When Petty Officer Troy Nicoll is away at sea, often months at a time, football keeps him grounded.
Supporting the Sydney Swans and having a kick with his colleagues on board the HMAS Canberra – the two go hand-in-hand.
“Footy is my outlet,” Nicoll says. “It keeps my mind active. On a 12-hour shift you’re constantly under pressure. Footy is my out and my stress relief.”
HMAS Canberra, the flagship of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), is one of the only vessels large enough to accommodate the sport-hungry sailors.
Wandering through the lower decks of the 27,000-tonne warship you could see up to 50 personnel being put through their paces and honing their skills to remain sharp for the outside world.
The Light Vehicle Deck, you could say, is the crew’s SCG.
When a 100-strong fleet of vehicles and aircraft aren’t parked from bow to stern on deployment, the 150m-long space can be routinely taken over by flying footys and the echoes of sailors putting boot to ball.
“There are a number of us who play in teams throughout the Sydney competition, so with our downtime we often meet here and do some training drills,” Nicoll said.
“We play for the Father Mac Cup every year, a competition between the different ships and establishments. We have guys and girls down here who train.
“And it’s not only footy that gets played down here, some like their basketball, rugby or even volleyball."
Twenty years in the military, Nicol has seen his fair share of the world. From peacekeeping efforts in East Timor, patrols in the Persian Gulf to, most recently, humanitarian assistance in Fiji following the devastation of Cyclone Winston.
He has seen things, good and bad.
“There are some things I can happily talk to guys from footy about,” he said.
“But there are things I don’t even tell my brother or parents about as you just don’t want them to know such things.
“We went to Fiji, helping people who have lost everything and help rebuild communities which had been completely wiped out.
“But the amazing thing was, these communities which had nothing were still going out there way to help us.”
Watching the footy is a luxury, non-existent when miles from home, so keeping up-to-date with news and the latest scores depends on the strength of the internet connection.
Nicolls takes a screamer on the HMAS Canberra's flight deck during the Swans' visit earlier in the week.
No such problem in Round 1 fortunately, much to Nicoll’s amusement.
“Good fun the next day when you’ve got some Collingwood supporters on board.”
Bragging rights will again be on the line this weekend when the Swans take on West Coast at the SCG in what is a special weekend for the Nicolls family.
Not only because it’s ANZAC Day Round, a significant time in the lives of all military personnel stationed in Australia and abroad, but the upcoming clash reignites a sibling rivalry given Troy’s brother, a fellow sailor currently stationed in Darwin, is an avid Eagles fan.
“We’ve always had a great rivalry, especially around the 2005/2006 era,” he said.
Win or loss, they’ll touch base when the game is all over, exchange jibes as siblings do, then get back to their daily lives as military servicemen.
That’s a pretty good weekend in Nicoll’s log.
Joining the military was an interest first kindled from a very early age. Supporting the Swans and playing footy, even earlier. Being able to combine the two has been a blessing.
“I love what I do,” he said.
