by Tony Robb Along with the increasing use of the check side, banana, lay it off your boot techniques employed by the modern day footballer to disguise his ineptitude kicking with their opposite foot, there has emerged another insidious trend that his penetrating the very core of footie. I refer to the use of the [Read more]
Close Encounters
March 30, 2010 by Leave a Comment
By Darren Smith Sydney Airport – Round 1 Eve It wasn’t meant to be like this. We were on a break. My heart had been broken. That was six months ago when I decided that I could no longer commit the necessary effort and dedication. I had turned my back. As with many chance encounters [Read more]
The View from Shepparton – Round 1: Hall not so scary but Magpies are!
March 29, 2010 by 1 Comment
by Peter Schumacher At last the phoney footy is over, the real season has started. For Richmond barrackers it must have seemed like a continuation of the long cold endless winters of old, except of course on this occasion it was very warm. For the Tiges though, and indeed all of those who finished second [Read more]
Round 1 – Footscray v Collingwood: Magpies win but Jack fudges up
March 29, 2010 by 19 Comments
by Dannie Eid Ahh, finally I get to see my men in black and white show me their stuff as a possible foreshadowing of the rest of 2010, the year of Scott Pendlebury. Big Bad Barry has the first shot on goal, turns out to be a shocker, pheww! Daisy whacks the first goal of [Read more]
An Open Letter To Gazza
March 27, 2010 by 13 Comments
Gary let me start by saying I am a Geelong supporter so I am obviously going to tell you not to go to Queensland. But I would appreciate it if you could take a minute to read my reasons, many of which are, I think, compelling. 1 – Queensland is higher up than Victoria (as [Read more]
Richo
March 27, 2010 by 4 Comments
By Tim Pekin “Bloody Richo”, growls Nick, rising to his feet. Followed immediately by “YOU ARE A GOOSE”, yelled at the top of his lungs. Each word is clear and coherent. If he doesn’t hear that, thinks Nick, resuming his seat, he really is a goose. Richo looks up, then down, and once more up [Read more]
AFL: What’s your team’s election day approval rating
March 27, 2010 by 8 Comments
by Michael Rees Following the state elections in South Australia & Tasmania last weekend and the commencement of the “faux” campaign earlier this week with Rudd & Abbott debating the issue of health care, speculation is rife that a July/August federal election is a distinct possibility. This would result in Australians voting in a “Winter” [Read more]
Footy: From a distance
March 25, 2010 by 6 Comments
by Pamela Sherpa Wednesday 24th March, 2010 I love my seasons . Swimming all summer long in Lake Jindabyne . Absorbing the last rays of sunshine and feeling that nip in the evening air in autumn. The weather is changing and I sense a change- the football season is on the way.
The Welcome Back Wrap
March 24, 2010 by 6 Comments
For the Philosophical Marngrook Follower What an off-season it’s been in Footy Eddie. Lots of juicy stuff for the Yellow Press. The real season can’t come quick enough for True Lovers of THE GAME. The Wrap end of September ladder is the traditional feature of this 1st issue after the withdrawal of the Long Dark [Read more]
Local Footy Flashback: Bendigo FL – Round 1, 1960
March 23, 2010 by 5 Comments
FIFTY YEARS AGO IN THE B.F.L. — ROUND ONE, 1960 by Richard Jones TWO close finishes highlighted the opening round in the BFL half a century ago, a time when life was much simpler and less hectic.
View from Shepparton: Waking up from a nightmare
March 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment
by Peter Schumacher I am awakening from the long summer slumber to find out that it is only four sleeps to the opening game, or at least I think that is right. Whilst I was asleep I am sure that there was some nightmare about some delicious looking female who lost her bloke, the apparent [Read more]
AFL Season Preview: North heading in the right direction
March 23, 2010 by 1 Comment
by Andrew Starkie I’m lying in the shade on the hill in the Uncle Allan Pocket (named after the great man who first took me as a child to Arden Street). The sparkling new facilities are opposite and young players are jogging slow laps and slotting through banana goals with bright, new balls. A sausage [Read more]
Crio’s Question: What’s your favourite ‘brilliant debut’ memory?
March 22, 2010 by 55 Comments
by Chris Riordan One of the real joys of Round One is the unveiling of a new star (or sometimes an old one in a new position). Which of Melbourne’s young tyros will seize the “rising star” mantle or do you have a smokey for the opening game? Remember Mitch Robinson last year? It’s time [Read more]
Doggies can deservedly dare to dream
March 22, 2010 by 4 Comments
by John Harms 2010.3.15 It’s Sunday night. Kids are asleep. I’m doing a bit of financial planning. I’m sitting here sitting here with a glass of red, one eye on the Premier League Darts, and the other on the Betfair AFL premiership market. The Western Bulldogs have been backed from $6.40 before the NAB Cup [Read more]
Link: The Horror! The Horror! Or Heaven on Earth?
March 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment
This week, Billy Miller ventures into the belly of the beast (so to speak). Yes folks, the spiritual home of the Coventrys, Jock McHale, cold showers and more phlegm than a spittoon. Come on down Victoria Park! http://www.aroundthegrounds.bellestorie.com/victoria/victoria.html
Speech: D.J. Carey and the ‘craic’
March 19, 2010 by 5 Comments
This is an edited version of a speech given by Paul Daffey to Melbourne’s Irish History Circle at the Celtic Club in February 2010. I stand before you in the GAA jersey of Kilkenny, one of the combined 32 counties of the Republic and the North, all of whom contest the annual All-Ireland Championship in [Read more]
Middle East AFL Grand Final preview: Abu Dhabi won’t be able to stand the Heat
March 17, 2010 by 8 Comments
by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rocket Grand finals, anywhere, at any level, arouse passion and excitement. The second-ever Middle East AFL grand final will be no exception. However, the unbeaten Dubai Heat will go into Friday’s premiership decider against Abu Dhabi as raging hot favourites to win their second successive title despite beating their grand final [Read more]
Footy on the Tiwi Islands
March 16, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Viewers of ABC TV last weekend may might have caught a glimpse of the Tiwi Islands Grand Final. For a more revealing insight into what footy is like 80km north of Darwin, listen to Simon Munkara and Courtney Johns discuss their experiences on ABC Radio’s Bush Telegraph program. Click on the link below and then [Read more]
Obituary: An untimely end to a Sporting Life
March 16, 2010 by 5 Comments
by Andrew Gigacz Visitors to these pages who are regular readers of the Age will be saddened to hear of the passing of the stalwart of that paper’s Sporting Life column, Geoff McClure. Geoff died yesterday, aged just 59, after a long struggle with cancer. For those of you out there looking to find someone [Read more]
1 out of 4 quarters won; enough for the Cats, but not the Tigers
March 14, 2010 by 4 Comments
By Domenic Favata Premiers Geelong have not been at there usual peak during the pre-season. The talk of the ‘premiers’ tag was beginning to sway to the more favourable dogs and saints. Geelong came up against a young Fremantle outfit, knowing that they still have what it takes to win another premiership and that this [Read more]
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