Round 17: My Special Friend

Hello and welcome to a special edition of the Tuesday Roast. This forum has been the vehicle for hard-hitting opinions, overwhelming praise and damning criticism of all in the world of rugby league for many years now. We aim up and deliver without fear or favour, with no quarter asked and none given. If someone deserves a Roasting – or a toasting as the case may be – then they damn well receive it, no matter who they are.

But sometimes, extra sensitivity needs to be taken. Sometimes, we have to remember that this is just a game and that the game of life takes far greater precedence. This, my friends, is a game that isn’t played over 80 minutes with a bench you can rest on when things get tough. No sirree. Life is for the long haul. You don’t back out of a handshake deal in life without copping a lot of grief somewhere down the road.

Similarly, when you have a slow start to the season in life, there’s no contract that can be terminated to allow you to find a better team, there’s no season-ending surgery that will make everything better, there’s no phantom injury you can suffer to allow lesser players to fight out those tough games when the top 8 seems a million miles away.

I’d like you to meet John, my special friend. John here is the bravest man I know.

Keep smilin’, keep shinin’, knowin’ you can always count on me, for sure
That’s what friends are for……..

John may not have been dealt the best hand in life, things, you know, they don’t always go his way. But you know what? When he plays those one or two games a season where he doesn’t kick the ball out on the full, or doesn’t butcher an overlap, or doesn’t forget the words to ‘Glory Glory to South Sydney’, the smile that lights up his face could bring a tear to a glass statue, there’s nothing surer.

For good times, and bad times, I’ll be on your side forever more
That’s what friends are for……….

Somehow, John (or Sutto as his mates call him) has overcome so many obstacles in life. 147 in fact, all of them games he’s played for South Sydney since his debut in 2004. Few on this planet are worthy of fighting the battles against the haters that wearing the cardinal and myrtle brings with it. Fewer still can fight these battles for over eight seasons. It helps being a retar.... I mean, luckily for John, he shrugs off the slurs, absorbs the punches from society, ignores the incessant laughter from opposition supporters and is an inspiration to us all. He has a thick skin, but a huge heart.

Winter, spring, summer or fall, all you got to do is call, and I'll be there yeah yeah yeah,
you've got a friend.

As you might expect, this story doesn’t have a happy ending. John’s cousin got out of Long Bay on Saturday; he’d never seen John run out for the mighty Bunnies. He took his seat in the front row in the north-east corner of Toyota Stadium. Emotion got the better of John as the kickoff floated towards him, standing in that very same north-east corner. At the last second, he reached out to hug his cousin, a reaffirmation of mateship with a long-lost relative, but the ball arrived and John instead took young team-mate James Roberts – and the ball – into touch.

The day didn’t really improve for John. Cronulla jumped out to a strong lead and John, well, it just wasn’t his day. The kicking boots weren’t on, nor were the passing hands or the thinking brain. Luckily for John, he wasn’t alone in having a tough day, but while the weight of world was on his shoulders, it shrunk in comparison to the joy he felt seeing his cousin after the game.

You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am, I´ll come running, oh yeah baby, to see you again… You’ve got a friend….

John and cousin’s post-match embrace was delayed for another few milliseconds as John accidentally poked his cousin in the eye in a hug gone wrong, but this was a minor obstacle to a victory for John in the biggest game he’ll play. The game of life.

Hmm really makes you think doesn't it? That's all from Frontline this week, I'm Mike Moore, good night.

In other Round 17 action:

* Even though Parramatta was hit fairly hard by injuries before and during this game, Brisbane’s narrow win in this game was very well earned. They too were missing plenty of players and coming off a tough game in monsoon-like conditions in Perth and (of course) a long flight made this game a tricky one. A lucky bounce and great speed saw Gagai run away for his second try, while Gillett sealed the win with a 30 metre run.

* The Bulldogs missed NSW hooker Michael Ennis, but also missed the verve and enthusiasm which Penrith possessed in large doses (even without Lewis and Civoniceva). Penrith, led by Luke Walsh’s running and kicking game, won this one easily.

* The Dragons looked on the way to a win after holding some excellent Newcastle efforts out in the first half on Sunday afternoon in Wollongong. But the Knights came back again in the second half and the Dragons couldn’t go with them. Injuries threatened to rob the Knights of momentum late on, but the Dragons did not have enough points in them (especially with the poor goal-kicking of Ben Hornby).

* On Monday night, Canberra finally played somewhere near their potential when they were expected to do so and away from home (a rare double in 2011). The Roosters showed some spark for 20 or so minutes but simply were not capable of much more. This was a thrashing by the Raiders.

* Finally, last night, the Queensland forward pack fought back well after being beaten in Game 2. They gave their team the edge in the first half, which through some excellent halves play and some NSW mistakes, saw Queensland take a match-winning lead to half-time. NSW’s lack of combinations killed off any comeback hopes.

See you next week.