This story happened a few months after Canberra
won the premiership in 1990. I was barely 3 years old at the time.
I grew up in Gowrie, a small suburb in the southern part of Canberra,
and our street was on a hill. Being only a little fella, this hill was
Everest, but i was always determined to conquer it with this bike my old
man bought me at the sunday markets.
Mum would only ever let me go half way up the hill, roll down, dodge
the pot holes on the footpath and swing into the driveway, always just
missing collecting the brick letter box on the way through. After a few
attempts I decided I'd bend the rules a bit and go right to the top. Mum
reckons I had my game face on. This was it.
About half way down the hill, you could tell there was going to be
bloodshed. I almost lost control going past the neighbour's torana but
managed to keep it in a straight line. However, there was no way in hell i
was going to be able to steer it into the driveway without coming off
second best. To cut a long story short, i over shot the driveway by
about 10 metres, hit a fence and barrel rolled into a gum tree. Before Mum
could determine whether I had permanent brain damage or whether I was
dead, a bloke across the road had jumped out of his car and legged it to
the scene of the accident. In total shock, he managed to fish me out of
the garden bed and take us over to mum. Still in somewhat disbelief, he
said "Geez, I've never seen such a little fella move so bloody fast!".
Mum's concern for her son soon turned to the man, as she realised it
was Gary Belcher, the Raiders fullback.
As it turned out, Gary was good mates with the family that lived over
the road from us. He wasn't the Australian fullback for nothing, but Mum
reckons she had never seen him run as fast as the day he peeled me off
a gum tree!! As for me, I really didnt care that a Raiders legend was
so concerned for my well being. All i cared about was the bike that i
had just written off.
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