The Fisherman’s Friend

What a game to miss, so many singular pleasures heard but not seen. The return of Mark Bosnich, a 3-0 drubbing of Sydney, Bradley Porter’s first goal for the Mariners, Nicki Mrdja smashing a penalty in, it was all good. at this time of year, when my playing season overlaps with the pre-season, I have to draw the line at one day of football on the weekend -  I travel 5 days a week to Sydney, my wife travels 5 days a week the same distance to Newcastle to study, so the importance of spending at least one day a weekend with the source of my “existential happiness” (who, you may gather, does not share my passion for football) is paramount, to say the least. Certainly, the current exploits of my own team also take precedence at the  moment, continuing as it did with another win against the current ladder leaders, after beating the then leaders the week before. After a slow start to the season scoring only 10 goals in 11 games, we have now risen from 5th to 2nd, scoring 23 goals in the last four games. Pass short, pass often, and defend like hell when you have to. Oh, and keep your cool…

Nevertheless, I listened to the game online courtesy of the boys at Coast FM, who are always good value, and while they might meander off sometimes during a game, they absolutely go off when the Mariners score ( my favorite sound bite would have to be all four of them yelling “Petrovski!!!” in unison at the top of their voices when Sasho belted that third goal against the Jets in the second semi final last season). Now, there is something to be said for “being there” when something special happens at a game, the being witness to some nominally unique event, but I will still maintain that to hear the same event has its own particular easthetic, borne out by the fact that your response to the event, given you are as focused on the play AS IF you were there, brings the same prozaic rush of incredulity and excitement as if you watched it. So it was with Bosnich’s penalty save. At the moment the boys yelled “he’s saved it!!”, I burst out into a convulsive peal of laughter - the icing on the cake after The Mariners had already banged in three goals, and only minutes after Mrdja had so confidently taken his own penalty. Bosnich’s rude talent, still there for all to see (or hear) formed the basis of his redemptive return, a talent rusty but still intact after years of a life lived many times over. Whatever happens next, whatever the marketing potential or opportunistic arrangement gleaned by the club or the player, this game will be remembered for Bosnich, and Mark himself will perhaps remember it as a signifying point of his own existential redemption, borne not of moral or ethical considerations, but from just getting back to what you love doing.

Back to the game then, and another personal highlight for me (among many) was the pick-up of Pedrag Bojic, not just for the extra defensive ability he brings, but the fact that he was signed from Sutherland Sharks. Readers who may have read my very first post on this blog may recall me recounting tales of following Sutherland way back in 1975 or so, a few years before the NSL even started, so like it seems that, with the signing of Bojic, things have turned full circle, and a part of my first mad following  has returned to my second.

Other highlights included not only Brad Porter scoring, but being played in his natural position in midfield, instead of playing in the backs as has so often happened in the past. I still think we needed to sign a creative midfielder, and in the past was perhaps worried not so much by the signings of McAllister, Elrich and Caceres (all excellent in my opinion if they can play to their true potential) but by the apparent “transparency” of McKinna’s recruitment strategy - a return it seemed to version 1 play, speedy wing attack  and lobbing it onto Dylan’s head, and, I presumed, the stultifying and control of central midfield through Hutchinson and Jedinak. Well, it may seem obvious, too easily read on paper as it were, but it seemed to work on Sunday. Listening to the game, they fed Elrich all game, and all three new recruits had good games. Dylan’s flick onto Porter for the first goal was class (ok, I watched that on youtube), and the guy got back to defend and pick up the tallest man on corners ( a frailty in the defence that leaked too many goals last season). Sasho got picked up for offside more times than not, but he still scored, so meh! Wilkinson pulled off some great last tackles to deny Sydney’s strikers in the box, Caceres had a strong 90 minutes (take that Merrick!) and in the final eternal return of the afternoon, Nicki Mrdja made his third comeback at Bluetongue to collect and put away a penalty.

Full circles, returns and existential redemptions - what more could you ask for?

Certainly not an ending.