Almanac (International) Footy: Sherrins in Saigon – the inaugural 2024 Asia Cup

Rob Spurr is an AFL Asia Advisory Board member and he reports on the inaugural 2024 AFL Asia Cup in Saigon.

Almanac Travel: Pink lakes and mounted Land Rovers – a driving guide to Gather Round

As a seasoned traveller to South Australia, Rob Spurr provides from some travelling tips for those making the journey across for the Gather Round matches.

Almanac (International) Footy: Diversity on show – Profiles from the 2022 AFL Asian Championships

Rob Spurr reports on the recently held 2022 AFL Asian Championships held in Bangkok. As a tournament, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger!

Almanac Autographs: Signature moments

Rob Spurr goes through memory lane after discovering his old dusty brown autograph book and shares a few back stories behind them. Including one with Manchester United Legend Denis Law. Kids these days do not know how hard it was to get the elusive scribble back in the day.

Almanac Travel: Midnight Distress

Rob Spurr, like many before him, and since, donned his backpack for a rites of passage grand tour of Europe. Along the way he encountered many adventures and escapades as he recounts in his story.

Almanac (International) Football – Andi Dyah: Indonesia’s First Footballer

Rob Spurr brings us the inspiring story of Andi Dyah, ‘Indonesia’s first footballer’, aid worker and humanitarian. From humble beginnings in West Java in the late 90s, Andi’s dedication and determination saw footy grow to the point where Indonesia played in the AFL International Cup less than 20 years later. (Remarkable, totally inspiring – Ed.)

Almanac Life: Our Winter Family

Rob Spurr takes a nostalgic look back to his early days supporting Carlton at Princes Park with family and friends.

Almanac Soccer: The 6 minute game

Back in 2004, Rob Spurr was having the happiest day of his life. Then he decided to go watch a star-studded Real Madrid play, and things took a most unexpected turn.

Maradona and the bird

Rob Spurr shares a story of Diego Maradona’s extraordinary ability to change the atmosphere of a stadium and influence a grand slam winner in his prime, punctuated by dishing out “the bird” to an Australian fan on a fevered whim. [Stupendous but not entirely surprising – Ed.]

Leading from the front: Neil Thompson’s journey

Neil ‘Thommo’ Thompson has a remarkable life story, ranging from over 20 footy clubs (12 of them being guided to flags by Neil) and a few harrowing tales of the Bali bombings and UN involvements. Rob Spurr has been lucky enough to know ‘Thommo’, and has produced a wonderful recount of ‘Thommo’s’ many tribulations [a must-read, this is an amazing story – Ed].

Almanac Life: How to establish footy on a continent (in three parts)

Rob Spurr tells the story of Australian football in Chile and across the South American continent. [Great yarn – JTH]