Peter Leneghan wrote this five years ago. Worth having a look at in the light of the recent northern Victorian country footy survey and report.
Horsham Demons vs The Flood
Peter Leneghan looks at the dominance of the Horsham Demons in the Wimmera on the ABC site. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/08/3005580.htm
Book Review: Get Her Off The Pitch!
Book: Get Her Off The Pitch! Author: Lynn Truss Publisher: Harper Collins, Melbourne, 2009 $27.99 Reviewer: Peter Lenaghan On the surface, this is a pithy, humorous and well-told story about an artsy journalist being thrown head-first into an almost entirely unfamiliar world of professional sport. Looking deeper, it is an exploration of identity, gender and [Read more]
Bendigo Easter
Wednesday 7 April 2010 There are bats living in Bendigo’s beautiful Rosalind Park. Grey-headed flying foxes, to be precise. Their arrival is the most preposterously unlikely thing to happen in the city since Phil Carman joined the local umpires’ association. Apparently, the heavy rainfall and storms up in Queensland and New South Wales sent the [Read more]
Gaelic football: Farewell to a legend of the game
Sixteen championship seasons, six All-Ireland medals, four National League titles and three All-Star selections. No wonder the Irish sporting public is in mourning. Gaelic football has lost one of its greats. Darragh Ó Sé (pronounced O’Shea) made the announcement this week on the national Irish language radio station, Raidió na Gaeltachta, during an interview with [Read more]
Footy and Gaelic football: Irish gnash teeth on introduction of the mark
Monday, 25 January 2010 Depending on who you listen to, it will either bring some beauty back to the game and revive a much-loved skill, or be “an unmitigated disaster” that will rob the code of its identity. “Hands in the back!”, “deliberate!” and “30 seconds!” are all reasonably recent additions to the AFL supporter’s [Read more]
Akmal’s nightmare sparks memories of dreadful day at Spring Gully
by Peter Lenaghan Pakistan’s wicketkeeper, Kamran Akmal, described it as a “scary dream”. Three dropped catches off the bowling of the leg spinner, Danish Kaneria. All from the bat of the century maker, Michael Hussey. All while keeping up to the stumps. All in front of a big crowd at the magnificent old Sydney Cricket [Read more]
Ireland Correspondent: Saints’ new Irishman likened to big Cat
By Peter Lenaghan The speculation chased Tommy Walsh for the best part of two years, across Ireland, all the way to Australia and back home to County Kerry. Each month a story would appear in the Irish press and headlines would declare that the imposing and gifted youngster was “considering a deal” or “on the [Read more]
Ireland Correspondent: Kennelly a very happy man after earning unique double through Kerry triumph
By Peter Lenaghan The son returned to the Kingdom. He was welcomed home. He gathered up the strands of a life he’d put on hold a decade earlier. He joined the famous county football team in which his father had made the family’s name. He battled for recognition and form in an ageing and divided [Read more]
Ireland Correspondent: The toy leprechaun can go back on the shelf
By Peter Lenaghan It is a dilemma that I have been wrestling with for weeks. Our time in Ireland is drawing to a close and I need a souvenir. In stores across the island there are enough tacky postcards, fridge magnets, flat caps, toy leprechauns and T-shirts and trinkets advertising a certain black beverage to [Read more]
Ireland Correspondent: Hurling fans the winners as Plan B swings into action after All-Ireland final
By Peter Lenaghan They asked politely. They gave everyone plenty of notice. They explained why it was necessary. They even promised a fireworks display. They were wise enough to have a back-up plan. The first breach of the orange-clad security barrier seemed to come at the bottom of Hill 16, soon after Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling [Read more]
Ireland Correspondent: Kennelly stars in ill-starred final
By Peter Lenaghan There are five minutes to go in the second All-Ireland football semi final. Emily and I are watching the game in a south Dublin bar, but we are distracted by a bowl of hot chips and the rain tumbling down outside. In truth, the game lost our attention a while ago.
Ireland Correspondent: Race for cherished title nears full bloom
By Peter Lenaghan It is an important time for the Irish community. Its fabled, passionately followed competition, celebrating a milestone this year, is reaching its annual climax. Months of hard work and preparation have been devoted to a shot at glory. Weaker challengers have fallen by the wayside. Bookmakers are setting odds and holding vast [Read more]
Ireland Correspondent: Tipp top Greens on blue day for Limerick fans
By Peter Lenaghan The gags start flowing from the Limerick fans’ mouths after 20 minutes and three conceded goals. “Oh, congratulations,” one yells at the players wearing green, as another attempted score sails off target. “We’re now in front by four wides.” When Gavin O’Mahony finally puts the ball over the bar for Limerick, another [Read more]
Ireland Correspondent: Cahill leaves stamp on lacklustre friendly in Limerick
By Peter Lenaghan The crowd’s response tells you a lot about a game of soccer, and the atmosphere inside a Dublin pub is as flat as it sounds at Limerick’s Thomond Park. It is all Tim Cahill’s fault, and the locals seem genuinely shocked. The small group of Australians around us can only smile and [Read more]
Ireland Correspondent: Clouds gather over future of Ireland-Australia hybrid series
By Peter Lenaghan Ireland’s weather bureau has confirmed that last month was the wettest July on record for the Dublin area. Day after day, and often several times a day, clouds rolled in across the country from the Atlantic Ocean and rain tumbled down in short, sharp bursts. About 150 millimetres of precipitation sent those [Read more]
Ireland Correspondent: Kennelly subdued as mighty Kerry takes on tiny Antrim
By Peter Lenaghan Kerry is Gaelic football’s undisputed powerhouse. Its dominance goes back to early last century and includes several eras of domination. The county’s distinctive green shirts with a gold band across the middle are admired and feared. The Kingdom, as County Kerry is known, has won 35 All-Ireland football titles. The list of [Read more]
Irish news: Australian footy comp growing in Ireland
by Peter Lenaghan Wednesday 8 July 2009 As increasing numbers of young Irishmen move across the world to try to make their fortune in the AFL, Peter Lenaghan looks at the Australian game’s continuing struggle to establish itself on the Emerald Isle. It is quarter time in the Australian Rules Football League of Ireland [Read more]
Irish news: Ricky Nixon kicks tyres in the Emerald Isle
by Peter Lenaghan For the past three weeks, Australian Rules football has been prime-time television viewing on the emerald isle. The focus? Not St Kilda’s outstanding form, or Jimmy Stynes’s cancer battle, nor the many suitors trying to woo Nathan Buckley. Instead, a documentary team has told the story of the young jewels [Read more]
Ireland Correspondent: Gloom lifts over Dublin while sun shines on Cardiff
By Peter Lenaghan Stop writing the eulogies, call off the undertaker, and tell the doctors they can devote themselves to reviving the ailing economy – Gaelic football has taken a turn for the good and its health is improving as the wet Irish summer drags on. The rain was falling on Sunday afternoon when I [Read more]
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