Sean O’Reilly is in his final year at Bunnalong High School where he captains the football team. Everyone calls him ‘Pencil’ because he’s long and wiry and draws the ball to him wherever he goes on the field. Pencil plays for local club, the Gippsland Power, where he’s won the best and fairest award for the past three years. Everyone expects him to be drafted to a team in the city. Essendon is his club of choice. His grandfather played there. The scouts are out in the bush as usual and a few of them spot Pencil in action. There’s a bit of interest from the Bombers. ‘We want you to come to town with us when school’s over,’ they tell him. In the grand final, Pencil is everywhere on the field: he outruns, outmarks and outkicks everybody. The Bombers scouts are over the moon, and the club manages to get him as their first pick in the draft. But then Pencil’s form drops suddenly. He’s always late for training, makes mistakes on field and is slow to react. It’s soon revealed that his dad is in hospital with a serious illness, and Pencil has to keep going back to the family farm to do the milking. No wonder he’s worn out. The club puts him on indefinite injury leave. But Pencil is determined not to give up on his dream, and thinks up a mad plan to do the milking, involving a robot, dogs and his little brothers. Can Pencil solve his problem, return to form and help the Bombers to premiership glory?