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Day 7

8am
I woke up with a real spring in my step because game day is back again. There is nothing like the feeling as a competitive sports person to jump out of bed knowing that in a few hours you'll be doing what you love and pitting yourself against some ultra-competitive opposition who, like us, are desperate to win. In saying that, there are always some butterflies flying around but I think that is a good feeling to be on edge and excited about the contest.

After my shower, I headed downstairs to join the rest of the boys for a spot of breakfast, enjoying some cereal and then scrambled eggs on toast.

9.30am
Once we had finished breakfast, the boys went their own ways, with most favouring some sightseeing around London or a spot of shopping. I chose to wander around the shops for a couple of hours doing some window shopping and taking in the atmosphere from a busy Saturday morning on the London streets. Apparently, the Harrods Christmas pageant was on so there were people everywhere. I've done a bit of shopping, but not as much as some.

They tell me Travis Boak has singlehandedly stimulated the economy and taken the UK out of recession with the amount of purchases he has made. In fact, he's bought so much he needs to buy an extra three suit cases to get his gear home. Word on the street is that the most bizarre purchase has been a full length, one piece, Cathy Freeman-style style pyjama suit by Chad Wingard. Now I'm hardly President of the Style Council but that is no good. C'mon, Chaddy ... a full length pyjama suit ... surely it's not too late for a refund?!

1pm
After a team lunch at midday the boys all boarded our chartered bus for KIA Oval. There was a relaxed mood on the bus, but in saying that a real feeling that we were looking forward to the contest and proving to our new coach Ken Hinkley what we could do.

1.30pm
Arrived at the ground and were taken straight upstairs to the same rooms - the Surrey Cricket Club home rooms - that we used on Thursday. That was good, because it gave us a real sense of familiarity but this time there was no fuss around Kevin Pietersen's locker - the boys were too focussed. After settling in, I undertook my usual pre-match routine which included a massage and getting my ankles strapped which is similar to what most of the boys do.

Butch's view of the ground

2.40pm
We had a 10-minute team meeting which was led by Brad Gotch who was going to take a lot of the coaching responsibility today. Ken Hinkley nominated Gotchy to have a crack at coaching and some of the positional changes. Ken was obviously happy to sit back and observe and take mental notes as to how the game was panning out on field and how the coaches were handling it in the box. In the team meeting Gotchy stressed that he wanted us to enjoy the game, take it on and represent the jumper with passion.

Brad Gotch addresses the team pre-match

2.50pm
After a quick team photo, the team took part in their usual pre-game warm up which included light running, stretching, kicking, handball drills and goal kicking practice. We all copped a bit of friendly ribbing from some locals and expats as we warmed up near the goals in the forward 50 area. Mind you, it was all very good natured and humorous and some of the boys really struggled to keep a straight face.

3.15pm
A final briefing from Gotchy and Ken and then we were ready to take to the field on KIA Oval. Their message was all about trusting and backing each other in and really enjoying the contest. As we ran onto the ground it was great to hear the Power song again, especially in London.

3.30pm
Game time ... the start of the first quarter. We got off to reasonable start with the first few inside 50s and the opening score of the game but the Western Bulldogs capitalised every time they went forward and had a couple of early goals on the board. I had a few early touches and felt good. It's always good to get some early touches to help you settle down and feel like you're adjusting to the pace of the game. Midway through the quarter I pushed forward and I was lucky enough to take a mark just outside 50 and go back and quick our first goal.



No matter where you play, it's always a great feeling to kick a goal but when you're a defender and only kicked a handful of goals in your career it is an especially big thrill. That was to be our only goal of the quarter and we trailed the Bulldogs by 16 points at quarter time - 4.2 (26) to our 1.4 (10). Although we weren't getting the score on the board we were still winning our share of the ball and generating a lot of inside 50s. I was really impressed with the poise and skill of our debutant Jack Hombsch as well as the strength and leadership shown by Jackson Trengove in defence.

4.05pm
The start of the second quarter and the first part of it was very similar to the first - we controlled the ball and generated some early inside 50s but couldn't score. On the counter attack the Bulldogs were very good and once again took advantage of their opportunities. Midway through the quarter a couple of spot fires started after the Bulldogs tagger Liam Picken crashed into me as I kicked the ball forward. There wasn’t much in it at all and things settled down pretty quick, after which we scored a couple of goals, the first through a set shot from Jarrad Redden and the second by Jackson Trengove after a courageous mark in the goal square where he crashed into the post. Despite these goals we still went into the main break trailing by 25 points - 7.5 (47) to our 3.4 (22).

4.30pm
It was half time and the feeling in the rooms was still positive. We knew it was going to be tough because the Bulldogs had eight on the bench while we only had three, so they had a massive advantage in rotations. Nonetheless, we were still confident that we could win if we stuck to our structures and backed ourselves in.

4.50pm
The start of the third quarter and despite our positivity and good intentions, the Bulldogs jumped us early dominating the inside 50s and kicking away to a 39 point lead 10 minutes into the quarter. But then all of a sudden we flicked a switch and kicked the final six goals unanswered for the quarter. Hitchy, who was lively throughout the first half, got some reward for effort with a couple of quick goals and then our stand-in captain Hamish Hartlett really ignited us with a piece of individual brilliance where he took a great mark 80 metres out on the wing, played on immediately and kicked a signature 70 metre goal.



Matt Lobbe also got some reward for effort with a quick left foot snap goal and then Angus Monfries, who was outstanding all night, and Ben Newton both kicked their first goals for the club. At three quarter time we had cut the margin to just four points - 9.8 (62) to our 9.4 (58).

5.20pm
The start of the last quarter and both sides were desperate to win after coming off very challenging seasons. We jumped out the blocks magnificently and kicked the first three goals of the quarter - nine unanswered overall - to lead by a couple of goals early in the last. Moorey put us in front and then Gus kicked two in a minute which really had the boys up and about and believing we could win. However, we all knew the Bulldogs would bounce back with their extra rotations and the fact that they are a very proud club desperate to win like ourselves. As it turned out, the Bulldogs kicked the next four in very quick time and by the 20 minute mark led by a couple of goals and looked to most at the ground as likely winners.



Then, as we were half expecting all day, a streaker invaded the pitch - a bloke with a pair of denim jeans on and man boobs the cup size of Dolly Parton. Once he was removed - I think it took at least three minutes - there was only about two-and-a-half minutes left in the game. We managed to clear the stoppage, get the ball towards the wing where Jack Hombsch took the mark and received a 50 metre penalty which took him within 40 metres. Hombschy has a really cool head on his shoulders for such a young player and he promptly slotted it through to bring us back within five points with about a minute to go.

The Bulldogs then got the centre break but we won the footy at centre-half-back and quickly moved the ball forward to centre wing and with 30 seconds remaining the ball was, in the blink of an eye, marked by Brad Ebert 50 metres out hemmed up against the boundary line on the wrong side for a right footer. With the breeze swirling around and the heavy night air well and truly over the ground it was almost an impossible shot at goal. I say "almost" because Brad somehow curled it inside the near post to put us in front with just seconds to go.

Immediately after the ball sailed through Brad kissed his black armband in recognition of John McCarthy, our great mate who passed away in September. In fact all the boys wore black armbands in respect to J-Mac but it was especially significant to Brad who was extremely close to J-Mac. The ball then returned to the centre and after a couple of scrimmages the ball was marked by Paul Stewart who sensibly took his full quota of time. The final siren sounded as he was about to kick signalling a hard fought one point win to our boys.

5.50pm
After some low key celebrating we were awarded a cup on field as winners of the "Elastoplast European Challenge". We enjoyed a couple of photos on the ground after which we mingled with some supporters and headed into the rooms. It was all very relaxed and we didn't sing the club song but sat down and discussed what went right and what we could have done better. We all then showered, enjoyed some dinner at the ground and headed to an after match function with the Western Bulldogs and AFL officials.

It was a great day and really brilliant to have so much support at the ground so far from home, on top of the really positive messages coming to us from back in Adelaide. Time now for recovery and a couple of days of activity to round out what has been a fantastic trip.