HEATH DECKER BIG DAY OUT!

4 Sep 2014 by North Ringwood FC Committee

Hi Sainters

For those few now that have not read the new in the Hearld Sun, listened to one of the FM station or missed the ABC News on Monday night, our Footy Club and our Rock Star Fullback, Heath Decker had one big day last Saturday and has now become an instant celebrity. Please read below the story on Fox Sport how Heath Decker played in a 2nd Semi at 2.10pm at Boronia to help get his side into the Division 2 Grand Final next Saturday and than managed to be running out on the field at 6pm in Bendigo with his other side, the Monash Warriors Gridiron Club, it is a great story…

FOX SPORTS STORY IT’S a bird, it’s a plane – no, wait, it’s just Heath Decker.
In shades of Hawthorn’s Peter Hudson in 1973, the gun full-back left his EFL game in Boronia at three-quarter time at 4.30pm and flew by helicopter to Bendigo play in a gridiron grand final, 90 minutes later.

“It was a bit of a rock star weekend,” Decker, 31, said.
Decker did a sterling job at full-back for North Ringwood in the Eastern Football League Division 2 second semi-final against Croydon at Boronia’s Tormore Reserve on Saturday.
But his job was barely half-done.
After holding gun Croydon full-forward Brendan Weinert to one goal through three quarters, Decker left the ground, stepped into a waiting helicopter, flew to Bendigo and helped the Monash Warriors claim the Gridiron Victoria championship.
“I was still in my football gear when we landed. I ran to the game in bare feet, ran on to the field and got ready on the sideline,” he said.
“Five minutes later the kick-off happened, they threw me in there and I caught a nice touchdown down the sideline.”

Decker called it a rock star move and he half looked the part, stepping off the chopper wearing rock star-appropriate aviator sunglasses.
The grubby footy gear and boots in hand ruined the illusion.
While Decker has spent most of the season playing with North Ringwood on Saturdays and Monash on Sundays, the scheduling of the Vic Bowl left North Ringwood with a problem.
“It was a bit of a rock star weekend.” — globetrotting Heath Decker

High flyer Heath Decker, 31, played two games of football, in two different codes, in Melbourne and Bendigo in one afternoon – and won both.

Decker made clear the Warriors were his priority, so it fell to North Ringwood president Maurice Larsen to find a solution.
“Being the invaluable full-back he is to us, we didn’t want to risk not having him there,” Larsen said.
“Our captain and coach came to me with the idea.
“As it so happens, a mate of mine owns a chopper. He was able to help us out. I gave him a call, the chopper was free and he stuck his hand up.
“We didn’t want to make it a big spectacle. Most people found out what was going on when he flew over the ground during the fourth quarter.”
North Ringwood paid about $1000 for the flight.

Heath Decker’s flight ended with a championship win with the Monash Warriors.Source: Supplied
The trip was a worthwhile one for Decker and his Warriors, as they claimed the Vic Bowl for the third year running, beating Geelong 43-14.
He’ll have the chance to make it two premierships from two sports when North Ringwood contests the Division 2 grand final next weekend.
While Australian and American football are two of the most punishing sports around, Decker said he can’t help himself from playing both.
“I can’t give it up. I love them both too much,” he said.
“I’m a bit of a Dustin Fletcher at footy, I’ll usually have an easy week on the track.
“I rarely get out on the town after a game. I’ll have an ice bath at home, or get a massage to try to keep on top of it.
“I’m sore, I’m sore all year. You just truck through.”