A story about so much more than football and the infamous camp that frequents media headlines, The Boy from Boomerang Crescent depicts Eddie Betts as community focused and a role model for his mob.
You would be hard-pressed to find an Australian who didn’t know of Eddie Betts, especially here in Adelaide. The now retired football player is famous for his magical checkside goals from the Cathedral-end of the Adelaide oval, followed by his big grin with arms outstretched, facing the crowd as he enjoys his moment of success.
Yet before his football accomplishments, what made a young Eddie Betts, author of The Boy from Boomerang Crescent, the man he is today? Betts sets the scene in the opening chapters by first explaining the importance of his family’s history to him, stating, “You needed to know about my grandfather’s life — and his death — to understand who I am and who I’ve become.” This is a story about so much more than football.
In The Boy from Boomerang Crescent, Betts shows the reader a different way of living, one heavily focused on community. Growing up in Port Lincoln and Kalgoorlie, he describes always having a big family around him — brothers, sisters, and aunties everywhere. Everyone looked out for one another and were always generous with their time and resources. No one kept score of who owed who.
Now with his wife, Anna, their five children, and a house regularly brimming with friends and family, little has changed, and that’s the way he likes it. Betts explains he gets his energy and motivation from his mob, especially his little family. He speaks about the gloomy days of his COVID-19 isolation in 2020 that kept them apart and how it devastated him. Where someone like myself, an introvert, may relish the idea of isolating by themselves for a bit of peace and quiet, he needs his family around to recharge and boost him up.
The community-based outlook on life that Betts possesses is a unique perspective in a world that has often become individualistic. Betts never went out onto the footy field thinking he would kick Goal of the Year. Instead, he ran out to play his part for the team. If we all thought a little bit more about our community and team like Betts does, then the world might be a bit more of a wonderful, inclusive place.
For this hopeless romantic, it would have been great for The Boy from Boomerang Crescent to have expanded more on Betts’ relationship with wife Anna and their backstory (surely there’s a great story in their meeting!) What is clear, however, is the shining example he must be for his children and those around him in his respect for Anna and women in general. The way he speaks of discussing tough decisions with Anna, supporting the Adelaide Crows women’s team, and his beloved mum, illustrates how highly he thinks of women.
You may grab The Boy from Boomerang Crescent seeking gossipy details about the infamous 2018 football camp, however, that would be a great disservice to the author. The chapter on the camp is a mere initial attraction, where the substance of the book lies in the chapters before and after. Those important chapters lay the groundwork for why the experience was so painful for Betts and others, and what happened after to ensure something like that never happens again in the Australian Football League (AFL). Betts divulges stories from his childhood, of overcoming terrible situations, the broken systems, and the eye-opening impact that racism has had on him despite his stature.
The Boy from Boomerang Crescent is an enjoyable, easy read, that is well worth your time. It could be quickly polished off in a couple of days after the AFL Grand Final.
Reviewed by Alessa Young
This review is the opinion of the reviewer and not necessarily of Glam Adelaide.
Distributed by: Simon & Schuster
Released: August 202
RRP: $49.99
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