Living the impossible dream

Ron Reed, Herald Sun
August 13, 2007 12:00am

HIS big heart pumps the maroon blood of the born-and-bred Queenslander, but David Croft couldn't be any prouder of his powerful contribution to Victorian sporting history.

Croft, 28, captained the Melbourne Rebels to a shock 32-27 win against the Canberra Vikings to rewrite the popular script for the start of the new Australian Rugby Championship on Saturday.

It is always useful to have a leader prepared to show the way, and from the moment the kick-off landed in his arms, Croft was that man.

He emerged 90 minutes later with his right eye black, swollen and, eventually, stitched, several welts marking his face and shaven head, the man of the match award and a single word when asked how he felt: "Elation."

Earlier, as the clock ticked down to the moment of truth for this unlikely grab-bag of old pros and young wannabes wearing the famous navy blue colours of the Big V, he called them into a circle, and the music stopped.

They locked arms as he told them they would remember for the rest of their lives what they were about to do, and who they were doing it with.

"It is something very exciting," Croft said.

It made for an emotional moment, but didn't quite conceal the perceived truth of the matter. They didn't have a hope of winning.

The opposition was virtually the Brumbies Super 14 team in thin disguise, and a hot favourite to win the tournament.

The Rebels had only three players with Test experience and had been together in Melbourne for less than a month.

They had been quoted at $44 to win the competition and $4.50 in this two-horse race, with the foregone conclusion sentiment detectable at the official lunch.

There, Victorian Rugby Union heavies Gary Gray and Ron Steiner noted the chat was all about Canberra's proud rugby history and nothing about the contest at hand.

Some of the young Rebels had no idea what to expect of a professional environment, although even they blinked when told to meet at the ungodly hour of 5am on Friday.

They had to catch the most economical flight, and when they arrived, no hotel rooms were ready, forcing them to walk the streets.

One player went out and bought lunch, only to discover a meal was waiting in the team room. That's the norm in the big time but not where some of these boys were coming from.

Against this backdrop, the bus ride to Manuka Oval was conducted in silence - you could cut the tension and the nervousness with a knife.

Even the coach, Bill Millard, is on the young side, at 37, but he is a cool customer - the antithesis of the old fire 'n' brimstone type - and he claimed to be calm.

Although Croft said during the week they had nothing to lose, there was plenty at stake.

Millions of dollars have been invested in trying to prove the sport can survive and thrive in what is still an outpost.

That's why Gray, the president, and Steiner, the chief executive, were probably more on edge than even the players.

On the other hand, there seems no doubt the locals took the unaccomplished visitors for granted and assumed they would crush them - a fatal mistake in all sport.

As the game proceeded, the Rebels sensed it. Wallaby veteran Matt Cockbain said as much afterwards.

And at halftime, trailing by just three points, Croft spelled it out to another arm-in-arm circle.

"They're in shock," he said.

"They thought they were out for an easy game. We're out-enthusing them. They're shot."

Within a minute of the resumption, the Rebels scored through Nathan Trist and, five minutes later, Croft began a move that put Peter Playford over the line.

The crowd of 3455 was stunned into silence. Cinderella had arrived at the ball.

The result was still in doubt when, with seven minutes left, scrumhalf Luke Burgess ran 80m to pretty much put the result beyond doubt. Burgess has played twice for the Brumbies, so this was a huge moment for him.

In all, nine tries were scored, a triumph for the experimental rule changes brought in for this competition to make the game simpler and faster and easier to play and referee.

It resulted in a lot more running and Croft identified superior fitness as a key factor. That, and a level of passion and commitment that was surprising in the circumstances.

Only the skipper seemed unsurprised -- but "challenge" is his middle name.

"Everyone knows Crofty, he's awesome," Millard said.

"We picked him on his personality.

"He gets so intense he doesn't say much on the field, but he epitomises what we are trying to do. He's a good bloke, hard at it, and perhaps not the most beautiful footballer in the world, but he set a great example."

That he did. Melbourne sports fans can see a new hero for themselves when the Rebels play the East Coast Aces at Olympic Park on Saturday night. This time, nobody will be underestimating them.