Going to the footy, real footy, Ammos footy, is a Saturday ritual that I have enjoyed for many years. On Saturday it was off to St James Park to watch the Cobras take on the cellar-dwellers Swinburne Uni in Div 3 of the VAFA. Those who have read my pronouncements know there is only one uni in Melbourne, and it is just south of the Melbourne Cemetery, but I am catholic in my tastes and am willing to see what the Swinburne footy club can offer, which unfortunately, wasn’t very much.
My good mate Wellsie, my usual footy companion, is in the air going to the Old Dart searching for some warm weather which was certainly not available today at the footy in Melbourne, and there’s bugger all available at the canteen, not evenany tea bags. Tea is what gentlemen drink, not that vulgar drink, coffee, so beloved of the non-Uni plebs. I bring my own mug to the footy. Tea out of a polystyrene cup is as distasteful as any gentleman can suffer. I was gobsmacked when I produced my mug only to be told that no tea could be served.
The most valuable Ammos blog ever was written by a bloke who would review the canteens at each ground he visited.
The ground itself has an interesting history as it was where Hawthorn played early in their VFL years before Glenferrie and, nestled between the distasteful block after block of 60s flats, is a lovely terrace that was David Parkin’s childhood home. There is an impressive cenotaph on the hill overlooking the oval, quite a pretty park that I walked through to get to the ground and an extensive kiddies playground.
What I liked the best was the peppercorn trees along the east side of the ground, old pepper corn trees with thick trunks. A history of Canterbury (it may have been Camberwell) was titled Under the Pepper Corn Tree. I love pepper corn trees. They were planted around all farm houses and, even though they hail from South America, they are an integral part of my Australia. They are hated now by the intelligentsia as they are not ‘Australian’ but I would like to remind those who espouse this nonsense that they arose from an African species and so they should bugger back there.
I love a city in Sicily called Catania and it is full of Jacaranda trees, that adorn Adelaide, pepper corn trees but the trees that they worship are the Aussie Morton Bay Figs. They will not destroy them like we do with any thing not deemed Aussie.
There are some old deciduous trees on the city side of the ground that have seemed better days and they reminded me of Treebeard of Lord of the Rings fame. The ground itself had some impressive muddy patches, into which the ball and even the players would bog, much to my amusement in both the reserves and seniors. No rain, so that was a blessing.
Both Cobras teams had the expected big wins and I have yet to learn all the players names so I cannot be too specific in my match write ups, but the reserves match was controlled by Woody being the general down back. Some former players are returning, getting on the band wagon so to speak, and so the Twos going deep into finals is on the cards.
The seniors were double the Uni at quarter time despite kicking into the considerable breeze and the score got worse later. Tommy, the bean pole full forward, had a purple patch early, taking many marks and playing an important part in keeping the ball in our forward line. Frazier provided some sparkling runs all day and as the players were ground down by the heavy conditions, the ‘heavy’ Dear stood tall, finishing with five goals.
Toppy showed some run from down back, once going short on the left foot with a little tap of a kick, set up a goal. When he opens the bowling for Northcote in the summer I expect the occasional slower ball delivered with the left hand.
Apart from the lack of tea it was another enjoyable day at the footy, chatting to all the regulars, including James, Phil and Rob. The alternative was being at home watching the Lions and West Coast!
Not many pepper corn trees at the MCG.
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swinburne Uni | 2.1-13 | 3.2-20 | 4.3-27 | 5.5-35 |
| Canterbury | 4.2-26 | 11.6-72 | 15.9-99 | 19.14-128 |
Swinburne University
Best Players: T. Hartney, B. Field, L. Randello, L. McClay, O. Huber, C. Crockart
Canterbury
Best Players:R. Fraser, M. Topp, J. Boarotto, M. Szabo, J. Dear, H. Carter
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