Who’s Lie’n

Many moons ago the Phantom cave was hidden away in a quiet little apple and rhododendron growing valley at Lalla – between Karoola and Lilydale (Turbo Zurbo country) in deep dark north eastern Tasmania.   All was well at this time of recent peace in the early nineteen fifties and The Phantom who had recently [Read more]

We are not America

I read with much disinterest over the weekend of the proposed concept of an East vs West representative match in 2014. Come on people, we live in Australia not America. The concept was the ‘brainchild’ of the players I am led to believe so perhaps I’m just out of touch with the modern era. I [Read more]

1980 A Personal Footy Almanac – Round 20, Saturday 16 August, v Melbourne, MCG

It’s three-quarter time and the seats around us are emptying rapidly. No, the game isn’t all over. Indeed, lowly Melbourne is only 4 goals down in a high-scoring affair and with Steven Smith causing our defence all sorts of problems, it doesn’t look like they’re going to lie down easily in the final stanza. No, this [Read more]

Are Saints fans still happy?

I’ve been thinking about Scott Rankin of late. Scott penned this classic piece for the site in May after the Saints had posted wins over Carlton and Sydney with some electrifying football. He described the win over Sydney as “exquisite chaos”. “It was EXHILIRATING football. We played with flair, speed, guile and fervour.” You would [Read more]

The 2012 ‘Mopsy’ Fraser Cup – Round Twenty

Greetings Tipsters Hunkered down on the couch to watch the rematch of the Schoolies and the Barbecues, we were informed that it came from some place known as Metricon Stadium and I said “What the hell is a Metricon?” It came to me all at once, with great thuds of earth shaking import, 400 feet [Read more]

Let them tank

We’ve heard of tanking over recent years and started to hear a lot more of it lately as it’s started to be raised again as a big problem and everyone’s been saying their bit trying to come up with a solution. The AFL has come out trying to be all flair and nostrils by ‘launching [Read more]

View from Shepparton

I don’t know when it happened but during the last  fortnight my long standing antipathy to all things English gradually dissipated and as they had success after success in that second week of the Olympic Games I found myself thinking, “Well good luck to you, you deserve all that you have achieved and more”. In [Read more]

Just for kicks

The weekend before last, in Round 17 of the Northern Tasmanian Football League, a player was reported and red carded for kicking a player to the head while he was on the ground. The two umpires who separately reported the player informally described the incident as a ten out of ten for gravity – the [Read more]

Olympic objectivity, deliberate or otherwise

The Olympics can draw out many emotions, but to me this year, I actually found them to be… ‘strangely refreshing’. I took a bit longer than normal to get warmed up for the games this time. Perhaps it was because I went to Sydney and to the Vancouver Winter games, whereas this was always just [Read more]

The Wrap Round XX

THE WRAP – ROUND XX – WHERE LIFE IMITATES FOOTBALL And what a round it’s been in Footy Eddie.  On Friday night The Weagles did a Hawthorn on The Cats; the difference being that they regained the lead to beat a Gallant but undermanned Geelong side. The Olympics settled down for you after the swimmers [Read more]

‘People and Memories’ Part 2

Ian Gust – Carlton FC ‘Football was a means for me to become an assimilated Australian. Coming from a European background with parents speaking with accents, we were considered exotic. Football gave me a common language and links with people who’d usually consider me a foreigner.’   Medical virologist, Professor Ian ‘Gusty’ Gust (AO), sits [Read more]

Victoria uber alles

With the revenue from the most recent media deal the AFL distributes an equal amount of money to each of the clubs and then beyond that there is a special fund to be distributed over 2012-14 and be invested into ‘specific initiatives’ (read handouts) for a selected number of clubs. Western Bulldogs $7m and North [Read more]

No Swanning around

If footy players had ‘babysitters’ would they get into any of the trouble they do? I’m not saying that footy players are immature…although some of them…. Coco Chanel once said “As long as you know men are like children, you know everything.” So maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for us supporters to take shifts [Read more]

The Pre-Wrap – Round XX

FOR THE PHILOSOPHICAL MARNGROOK FAN What a week it’s been in Footy Eddie.  Brad Green has followed Brad Miller, Cameron Bruce, Brock Mclean & James McDonald out the door at Melbourne.  You’ve been a Loyal Servant of The Club Brad, and you’ve given us some great moments.  After the monstering you and your teammates received [Read more]

Pulling on the boots

By Scott Elliott This weekend I will be playing footy with the Port Fairy ressies side with my brother Drew. It is the first time I have played with him in the same side for 13 years. Both of our wives are rolling their eyes and waiting in anticipation for us to start moaning and [Read more]

1980 A Personal Footy Almanac – Round 19, Saturday 9 August, v Carlton, Princes Park

One of the particular joys of watching the Reserves back in these times was seeing veteran players dropping back to the “twos” to lend guidance and experience to the next generation. This tradition allowed such players to go out on their terms, usually with far more grace and dignity than the rapid exits and hastily [Read more]

Hurry up Travis, Shutup media

Travis Cloke this and Travis Cloke that! Seriously Travis just sign or leave its not that hard, stay with us and play finals or leave and get more money. Make your choice and put us all out of our misery already! Danielle EidIm 23, cute and most importantly im the Collingwood Football Club’s very own [Read more]

‘People and Memories’, part 1

Everyone has a story to tell and I love hearing about people’s footy journeys.  Why they support their teams; about their heroes; the triumphs and heartaches; how they maintain hope during dark times; who has accompanied them on their journey; and, if they’re older, about life ‘back in the day’.  This season I’ve had the [Read more]

The View from Shepparton – Olympics Special

Tried to find the source of the quote, “Getting old is not for the faint hearted” but apart from finding a qualification, “neither is the alternative” , the best that I could come up with is “as the old man said”. Not very satisfactory I must confess. And what is the link with sport?.I have [Read more]

The people’s guernseys

What the hell happened to guernseys? When did we stray into this nether world of ‘clash’? Why, oh why, do we have to imperil our optic nerves with these explosions of offensive colours and corporate images? The curmudgeon within me is riled up people. We seriously need to start formalising the resistance to the clash [Read more]