There was work to be done and in typical Sutherland fashion moves were made. “Willy you come into the backline!” was the word, a move met with approving nods from Willy’s teammates, thirsty for blood and a third win on the trot.
Sutherland, not backward in moving players back felt a surge of tactical accomplishment.
Willy going to the backline, thinks Sutherland, will be my match winning idea. Former captain Geoff “Dog” Everett looks on from a safe distance, fixated on one name, “Willy”. Everett, himself noted for his own match day surprises appears satisfied with throwing a Scotsman into the thick of battle, particularly alongside an Irishman (Ultan). Lest they rekindle their ancient ties as waves of English descendants alight upon them.
But before Ultan and Willy could band together and gain credence amidst such distant drooling shadows of the anglo-centric British Empire as the reds, one of the duo spoke up, “I’ll stay off, I’m shy and you need your good players on right now!”
A silence ensued, followed by a murmur, then a chuckle, eventually hearty laughter and again silence. Willy was not joking.
Dazed with confusion, Sutherland was at pains to understand how a bloke, even a Scotsman would rather watch on than play. “Okay, Willy is off, Michael you come back on, Willy is shy!”
Willy skulked back into the shadows of time, his moment will come. Until then, he waits, his fiery red hair waving mockingly at the world. No, thinks Willy, it’s not Willy time yet. Not yet. Willy smiles. To his left Sutherland looks optimistic.
Sutherland is a shining example of what can be achieved when one man attempts to covet himself with match winning feats. Look so far back as last years championships in Jakarta and you will find Sutherland, who although posted deep in the backline, was run down on multiple occasions wildly rushing at his own goal. Unfortunately for the Tigers on each occasion Sutherland was carrying the ball and on each occasion the opposition transferred the footy to Sutherlands mystified, lonesome opponent, who although taken back by his mature foe’s exuberance managed to compose himself and inflict maximum scoreboard damage, more than once.
In Sutherland’s own words, “I just wanted to do it all myself!” Willy though does not. Willy saw on Saturday that other men were more advanced in their football development than he and so in atypical Amateur football style he selflessly put his team first.
We can only speculate as to what Willy would have done had he took the bait and ran out onto the ground in that third quarter. Some corners have it that the redheaded Willy is a sleeping giant in the domestic competition and is poised to violently reprise the pre-christian divinties of Gaelic Scotland. This theory ties in with unconfirmed reports that Willy has been unsettled since the arrival of Jesus. A brief examination of the history books will reveal that after co-habiting the conceptual spiritual world with Christianity traditional Scottish divinites were eventually overwhelmed as Christianity gained prominence and power. Reports say that Willy may be angered by this and seeking retribution. Either way Sutherland is optimistic.
