Australian
Screen

In the early days of Australian film, an 'Aussie battler’ was someone who struggled on the land against fire, famine and drought. Dad and Dave from On Our Selection, are the prototypes. There were also urban battlers, like The Sentimental Bloke, and the occasional woman as battler (Caddie). In the 1990s, the definition broadened to include migrants in films such as Floating Life and The Wog Boy. Footy Legends builds on this foundation in an entertaining way, with a story that turned rugby league – the battlers’ game in New South Wales – on its ear. The Yagoona Schooners, as they become known, are a kind of rainbow coalition of friends who represent the new Australia. They come from Vietnamese, Lebanese, Islander and Aboriginal backgrounds, not just Anglo – but they’re united by their love of league and their shared position at the bottom of the economic pile.

The film makes clear how important footy is to their self-image when they play the local garbage men (clip one). In a sense, they’re looking at their own possible futures, in this bunch of older and tougher men. At the same time, there’s a sense that the game they love isn’t exactly loving them back. The commentators at the knock-out comp (played by real-life commentators Matthew Johns and Andrew Voss) make fun of their ragged team, and the character played by Peter Phelps – coach of the Double Bay Dolphins, the team of super heroes – implies that the professional game has become corrupt. The Yagoona Schooners, in that sense, represent a return to the origins of the sport. They are gifted amateurs, playing more for self-respect than money (although they all love the idea of a job at Lowes Menswear).

This was the second film of Vietnamese–Australian director Khoa Do, after an acclaimed debut on the low budget drama The Finished People. Footy Legends was co-written with his brother, Anh Do, and Suzanne Do – Anh’s wife – and it’s as much about family as footy. The relationship between Luc and his 11-year-old sister gives the film much-needed cohesion. Lisa Saggers, who plays Anne, has a great ability to portray a little girl’s sadness at the recent death of her mother. Anh Do, best known as a stand-up comedian, gives a heartbreakingly real performance as a man of limited education trying to keep his family together, and get back into the economic mainstream. It’s a film with a great deal of heart, even if the rise of the Schooners is at times hard to believe.