CONGRATULATIONS mum and dad – Peter and Anda Everitt. Not congratulations, thank you. This weekend is a very significant milestone for myself and my brother, with Andrejs making his AFL debut for the Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome on Saturday.

We come from a family consisting of mum and dad, four girls, two boys, two dogs, a cat, some fish and often cousins cramping a modest house down the Mornington Peninsula.

As most parents know, weekends are a logistical nightmare: footy by 9am, netball at 10.40am, back to swimming by 11am, footy again by 12, back to soccer by 1pm and two of you go with the neighbour, then lunch and then basketball, and that was only Saturday.

I can’t thank my parents enough and I know I can speak for Skinny (Andrejs) as well.

He was the spoiled one of us all – don’t take it from me, ask my sisters. We all knew this by what his school lunch looked like. In our day it was a vegemite sandwich, two biscuits and an apple with a bite out of it, but no, not for Skinny’s. He got cans of drink, Primas, variety of snack-pack foods, packet of chips and $2 for the canteen. He was the gift, no doubt about it.

As brothers with just under 15 years separating us, we walked a totally different road. Me, I’m a little out-going, enjoy the public limelight, love to have a say, enjoy the fruits of life even into the wee hours of the morning. Andrejs is shy, reserved and quiet and goes about his business with minimum of fuss. But we both have an undeniable love for Aussie Rules and an undeniable belief that we were good enough to play AFL.

Mum and dad had their reservations about me and are still truly amazed how the cards have fallen, but not so with Andrejs. They knew but played it down.

I believe the AFL is a big player in getting him to his first game. The system in place from the age of 15, 16, 17 has given Skin the opportunity to gain confidence and believe in himself, feel confident in socialising with others, learn from many of past and present players. If he didn’t have this I don’t think he would be where he is today. For that I thank the AFL in helping Andrejs achieve his long-awaited goal.

Thank you to mum and dad, no doubt the No.1 influence on any kids striving for their goals in life.

And to Andrejs, congratulations! You have honestly surprised me so much with your maturity, confidence and commitment since those runs along the beach you refused to do four years ago. Enjoy it – this is all you have ever wanted. Have belief like I know you do, back yourself, help others and this will be the start of a career I am more interested in now than my own. Good luck!

PS. To the AFL, I would like to thank you for my AFL Life Membership. Over the years we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. I’ve copped my rightful whack and moved on. But this weekend, to be officially a life member of the AFL is one of my greatest honours. It’s a sport I’ve spent a lot more lows than highs in, but wouldn’t change it for the world. I love this game and always will. This game has given me the opportunity to be something and to prove many wrong, even if others write otherwise. No matter what any one has written and said over the years, this milestone is by far my greatest achievement.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.