Adam Cooney’s travel diary from his trip to Mackay for JLT Series

WHAT do you do when you arrive at the ground three hours early as a rookie AFL radio commentator? ADAM COONEY reveals the inside story of his hilarious trip to Mackay.

I AM two weeks into my new career as an “expert” commentator on radio.

My first two games for AFL Nation have both involved interstate travel, the first being a trip down to beautiful Launceston to call Hawks v Cats. Sunday was my second interstate trip as a media “expert” so I thought I would record a travel diary of my experience about the trip to Mackay.

5AM: The alarm rings and immediately I realise I’ve made my first (of many) rookie errors. Six pints the night before at a friend’s engagement party was not an intelligent decision in hindsight.

No milk in the fridge for a coffee to kickstart the day also hurt.

7AM: The flight departs and as I take my assigned seat, the Qantas gods are smiling down on me and realise I’m in a touch of pain from the previous evening and the early wake-up, and have provided two free seats next to me to lie down and rejuvenate. (Little win No.1)

2nd leg of the trip bris-Mackay on this beast 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 pic.twitter.com/diMUNeyVFU

— Adam Cooney (@Adamcooney17) February 26, 2017

10AM: Touch down in Brisbane, the first of two legs completed. We now have a two-and-a-half hour wait at Brisbane airport until our connecting flight, a Qantas Link twin propeller plane to Mackay.

No Qantas club lounge access (rookie error No.2), so I sit in the Brisbane airport food court and

use this time to get to know my colleague for the day, Benny Jones, as it’s the first time we’ve met.

I also get stuck into some research on the upcoming game and try and learn a bit about the younger players I’ve never heard of in each team.

10.30AM (Queensland time): Board for the one-and-a-half hour flight to Mackay, and to my delight I have another free seat next to me! (Little win No.2)

No in-flight entertainment on this leg and I haven’t organised anything to keep myself entertained (rookie error No.3) so am forced to read all about Claudia Karvan’s upcoming holiday to Sri Lanka with her children in the Qantas magazine. I also got a good insight into Maja Veit and her salmon sausage business she created in a caravan down in Tassie.

12.15PM: Touch down at Mackay airport, grab my bag and stop for a quick chat with Woosha and Jobe (pick up those names I just dropped), jump in a cab bound for the Harrup Park Country Club.

On the way I learned a couple of valuable lessons from Barry our taxi driver. The first is that the best thing about Mackay is the beautiful beaches: “they’re beautiful mate, you just can’t swim in them because of the stingers, sharks and crocs”. Perfect!

If you are keen on a swim though, Barry suggested the best way to avoid a painful sting is to cut the crotch out of some pantyhose, stretch it over your head and over your whole body. Thanks for the tip, Baz.

Touchdown in Mackay for JLT footy and @AFLNation with @Adamcooney17 Looking forward to @GoldCoastSUNS and @EssendonFC #teamsontheup 🏉 pic.twitter.com/IShGZxBrrE

— Benny Jones (@benjiman1983) February 26, 2017

12.30PM: Arrive at the ground three hours and 10 minutes before the first bounce (rookie error No.4). You know you’re early when the players in the curtain-raiser are just warming up. So I went for a walk, sampled a ham and cheese toasted sandwich from the bistro, played the pokies for a bit and mixed in with the local riffraff in the stands for a couple of hours.

3.40PM: Game time. My match report: The Bombers jumped out to a four-goal lead in the first quarter, with their attack and ball use from the back half through the middle of the ground cutting Gold Coast defence apart at times.

One lad said to me 'Coondog you effin legend, when are you back from injury?' Might be a while, mate!

After 15 minutes the Suns took control of the contest, winning clearances easily and dominating inside-50s. Essendon did well to not get blown away and nearly came away with the win but overall Gold Coast’s mids were too good and too quick for the Bombers.

Both coaches would come away pleased with how their respective teams used the ball at times and competed hard in the heat and humidity.

Some standouts:

Will Brodie: He has a strong body and once his endurance reaches elite level he will be a star. Michael Barlow: Was terrific in the contest and will add much-needed leadership.

Alex Sexton: Best on ground with 25 disposals and two goals.

For the Bombers Josh Begley kicked four and looks a find. Darcy Parish was prolific all day and just keeps getting better.

Michael Hartley looks primed to lock down the full-back position after getting the job done on Peter Wright with huge spoils, and James Stewart keeps putting his hand up after presenting hard at the footy all day.

Bomber Michael Hartley spoils Peter Wright during the JLT Community Series clash in Mackay.

6.30PM: Off air and down to the bar for a quick Mark McGough (froff) a photo or two with the locals (I’m a man of the people), quick chat with one lad who said to me “Coondog you effin legend, when are you back from injury?” Might be a while, mate!

7.15PM: Check in at Mackay airport, check the departure board to find the standard half-hour delay, which gives me enough time to have one more beer and a decent chat with my old coach Rocket and Jarrad ‘Merlin the magician’ Grant.

8.45PM: Take my assigned seat and you wouldn’t believe it, two free seats next to me again! Watched half a movie about slaves and spent the rest of the flight chatting to my ex-Bomber teammates who were on the same flight home.

12.45AM: Straight off the plane to my car for the trip home.

1.14AM: “Hi sir, what can I get you?”. “Medium Big Mac meal with a vanilla shake, thanks”

2AM: Sleep.

What a day and what an experience. Hopefully many more to come!