Brent “Tiger” Crosswell, finals champion, is alleged once to have said, “Give me 80,000 people at the MCG and I was Hercules. Give me a grey day at the Western Oval and I wasn’t worth a cracker.” Reputations are made and broken over the next month of footy. Davis and Milne are under the microscope. Stevie [Read more]
Crio’s Question: Memories Requiring Few Words
August 23, 2010 by 133 Comments
Roosy, reflecting on his SCG career, nominated “Plugger’s point” and “Nick Davis’ goal” as especially memorable moments. I loved that so few words were enough to trigger memories. What other great games can be summarised so succinctly? crio
Crio’s Q: Best and worst games of 2010
August 17, 2010 by 11 Comments
I went to two widely contrasting matches this weekend. Saturday night’s debacle at the Docklands was so disappointing because it provided no contest. It was as though the Dogs already had excuses for losing and, when it got hard, they went home. For all of Geelong’s clinical brilliance, this was a forgettable outing that I [Read more]
Crio’s Question- Team Depth
August 9, 2010 by 20 Comments
Depth, and how it is exposed, is looming as a major shaper of this year’s finals. Injuries before and during matches are having enormous implications as coaches seek not only to exert their own strengths, but to expose perceived weaknesses in others’. All fans know the feeling…as Josh Hill was announced as a late replacement [Read more]
Crio’s Q: Geelong vs Collingwood
August 2, 2010 by 28 Comments
AFL will be abuzz this week with anticipation for the BLOCKBUSTER Cats and Pies match on Saturday night. The game is coined “Match of the Season”. Fair to say that these sides have delivered in the past. Is this the most important Home and Away game in years and will the result really have any [Read more]
crio’s Q… “around the grounds”
July 25, 2010 by 17 Comments
When I first grabbed a 2010 Fixture back in March it is fair to say that the Freo v Melb Subi twilighter in Round 16 escaped my focus. Yet, as the Demons launched an improbable fightback in the third quarter, I found myself riding their wave of momentum. And not for the romance. NO – [Read more]
Crio’s Q: Trigger Moments
July 18, 2010 by 56 Comments
Although Historians insist that matters are always more complicated, it is easier for us to declare a certain instance as the trigger for calamitous events – the shooting of Archduke Ferdinand as starting WW1 is a famous example. So, too, in sport. Warwick “The Wizz” Capper’s late goal at Princes Park put the full stop [Read more]
CRIO’s Q…whose time is up?
July 11, 2010 by 81 Comments
“Footy is a business” we are regularly reminded, but people are at its core. And their futures – hopes and dreams – are being decided right now, despite this season being months from its completion. Many of us have squirmed through the classic video “The Year of the Dogs” and will recall Libba’s name placed [Read more]
Crio’s Q: The All Australian Argument
July 6, 2010 by 39 Comments
by Chris Riordan Quite rightly it is oft repeated that footy is not an individual game, yet it is also true that great players are what we go to watch. Although from year to year I could not recite the All-Australian team, it can be an interesting source of discussion at around this stage of [Read more]
Growing another leg
June 28, 2010 by 20 Comments
Uncharacteristically, the Almanac racing preview threw up a winner on Saturday… “I’ll just be taking a little Quadrella at Flemington, coming home with Mt Gambier’s 9 y.o. evergreen, Riceman. His Slow form is only “middling”, but he’s won 6 on the Heavy and, in his backyard, they know what a real gluepot is!” Riceman, formerly [Read more]
Crio’s Q: Who are our favourite flairs?
June 22, 2010 by 23 Comments
by Chris Riordan Flairs are always in fashion! Almanac legend Gigs runs a popular Ladderist comp, the gist of which is to forecast the AFL teams’ order at season’s end. This can be very difficult. My dilemma this year was exemplified by a form-frustrated declaration that “only 5 teams can make the 8!” The identity [Read more]
Crio’s Q: yo me frio o lo sophlo?
June 14, 2010 by 19 Comments
The Clash voiced a quandary faced by all sports fans at various times…”Should I stay or should I go now?” Channel Ten commentators on Saturday night noted that, despite the breathtaking Geelong clinic taking place, about half of the crowd had left – big trek to Essendon! – before the final siren. I hope that [Read more]
Crio’s Question: Confounded Sporting Expectations
June 7, 2010 by 7 Comments
To go down “like a lead balloon” is vernacular for an underwhelming performance…deflating.* What should have been a fairytale moment for Sam Stosur seemed very quickly to become a “given” – an expectation that she, on Australia’s behalf, would win. The loss was greeted with incredulity. What in previews would have been gauged a triumph [Read more]
Crio’s Question
May 31, 2010 by 34 Comments
Like Sergei Bubka, the Hawks seem to have again marginally broken their own record. Was their jumper against Sydney the worst of their many fashion crimes – beginning with the Club ‘s colours – and do they hold the mantle of worst sports uniform? Broadening the debate, I propose that Melbourne Victory’s home shirt is [Read more]
Crio’s Question: A mid-season draft anyone?
May 24, 2010 by 28 Comments
In recent years there have been rumblings for a mid-season draft. I don’t know what form it should take, but most supporters would have a dump and a wish list for their side. I watched Brisbane, for example, and reckon that Luke Power has lost his bite and could be headed for the scrap heap. [Read more]
Crio’s Question: Talent spotting
May 17, 2010 by 32 Comments
We all love to claim being first to spot a talent – it’s part of being a sporting genius! It is why people take feature doubles and is, I am told, a key component in Dreamteam success. My old man backed Galilee when it won its maiden at Gawler. He then stayed “on board” throughout [Read more]
Crio’s Q: What are the list management hits and misses of the season so far?
May 10, 2010 by 16 Comments
by Chris Riordan It is a good stage of the season to evaluate how each club has fared in “list management” for 2010. During the NAB Cup there was hysterical support for the Doggies’ Hall recruitment. By Round 3 the additions of Fev and Bradshaw were seen as master strokes by Brissie and Sydney. As [Read more]
Crio’s Question: Sporting truisms
May 3, 2010 by 15 Comments
My old mate Rooster always chuckled when recalling an exasperated coach’s ¾ time “team talk”. “I’ve got only one thing to say to youse blokes”, he barked at the Alexandra Reserves, “and that’s nuthin’”. Its much more fun when coaches avoid the “one week at a time” drivel and offer something from the heart. Last [Read more]
Crio’s Question: What are your sports forecasting rules?
April 27, 2010 by 22 Comments
As this weekend’s results attest, punting and picking winners are tough tasks. To simplify the predicament we look for trends, adages, even superstitions. My 2010 theory (at the moment) involves laying teams the week after they’ve played the Dogs. The Pies fell in by a point v Dees but it is otherwise effective! Past advice [Read more]
Crio’s Q: How do the awful sides of the past stack up to today’s Tigers
April 19, 2010 by 18 Comments
by Chris Riordan Sunday’s MCG shellacking seems to have confirmed pundits’ suspicions that Richmand are easily the worst team in the comp and, with expansion concessions in place, their future is dire. This is the Club, remember, that Oracle Sheeds suggested was ready for a Flag last year! But they are crap. Let’s celebrate this [Read more]
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