Where to start? I suspect that Mad Monday would be about the appropriate time to start my account of the last 8 months. After a massive year for the Army in terms of games attended, numbers gained and definitely exposure received, Mad Monday was to be a day that we relaxed, had a lot of drinks and reflected on the year that was, while desperately trying to find a pub that would have a 'relaxed' policy on the Responsible Service of Alcohol law. We had about 10 - 15 numbers for MM 2005, including Sully, Raider 69, Souls and another mate who resembled Shrek, all from Sydney. A huge effort in my books to do a 5 hour round trip just to go to some pubs, but judging by the day they had, it was worth it. A lot of the day is a blur for most people who attended and I'm sure that a lot of the stories available aren't for repeating, however it is worth noting that if you look like Jack Osbourne and you don't share you plate of hot chips, you will find yourself legging it home from Dickson to Narrabundah!
As soon as festivities were over for the year it was time for the Army lads to try a new fad, exercise. We formed an OZTAG team and went about preparing the way we know best….sorting out new shirts and designs, and having countless training sessions that involved more beer than running. The Raiders OZTAG team could probably look at itself in a similar light to the actual Raiders 1st grade that we spend so much time supporting. We have quite a few big guys, we crowd around the ruck, we tried a simple game plan which we butchered and ala Phil Graham and Schif, we gave the ball to Tim and Junior at every opportunity and hoped like hell they created something from nothing. We were also trying to avoid doing any real running ourselves. Aside from the fact that we never really picked up the art of tagging (who would have thought that was so important?) we just didn't seem to get much luck. In fairness, we were barely thrashed and lost a lot of close games that were there for the taking…another similarity to our Green heroes. My highlight for the year was a runaway win three quarters of the way through the season. The win was wonderful as Bay72 had to sit the night out due to a dodgy shoulder and we all did our best to convince him that the secret to our success was his absense. This was demonstrated when we were leading 10-3 at half time and Bay called out "Do you want me to grab my boots and come on?" someone (haha) yelled back across the oval "No mate, we are only 7 tries in front and don't want to risk it". Even the opposition side had a chuckle at his expense and he spent the next 20 minutes cursing and blowing up to anyone that would listen. Shortly after that we made the finals much to our amusement because we came 2nd last. We lasted 2 weeks then were bundled out of the 'finals'. How appropriate that we ended our season by commiserating over a few beers……
As Christmas approached, so did our interest in another couple of lazy sports, cricket and pool volleyball. The Cricket was very intense as the boys took great offence to constant ribbing from me and Junior's cousin from England. Never had the word 'ashes' been mentioned so frequently without talking about our dad's famous barbeques. Either way, we had some good matches of cricket and the old rule 'one hand, one bounce' was altered slightly to 'one hand, one bounce…if you are holding a beer'. My cousin went home impressed by quality of cricket, the quality of cricket considering the amount of beer consumed, and also that it is possible for some people not to apply sunscreen every 5 - 10 minutes without actually becoming the ashes. As the summer got hotter there was a regular appointment to head around to Boing's for a swim. Within 5 minutes the competitive juices got flowing and out came the famous 'pool pole' as a net and pool volleyball warmed the water. How no one lost teeth over the summer is another mystery along with the age old question "who invited Jack?". We also supported our ex-captain over the summer by 'stopping the drop'. Rather than refilling the pool with water and chlorine, we half filled it with beer, sugar, malt and hops! I somehow find it fitting that during winter that pool will remain green…..
December 7 saw the arrival of the newest Raiders Army member in Sydney. Needless to say, Dad can be seen in the hospital dressed up in grey 'trackie dacks' and his Raiders Army T-Shirt! The class of the man!
Just after New Years, the guys and girls attended a few events. Honourable mentions must go to the bravery of Boing for admirably head butting an islanders forearm at Summernats. He may have been sick for a few days but I still feel he won the fight……
Next up was Australia Day and a gathering at Bay72's digs. Emily led the way and had a spit by 3pm in that true 'Aussie' spirit. Sully insisted that no songs rather than Australian anthems were allowed on the sound system that day, and street cricket got a run with most people playing barefoot on the road resembling a duck dancing on a hotplate. The highlight was easily the emergence of 'singstar' on the Playstation and provided much entertainment. Barely anyone sung in tune or hit anything close to a note but what do you expect from people whose only singing lessons have been in Bay 72?
A day after Australia Day Ultra and Boing headed off to check out Thailand, Malaysia and other parts of Asia. Apparently these two 'youth firm' members had a great time however we are all still waiting for some stories or 'the good oil' if you will……
At this point a few Raiders Army members went in to the club to have a meeting with the marketing and ticketing members at HQ. The results and positive feedback from the club, and their willingness to help the Army and the average fan on the street, was encouraging. A few of us were lucky enough to get a bit of a tour around the HQ as well which was great to see all the behind the scenes stuff.
Next up was the season launch and the chance to have our first footy gathering for the year. The morning started at Bruce HQ for a breakfast with the ex-players that were invited to celebrate 25 years. A few of the guys decided that they might try to do a few kilometres of the run from Bruce to Queanbeyan however they were not permitted to do so. I'm sure I even saw Azz put his hand up for the 1st Kilometre which was highly amusing. If you ever see Azz running, flag down the driver because his arm is stuck in the bus door! Sully was more interested in the signed t-shirts that were being guarded by some staff, in the end persistence prevailed and Sully got the CHOColates. A BBQ was arranged at Boing's house and plans were also made to head out to Seiffert for the festivities. The weather was a scorcher so plenty of drinks were consumed and pool volleyball reared its ugly head again. The day wound up for a weary Woodgers at approximately 9pm. A few members stuck around and some even stayed over. A big shout out must go to Sully for his morning taxi service as well….
Not long after the launch, Ultra changed his ways. No longer was he out terrorising
the town on a Thursday night with Gorgeous, he was staying at home to watch
Lozt. Was this a sign of age with his 21st imminent?
Next up was the first game of the year for the Raiders at Manly. Quite a few people couldn't make it to Brookie for the game however those that did said it was brilliant. A lot of new faces and quite a bit of singing and chants. Panjabi apparently provided much amusement when he turned up with 2 ladies, one he introduced to the guys as his girlfriend, the other he reminded them was his ex-girlfriend! The boys that were there were highly impressed and the debate raged after the game who showed better early season form, the Raiders or Panjabi.
Next up was the weekend from hell or heaven, depending on your liver capacities. This involved 3 big events that lasted for 3 days. Ultra and Gorgeous had their 21st on the Friday night, 'Summer Bay72' had arranged a cracker of a Bucks day for my good self on the Saturday, and Sunday was the big one, Raiders vs Knights and our first home game for the year. The 21st was a great night for the boys we were celebrating and everyone had a top time down at the Yacht Club. Sully managed to 'Lift' the crowd Shannon Noll style, and old favourite Wonderwall got a run as well. Woody helped Ultra's father round off his speech with a message from the proper Army 'Sink More P!ss!'. Boing then stepped up to the plate with his words of wisdom….personally I thought Woody provided more insight into the life and times of the boys with his 3 word speech!
Then onto the Bucks day. The morning started with Go-Carts which produced bruises aplenty. There were a lot of accidents, lots of banter and heaps of speed on the track as we jostled for bragging rights. The fastest I saw anyone move all day though was Ultra who was suffering the effects of a big 21st and broke the record time in getting from the viewing area to the bathroom. After a lunch stop it was off for the boys to an indoor sports centre. Anyone who claimed that they didn't come away from go-carts sore certainly joined the 'whinging brigade' after games of Indoor Soccer, Indoor Cricket and Dodge-yball. Luckily no one got any real injuries and it was certainly nothing that a few beers and possibly the nutrients from a banana couldn't mend. The party kicked on at the Jammo and I'm led to believe that the 'large scale' entertainment provided was amusing. The stories and fun went long into the night and we all ended up staying at the fine establishment as well.
The next morning it was off to our old friend and the glue which bonds the boys together, the Raiders. A few of us were extremely tired and had a nap at the ground while others basked in the rare sight of the Sun at Bruce and lapped it up along with a few tins. The Raiders played terribly and got thumped. The Army was even very poor for its first hit-out for the year although there wasn't much to cheer about. Everyone that was in the Army that day went home to bed as quickly as they could, they also looked into where you can find the latest fashion accessory, 2 piece sunnies….
The next week was Raiders vs Roosters at Aussie. The Army hired a 22 seater including a driver and a top day was had by all reports. I was told that the singing and noise was pretty good and besides the last 20 minutes and the result, the day was excellent. I heard that the atmosphere on the bus home was really positive so that is fantastic that the day wasn't completely lost because of the footy. The only lingering question is over Sully, or more importantly what the effects of living in the eastern suburbs of Sydney can do to a man. One minute he is drinking a Schooner, the next he was ordering numerous 'Cosmopolitan's'. Will we see the emergence of the legendary cocktail's again this year though?
The week after was the wedding of Woodgers. Seeing RA members in suits and classy dresses was an eye opener to say the least. I wondered who had the BELIEVE shirt underneath but no one has fessed up. Ultra proved they teach you nothing at Marist as he was seen sporting a tie that was on sideways. Evo gave the open bar a damn good shake and everyone had a top time. 2 massive highlights were definitely all the groomsmen wearing Raiders socks underneath their suits and also the amount of dodgy scores and rumoured results going through the room in regards to the Raiders vs Panthers which was being played at home. Needless to say that when the confirmed score came through, everyone rejoiced and cursed their bad luck at missing golden point. A shout out to Azz, Shifty, Jed, Mitch, and anyone else who tried their best to keep the Army respectable despite so many absent.
Raiders vs Dogs was nothing to report or write home about. We did our best to sing the boys to victory but without success. A week later we backed it up with another game at home, the Raiders getting home in a thriller with Tonguey sealing the match just in front of a delirious Army. A few of the guys went out afterwards to celebrate and met up with a few players. The next week was the bye and a chance to either get things done that have built up since the start of the season OR put in quality time with the missus to buy favours. Ultra stayed at home and watched an old flick 'The Wizard of Loz' and others attended local sporting events. The week after was Raiders vs Brisbane up at Suncorp. A massive effort was made by Loz to get up there for the match and flog a few shirts during the night, apparently she could barely see the game though due to a few 'chardies'. Boing cancelled his BBQ that we were all so keen about to go to Brisbane himself on 'Work'. I just hope that whatever is so important to cancel a Raiders Army shindig was critical to the security of the country.
Well that is it, you are up to date with the going's on over the summer! As you can see, becoming part of the Army provides a fantastic social calendar for those of us that love the Raiders. It never fails to disappoint how amusing a group of individuals can be but also how one focal point, a footy team, has provided us all with such good mateship.
I apologise for the website unfortunately becoming dormant for so long, hopefully we can keep it up to date from now on.
In the words of Sully……'WE ARE BACK'
Cheers
Woodgers.