Fulfilling A Lifes Dream.....

I am a very lucky person, not many people get close to fulfilling a lifes ambition and do something which feels unttainable and unrealistic. As a scrawny child I have vivid memories of watching the challenge cup final on a Saturday afternoon with my parents, following the game I would run around the garden pretending to be players who had featured , I emphasise the word pretend because although I was young and naive I was aware that it was more than likely that pretending to be at Wembley playing rugby was as close as I would get to reality! And this is the bizzarre thing I still until very recently have not come to terms that the child in me is going to proven wrong and as an adult I will be walking out on the hallowed turf full of pride and an immense sense of achievement.
If you look back through the course of rugby league there are probably a dozen of major histric moments which will always be remembered ranging from the change from unlimited to limited tackles, the break away of the Northern Union and more recently the inception of the summer era and the Super League brand. On Saturday another one of those events will occur in my opinion , the first final at the new Wembley and Iam sure all the players involved would love to make it memorable for rugby reasons and not just for the new stadium.
Preparing for a game like this is always good fun and very relaxed, i imagine people would assume we would turn into ultra serious rugby nerds building up to a game of this magnitude but in reality I think we take a relaxed approach and just try to enjoy being part of a big game. I am a big believer of whilst your training you should be intense and discuss the ins and outs of the game with your team mates but as soon as training finishes I like to just switch off totally and turn into a dosile sloth like creature until the next day, apologies to anyone who meets me whilst in this state please be aware that when your talking to me the lights are on but nobody is home, the best way to overcome this is either a slap to the face or mention food both seem to bring me around. Another player famous for his inability to listen at certain times is Paul Wellens, you can hold an in depth conversation with Wello about the pros and cons to the pedestrianisation of StHelens town center and he can have no recollection of it ever happening. After rooming with Paul prior to last years challenge cup I had an inight on what it would be like to live with him and it is at this point I would like to nominate Rachel his wife to be for a place on the honours list for services to the community.
It is a funny expierience rooming with people when the team travels away and I know that certain people are on a room mate black list for the coming weekend, Leon Pryce for his subconcious Harley Davidson impression in his sleep would be on the list,Ade Gardner for his midnight sleep walking and finally Mike Bennet who has a strict lights out policy by 9pm and does not tolerate swearing or nudity within the room, offences are punished and offenders could be bannished from the room for an undisclosed period of time !!!!
I enjoy my job all most of the time and am very fortunate to live the lifestyle I live but games like the one this week end really remind you why you sit on a rowing machine in pre-season and lift heavy weights, for the one second this year i have questioned why I am doing these things I will be rewarded with 80 minutes of comfirmation that I have made the right choices in my life to get me to this position!!! this game is for my parents Carol and Phil and my sister Nicola whos endless support inspires me every single day. I just hope we can get the right result.....