- The Man From Magpie River -
By BJ


There was movement in the coaches box, for word had passed around
Tarks had pulled a hammy, and Bucks was off the Ground.
MM changed positioning and said, "cmon boys Play tight"
"Put Clokey on the fwd line and Leon will Ignite."

"This is finals time and we need to win the cup"
The mighty magpie cheersquad knew the pies would never give up
Young Lonie from the half back line came down to lend a hand
Then Taz kicked a freakish goal that made the army stand.

McKee was winning in the ruck and the pies were on the rise,
"C'Mon boys, the flag is ours, it's the one and only prize"
The pies dug deep and fought like no others had before,
with a touch of luck on thier side, they'd kick the winning score

The Siren Blew for quarter time, the pies were in a state,
4 goals 4 to Brisbane Lions, The pies had kicked one straight,
Mick rallied the troops to take them on, "hold on and fight
we'll sort them by half time yet, with mighty magpie might"

The whistle blew, the ball was bounced and the game went on again
Could the young magpies win against such ferociuos men?
Didak showed his true class with a 60 meter Kick
It landed 3 or 4 rows back and right between the sticks

The heat was on and the tempers boiled, the game was for the taking
The magpies had come to play, of this there's no mistaking
Jarrod was brought off the bench and right away hit home
He cleaned up Voss, then Lappin too, and kicked a goal of his own

Bucks was brought back on the ground after much discussion
He'd been hit head high at the first bounce and might have had concussion
The captain went in hard and strong and won the ball from Voss
There's only room for one champ here, That's the mighty maggie boss.

The game was hanging in the balance until the lions piled on 3,
'We need more drive from the centre' said Mick, 'switch Adkins for O'Bree'
Come on Pies the fans yelled out, We need another goal
As Licca passed to Johnson and he in turn to Cole.

Half time was nearly upon the game and you could sense it all around
This was the game of the season, perhaps the greatest at this ground
Cole still had the ball, but kicked to Lions defenders,
But then the turning point came, the bit everyone remembers.

The commentators all stood up and couldn't believe thier eyes,
ROCCCAAA Took the mark of year as he climbed towards the skies
As Anthony picked himself off the ground we heard the half time siren
He would've been 75 metres out, an inch less, I'd be lyin'

He sucked in hard and huffed and puffed and hunched over deep in thought,
'I'll have to kick this long and straight, I'm going for the torp'
He walked in slowly and kicked the life out of the sherrin Ball
"What a Kick- It's a Goal- OH YES!! Came the god allmighty Roar.

Half Time

Second Half:
The boys walked off as a group and as they headed for the race,
A brawl erupted of epic sorts, there was bedlam at the place.
The pies would lift from this the crowd knew that for sure,
And as MM walked off with team he yelled," Not the man- Play the ball".

The sides were in their respective rooms and the scores read like this,
Brisbane Lions 7 goals 10, the pies had kicked 4.6.
"We can beat this bunch from Brisbane town" said Mick with a glint in his eye,
"We can, we will, we'll do it for sure", he yelled with a furious cry.

The second half started, much as the first, the pies were put to the test,
3rd quarter football is the time to lift, they had to be at thier best.
The ball shot out to Wakelin, who moved it on to Chipper,
He bounced three times and baulked two Lions and then he kicked a ripper.

Things were looking up from here as O'Bree got it out to Nick
and when big Josh took a mark 30 meters out,another goal was kicked.
The ball started going forward an the pies were on the attack,
Leon came from nowhere and produced a magical snap.

The Lions were ringing the changes to stem the Magpie flow,
But when Leon kicked his second in a minute, the pies had 4 in a row.
The pies were winning every contest until O'bree and chipper went down
Mick looked at the match-ups and wore a worried frown.

"Put Monty back on the ball and what's the word on Tarks?"
"If he can run or even walk, we need him on the park"
The rest of the quarter was close, hard and tough,
4 goals to one for the quarter, no, this was not enough.

At three quarter time it was so close, the flag was on the line,
The Lions had crawled to 8 goals 12, the maggies 8 goals 9.
The last quarter was going to be a beauty, one to be remembered for ever,
30 minutes of pure guts, determination, big hearts and endeavour.

The siren went, the whistle blew, the umpire held up the ball,
The final stanza to be played of the greatest game of them all.
The crowd was electric and excited the massive roars were extreme,
Who was destined to hold up the cup, to be the winning team?

Tarks grabbed the ball from the bounce and hobbled it forward to Bucks,
He smashed through a wall of Lions tackles and set sail for home with luck,
The ball bounced once, and took a drastic turn and looked as if it would not deliver,
But it bounced twice more, and through for a GOAL which gave the supporters a shiver.

The contest was a dour struggle of wills, contests and heart,
Each player knew he had to hold his nerve, and they had done that from the start.
The Lions produced some good football and also had a lucky free,
They kicked another two goals and held a threatening lead.

3 Minutes to go and the game was on, the pies now trailed by 10,
"We need to attack at all costs" Said Mick, "We won't win if we defend.
The ball came out again to Bucks, who ran down the members flank,
He kicked to Taz, who took a strong mark and then he quickliy passed it back.

Bucks set sail for home and the ball went on and on,
It was punched down to Mal Michael who was tackled by Molloy and the umpire said 'You're GONE'.
Molloy stood up and kicked the goal, knowing there was no time to waste.
Thier bodies were tired, their lungs were burning, the game was of a hectic pace.

The ball was bounced for the final time, with less than a minute left,
Tarks grabbed it and handballed to Bucks, who hit Leon on the chest.
Leon was about 60 out, too far for him, who knows?
So he hanballed to Bucks, who slammed home a BEAUTY with less than 2 seconds to go.

The siren went, the pies were home, in scenes not seen before,
The crowd erupted, and grown men hugged, and people wept galore.
The best moment came when Bucks held up the cup with a definate quiver,
And forever the tale will be told of the man from Magpie River.

The End