JT chapter sampler

out. With an endless supply of family that were both teammates and opponents, both front yard and back were reduced to tufts of green, swimming in baked, brown dirt. My uncles never said no when I nagged them for a game. ‘Righto,’ Uncle Stephen would say. ‘I’ll go and get your other uncles too.’ Uncle Brett would be there, Uncle Phillip and Uncle Dean too. Sometimes we had enough to make it 13-on- 13: a full-on international-rules match. And my uncles were mostly in their early twenties, full of energy and spark. We’d start the game. Back and forth, tries aplenty, and we’d still be going when the sun went down. ‘Next try wins,’ Uncle Stephen barked. ‘Winner takes all.’ He picked up the ball and started his run. Did I mention that I was a bad loser? Yeah, I was a terrible sport. So my uncles would let me win. Well, most of the time. I was waiting for Uncle Stephen to drop the ball, already thinking about my victory dance. But Uncle Stephen was running. Fast. What’s he doing? He can’t score. He always lets me win.

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