GERRY: Has Danny’s domestic life smoothed out yet, Laurie?

LAURIE: He’s back with Raylene, but I don’t know if it’ll last. I hope it does. He’s very fond of his kids.

JOCK: Raylene’s a hell of a nice girl but the word is she’s not a great one for hiding the sausage.

GERRY: Jock. Ted and Laurie are prepared—(to work out)

JOCK: Domestic strife’s ruined many a great footballer. Donny Joseph’s wife went off with a real estate agent the night before the ’47 semi-final and he only got three kicks. What’s happened to that Avis girl Danny shacked up with?

LAURIE: I wouldn’t know.

TED: He’s probably still paying the rent on her flat. No wonder he’s only got eighty dollars in the bank.

GERRY: Jock. Ted and Laurie are prepared to work out a joint press statement to the effect that they feel they can work together and that Laurie is withdrawing his resignation.

JOCK: Good.

TED: I expect the statement to say a little bit more than that we can still work together.

GERRY: Well, that’s for you two to work out. We all know that there are still some unresolved problems. Geoff Hay ward being the most immediate.

JOCK: What’s the problem with Geoff?

GERRY: He’s giving us a bit of trouble.

JOCK: What sort of trouble?

GERRY: His attitude leaves a lot to be desired.

JOCK: Has he been getting uppity?

GERRY: Yes.

JOCK: He’s got no reason to be. He hasn’t been playing all that well. What’s he been doing?

GERRY: Turning up late for training and disobeying Laurie’s instructions.

JOCK: Has he now? (To LAURIE) Is that why you wanted to drop him? Too embarrassed to tell us you couldn’t handle him?

LAURIE: I can handle him.

JOCK: Well, if he’s being a young smart-arse he’ll just have to cool his heels in the reserves for a few weeks. You should have told me he was playing up, Laurie. I would have gone along with you.

GERRY: Laurie thought that you and Tony and Ted had some sort of permanent conspiracy not to drop him.

JOCK: Christ, no. If he’s been playing up we’ll put him down like a shot.

GERRY: There you are, Laurie. You couldn’t get much plainer than that.

TED: In all fairness I think I should point out that there’s another side to all this. There’s no excuse for Geoff turning up late to training, but it’s a bit degrading for a footballer of his calibre to be asked to do twenty push-ups in front of the whole team.