Page 525 - NUAFC EBook
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of personal injuries.                                    something is happening that nobody knows about. Although
     Strained  Achilles-  Mark  strained  this  vital  tendon  while  his  insides  are  forever  scarred  by  his  consumption  of
         having a nightmare in bed, dreaming about Nickelback's,  liniment, cleverly disguised in a G Force bottle, this has not
         Chad  Croger  and  the  lead  singer  of  Counting  Crow’s  stopped  him  from  producing  a  litter  of  progeny  across
         love child;                                          several continents.
     Prosthetic  hip-  surgically  implanted  following  a  2-1  win     An  electric  player.  His  lightning  pace  and
         over Whangarei in which he sustained a twisted ankle.  unpredictability  tormented  the  opposition.  An  uncanny
         Mark  swears  the  elective  surgery  was  necessary  to  ability  for  the  ball  to  remain  both  in  his  control  and  out,
         alleviate  the  phantom  pain  most  commonly  associated  defenders  would  be  left  dumbfounded  as  to  how  the  ball
         with people with amputated limbs;                    could  bounce  around  every  part  of  his  body  and  still
     Torn ACL- sustained during an intense game of Operation,  maintain “control”.
         ironically trying to extricate the knee cap;
     Fused Vertebrae- Mark injured his back celebrating his first                TROY LOCHEAD
         goal  for  Ngara  at  the  tender  age  of  39  in  which  he              2004-10, 2016
         attempted a triple somersault with a reverse twist. While      The original Gandalf, Lochhead is indelibly burned
         Mark stuck the somersault, he awkwardly failed to stick   into the Ngara psyche. This love child of inspector Gadget
         the landing;                                         and one of the Wet Bandits from the Home Alone movies
     2480  stitches  sustained  over  the  course  of  his  long  and  (The tall one, not Joe Pesci working through his Goodfella’s
         illustrious career,  which  on  average  amounts  to 10 per  hangover)  dabbled  in  several  positions  before  settling  for
         first team appearance, including 18 incurred as a result   coaching/ management.
         of  a  minor  disagreement  over  song  selection  on  a      Although  his  stints  in  goal  left  a  permanent
         friendly bus trip to Whakatane.                      impression on his defence, glasses or not, it was in coaching
            His  unnatural  reverence  of  a  former  music  store  that he found his niche. Ever the proprietor of the “what have
     clerk  notwithstanding,  Mark  has  earned  his  place  amongst   you done for the club lately” ethos, his pre-match pep talks
     the  upper  echelon  of  club  legends.  Silencing  many  of  his  inspired a Disney like devotion to the club and teammates.
     harshest critics with consistent performances week in week      Burdened with the unenviable position of supporting
     out creating the “scoop” pass (patent pending).          Leeds  United  and  New  South  Wales,  he  has  questionably
                                                              managed to maintain his positive attitude despite also being
                       THE WEASELS                            born an Australian. The Every friend, he has since relocated
                             2001-18                          back  to  the  land  of  his  birth,  investing  heavily  in  his
            It  is  difficult  to  talk  about  one  of  the  Weasels  athletically talented children who seem to have thrived in the
     without mentioning the other. These pint-sized legends blew  Australian sporting environment, providing Lochhead with a
     into  town  from  the  Northern  League  collapse  of  Huntly  sustainable retirement scheme.
     Thistle.  Both  have  made,  and  continued  to  make,  an
     indelible mark on the club’s history.
            One  is  particularly  choosy,  extremely  suspicious,
     uncontrollably  irrational,  slow  to  forgive,  a  mochaccino-
     drinking sophisticate/ glass half full kind of guy. The other is
     self-described  as  strength,  courage  and  composure
     personified,  but  doesn’t  do  carbs.  I  will  leave  it  for  their
     wives to determine who is who.
            Both  Weasels  have  provided  memorable  first  team
     appearances, with each earning significant accolades. Johnny
     would  go  on  to  be  the  back  bone  of  the  reincarnated
     “WaiBoP  A  Moo  Loo  River  Dragons”,  literally  providing
     pieces  of  his  back  to  the  team’s  season.  Phil  Weasel
     captained  the  First  team  on  many  occasions.  His  playing
     style was once labelled as  “prolific”, an achievement in of
     itself carved out in the days before the Thesaurus.
            Born of a litter of 12 Weasels, Johnny and Phil have
     become “stable” cornerstones of the social football scene in
     the  Waikato  of  late  as  each  are  committed  to  maintaining
     New Zealand’s unnaturally high methane levels.
            Each now require a permission slip before providing
     their unique talents on the football pitch.


                NIKOLAI HELWIG
                    1996-99, 2004-05, 2010, 2012-13
            The  original  hellion  widely  seen  as  a  fundamental
     constant of the interconnectedness of all things. This player
     could fall in a bucket of excrement and come out smelling
     like  roses,  walking  into  a  room  full  of  people,  making  10
     new friends and going on a Gandalf like adventure.
            Some  of  his  actions  have  led  many  to  consider
     whether  he  is  masterminding  a  complex  scheme  with  no
     obvious benefit to himself, whereas the obvious idea is that
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