A/N - As noted at the beginning of Chapter 9, this tenth chapter will take place a couple of years into the future.
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I loved playing rugby league as a professional. I was rewarded handsomely for it with a fantastic salary, had a few endorsements to add a few more dollar signs to what I made in a year, my teammates were a fantastic bunch of blokes, and it was something that I knew that I was getting better and better at with each passing year.
But there was still absolutely nothing better than walking into my home to be greeted by my children every afternoon once I'd finished training. I'd call out that I was home and hear the padding of two pairs of little feet before I'd hear giggling and excitement in voices as I bent down to greet my son and daughter.
Picking them both up, and receiving kisses on the cheek, I'd find Kyla and Aimee somewhere around the house. Our children were now both three years old, and the agreement that my sisters had asked of me was that they wanted to wait until our first child had started school before we had another child. I felt that made sense, better than having a few toddlers under their feet each day.
"How was training?" Kyla asked as she started her preparation of dinner. To call Kyla a housewife probably wouldn't be far off the mark. She made a great team with Aimee, who had thrown herself into homemaking at the same time.
"I'm not going to say this might be our year, but... Things are looking really good this season. It's only the start, but I see no reason why we can't possibly go all the way this season. Maybe to the Grand Final?"
"Well, after last season..."
The last three years had promised much but delivered little. What hadn't helped one of our seasons was the fact I suffered my second major injury. No concussion because of a high shot. I was injured during a tackle, landing awkwardly on my shoulder and that put me out for a couple of months. What happened during my absence is that the Rangers failed to win a game. If that wasn't evidence of my importance to the team nowadays...
We had made the finals again last season, but once again fell at the first hurdle. Granted, we had finished fifth after what could only be considered a fantastic season, but to be eliminated by the eighth-placed side was just embarrassing. It was one of the few times that I can remember the coach tore strips off us at full-time. Once he got that off his chest, he commiserated with us as he knew we were all hurting. We'd done so well during the season, and I just knew the media was going to start labelling us chokers if we didn't start doing better.
The off-season recruitment was better than ever. A couple of our older players either retired or were moved on. The club had plenty of space in the salary cap and targeted players where we needed strengthening. A new centre who could also play as a winger. A new prop and second row forward. A utility forward who could play anywhere in the forward pack and would have an impact off the bench.
There was an overhaul of the backroom staff. Our head coach remained as faith continued in his project. None of the fans put any real blame on him for our failures in the finals. I attended the press conference alongside our captain at the time and was honest about how we felt. We knew we'd fucked up. I didn't say it in those words, but Eric simply echoed my own thoughts.
Eric had retired at the end of the final season, and over the summer, the head coach summoned me to his office and told me that I was going to be captain for the new season. I couldn't help smiling at being the captain was something I had been wondering about. It was an added responsibility, both on and off the field, but I relished the challenge. Once news reached my teammates, I was pleased that there wasn't a single word of objection. Even though I was younger than most of them, I was already seen as a leader on the pitch simply due to the position I played.
"We've started the season well enough," I finally added, Kyla looking at me with a smile. "I'm confident that we're going to make the eight. What I really want is to finally finish top four, so we get that second chance."
"Reckon you could do it this year?" Aimee wondered, sitting at the nearby table with our daughter on her lap, "Go all the way to the Grand Final?"
"I see no reason why we can't. The Panthers are not the force they were a couple of seasons back after losing some of their key players. The Broncos are still going strong as they had some young players coming through. The Storm have recovered but have lost that invincible aura. The Eels continue to flatter to deceive. The Sharks rely on Hynes too much and he's now in his early thirties and won't be around forever. To be honest, I reckon this season it's going to be the Warriors, maybe the Rabbitohs, and the Knights will be giving everything as there are rumours that Ponga will be on his way out if they don't make the finals this year."
"And the Roosters?" Kyla asked.
"Bah, fuck the Roosters. But yeah, they're always there or thereabouts. Still reckon they rort the salary cap something fierce. Their owner is one dodgy cunt."
That had my sisters giggling as I was just echoing the thoughts of thousands of fans who were always left wondering how the fuck the Roosters managed to recruit the players that they did under the salary cap. They made the Grand Final a couple of years back though lost to the Broncos. A lot of people in Sydney were left unsure as to how to feel about that. Who did they hate more at heart?
What I know is that Redfern celebrated the Roosters losing. Redfern was the Rabbitohs' heartland as they had once spent decades playing their home games at Redfern Oval, and they despised the Roosters. It's like how Rangers fans would celebrate a Panthers or Eels loss in a semi-final or Grand Final. The hatred lacked that intensity seen in parts of the world when it comes to soccer. We don't go around in gangs and beat the shit out of each other, but there is a genuine dislike between certain clubs.
While my professional life was getting better for me, as there were rumours circulating in the press that I might finally be called up for State of Origin after Cleary announced his retirement from representative football, my personal life had slowly sorted itself out over the past few years.
Mum was still working and was happy to do so as she loved her career. We were still intimate every week, but what I understood even more was that she absolutely loved being a grandmother. She was by the barriers at every home game and was still travelling to most of my away games.
Kim was still studying hard to become a doctor though was broody as hell. I gave her space while she was studying as I didn't want to distract her too much. Sunday's were always important to her though, the one day she gave herself so we could spend time together. When she wasn't studying, the agreement was that she had more of my time and would do her very best during those weeks during the summer to keep me well and truly satisfied.
Wendy was in her final year of university and eager to graduate and start work. She was also eager to start trying for a child as I saw her eyes whenever she would spend time with my son or daughter. It seemed the agreement was that Wendy would be the first to have a child out of her and Kim, but Kim would be the one to marry me. Officially, at least. Six other women would wear my ring.
Six? I hear you ask. There's a story there.
