Good Friday Blogging

First of all, today is the Good Friday Appeal so everyone should do they're best to give to the appeal. I understand that times are tough in many homes but the kids really need all the help they can get. Almost every young person can relate to a friend or relative who has spent time in the Royal Children's Hospital. Give what you can.
Now, with some free time before tomorrow's game against Collingwood at Windy Hill, I thought I would sit down and write a little about how I got to the Essendon Footy Club, my background, some characters in the team and anything else that springs to mind.

As some people know, I played basketball as a junior and enjoyed every moment. The round ball game took me interstate and even overseas where I got to tour the United States, namely Charlotte, Virginia and Los Angeles. I was born and raised in Swan Hill, in country Victoria and played footy, basketball, cricket, hockey and tennis as a youngster.

When I was beginning Year 12 I moved to Townsville in North Queensland to take up a basketball scholarship at Townsville State High School. Fair to say that academics took a back seat over the next two years. I completed Year 12 over two years and therefore was able to play more games with the school team. I was lucky enough to train with the Townsville Crocodiles whilst still at school and got a feel for being a professional athlete. I enjoyed every minute of my time with the Crocodiles and despite being one of the NBL's most insignificant players, I would probably do it all again.

Moving on to 2010 I decided to head to Mount Gambier in South Australia to play with the local SEABL team, The Pioneers. Things did not work out how I had liked so I decided to head home to Swan Hill and play local footy in the CMFL. I played with the Lake Boga footy club, ironically called... The Magpies.

I went home to play with Lake Boga and all I had hoped to achieve was enjoyment from the game. Making an AFL list was the furtherest thing from my mind but things fell into place, I was able to gain some interest and with the help of friends and family, clubs decided to come and take a look.

Initially, the clubs, whom I will not name, were not overally interested but luckily, following the National Draft, Essendon were keen to take a look at me. Following a week of training with the boys in pre-season, I was unbelievably lucky enough for the club to use it's first rookie pick on me and here I am at Windy Hill.

Now, some interesting stuff:
I live with the bullocking, barrell chested Heath Hocking in his big house about 10 minutes from our training base. 'Buddha' is great in the kitchen and loves putting on a meal for a clan of friends or family. His dog, a Huskie named 'Assassain' also creates some havoc in the household.
As many people will see, Twitter is becoming a source of contact between the boys after hours. Speedster Jason Winderlich and 'Milky' Melksham are the latest additions to the Twittersphere alongside Zaharakis, captain Watson, Prismall, Ross, Browne, Davis, Monfries, Hibberd and myself.
Here's a small insight into what some boys can offer your Twitter feed:
@Licka_8 is a self-confessed comedian, he will always have a crack at one of the lads.
@DavidZaharakis and @AngusMonfries are international sports gamblers, responsibly of course.
@BrentPrismall09 loves his observational tweets whether that be look-a-likes or jokes.
And @Hibbo_43 will just flat out give anyone grief and will regularly say 'bad' using the word as a good thing, similar to the way we would say, 'geez, that's cool', he will say, 'geez, that's baaaad.' Weird I know.

At the club, people always ask me, 'Come on, who do you hate down there, which boys are total wankas?'
My answer is simple but surprising to most, every last bloke on the list has been great towards me and I get on well with all 47 other boys on the list. Of course, there are guys you are closer to and I get on very well with veterans and energizer bunnies Brent Stanton and Ricky Dyson, fashion icon and surfer Andrew Welsh as well as younger players like Jake Melksham, Michael Hurley and Tayte Pears.
Obviously, myself and Heath Hocking have a great relationship and he has taught me plenty about learning to become an AFL player; just don't eat his jelly...

Now, with all that said, I am not on here to talk about myself and tell everyone how well I am going blah blah blah, I want to do things that people would not usually be able to read in newspapers or on the news. I always wanted an insight into footy clubs when I was young and hopefully some kids are still the same, not just sitting on Facebook 24/7 a la Kyle Reimers.

So, anything you would like to see on the blog, sign-up and follow me and post a comment and I will see what I can come up with. I am thinking an interview or two might be on the cards so to any boys reading this, give me something interesting or you will be on the scrap heap.
Welsh, Winderlich, Dyson, Stanton, Monfries, Hurley and recruiter Adrian Dodoro... I am looking at you blokes.

Until later in the upcoming week, stay safe over Easter, enjoy your 5-day weekend and I hope to see an Essendon dominant crowd at the big ANZAC Day game on Monday.

Happy Easter to all,

Josh