Kicking Goals Students Curtain Raiser Trip

For the second consecutive year HSHS Year 10 Kicking Goals students travelled to Melbourne as a part of their Perth Curtain Raiser incentive trip.
It was a whirlwind tour across Australia where they saw 3 games of footy and played in a curtain raiser game to West Coast Eagles and Brisbane themselves. The first game they saw live was at the MCG- the mecca and home of football.

For most of the touring squad it was their first time in Melbourne and only one participant had been to the MCG before.  The boys couldn’t have seen a better game-Friday night at the MCG, Hawthorn v Sydney, a nailbiter, no rain (extremely cold though) and an electric atmosphere. This football experience is now a part of their DNA.

Earlier on in the day, after some early morning shopping, the Hedland boys partook in the famous MCG tour and National Museum tour. They took in all that the tour guide outlined and were pretty gobsmacked at the stadium, the history and the reality of all the behind the scene activities of the AFL industry. There were some amazing highlights across the day and I’m even sure that the Hungry Jack’s mealtime might also feature in the highlights reel, for some of the boys. Of all the varied multicultural food experiences you could indulge in Melbourne, Hungry Jack’s closely followed by Nando’s, is the culinary choice for teenage boys.

Saturday morning began as early as when Bill Lawry’s pigeons started chirping. The boys were a little sluggish off the mark after some monumental distances travelled by foot on the Friday. Young, Bayleigh Derschow, recorded 34,500 steps on his smart watch. Being half the stride length of young Bayleigh I must of done at least 70,000- boy did I notice it on Saturday- it felt like I had played a game of footy myself.

The sluggish start continued at Melbourne Airport. With wind gusts up to 100km/ph, we were stranded on the plane for 2hrs. Apparently they were unable to open the doors safely to load our luggage due to the winds. Once we took off the ride was remarkably smooth and most of us had a nice little kip during our 5 hour return flight to Perth. Unfortunately, because of the delay, and the extended travel time, caused by the inclement weather, we missed the President’s lunch at SDFC but we were still treated to their wonderful hospitality as they held some food over for us. The boys commented on how good the food was and they were really happy to get some, as they put it, “proper food” into them.

The Mighty Swans had a solid victory over Peel Thunder who feature many AFL Fremantle based players. The Hedland boys loved watching the game and were able to see the pathway taken to AFL. At the end of the game they had a kick on the muddied Steel Blue oval before heading off to their new accommodation.

Finally, the Curtain Raiser event was upon us. We woke up early and got prepared to play before the West Coast Eagles and Brisbane clash. Our boys teamed up with Newman Kicking Goals boys and girls to play against Kiara College. Our boys played really well and even though they didn’t win it was a very entertaining game with all players having their moment to shine in the sun.

We then watched the AFL fixture before heading out to Siena’s Leederville for a delicious feed. Whilst at Siena’s the Brisbane Lions team were also eating there so we grabbed the opportunity to have a few snaps with Brisbane stars, Tom Rockliff and Daniel Rich. It was pretty special for the boys.

Our last night together was spent reflecting on what the trip meant to the boys and what each one of them took out of the trip and also their favourite moment. It was really cool to hear each other share their own story.

It was then time to go home. We woke up to a wintery Monday morning in Perth with heavy storms forecasted (some were hoping for a cancellation and another night in Perth).  We hit the shops for the last time before jet setting back home to sunny Hedland.

The trip was over but our ‘individual memory lane’ is now a little more colourful and filled with some magic moments. The Hedland Community should be proud of the young boys that represented HSHS and the V Swans Kicking Goals program. We thank our ‘Proud Program Partner BHP’ for their ongoing support in producing such fantastic opportunities for our future leaders.