Liam jumped to his feet like Ravi had just won them the game. In a way, he had. ‘Woooohoooo! Go, Ravi! Go, Ravi!’ he screamed.

  Ravi emerged from under the pile of bodies, and the rest of the team congratulated him with hugs and hair-ruffling. Ravi smiled shyly but Liam could see something had changed in him. He was no longer afraid of that ball.

  When the final whistle blew, the exhausted Ravens somehow found the energy to leap into the air. Then they lifted Ravi onto their shoulders.

  Liam and Coach Steve ran onto the field to join the celebrations. The Ravens were through to the grand final. The only question was whether their captain would be leading them or whether he would be watching from the sideline.

  Liam looked out into the audience. A few of the kids in his class were looking back at him with half-bored, half-confused faces. Miss Hughes was also starting to look a little concerned. ‘Whenever you’re ready, Liam,’ she said.

  Mr Lenarduzzi was busy inspecting his fingernails. He opened his mouth wide and yawned, and Liam was suddenly reminded of the black hole.

  Then Liam looked up and saw a familiar face smiling at him through the window.

  ‘Be brave,’ mouthed Ravi.

  ‘Liam, the whole class is waiting,’ said Miss Hughes. ‘Are you ready?’

  ‘I’m ready, miss,’ said Liam. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. ‘Good morning, 5B. Today I will be presenting the history of the West Hill Ravens Junior Rugby League Club. It was only recently, when I couldn’t play football anymore, that I realised just how important this club is to me and to our local community. That is why I have chosen to tell you about it today …’

  ‘I’m sorry, son, but my mind’s made up.’

  Liam stared across the kitchen table at his mother and father. ‘But …’

  ‘You are playing in that grand final – end of story!’ said his father sternly.

  Liam looked at his dad, then at his mum. They were both smiling at him. Had he just heard that correctly? ‘I don’t understand,’ he said, feeling slightly dazed.

  ‘Miss Hughes called to tell me how well you did with the presentation,’ said his dad. ‘She also said it was obvious that rugby was your biggest passion in life.’

  ‘Dad, it’s league,’ corrected Liam.

  ‘Sorry, rugby league. Anyway, I realised that maybe I’ve been too harsh on you. Even though you do need to improve at school, taking away the thing you care most about is probably not the best way to improve your grades.’ His father frowned, and for once his stern, scrunched-up eyebrows looked a bit less intimidating. ‘I think I knew that but I was a little too proud to admit it. I guess it’s just my stubborn old Irish heart, lad. It takes a lot to change it.’

  Liam smiled.

  ‘And I can see you’re just like me. Your stubborn Irish heart is set on playing rugby … I mean, league. So I won’t stand in your way, no matter what grades you get. Just so long as you do your best at school.’

  ‘Thanks, Dad! I won’t let you down. I promise to do all my schoolwork from now on,’ said Liam, and he meant it. He liked the feeling of being good at school, instead of always being on the run from that bottomless black hole.

  Liam went straight to his room to message Ravi. He couldn’t wait to get to training and work on preparing for Saturday. The grand final was just five short days away, and Liam had an idea that just might give the Ravens the edge against the Kingsville Destroyers in the final and most important game of year.

  ‘You want us to sing?’ said Corey. ‘We’re a footy team, not a boy band!’

  ‘We could be a boy band,’ said Tai whimsically. ‘We could call ourselves No Direction. Get it?’

  ‘I’m not singing,’ said Poppa.

  ‘Me neither,’ said Jack.

  Liam sighed. This was going to be harder than he’d thought.

  When Liam had arrived at training and told the team that he was allowed to play in the grand final there were cheers all round. When he told the team that he had a secret weapon to use against the Kingsville Destroyers, there was more cheering and even some tribal grunting. The news was like an adrenalin shot to the team’s mood, and they had one of their best training sessions ever. Everyone was full of energy and no one complained about how many laps or drills or burpees they had to do. They trained like their lives depended on it. And no one was more excited than Liam when Billy Slater taught the team some rehearsed plays to use against the Destroyers.

  ‘The Destroyers are the best team in the comp for a reason and we’ll need something special to beat them,’ said Billy. ‘If you guys can get this decoy play working, it might just give us an edge. But, first, we need to give this play a name. Any suggestions?’

  ‘How about Thin and Crispy?’ said Tai.

  Corey groaned. ‘Dude, enough with the pizza.’

  ‘Actually, I like it,’ said Billy. ‘Thin and Crispy. It’s original, that’s for sure.’

  ‘Yeah, because I’m thin and Corey’s crispy!’ laughed Tai.

  ‘Hey!’ said Corey.

  ‘All right, let’s run it again,’ Billy said with a chuckle.

  And they did run it again. And again. And again. Until they knew it perfectly.

  When the team finally finished training, everyone was still full of energy. Coach Steve put it down to pre-grand final nerves. Whatever it was, the boys were still running and jumping around like someone had poured some particularly feisty ants into their underpants.

  ‘Maybe we should show them the secret weapon now,’ suggested Ravi.

  ‘Good idea.’ Liam quickly retrieved the copies he’d made of the Ravens song from his backpack.

  But as he now stood before the team, after announcing that their secret weapon in the grand final was an old football song, he was starting to have second thoughts.

  ‘I think it’s a brilliant idea,’ said Billy. ‘Every player needs to know their team song, and there’s nothing like singing it loud and proud after a win to bring a team together!’

  ‘Let’s give it a go,’ said Coach Steve. ‘A bit of singing never hurt anyone.’

  ‘You haven’t heard Corey sing!’ said Tai.

  Eventually the team agreed, and Liam and Ravi handed out the copies of the team song. It was a little old-fashioned but it was easy to sing. And Billy was right – there was nothing like singing the team song to bring them together. It might even prove to be their secret weapon come Saturday’s grand final.

  Liam’s eyelids snapped open like window shutters. His body sprang upright in his bed and he sucked a massive gulp of air into his lungs while a large banner flapped loudly in his brain:

  IT’S GRAND FINAL DAY!

  Liam leapt out of bed and was ready within minutes. Unfortunately for him, it was only six in the morning, so he had to wait another hour and a half before his parents were up and ready to go. Even Caitlyn had agreed to come along and watch.

  Most of the district grand finals were being held at the Matthew Banks Sporting Complex, which was more like a mini stadium than a local ground. When Liam arrived with his family, he was amazed. There were players and supporters from nearly all of the local clubs. There were food stalls and marquees offering face painting, giving away balloons and raffle prizes. After making their way through the throng of people, Liam and his family finally managed to find some of his teammates. Josh was there with his family and so were the Miller twins. A few minutes later, Junior arrived with an army of excited relatives.

  One by the one, the other Ravens arrived and, to Liam, each of them looked a little nervous. Even Tai was unusually quiet for once. Liam didn’t blame them. After seeing the crowd they would be playing in front of, he was a bit nervous himself. The only one who didn’t seem worried about the game was Ravi.

  ‘Guess it’s back to warming the bench for me today,’ he said cheerily.

  Liam could tell that, despite his smile, Ravi was disappointed. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be out there in the second half. Coach Steve promised that everyone would get a run in the grand final.’

  ‘Where is Coach, anyway?’ asked Azza. But just as Azza finished asking the question, they spotted Coach making his way through the crowd with Billy Slater and Corey. Corey was carrying a large box and had a huge smile plastered on his face. ‘Look what Billy got us!’ he yelled to the group.

  Corey quickly opened the box and began handing out new water bottles in Ravens colours with the words ‘Under 11s – Grand Finalists’ written on the side.

  ‘Cool!’ exclaimed the boys as they received the bottles from Corey.

  Billy grinned. ‘It’s just a little souvenir to take home. No matter what happens out there, you boys are playing in a grand final and that’s a big deal.’

  The problem was, that big deal was starting to hit the players like a king tide.

  In the pre-match warm-up, Liam found himself struggling to focus on the stretches and drills. The football felt weird and foreign in his hands, like he was trying to catch a watermelon with rubber gloves on. He could see the same thing was happening with his teammates. Josh looked the palest and kept running to the change sheds to use the bathroom.

  Maybe we’ll feel better when the game starts, Liam thought hopefully. But as the minutes till kick-off ticked down, he could feel his own stomach grow more and more uneasy.

  Ravi sat on the bench between Coach Steve and Billy with his hand over his mouth. He could hardly bear to watch.

  The grand final was only nine minutes old and the Ravens were already down by two tries. He looked over at Liam, who was standing behind the goalposts in the middle of the huddled Ravens. His shoulders were slumped and he was shaking his head. As the Destroyers goal kicker added another two points with an easy conversion right in front, Liam looked like someone had shot a harpoon through his heart.

  The Destroyers are just too strong, thought Ravi. There’s a reason they were the reigning premiers.

  The Ravens weren’t helping themselves, either. On the few occasions they managed to get the ball, they kept making silly errors. Josh put down an easy pass on the first tackle and gave the ball straight back to the Destroyers. But he wasn’t the only one. When looking for the touchline and some valuable metres, Tai kicked the ball out on the full. Even Corey fumbled the ball while making a break. And when the Ravens tried their set move – Thin and Crispy – it quickly turned into Flat and Droopy.

  Ravi wasn’t the only one disheartened by the scoreline.

  ‘This could get ugly,’ said Coach Steve, as the Destroyers worked their way easily into the Ravens’ half of the field.

  ‘Maybe we need to break out the secret weapon a little early,’ Billy suggested, giving Ravi a nudge.

  Ravi quickly found Liam’s dad in the crowd and asked if he could borrow Liam’s backpack. Then he made his way around to all the Ravens supporters and explained the plan – except the plan had changed a little. Instead of the team singing, Ravi needed the whole crowd to sing.

  Liam stood on the tryline, preparing for the coming storm. It wasn’t rain and thunder he was worried about. It was the storm of Destroyers players about to surge towards the Ravens’ line.

  The Destroyers had a new set of six, ten metres out from the Ravens’ line. His team was down 12–0. If the Destroyers scored again, the Ravens could kiss the grand final goodbye.

  The Destroyers halfback passed the ball to a huge prop forward, who charged straight towards him. Then Liam heard something strange. A familiar voice singing a familiar song.

  The Ravens are flying in the clear.

  The Ravens, there is no team we fear.

  The Ravens, the West Hill Ravens

  keep growing stronger and stronger each year.

  It was Ravi singing the Ravens song.

  Liam suddenly felt ten feet tall. He sized up the rushing Destroyer and went in low, throwing his shoulder into the tackle. The Destroyer tumbled to the ground like a giant gum tree.

  A moment later, there was a river of voices singing from the sidelines. Liam was sure he could hear the strong Irish accent of his father in the chorus of singers.

  The Ravens are on a mighty run.

  The Ravens won’t rest until we’ve won.

  The Ravens, the mighty Ravens

  are soaring high in the sky like the sun.

  The other Ravens players could hear it now, too. Poppa and Azza took on the next attacker and drove him back from the line. Then the Miller twins combined and took down the next Destroyer before he had a chance to off-load. The Destroyers were actually going backwards for the first time in the half!

  Now a sea of singers joined in. It was every family member and Ravens supporter singing as one. The Kingsville players couldn’t outrun them and the Kingsville fans couldn’t out-cheer them. The Under 11s Ravens knew they weren’t alone as a wave of song rolled across the ground.

  The Ravens are diving in attack.

  The Ravens will force all comers back.

  The Ravens, the West Hill Ravens,

  our pride resides in the green and the black.

  Thanks largely to the vocal support of their families and fans, the Ravens successfully defended their line. At half-time it was still 12–0, but for the first time, Liam felt like they had a chance of coming back and winning the game.

  As the Ravens sat on the side of the field, eating their orange quarters for the last time this season, Liam suddenly felt like he had to say something. He stood up and faced the team.

  ‘Um … Look, I know we’re trying hard out there. I know you guys have busted your guts to get us here, but this is our last game of the season. And it’s the grand final.’

  Liam looked out at the faces of his teammates. They looked tired. They looked down. But they didn’t look beaten.

  ‘I guess it all comes down to this,’ he said fiercely. ‘How do we want to finish the season – standing still? Or do we want to fly?’

  ‘I want to fly,’ said Ravi.

  ‘I want to fly, too,’ said Tai.

  ‘We want to fly!’ yelled the Ravens.

  ‘Well, what are you waiting for? Get your wings a-flapping and do it,’ said Coach Steve.

  The whole team got to their feet and flapped their arms just like Coach Steve. Then they all screamed as one: ‘Ravens fly!’

  From the kick-off of the second half, the Ravens were a different team and the Destroyers didn’t know what had hit them.

  Junior made an explosive run up the middle and cut the Destroyers pack in half like a deck of cards. Then he showed the crowd the ace up his sleeve with a clever flick pass to Jack, who made more valuable metres before being pulled down.

  ‘Time for a little home delivery!’ called Tai. ‘Thin and Crispy style.’

  The Ravens ran the play Billy had taught them again, but this time it ran like clockwork. Azza slotted a short ball through to Tai, who held the ball up while Liam and Blake ran decoy down the left side. Then Tai rocketed the ball behind him to Corey, who was speeding through on the right. Corey took the pass perfectly. The Destroyers didn’t even see him as he shot through the gap and blurred towards the line to score under the posts. Liam easily slotted the goal to bring the score to 12–6. The Ravens were on the board but they needed more.

  The next ten minutes saw both teams slug it out like prizefighters in the final round of a world championship bout. The Ravens gave it everything but the Destroyers were determined not to surrender their lead.

  With a few minutes to go, and still no more points on the board, Liam could feel the game slipping away.

  ‘Now what?’ asked Tai as both teams prepared to pack the scrum.

  Liam looked at the Ravens. The forwards could barely stand up to form the scrum. Liam would have to go it alone. ‘I’ve got an idea.’

  The Ravens had the feed but they were a long way out from the line. Liam fed the ball into the scrum and grabbed it as it tumbled out the back, eyeing the offside of the field.

  He dummied to Tai and took off down the sideline. It was risky. Very risky. If Corey had tried it, Liam would have called it stupid and selfish. Maybe it was. But Liam was out of time and ideas and all he had left was his chip and chase.

  He ran straight towards the Destroyers winger. If I can beat him, I’ll have a clear run to the line, thought Liam.

  As he got to the winger, Liam chipped the ball over his head and raced to regather. But no one had told the winger the plan. He simply stood his ground, and before Liam could dodge out of the way, the pair collided. Liam tumbled to the ground. It was all over. He’d blown their last chance.

  Then something rushed past him – a pair of skinny brown legs scurrying down the sideline. Ravi.

  Ravi hadn’t seen much action in the second half but he had followed every second from his spot on the wing. He’d been watching Liam carefully when Liam had made a break down the sideline.

  Ravi ran his hardest and timed it perfectly. He caught the football on the second bounce and took off towards the line, with the Destroyers hot on his heels.

  Go, Ravi! thought Liam.

  ‘Go, Ravi!’ screamed Ravi’s parents, from somewhere in the crowd.

  Three Destroyers dived for Ravi just as he reached the line. Liam watched helplessly as the clump of tangled bodies thudded to the ground right as the siren blew.

  The whole crowd held their breath. When the dust settled and the bodies untangled, Ravi emerged, his arms cradling the ball like a baby.

  The ref pointed to the spot and blew the whistle.

  Ravi had scored.

  Liam placed the ball on the plastic tee and looked over at the goalposts.

  He was a long way out. He had kicked goals from the sideline before but not with the stakes this high. If he kicked the goal, the score would be leveled at 12–12 and the game would go into extra time. If he missed …

  As he lined up the ball with the posts, Liam tried to clear his mind. You can make it, he told himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He heard a voice from somewhere that sounded far away. It sounded like his mum or Caitlyn.

 

1 2 3 4 5