Noah Abulafia, Assessment Task 2 " The Incomplete Fairytale"

 THE HEARTBREAK:

We were shattered. The buzzer had sounded, it was all over,the season was over. The reality had sunk in, we had gone a whole season without winning a game. This must be some kind of record I thought to myself.

I had remembered this feeling very distinctively, the feeling of failure. It’s all coming back again, the same feeling I got when we lost the semi final, but this time it’s was worse. There was a sense of shame in not winning any games throughout the entire 26 round season. I just wanted to dive into a deserted place where my face would be hidden for no one to see.  To place the final leaf of misery on us was the loss of our two key players. How would we survive now? What will next season bring of us? All these questions were fluttering through my head. Already the self doubt had taken its toll, 6 weeks from next seasons kick off.

6 WEEKS LATER, GAME 1:

I woke up in the morning with a sense of freshness. What lay ahead of us was either a new beginning or going back to our treacherous old habits. I got to the ground and every one had put a brave face on, but I could tell everyone had a sense of nervousness within.  It was clearly evident though that the new signings of Hope Green and Tony Lyp, who were brought it to replace our old halfbacks, were clearly the most distraught out of the lot. They were world class players, but they had the heavy weight on their shoulders of being the dynamic duo that could turn this club around from its bad ways.

We got out on the field and we all knew it would be a tough battle. We were playing the Raging Rhinos, last year’s grand finalist. I caught the ball and ran it up 10 meters. They were charging at us in defense, screaming and very intimidating. We got the ball with 15 seconds on the clock before full time. It was the last play; Hope Green put in a little chip kick, everything seemed to be going in slow motion. It bounced straight into George Urals arms, he was away sprinting away. TRY! TRY! TRY! TRY! The whole team yelled in unison. The minimal fans that came to the game were going nuts! WE WON! We actually won a game! Already in the first game of the season, we had done better than the whole of last season.

 The spirits in the sheds were amazing. Never, in my 12 years of Rugby League, have I heard a team chant and sing the victory song so loud. “WE ARE BOUNCERS UNITED, THE MIGHTY, MIGHTY, MIGHTY BOUNCERS UNTIED! IF YOU DARE TO PLAY US, WE WILL BRING YOU DOWN! WE ARE BOUNCERS UNITED, THE MIGHTY, MIGHTY, MIGHTY BOUNCERS UNTIED! IF YOU DARE TO PLAY US WE WILL BRING YOU DOWN!”

A WEEK LATER:

As I awoke to play the second game of the season I felt a sense of confidence. Could we do it again? I thought to myself. Or was it just a massive fluke? The sheds were also very different; the catchphrase “A New Beginning” was on posters all around the room. The brave faces everyone had on were actually genuine faces this time round. We got out on the field and annihilated our opponents 60-14. A spark had been struck, we were away, no one was to stop us!

ROUND 15:

It was the biggest winning streak ever recorded in Rugby League history, 15 games! We were unstoppable, but this was all about to change. We were playing the ferocious team that edged us out of the semi finals just two years ago, the Babylonian Rams.

We got out on the field and were simply outclassed. We dropped the ball from the kick off and let in a try. Our defense was sloppy and so to was our attack. We got wiped of the park loosing the game 48- 14.

A single loss didn’t affect us. We were one game away from being guaranteed a playoffs birth, 11 games away from the end of the season.  

A single loss may have not affected us but 10 consecutive losses had. We were the talk of the game. Everyone thought we would go from ‘Zero to Hero’ but in the position we were in now we may not even make the playoffs. The headlines had change from the ‘Dream in the Making’ to ‘Sleep Time Is Almost Over’.

8 position and above was the cutoff for playoffs.We were currently in 7th spot on the ladder. This did not matter though, due to the fact that position 10 through to position 6 were all on the same amount of points, all that mattered now was the points differential.

ROUND 26:

I woke up this morning and thought to myself, “Just last year we were last, today we would be playing for a position in the playoffs. The playoffs didn’t matter to me because the fact that we had turned the club around was enough to satisfy me.

We got to the ground and it was the same as round 1. Brave faces on the outside but a sense of nervousness on the inside. We all knew it was make it or brake it. We got out on the field and make it, is exactly what we did. We got out there and found our form again; we brushed aside number 1 on the ladder, the Blistering Bullets, 50-6 and secured 6^th spot, which guaranteed us a playoffs birth.

THE PLAYOFFS:

The first two rounds of the playoffs were a breeze for us. We charged into the semi finals with 22-0 and 36- 12 victories. We were the force to be reckoned with. The fairytale was back on track.

THE SEMIFINALS:

I looked out the window and took a deep breath. We were in this position just two years ago and were left shattered. I was determined to make it different this time round. This fairytale WILL be complete I said to myself.

We got out on the field and were blown away by the sheer determination of the Conquerors Dolphins. We got annihilated in the first half 24-0 and if we wanted to win this game, and go through to the big one, a miracle will have to happen, and so it did. We got out there and within the first play we got the ball and raced to score a try. With 10 seconds left on the clock we were left with possession. The ball flew across field to Tony Lyp. The siren had gone with one more play left to go. If he got a field goal here we would win. He dropped the ball, lifted his foot, and BAM the kick went straight through the posts. We won! We were chanting like made! We were through to the big one! One more win and the fairy tale would be complete!

THE GRANDFINAL:

It was a cold, wet and rainy day, but this didn’t stop the fans from tumbling into the stadium. The fireworks were going, the fans were cheering, and the atmosphere was AMAZING! The self doubt was back. I kept questioning myself, “Am I asking too much of our team? Are we really good enough? Could we actually pull of the comeback that would be talked about for centuries?”

I ran onto the field, the sidelines were freshly painted and the scent of wet grass got me going. We sang the national anthem and now it was OUR time to shine!

We kicked the ball off and my heart was pumping like never before. I made the first tackle of the game, he dropped the ball as I tackled him and I promptly picked up the ball, I scored! The crowd went wild! They had fumbled the ball and we had scored! 10 seconds had gone and we were up 6-0.

When everything seemed to be going according to plan, they got back at us, and scored a 100m try within the dying seconds of the first half. We went into the sheds with our heads held high as we still knew we had a fighting chance.

The second half had come and gone. No points were scored. Both teams were severely struggling to get through the slippery conditions. 

A tied grand final meant only one thing, golden point! The first team to get a point would win. It was round 1 all over again. We were going to use the same tactic that won us that game, 'the chip and chase'. We chip kicked it, like in round one. Everything seemed to be going slower than usual. The ball landed on Bob Bears chest, he was away! We were about to win the grand final!

 Everyone went silent…. Bob tripped on the slippery surface and dropped the ball. No one could believe it. The Red Rockets were away with the ball and about to win the grand final. We lost. The fairytale was incomplete.

The feeling was back, the feeling of failure. This time it was worse. I believed in myself, and my team, but we had blown it. I lay flat on the floor, heartbroken and devastated. Tears rolling down the whole teams face, we felt like failures. We knew we had let our fans down and none of us could bare the thought. I took a deep breath in and a deep breath out. All I could hear was the Red Rockets fans cheering and screaming. That could have been us I thought to myself. I buried my face in the grass and could not face my team or my devastated fans, the fairytale was incomplete...