Keen bean: Harry Mahoney said he “couldn’t say yes quick enough” when he was asked to represent the Goulburn Valley League.
Photo by
Aydin Payne
What do you do when you are sitting in class at university and your phone starts to ring?
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You look down and it isn’t a number you have saved or recognise — do you answer the call, or just leave it to ring out?
Is it a telemarketer, or could it be about something more important?
That was the scenario and conundrum that unfolded for Mansfield’s Harry Mahoney last Friday. He decided to answer the call, and he was sure glad he did.
On the other line was Mark “Chops” Lambourn, the Goulburn Valley League’s senior interleague coach, calling to give Mahoney the news that he would get to represent the GVL against the Ovens & Murray League on Saturday afternoon.
Mahoney said it was an opportunity he was thrilled to get.
“I got the call Friday morning. I was in class at uni and I got the call that there was a late out,” Mahoney said.
“Chops (Lambourn) asked if I wanted to play — I was 100 per cent from the start, I couldn’t say yes quick enough.
“I didn’t know it was him (calling), I guess it was lucky I did answer. Playing rep footy means a lot and I was just stoked to get the call up.
“I basically just ditched class for a bit, but it worked out all right.”
Flying the flag: Mansfield’s Harry Mahoney said it meant a lot to get to play for the Goulburn Valley League on Saturday.
Photo by
Aydin Payne
The 20-year-old, who is in the third year of his civil engineering degree, said he revelled in the opportunity to play on the interleague stage.
“I loved it. You can feel the step up in intensity compared to senior GV footy, but I loved every minute of it,” Mahoney said.
“It would would have been good to get a win, but it was a great experience.
“We had the momentum, we wanted to play high-risk, high-reward footy. It didn’t quite pay off in the end, but it was great to be out there.”
Mahoney and his teammates flew the flag proudly for the GVL, putting in a fantastic display despite ultimately falling to O&M by seven points.
Having played in the GVL since he was a kid, Mahoney said it was a moment of pride to don the purple and gold.
“It means a lot. Being a Mansfield boy and a local myself, and seeing the likes of Brett Mahoney and that when I was younger, it has always been a massive goal of mine,” he said.
“It is great that it is still going and today showed that interleague footy is alive and well and hopefully we can continue that. It was a great spectacle.”
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