Grand Uncle Horace
Shake down the thunder
Greetings one and all. Everyone across the Sweet FA is beside themselves with #Wonders'Week .
Overnight and to keep up with demand, teams of screen printers have produced umpteen T shirts, with your favourite Wonders' players depicted on the back and #Wonders'Week on the front. Anticipating heavy demand, heaps of The Ding and Crowy versions have been made available at a price that won't make your eyes bleed (well not too much anyway).
Amidst the celebrations, Dingster has been flat chat with media commitments. Typical of the bloke who prefers to participate back stage, he was reluctant to agree to this interview. Throughout the week he has refused to talk about his 350th game milestone, focussing only on community events.
Calls went unanswered, PMs were empty and the only thing I could find was a text saying 'Fekk you B52'. Knowing he was a night owl I tracked him down to his drinking haunt owned by Marklar_33
The most handsome man in the Sweet FA was surrounded by a posse of admirers of all gender persuasions. He groaned on seeing me and said do I have to? I nodded yes. This is how the interview went.
Ding, How did you get into the Sweet FA?
Way back in S3 BW asked me to join the Junkyard Dogs which was a reference to the North coach of the time Dean Laidley and was made up of players from the North Board.
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Hmmn Lol. I can see how that would not have worked out too well for you.
"OUCH"
Best try and behave B52 or the next crack will be into your Love Shack.
Ok Ok Ok! Let's move on from that clearly delicate subject. Oh yeah! All our readers want to know what have been your personal and team highlights, including great wins and personal awards?
That's better B52.
Winning the S22 GF as co captain at the Bears with Matera92 was a standout highlight.
The Bears were hours away from folding at the start of the season and we won each of our finals by a small margin including the GF.
Personal awards include HoF, Bears HoF, Bears B&F, All SFA & a Fred.
Well I bet JoshWoodenSpoon who
Moving on to another topic, Who have been your favourite opponents and posters over the
Favourite opponents have changed over the seasons as the teams have changed so much over time.
When I was at the Bears I'd say the Roys when FBD was leading the charge with Mobbs , Mooch , Fred, 3KZ is Football , Willo_, A Bit High and a young Loonerty .
When I was the Swampies we had some huge match threads with the Bombers with KohPhi leading the charge supported by Tony Lynn 15 , TheCoach16 , CALL ME SNAKE , ant555 and Matty411 . At the Wonders the Foundation Cup matches against the Demons were and remain very special.
I have only known you as a fierce HBF terrorising opponents and mentoring a nervous Ant Bear on how to handle his promotion to HBF. Over all these games has there been a position you have not played in?
I don't think I've ever played ruck. I would have happily played more games in non prime possies.
Well that is interesting, time for Bonz to head to the Emergencies We could use a champion ruckman given Bonz is just a champ. What do you reckon?
Nope. Young Bonz might be a bit of a duffer (do you have the same unhappy mum?) but he is a bouncy chihuahua with more bite on the Oppo than a mere yap yap.
350 is a massive achievement and you are as active as ever. Have you got the fire for another 350?
You hear people bitch and moan about the state of the league but it's just as enjoyable as ever for me. A lot players come and go and the league itself goes through phases, so it's always fresh if you carry the right approach.
That's great. Turning to your role as a Captain. There is no greater honour than being the Wonders skipper. Do you see this as the pinnacle of your career to date?
Aside from the premiership, captaining the Wonders being a Foundation and most successful club and embracing the Wonders traditions has definitely been enjoyable and enabled different perspectives.
We have a great group that goes beyond the big number posters people see in match threads.
I also count being able to interpret B52 ramblings as an achievement, I have gained captaining the Wonders. Admittedly it was not an achievement I aspired to.
"OUCH"
Moving on, how would you describe your approach to captaincy?
Consultative, engaging and developing. The enjoyment in any team is with the playing group, so sharing information is important. Encouraging and engaging the team makes for a better team environment. Developing leaders at one end and rookies at the other ensures ongoing list health.
Well aside from the ringing in my ears, that makes a lot of sense. Who among your former skippers influenced your leadership style?
Matera92 and I made it up as went along at the Bears which was fun and ultimately successful.
Despite league perception, Ant Bear was extremely consultative at the Swampies and the LG and playing group were all engaged.
Well we are celebrating your milestone along with those for dogs105 , croweater 41 and JT_the_Man along with this historic game v the Dees. The build-up to the Saturday night match of the Season was been huge. You have had a busy round of media appearances this week. What does Wonders Week mean to you?
There is more hype and effort that goes into this week and embracing the extra importance of the week and getting that message to the playing group is a big part of it.
manangatang and Headless lead the way for the Demons and we touched base two weeks prior. The end product of the rivalry is like a Collingwood vs Carlton, Man U vs Liverpool kind of internal hype. Players have to be up for this one.
Speaking of our unparalleled historical success, do you have any words of advice to the
They've had some recent success but premierships are the barometer and we lead 5-2. Of course they have won a lot of wooden spoons and I promised DemonJim I would not chat about that. Better to look at the indicators of success than those of failure. Of course they're like the little brother that look up to and want to emulate us. We both know we're better even if they can't say it out loud....in public.
Is it true you were so far sighted that you timed your 350th to coincide with Round 5 and Wonders Week?
I defs looked at the fixture at the start of the season and co-ordinated it so my good buddy dogs105 could share the limelight along with Crowey and JT.
That's great. I want to turn to another matter you continue to have a positive influence over.
Every Season the Sweet FA attracts many new recruits. You have been likened to Ron Joseph in the minor AFL/VFL when North could actually recruit big fish. OUCH You famously help other Clubs with the their recruiting, often working behind the scenes to make sure the right recruit gets to the right Club.
- Firstly do you enjoy recruiting and what makes you so good at it?
I enjoy putting back into the League. By helping the "weaker clubs" it helps to make each match thread more enjoyable. For example I have recruited 6 of the current Dragons including Ace Andy, Cold Sober and current rookie Maylandsman. We had a fun week vs the Dragons so we win just as much as them.
-What are the qualities you look for in a recruit?
It can definitely be hit and miss but I try and see that they're engaged on BF and don't mind the banter.
Next and excluding myself, who would you consider to be the top recruiting decisions you have made?
Our current rookies go ok! AceAndy and Cold Sober at the Dragons have been great, Nunez is a fave at the Swampies along with Firestarter , Ava at the Bears (now Bombers) is a gem and WaynesWorld19 has kicked on to be a big presence. Jay-Z at the Bears was awesome back in the day. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.
Wayneo eh! Guess even you cannot win them all.
Most residents in Sweet are aware of the enormous work Skippers put in for the benefit of their team and the Comp as a whole. People may not be as aware that you have helped lots of individual players (inc those from other Clubs) and other Clubs experiencing difficulties.
Why do you think you have become one of the 'go to people' for those needing advice?
I don't think it's just me in this regard. There are plenty of good leaders around that players will reach out to. One of the key learnings is you never know what is going on in RL with some players so to support them where possible can make a difference.
Thanks Ding. I have taken too much of your time and I have to file my copy with Bono. Besides Marklar has cancelled my bar tab.
Yep. No worries. By the way, could you ask Sab22 to step in. I need to have a couple of words with him.
The Stats story
The interview concluded I trundled off but I had noted Ding's reluctance to trumpet his stats. I called the remarkable Hate . He made one immediate point about Ding's 349 games.
*Did you know Ding has played in just the one draw and precisely 174 wins and 174 losses?
*Furthermore, did you know he has kicked 231 goals and just 130 behinds (ed. I wonder how many were Sabs)?
*I note Ding says he has played most positions on the Qooty ground but had not played in the Ruck. I can assure him he has played in the ruck, or was at least subbed in there because the records show he is credited with 12 Hit-Outs.
Dings' Clubs
In between his 37 games for the Junkyard Dogs and his 49 for the Wonders, he played 41 for the MODs, 44 too many games for SCS and a whopping 178 for the Bears.
Raise your glasses. Cheers Dingster
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Ophidian Old Boys
