Rhonda Bracey: At Random

Game day today! Had to set the clocks back last night – very confusing when you're from a state that doesn't have daylight saving. Yes, we can see the oval from the motel room, and the day is looking good!! Clear blue skies, with hardly a cloud. And from the lack of movement in the trees outside our room, hardly a breath of wind. Excellent! Hope it stays that way for the game.

More soon…

Well, the footy was disappointing to say the least… but more on that later.

We met Suzanne and Bruce (her business partner), who'd travelled up from Hobart to see us and come to the game, and Clare (Suzanne's friend) and Richard for brunch at Aromas in Charles St, Launceston. The Deluxe Breakfast was just that – deluxe! Eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast… Very yummy. Lots of chat and heaps of laughter – a very clever and witty group.

Clare had to fly to Mt Isa this afternoon so she had to give the footy a miss, which is why Bruce came along. What a lot of fun he is – highly intelligent, full of life, and very funny. No wonder he and Suzanne get along so well.

I'd received an SMS from Paul earlier to let me know the tickets were available from the Hotel Grand Chancellor where the Dockers were staying, so we stopped by there and picked them up – just as the team was boarding the bus. Couldn't see Paul – I think he was already on board, but briefly chatted to Rick Hart again, and at Reception we wished Jeff Farmer the best for his 200th game.

Where we were staying – Adina Place Motel Apartments – was walking distance from Aurora Stadium, so Bruce and Suzanne parked at the motel and we all walked down the hill. Glorious weather – sunny, blue skies, a little wind. A great day for the footy!

Found our way to our seats which were under cover – a necessity had it been windy and raining. I was SO looking forward to this first game of the season, but it was disappointing in so many ways.

While I love it when the Dockers win, I'm not fussed if they lose as long as they play with heart and passion and give it their all. Well, they didn't. The game was even at quarter time – even in score and performance – and low on both counts! There wasn't much difference by half time… in fact the game was boring to watch [did I really say that?]. In the third quarter, the Hawks took control and took advantage of the hesitant playing and inaccurate kicking by the Dockers, putting on a big lead. Hawthorn pretty much stopped playing when there was about 5 mins to go and they were 9 goals ahead. So Freo got a few quick goals from Paul at the very end but it was way too little, too late. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. But it would've been nice to have won the first one, if for no other reason than to boost the team's confidence.

After the match we adjourned to the Royal Oak Hotel up the road and had a nice 'pub grub' steak dinner each. Lots more talking and laughter, then we said goodbye to Suzanne and Bruce and headed to bed early as we have a 4:00am rise tomorrow morning for our flight to Melbourne.

It was SO nice catching up with Suzanne again – I miss her quirky, offbeat humour and her fantastic way of looking at life. And I'm so glad she brought Bruce along too – he's a lot of fun as well. They're a great pair.