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GOANNAS NEWS

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Orange is the New Red

15/6/2018

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If you have ever headed down to the Futako Tamagawa riverside on a late Sunday afternoon, you may have caught a bright orange spark flying around the expansive fields there. You may have thought from a distance it could be some kid running around with those sparkler sticks. Or maybe a firefly on caffeine. If you had the time to take a closer look you would've seen it was in fact neither of those things.


Instead, you would've noticed it was the familiar site of Andrew Last whirring around the training track wearing what may be the only pair of non-Goanna shorts he has ever owned. A fluoro orange garment that in a past life might have belonged to a Hooters employee.


Sadly, those iconic shorts will be seen no longer, for last weekend, the man affectionately known as 'Firsty', played his final game for the club with whom he won 2 premierships. Add to that a prestigious Bebbington (club B&F) and countless other JAFL accolades including a Grand Final MVP and a Japan Cup MVP, you'll get the sense the Goannas are farewelling one of their finest. For him, Poland beckons


His former coach and now club President Tom Bowes was effusive this week when speaking about the vitality and vigour of the half back-cum-midfielder.


"Old Firsty he’s like a perpetual motion machine. I think he might be the answer to Poland’s energy crisis. He’s got this same deadpan look on his face while the engine is running at top speed to down below, whether he’s running the length of the field, kicking goals, tap dancing, clubbing in Mallorca, you name it."


Back to those orange shorts though. When asked about his much-loved training attire, Firsty explained it was more a matter of necessity.


"When I signed up to play for the Goannas, I was promised a cost of living allowance comparable to Sydney. For some reason, that never eventuated, and I've only ever had enough money to buy one pair of shorts from the Adidas Family Sale. They've grown on me. Literally, I can't take them off. They're like a fungus. Still, I like to think they bring a certain amount of good luck."


Now that his fashion guru-ness has been well and truly established in Goannas folklore, what does he think about the attire of his fellow Goanna brethren?


"I'm always impressed by the wide range of jerseys that get worn to training. Pete (Chalmers) and Dan (Last) have some pretty raucous outfits, and Yuji (Yamamoto) must have had his jersey tailor-made to look like Poppy's (Chris Poppe) six-pack. Another one of the reasons why I wear my patented orange pants-blue shirt-green shoes combo is that I know I won't be put on the same team as most of those guys during our mini-games. They never pass the ball!


"The true fashion guru of the team, though, would have to be Jared Barnes—and all of the other lads who wore footy boots into Muse (Owen Kearney approved night club) ."


After his final game for the club ended in an unfortunate hard-fought loss, the team offered to immortalize those shorts by framing it in the clubhouse. Firsty was having none of that however. "These shorts come with me wherever I go."


Instead, he offered to leave his equally fluoro green boots behind for somebody else to take over. Understandably there were no takers. Those boots were simply too sizeable to fill.


Those very same boots followed his brother Dan 'Lasty' Last's familial footsteps to Tokyo in 2015 and after finding employment in the same school at TIS, Firsty certainly blazed his own trail thereafter.


"I came to Japan specifically to meet an Italian woman so that I could eventually move to Poland."


With that rather paradoxical equation working out quite well, he soon put his focus into his other goal.


"I also wanted to play football against people my own size".


With that journey having also worked out quite positively, Firsty sat down with us while re-enacting the Basic Instinct leg cross-over in his orange shorts, and brought us back to the very beginning of his Goanna's expedition.


"I laced up for my debut game alongside some of the Goannas' now-favourite sons and fathers: Woody (Jarrod Woodward), Sozza (Soren Lummis), and Daud. This was back in the Gordon Jones era, during the great Tokyo Bay Suns- Tokyo Goannas rivalry.


"It took some months for me to come to terms with the workload associated with being an amateur Japan Australian Football League footballer. That is, I wasn't quite up to hitting Muse three nights a week - the O-Frequency. I was much more partial to consuming post-match icy poles and checking Gordon's DIY Goanna game stats.


"My first impression was that a lot of players seemed to have a lot of time on their hands. The club's finances were like one of Peter Chalmers famous forward-50 entries: just floating around. Case in point: At the first Goannas social event ever attended, I won a cycling tour of Kyoto that never originated. My hard-earned Magners always seem to disappear, too."


On the flip side, the club had already formed its own impression of Firsty as well before he had even kicked a ball in anger. There were a lot of rumours flying about as to him being the 'more talented Last'. His brother Dan didn't do much to dampen those expectations, instead fanning the fire into an inferno as bright as those famous orange shorts. Firsty explained his thoughts on how he handled those overwhelming expectations.


"'Talented' is a relative term. I think that (Japan Samurais coach) Brett Qualtrough summed it up best from the sidelines when he noted that 'Dan can't kick for shit'. Understandably, no one really ever had high hopes for me, which has perhaps contributed to the general opinion that I'm 'the best JAFL player to have ever lived' (Ghirardello, S. et al. 2018. Conversations With Firsty: The Best JAFL Player to Have Ever Lived. Tuttle. Tokyo.). "


Goannas coach Sam Ghirardello himself only served to re-iterate exactly those words this week.


"I don’t think I’ve met many people as athletically gifted as Andy. I’ve never seen him lose a contest regardless of what position he’s playing, but the most amazing thing is how effortlessly he does it. He moves so smoothly and uses the ball so well, that it’s almost as though he’s only operating in second gear. He’s a man of few words, but when he does speak everyone listens, such is the respect that his teammates have for him. I personally think he’s the best player in Japan, and replacing him will be an impossible task."


Even his brother Dan Last, 3 years later, is still fanning that flame when speaking about his sibling.


"Firsty is the ultimate JAFL footballer! The most athletic Goanna I have seen, the cleanest around the contest and the best kick. He has won almost every accolade in the competition and was the driving factor in two premierships in two years. Considering we never played footy together back in Australia (he was in rep teams, I was in Auskick), it’s been a joy and a privilege to take the field together for three years!"


When asked to speak about his own game, Firsty compared himself to one of his St Kilda hero's. Surprisingly, it wasn't Lenny Hayes.


I see myself as a classy, Jack Sinclair-esque midfielder, my favourite position is naturally about a metre-and-a-half off the pack. Not only does this put me in the perfect position to get the handball receive or swoop on a loose ball, I also get the best seat in the house for the 'Oceans Is Face-Down in the Dirt Again Show.'"


So how does he see the Goannas being able to cope without his outside silk?


"As well as Nick Riewoldt coping with a shoulder injury."


Last year the Goannas in an ultimately futile campaign had a taste of life without their citrus-color-loving talisman. The year started positively going undefeated until Firsty had to abscond to Mallorca. Upon his return, he immediately broke his wrist in his comeback game prematurely ending his year - and some say that of the clubs as well.


"Sadly, I had to resign myself to the same fate that ended Woody's 2016 Grand Final campaign. I like to think that I handled it a little better than he did, though. I barely even screamed the C-word from the sidelines during the elimination final.


"It was tough to watch the team bow out last year at the hands of the Lions. In many ways, though, it made the whole competition a lot more even, so in that sense, I'm sort of like a martyr."


If that was the trough of his Goannas career, there were plenty of peaks.


"Obviously, the comeback victory in the 2015 Granny will go down forever in Goos folklore. Drinking from the Japan Cup chalice (twice!) was also something special.


"Probably my most chivalrous moment was when I didn't go all Kanye West and burst Lasty's bubble for being 'named' in the 2016 All-Japan Team ahead of me."


As the Goannas now come to terms with a Last-less squad, we can only hope the Polish will appreciate the magnificently accoutred footballing maestro that is Andrew 'Firsty' Last. There have been calls to permanently change the Goannas match-day shorts to bright orange in honour of the great man, the person who has done more for shorts than any other footballer since Warwick Capper.


In his own words, "Long Live the Goos."
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The Last Days

1/6/2018

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When the devastating tsunami hit the shores of Japan in 2011, the Goannas found themselves thrown into a wave of transition with players leaving the country en masse. The few left behind were tasked with manning the ship but with a crew low on numbers, things like club communication lines were severely affected.

With communication down, the club almost lost out on what would become a favorite son. It was only Dan Last's persistence that made sure this didn't eventuate. Speaking with him before his final game with the club, Last explained the close call.

"When I first arrived in Japan in early 2011 I promptly sent an inquiry via the Goannas website... No one got back to me! A year later I gave it another crack and thankfully ex-president Dan Aktins got back to me and I joined my first training session in April 2012". 

6 years later, it's time to farewell the concrete jungle for more sandy plains in Dubai and this week was good chance for Last to sit down and reflect on his early days.

"Some of my earliest memories include having my first kick with your good self at my first training session. Sneaking a goal on debut from a holding the ball free kick in the goal square. I didn't kick another goal until well into the next season after 17 straight behinds. 

"I'll also remember fondly long train rides back to Kita-ku from training with Big Trav (Travis Wilson)... in complete silence. Being welcomed to the club so warmly from the elder statesmen and women at the time. Appsy (Peter Apps) took me under his wing once he found out there was another Saint supporter within earshot. 

"Dan McGrath drove me home after my first game, Danno Atkins and Loz Parker took me surfing and gave me my snowboards.  Robbie Scarlett and Milts (Michael Milton) were always keen for a pint and parmy. Good times!"

So has it hit home yet that next weekend would be the final time pulling on the red and white?
"I don't think it has really sunk in yet. But when I get on the plane out of here I know that I'll be feeling very sad to be leaving such a great team and my best mates.

"The Goannas have given me so many opportunities and such brilliant support over the last six years. Whether that be material stuff like hand me downs when we had our daughter, or the leg ups with my career through connections and chances to grow as a leader through committee roles. In addition, my entire Japanese social circle essentially is centred around the Goannas. What started out as an opportunity to have a kick became the people most important to me in the country."

You could tell that sentiment is shared with his fellow team mates who have gone into battle with him each weekend. Peter Chalmers, who took over the captaincy this year from Last himself, spoke openly earlier in the week about what a loss Last will be for him personally.

"When I first reached out to the Goannas five years ago, Lasty turned up to a Bombers game at Hobs (the Goannas club house) to welcome me. On the day of my first training session, even though I was late, he waited at the station to show me the way to the ground. More recently, he was there to help me move house when I was at my lowest point. 

"He’s one of the most sincere and generous people I’ve ever had the privilege to meet. You always know with him that, despite whatever YouTube channel he’s peddling or one-liner he’s recycling, at the heart of Dan Last is an intuitive person who cares deeply for those around him. In this transient expat society, where people come and go and are eventually forgotten, Dan is a friend for life."

Former co-captain with Dan and current Goannas coach, Sam Ghirardello, spoke in kind when I caught up with him during the week:

"Every club has that one guy that really puts in on the field, and that one guy that really puts in off it - we’ve always had both in Dan. He’s the heart and soul of the club, a best mate to all, and an amazing father and husband at the same time. St Kilda will win their 2nd premiership before you find a better bloke. It’s been a pleasure playing with him and he will be sorely missed."

Sentiment aside, it is easy to forget the former club president and captain's football capabilities. Known for his elite endurance and one-percenters, the current club president Tom Bowes was eager to remind the wider public of this fact.

"A lot of people will want to talk about Dan as the ultimate friend or the ultimate club man but we shouldn’t forget his quality as a player. His endurance, closing speed and tackling ability are pretty rare at any level of the game. His effort and pressure were game changers too many times to count. Sometimes when clear on goal he’s been known to handball to an opponent, catch him holding the ball, then miss the set shot.

"It’s not the most efficient but it looks great on Gordon’s stat sheet."

When asked to his assess his own career, Last typically played down his own body of work.
"Plenty more talk the talk than walk the walk - I think I was the first ever captain to start a grand final on the bench! 

"But I think I always put the team first; that is probably why when the game is in the clinches I am usually first to sub myself off and get someone more talented on!"

Indeed, one of Last's traits has been his will to put his body on the line at every contest which has seem him embroiled in multiple debates with club neurologist Doug Bonham about whether it would be prudent for him to wear a concussion helmet during matches. 

"I think I have had three concussions in games and two in Roppongi. 

"During the Grand Final when I was concussed, I remember trying to smother the ball with my hands at the start of the second quarter, but, like many of my marks it slipped straight through my fingers and clocked me right in the temple. I came off immediately, however, found myself back on after a couple of minutes. I remember looking up at the YCAC restaurant and seeing stars flying everywhere and then forgetting which way we were going. I thought that I better have a proper spell at this point. I don't remember anything from the rest of the game.  

"When I finally figured out where I was the game was all but over and we were up by forty points. I apparently had to ask Bretty Whyborn if we were winning about 5 times. I am still upset that I spent the evening celebrating in the emergency room while the rest of the boys ran amuck in Muse (Goannas-approved club)!"

3 premierships and 4 grand finals in six years is testament to the strength of the team Last has helped oversee during his time at the club. Out of the three times reaching the summit in JAFL footy, he still sees the first taste of success as perhaps his finest hour.

"Back-to-back in 2015-16 was pretty special! To hold the cup up as Captain was a dream come true, even if I hardly had a touch in one game and got concussed in the other. So I think I will have to say the first flag in 2012 is my favorite one. 

"I was actually involved in the contest that got us over the line and tapped the ball on to Trav Wilson who delivered the 'handpass from God' for Dan McGrath's goal! Also I ripped my bicep muscle off my bone that game and didn't notice until the pain from my hangover celebrating subsided the next evening!"

In somewhat of a golden era for the JAFL, the past six years had seen some champions grace the field. His brother Andrew (Firsty) Last one particular example. In fact, when Dan Last made the All-Japan team in 2016, most thought the JAFL body mixed the both of them up. Asked about some of the best in Japan on and off-field, Last could certainly reel off some impressive names.

"Talking about the best I've played with, there are some great players to choose from. Honourable mentions to Rob Scarlett, Nick Payne, Brett Whyborn and Firsty, but I reckon Gordon Jones held the rare distinction of being the best footballer and worst coach I played with at the same time. Less defensive zones, more scratch matches! 

"With opposition players, I still think that I have only ever been able to tackle Michito Sasaki in the wet! He is hands down the best in the business in Japan. 

"Off-field, it had to be a tie between Evan Kerr and Owen 'Boots' Kearney - both card carrying brats.

"Also, in terms of tours, I was a big fan of Shanghai last year unlike most.  But you would have to be a Latvian Evangelical to not have had the time of your life at the Sendai Beach House tour of 2016!"

With all the success and good times, the hard work in keeping the club afloat could sometimes be easily overlooked. The amount of time volunteered into organizing club functions, keeping finances afloat, and the bits and pieces that need doing are tasks too time-consuming for most who run busy lives in one of the busiest cities in the world. This is where Last will be a huge loss for the club who are hoping other newer members will be able to take the slack in the post-Last era.
 
"Toughest period as a Goanna was getting the Ball at the Westin over the line in my year as president. It felt like months of blood sweat and tears went into that one! Thankfully it was a ripping party.  

"One thing that doesn't sit well with me is now that my daughter is the perfect age for Auskick I regret that we haven't pushed hard enough to build Goannas Auskick or increase women's involvement. I look forward to seeing these take off for the Goannas."

So, the question on the minds of most, is what are the chances of a future Goannas return for their favorite son?

"Very high! Even if it is as a touring Goanna at an Asian Champs, I'll be back!

"I am forever grateful for the good times I have had with the Goannas in Japan. A massive thanks to everyone who has been part of my journey as a footy-lover here, especially to the JAFL for their commitment to running such a great competition for us to take part in. 

"To the boys in the red and white, the couple hours having a kick each weekend has been the highlight of my week for the last six years. My teammates have become my best mates and no matter how many other teams I play for in the future the Goos will always be number 1!"


written by Oceans Huynh
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