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  1. #1
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    Will powerless as car dogs it

    http://www.theage.com.au/sport/will-...0316-qckl.html

    LIKE so much in the wonderful world of Will Minson, it's hard to know where to begin. It all started on Saturday evening when Minson stopped off to pick up his Western Bulldogs rucking partner Ben Hudson enroute to the NAB Cup grand final. ''Bill Hudson, Ben's father, had hopped in the car and we were sitting out the front waiting for 'the Beard' when the car just stopped,'' Minson recalled yesterday. ''I'm not very good with cars - as long as they've got a coffee cup holder and a seat warmer to keep the hammys happy in winter, that's pretty much all that matters - but I do know it's not common for an automatic car to just stop running when it's in park.'' Hudson takes up the story: ''Will 'I'm An Engineer' Minson has no #@$! idea when it comes to basic motor mechanics. We had to push the pride of German automotive engineering to the side of the road then hail a cab to the big game. The only saving grace was I made him pay the fare.'' Settling into his role in this footballing odd couple, Minson leapt to the defence of his Saab. ''It's actually Scandinavian, which shows what I'm dealing with here. I once drove a Peugeot and they all used to say, 'Ooh, look at Will in his stupid German car!' It's French, of course.''


    Going, going … gone
    MINSON points out that the logical solution had seemed to be for Hudson's wife Rita to drive them to Docklands, but Rita was getting ready for a party and having none of it (Hudson says he would never comment as he lives by the mantra, ''Happy wife, happy life''). Hudson's 1958 FC Holden was another option, but had been gathering dust out the front all summer and wasn't to be trusted (''It needs a service,'' Minson said, ''any interested mechanics can contact the club''). By Sunday morning, a premiership secured, all was well again, and even Big Will's car was back on the road. ''It spent Saturday night head-first in a parallel park in North Carlton and didn't even get a ticket, then it started first time the next morning,'' says Minson, who had no hesitation pointing the Saab north for Castlemaine on Monday for the Dogs' country clinic. Which went beautifully under the direction of local Auskick stalwart Mick Grant, until Minson, Tom Williams and Brodie Moles climbed in for the return journey. ''It wouldn't start again.'' In hindsight, Minson admits anyone who thinks it strange that he would decide that a car that wasn't working a day earlier was fit to drive 120 kilometres into the bush and back might well be onto something. Saab's catchcry, ''Move your mind'', would normally appeal to the cerebral Dog, but at this point he would have been happy just to move his car.


    Good samaritans
    THANK goodness for Mark Shannon and his eight-year-old son Michael, whose already ripping day among the Bulldogs suddenly got a whole lot better. ''We looked over and I thought, 'They look they've got a bit of car trouble','' Shannon said yesterday. When the RACV couldn't resurrect the Saab, Shannon did what he says any Doggie would do. ''We were planning to duck out to go fishing if I could escape the wife, but we had a trip to Melbourne instead.'' After swapping his ute for his wife's Commodore, and with Michael squeezed between Williams and Moles in the back seat (''I think he was a bit overawed,'' Shannon says), they headed down the Calder discussing engineering (Shannon's profession, as well as Minson's brother), and directional drilling, which Minson's father was involved in. ''They reassured me they were going to win the flag this year too, which was nice to hear.''


    Just the ticket

    SHANNON returns to Western Australia this morning for his 13 days on/eight days off job at the Savannah Nickel Mine. He has a good story to tell, but also a reward for his good-samaritan act. ''I was saying to Will, 'I've gotta get off me bum and get the family membership happening'. ''I've been saying it for years, just hadn't got around to it.'' Minson was straight on the phone, and Shannon took out his credit card and asked him to read the number down the line. ''He said, 'No need for that,'' Shannon recalled, chuffed that the family is now back on the Bulldog books. ''I was really surprised, just out of the blue. It's a great gesture from the guys and the club. Will I be signing up again next year? My oath I will.''
    For those who were always the underdogs and wore it as a badge of honour.

  2. #2
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    Ha, what a story. Great read.

  3. #3
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    Love the Beards car, suits him to the ground.
    FFC: Established 1883

    Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.

  4. #4
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    I like the Beard's mantra - it's the same as mine!

  5. #5
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    Great story.
    Not advisable to have both ruckman traveling to the game together though.
    It's better to die on our feet than live on our knees.

  6. #6
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    Quote Originally Posted by KT31 View Post
    Great story.
    Not advisable to have both ruckman traveling to the game together though.
    Good point.

    Also, I’m not sure I approve of Tom Williams being let out in the open either – much prefer him to be wrapped in cotton wool and only released on game day.

  7. #7
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    Quote Originally Posted by KT31 View Post
    Great story.
    Not advisable to have both ruckman traveling to the game together though.
    Bit like the President and Vice President. Seperate modes of transport needed.

  8. #8
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    All this points to the fact that we need a car sponsorship.
    What should I tell her? She's going to ask.

  9. #9
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    great read with some chuckles as well. Good too see that the family got a membership from the club as well. Great gesture!

  10. #10
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    Quote Originally Posted by The Dogs Bollocks View Post
    Bit like the President and Vice President. Seperate modes of transport needed.
    Yes, totally agree, this will have to change! What a great read, and I am envious of that lucky supporter and his son

  11. #11
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    Inside the mind of Brian Lake
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    Quote Originally Posted by bornadog View Post
    Love the Beards car, suits him to the ground.
    Good cars, Holden FCs. We had 3 in our family and I learnt to drive in one.
    The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.

  12. #12
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    Quote Originally Posted by Bulldog4EVER View Post
    great read with some chuckles as well. Good too dsee that the family got a membership from the club as well. Great gesture!

    From the article i'm not sure that's what happened.

    Why did they need a credit card?

    I'm guessing Big Willie paid for the membership, OR did the poor geezer have to pay his own?

    (Hell, I have $300 bucks left on my credit card, just lost my job, missus is addicted to pokies, and now Minson and the Beard have rung the club, asked for my credit card details....

    what can i do!)

  13. #13
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    Quote Originally Posted by Throughandthrough View Post
    From the article i'm not sure that's what happened.

    Why did they need a credit card?

    I'm guessing Big Willie paid for the membership, OR did the poor geezer have to pay his own?

    (Hell, I have $300 bucks left on my credit card, just lost my job, missus is addicted to pokies, and now Minson and the Beard have rung the club, asked for my credit card details....

    what can i do!)
    Will asked if he was a member, and when Mark (the supporter) said no, Will called the club to sign him up.

    Mark thought "well gee, I better get out my credit card then" and Will told him not to worry. So I'd say either Will or the club have paid for it.

    No chance Mark paid for it.

  14. #14
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    Quote Originally Posted by nawrocki View Post
    I like the Beard's mantra - it's the same as mine!
    Mine too.
    The curse is dead.

  15. #15
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    Jan 2009
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    Re: Will powerless as car dogs it

    Quote Originally Posted by chef View Post
    Mine too.
    here here to that. I recall a mate breaking down coming back from Geelong in 94. Not only were we 80 pts down [halfway through the second] we ran out of petrol on the way back

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