As I mentioned in my kicking the footy with Kouta story, I had another great experience last week, this time with current Carlton players. Mum & I drove to Visy Park on Friday morning, where the open training session had just begun. I met up with a fellow South Aussie boy, Blake, who was there with his Dad, Nick. Blake & I had fun kicking his little footy around while the players were doing the same on the very foggy oval.
The first player Mum & I saw to speak to was Ryan ‘Hoops’ Houlihan. We had been so disappointed that he wasn’t going to be playing his 200th match while we were there to see it after all, but we still gave him the congratulations card we’d made up with four photos of he & I together since the first photo when I was a tiny baby after heart surgery back in 2003. Mum & Dad happened to be at his very first AFL match even longer ago than that, in 2000, here at Princes Park - that was way before I was born! We’re sure it won’t be long before he reaches his 200 game milestone.
Many of the other players then also started walking around the edge of the oval to sign autographs for all the supporters who’d turned up to watch the training session. I got nearly every senior player to sign the Carlton autograph book that was part of my membership pack, which made me very excited. Here Robbie Warnock is about to sign my book.
Mummy took a photo of Eddie Betts signing it also.
We also saw an avid Carlton supporter called Shirley, who is a massive fan of Nick Duigan’s. We’d first met her at the function we went to up in Sydney earlier this year. She lives in Melbourne and comes along to a lot of the Carlton training sessions. I wish I could do that! But I live way too far away.
After the players had left the oval I was able to go out there and have a kick of my footy. Lots of other Carlton kids did the same. I was just kicking it along to myself when all of a sudden I saw Dean Rice out there! I had met him only the day before when Kouta introduced us, and he asked me if he could have a kick with me, so we did. That was lots of fun. We called into the Carlton Cafe afterwards, where I got the autograph of Marc Murphy. I showed him the back of my footy guernsey which had his #3 on it - already signed by him - “good choice!” he said to me. Andrew Walker was with him, and he too signed my autograph book. Mum asked him how he was (he’d had food poisoning leading up to the Bulldogs game) & he gave us the good news that all was okay, before getting his photo taken with me.
Then I begged Mum to hang around with me in the area where the players leave the gym to see if we could get the autograph of Chris Judd in my book. We had to wait for AGES & AGES!! Mum kept suggesting we not worry about it, but I was adamant to see him. She couldn’t believe how patient I was! I saw many other players who signed my autograph book for me - all leaving one by one, in dribs & drabs - and at last Juddy came out. He was wearing a really cool biker’s leather jacket and munching on a big lolly. He signed my autograph book and also a poster I was given of him by my friends Lara & Talia.
Mum & I had our lunch at the Carlton Cafe for the second time in two days. They have VERY yummy food in there. And then it was finally time for us to leave. What a great few hours I’d had at the home of my favourite football team! I don’t know when I’ll be back there again, or when I’ll be seeing my Blues play again, for that matter. But hopefully I’ll get to see my first AFL final later this year!
Go Blues,
Jesse (Jezza) Hanel
