A few months ago, the mother of my son’s friend asked if he would be free on 24 September for a birthday sleepover. I hesitated.
The Sydney Swans had won six out of 11 games at that stage, and some might have thought it fanciful they would make the grand final. Maybe top eight. But it was a risk I was not prepared to take. You never discount the Swans, a team respected throughout the football community for putting in maximum effort every week, for never bottoming out in quest of higher draft picks, for always being competitive.
