For many years, the first smell of spring used to lift me up high above the clouds, or slice me in half.

For spring is the time when the teams destined for finals turn for home and lift for a higher gear.  Their hearts and lungs are filled with blood, air and optimism.  Glory awaits them!

For the sides who will not be partaking in finals action, that floral jasmine scent is the smell of disappointment. 

The twinge of that moment as a player was sharp.  I noticed it this year, as I suspect I always will, but it wasn’t as sharp as it used to be.  Life moves on.  But I still felt for my comrades in the red, white and blue.

This is the lot for footballers at this time of year.  It’s brutal, but that’s just the way it is.

It certainly wouldn’t be a grim locker room out at the kennel this week though. The last two weeks have seen our boys play some of their best football for the year. 

Our boys at their best are still quite breathtaking to watch, but it’s been a while since we have seen that swarming momentum for a full four quarters.  There’s still a way to go.

It might be too simplistic to say that 2019 has already started for the Bulldogs, but to finish the year with momentum as we cross the line must give a young group some extra motivation going into next year, wouldn’t it?

Spring time, as I’ve mentioned, is the fickle two sides of the coin in a footballer’s world, but spring is also about new life, a fresh perspective.

I was speaking with someone attached to the Club who lives on the south east side of the city.  They were taking a familiar walk when they came to a park and they were startled to see not just one, but two Western Bulldog jumpers in the park.

This, I was told, was very much out of step with the colours usually displayed in this part of town.  It was a young man and a small child having a kick-to-kick of a weathered footy.  Does it get much better?

Well, it turns that yes, it might actually.  So the story goes, the young man was none other than our Billy Gowers.  A young lad with a connection to Billy wears the number 26 on his back and it was his dream to have a kick with his hero.  Billy made that happen.

Bathed in spring sunshine, the two of them kicked drop punts back and forth and all was well in the world.

The smell of spring smelled slightly different to me this year and after I heard this story about Billy, I wondered whether spring might mean something different to the Bulldogs this year too.

There’ll be no finals for us, but seeds have been planted for next spring.  And beyond.