by Matt Zurbo Four anti-inflams, three pain killers and some good padding on the ribs and I run out in town for my 499th game. The oval is strange. Wide enough, but an outline of a thing. The ground either side of it is railway-yard-flat. There are no slopes, no trees, no back fences or [Read more]
From Matt Zurbo
July 2, 2011 by 5 Comments
Readers, I am addicted to football. I am broke because of it. My body’s a mess because of it. I damn well love it. As do millions. I wrote the Community Cup piece in haste, and bad mood. And painfully regret it. It IS a great day, for a worthy cause, that many [Read more]
Daicos
June 27, 2011 by 8 Comments
Peter Daicos played for Collingwood. You can’t help bad luck. He kicked amazing goals, and torps on the run, but did something the likes of which I’ve never seen since, early on, when he played on-ball.
God Said
June 22, 2011 by 7 Comments
Somewhere between last week’s snow, and this week’s constant rain, the hard, grey weather that floods or buries roads, God put his finger over our oval, leaving a blue sky that lasted six hours, and whispered “Bloody oath. Play.” There was no wind, no mud. Just cold air and sun getting in our eyes. Our [Read more]
The Most Beautiful Kicks
June 21, 2011 by 38 Comments
by Matt Zurbo The most beautiful kick I’ve ever seen on a football oval was a torpedo by Andrew Levi. The third most beautiful kick I’ve seen was a goal in a VFA/VFL Grand Final by Ian Rickman. His Williamstown were 42 points down at the start of the last quarter, then, [Read more]
Where Loyalty Starts
June 15, 2011 by 15 Comments
by Matt Zurbo What the hell is a GC? I tried explaining it to my nephew. He’s looking for a team to barrack for. Red and yellow are simple and bold. Good stuff. He’s young. A new life for a new club, I thought. But GC? “It’s a co-orperate emblem,” I said. “Hm, you [Read more]
Nicknames
June 8, 2011 by 39 Comments
Crazyhorse is still the best nickname I’ve ever heard on a footy field. The Galloping Gasometer was a close second. What was it about North Melbourne in the 70s? They were the Kangeroos, and had a gun ruck-rover called Tiger. Richmond had Disco, The Ghost, The General, Whoosha, Hungry, The Flea, who was damn tough. [Read more]
Sunday Sessions
June 3, 2011 by 5 Comments
Sunday Sesh’s are the best. There’s something lazy about them. Sloppy. All the gloss and polish of game day and Sat night has been belted off. We’re in a new player’s shed, in town, eating deer on a spit, either drinking slow, easy and constant, or going the hack. The Swans are playing the Hawks [Read more]
Losing Away
May 29, 2011 by 4 Comments
After being in front heading into the last, both seniors and reserves got rolled by good, tough rural teams. We’ll be pushing to make the five, damn it. If we were over-achieving, it would be fine, but it’s just not fun when we’re better than this. Or maybe we’re not. I’ve never met a scoreboard [Read more]
I trained them hard
May 27, 2011 by 2 Comments
Jesus, I trained those Juniors hard. They were a dead-set chance. At something that would affect them and their community and stay with them forever, like a tattoo for your heart. Sometimes, while training them hard, I’d tell them. I had never won a flag. Not in all those years. Then, my team made the [Read more]
Go Hard
May 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
We played at home this week, against the bottom side. Everybody says to everybody, always, “Don’t take them for granted!” and “It’s not just gunna happen,” and “Go hard!” but they say it without the fire in their eyes, then Saturday comes and they play without fire. Then, at half time, when the bottom side [Read more]
A history of football
May 22, 2011 by 1 Comment
A football career is a life. It is it’s own world, it has its own language, which you learn. It tests every emotion, builds character and breaks the weak. It has a birth, adolesence, maturity and, if done right, if seen through, a decline. In this decline you desperately try to pass your strength and [Read more]
What Makes a Footballer?
May 20, 2011 by 10 Comments
I can marvel at Judd. But barrack for Goodes. Voss was a Champion. Pike was a legend. Campbell Brown can be a goose. That’s why we love and hate him.
Desert Ovals
May 18, 2011 by 6 Comments
People go two ways over Easter. They lift the city off its foundations and dump it on the coast, or go to the footy. Especially footballers with the Easter bye. You can spot them in an Anzac Day crowd by the way they barrack. The AFL suporter will call: “Kick it, kick it, kick it!” [Read more]
A Good Mean Club Song.
May 16, 2011 by 5 Comments
Fengal rock up to play us. Their reserves have three men as old as me. At one stage, one of them fair bowls me over, then helps me up. “You’re my vintage.” he says. Later, I try to run through him, as he would me. In play, it’s all respect and fair.
Geoff Raines
May 11, 2011 by 3 Comments
Football Fact No. 1,000,000,002 Geoff Raines. Geoff Raines was the crispest player to ever pull on a boot. I don’t care that the father of Andrew was a pretty boy, or that the umps didn’t like him, or that he chased the dollar. Not a bit. In his days at Richmond he would take the [Read more]
Chris Judd v Football
May 2, 2011 by 1 Comment
Many players have pace. Even the AFL’s plodders are quick by any other league’s standards. Many of them can mark. Not just hold one, but squeeze that damn ball under hard physical pressure. Many of them can weave. Man, Brent Harvey can weave! Or get stats. Garry Jr, he can really rack ’em up. What [Read more]
Friday II
April 30, 2011 by 12 Comments
You ever wake up and think: what happened to the rest of the Clokes? Where’s Martin Pike these days? Damn, he was a gun! Seeing him line up on a pretty boy like Hird was a compliment to both of them, and football. How good would Darren Bewick have been if given one more year [Read more]
pig skin redemption
April 26, 2011 by 1 Comment
pig skin redemption god came to our footy club on a tuesday night. he wore jeans with work boots and a flannel top. he looked solid, like a farmer, when he stripped down and ran out. he did a few parlour tricks, or, what for him would have been parlour tricks, just to prove who [Read more]
The human element
April 26, 2011 by 13 Comments
Have you even noticed how most racists start their rant with: “I’m not racist, but…” Just as most commontators start with: “Now I don’t want to take all the colour out of the game, but…” This piece is for them… Goal Umpires and Video Calls Some time this year, as sure as Brisbane aren’t much [Read more]
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