IT'S BEEN quite a year for Kangaroosmidfielder Ed Lower, who capped a terrific 2007 by taking home North Ballarat's Best and Fairest award on Saturdaynight.
This latest gong is another late-seasonhigh for the 20-year-old, who was among the Roos' best in their thrilling winover Hawthorn in the first semi-final, the club's first September win since2000.
But for a season that had its share of goodand bad moments on the field, it was perhaps a moment that occurred off it thatwill have the most lingering memories for the former South Australian.
"There was a moment after one of myfirst games against Adelaidethis year when I copped a bit of heat off Dean for not punching from behind ina marking contest," Lower recalls.
"During that meeting Dean asked me howmany games I'd played. Usually in these meetings when you haven't won and thecoach is a bit upset but you don't really answer him.
"He sort of asked, 'Four?' and hepointed at me and paused a little bit.
"I just sat there not knowing whetherhe wanted an answer or not and it was a really tense moment where he justwaited and waited and waited for what seemed like ages.
"So I answered him and said, 'Well,I've actually played six games' and Dean's just gone, 'Well, whoopdee doo! Sixgames'," Lower laughed.
"From then on the boys have just givenme heaps about it. Hopefully I'll live it down a bit but with guys like BradyRawlings letting me know about it every now and then I don't think it'll be toosoon."
Post-match brushes with the coach aside, Lower says he is happy with how hisyear progressed, particularly after sustaining what looked to be a seriousankle injury on the eve of the Roos' first practice match in February.
Originally told he would need an operationand around eight weeks on the sidelines, Lower and the Roos' medicos decided itwould be in his best interests if he bypassed surgery in the hope that hisrehabilitation would be slashed in half. That proved a wise approach.
"I thought I'd miss a fair bit of theseason and when you work so hard in the pre-season, to have it taken away fromyou was shattering.
"If I'd had the operation they thoughtI'd be back by between about round two to four but in the end we went theconservative approach and I eventually spent about four to six weeks in one ofthose moon boots.
"That actually worked really wellbecause I avoided surgery and when it came time to take it off the ankle hadhealed beautifully.
"Now I won't even have to have a cleanup on it at all now so I can say we did the right thing even though I rememberbeing really devastated at the time."
As if to round out Lower's bittersweet2007, the Roos' last game of the year – a humiliating loss to Port Adelaide inthe preliminary final – was probably his best game at AFL level.
Reflecting on that 21-possession effort,Lower says he can take great confidence into next year knowing he can mix itwith the best in the white hot heat of finals football.
"Having the win would obviously havebeen better but being able to get a kick in a game like that will give me a bitof confidence that I can play at that level.
"It doesn't really change my own aimsfor next year – I've said that I played nine games this year and if I canmanage one more next year I'll be happy."
Like so many of his teammates, Lower sayshe is looking forward to starting pre-season but will do so knowing that hisroutine will alter slightly due to the marriage of his housemate and carpooling buddy Andrew Swallow.
At this stage he is yet to find a new roommatebut in a sign of the regard in which he is held at Arden St, it is likely he will be joinedby at least one of the club's 2007 draftees in his Niddrie home.
"The club asked if I'd mind taking ontwo of the young draftees next year.
"It's not finalised yet but I'd loveto do that because I had Scotty McMahon show me around the place when I firstcame over from Adelaide and I'd like show theyoung guys how we do things at North Melbourne.
"[Kangaroos development coach] NeilConnell approached me to do this and I was rapt that they thought it wassomething they could trust me with."
