Seconds ago, you surprised yourself with the level of calm, poise and fascination that you held whilst immersed 10-metres deep on one single breath, staring contentedly out of your mask and straight into the curious eye of a 2.5m long Grey Nurse Shark suspended there like a torpedo, very much within your arms reach.

In Australia, we love the underdog. The struggler, the battler.

The one we least expect to overcome adversity. The least likely to come out on top. The one considered weaker of the opponents. Less powerful, less funded, and unfairly treated, less just. The one entrenched in some kind of adversity, struggling for success.

We love to see them rise to the top. And take out that poppy. The tallest one, with its neck stuck out.

Cranking my way up After Burner towards Power Up track, my mental moaning rises to just behind my forehead, trying to get in the way of my frontal lobe duties that are keeping watch of the trail, interpreting the bumps, variations, shadows and light. The frontal lobe is as much under load as my quadriceps are as I seek to retain a regular rhythm of strong low-cadence pedalling in a tough gear up the steep inclines.