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Talented Tiger Rory Hilton continues his unique insights into the Punt Road playing personnel
1:21:13 PM Mon 3 February, 2003
With a new season dawning upon us, I thought the timing was right to give Richmond supporters another insider's view of one of the players at Tigerland. This time, the lucky person is Aaron Fiora.
Aaron came to Richmond via the National Draft in 1999 from the small South Australian town of Naracoorte. Apart from Aaron, Naracoorte is also famous for the Naracoorte caves which were said to be home of the Wonambies (more about this later).
When Aaron first arrived at Richmond, we were not sure whether we had drafted a footballer or a marathon runner. He was built like a long drink of water and was suffering from a condition called "muppet arms", which is where the arms are the size of the wrist, all the way to the shoulder! This is also the same condition that another player, Chris Hyde, suffers today. He had a chest like a 12-year-old boy and his body was even described as "putrid" by some of the coaching staff.
After living with Aaron for a year and a half, I realised how much he enjoyed his sleep. I have never met anybody who can sleep as much as he can. I believe that the reason Aaron developed the "muppet arms" condition is because he would never eat. He would simply sleep all day and eat only if he was out of bed. So, at best, he would be eating only one meal a day!
Another of Aaron's true loves is his penchant for all things automotive. Since he has been at Richmond, he has had no less than four cars. Instead of having a normal car, Aaron has a "ute". There is a reason for this. You see, when Aaron was living in South Australia he was completing a carpentry apprenticeship. To be a good carpenter you need to have a ute, and a fast one, because this enables you to carry all of your tools around. Even though he has not worked as a carpenter for three years, he still needs his ute. To this day, I think that he has just got a ute because he does not want to have to drive anyone around. This was the case when we lived together. Ute and all, getting Aaron to lift a hammer these days would be harder than getting Joel Bowden to shut up. Don't mention this to Aaron, however, because the other day he told me that he could build a four-bedroom house out of two bits of timber and a cardboard box!
Another item in Aaron's collection of things that go is his jet ski. He first purchased his jet ski about three years ago and it has since proved to be a wonderful investment for him. The first time he took it out was an unmitigated disaster, but he probably did not help his own cause because he decided to take Kayne Pettifer with him. That decision was to prove his downfall. Kayne, being the rocket scientist that he is, forgot to put the plug in the bottom of the ski, which prevents it from drowning. I don't think Aaron's jet ski has been out of his shed since.
I have to say that I miss living with Aaron. Nothing against my current housemate Andrew Mills (except for his absolute lack of help with the cleaning duties), but the thing I miss most was my story time with Aaron. You see, on a cold winter's night we would go outside, light a fire and Aaron would tell a story. He had many stories, including how he once dodged a falling boulder in his car. And who could forget the stories about the Wonambies . . . a Wonamby, according to Aaron, is a creature with a massive koala's head on a massive kangaroo body. Aaron would tell stories about how his ancestors used to hunt and kill the Wonambies with their bare hands.
At what was to be our final story time, Aaron's future as a storyteller took a savage blow. It was a bitterly cold night and I was rugged up in front of the fire. Aaron was in character, pretending to be his ancestors and, as clothes apparently were not a big part of society about 100 years ago, he was just wearing his undies. Anyway, he suffered frostbite to his lips and they swelled out of control. To this day, his lips are still swollen and I am forever reminded of the fun that we had when we lived together. Thanks very much, Aaron . . .
1:21:13 PM Mon 3 February, 2003
With a new season dawning upon us, I thought the timing was right to give Richmond supporters another insider's view of one of the players at Tigerland. This time, the lucky person is Aaron Fiora.
Aaron came to Richmond via the National Draft in 1999 from the small South Australian town of Naracoorte. Apart from Aaron, Naracoorte is also famous for the Naracoorte caves which were said to be home of the Wonambies (more about this later).
When Aaron first arrived at Richmond, we were not sure whether we had drafted a footballer or a marathon runner. He was built like a long drink of water and was suffering from a condition called "muppet arms", which is where the arms are the size of the wrist, all the way to the shoulder! This is also the same condition that another player, Chris Hyde, suffers today. He had a chest like a 12-year-old boy and his body was even described as "putrid" by some of the coaching staff.
After living with Aaron for a year and a half, I realised how much he enjoyed his sleep. I have never met anybody who can sleep as much as he can. I believe that the reason Aaron developed the "muppet arms" condition is because he would never eat. He would simply sleep all day and eat only if he was out of bed. So, at best, he would be eating only one meal a day!
Another of Aaron's true loves is his penchant for all things automotive. Since he has been at Richmond, he has had no less than four cars. Instead of having a normal car, Aaron has a "ute". There is a reason for this. You see, when Aaron was living in South Australia he was completing a carpentry apprenticeship. To be a good carpenter you need to have a ute, and a fast one, because this enables you to carry all of your tools around. Even though he has not worked as a carpenter for three years, he still needs his ute. To this day, I think that he has just got a ute because he does not want to have to drive anyone around. This was the case when we lived together. Ute and all, getting Aaron to lift a hammer these days would be harder than getting Joel Bowden to shut up. Don't mention this to Aaron, however, because the other day he told me that he could build a four-bedroom house out of two bits of timber and a cardboard box!
Another item in Aaron's collection of things that go is his jet ski. He first purchased his jet ski about three years ago and it has since proved to be a wonderful investment for him. The first time he took it out was an unmitigated disaster, but he probably did not help his own cause because he decided to take Kayne Pettifer with him. That decision was to prove his downfall. Kayne, being the rocket scientist that he is, forgot to put the plug in the bottom of the ski, which prevents it from drowning. I don't think Aaron's jet ski has been out of his shed since.
I have to say that I miss living with Aaron. Nothing against my current housemate Andrew Mills (except for his absolute lack of help with the cleaning duties), but the thing I miss most was my story time with Aaron. You see, on a cold winter's night we would go outside, light a fire and Aaron would tell a story. He had many stories, including how he once dodged a falling boulder in his car. And who could forget the stories about the Wonambies . . . a Wonamby, according to Aaron, is a creature with a massive koala's head on a massive kangaroo body. Aaron would tell stories about how his ancestors used to hunt and kill the Wonambies with their bare hands.
At what was to be our final story time, Aaron's future as a storyteller took a savage blow. It was a bitterly cold night and I was rugged up in front of the fire. Aaron was in character, pretending to be his ancestors and, as clothes apparently were not a big part of society about 100 years ago, he was just wearing his undies. Anyway, he suffered frostbite to his lips and they swelled out of control. To this day, his lips are still swollen and I am forever reminded of the fun that we had when we lived together. Thanks very much, Aaron . . .
