elite of expat-based teams from Bali, Jakarta, Borneo, Dubai and a couple of others. The boys were extremely complimentary towards the standard of playing surface in Bali. It is a pity I don’t play too well on the bumpy surface likely here in Dili. (This is called excuse forward planning.)
Watch out for this memorable game coming up soon.
* AFL means Australian Rules football. Normally 18 players a side on thee ground at the one time.
thank you so much for explaining what AFL stands for… i was looking forward reading a post about what WE call football… but this is when Italians and Australians misunderstand each other. In any case, happy for the crocs, i have seen one of the players, returning to Dili the day of my departure. Good luck for the next races! No such a thing as football over here (not the OZ or the Italian)
did you end up playing?
and if so for the Crocs or the Eels?
cheers, Luke
I ended up playing with the Crocs. After 10 minutes, I got a hospital pass and was crunched with a knee driving into my right thigh and me hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Daisy told me later that a couple of guys said “whoa, is he going to get up?”. I did but I have a humungous corked thigh that is still troubling me. I also had a sore neck from the whiplash when I hit the ground. So my debut is most likely going to be my testimonial.
But I got off lightly compared to Daisy.
Boys, boys, boys. What about the sholder operations i personally only found out about a hash. Do not get me wrong but when you support collingwood and then try to get around the mark after a free kick (kiss) in the back line you get punished. That is the way it happened. You played a great game.