Where Life Imitates Sport What a round it’s been in Footy Eddie. The Hawks bow out once and for all and Adelaide book their place on the starting grid for September 2009. THE TIGERS cost another coach his career as The Mighty Magpies leap into thirds spot on The Table for a crack at Geelong [Read more]
View From Palm Cove: Queensland setting inspires dreams of Lions surge despite loss to Bulldogs
August 17, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Still at Palm Cove, what a great place, have been spurred to ask why anyone would want to live in cold old drought-stricken South Eastern Australia when one could be living up here. Unfortunately there is the small issue of finances …
General Footy Writing: An open letter to Neil Craig (after a slap to the editors)
August 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment
John Kingsmill On the City of Churches, Adelaide Pubs, Why Neil Craig is Obstinate, and How the Adelaide Fans Have Got It Wrong for Five Long Years PREAMBLE First, more things Footy Almanac readers don’t need to know. Or perhaps they do. Not colonised by convicts but by free settlers, South Australia offered another attraction [Read more]
General Footy Writing: It would gladden my heart to see an AFL club in western Sydney
August 16, 2009 by 6 Comments
I am a major advocate for an AFL team in western Sydney. I believe that it will ultimately be very successful – but it will take a long time and a concerted effort by the AFL and its fellow travellers to make it work. I’ve been involved in the promotion and development of football in [Read more]
General Footy Writing: Bells are ringing in City of Churches
August 14, 2009 by 11 Comments
On warbling magpies, Adelaide’s wheels, Didak’s revenge, Burton’s orthodoxy and Port’s head jobs … JOHN KINGSMILL Here are some things you don’t need to know. If you hear magpies warbling at 3am, it’s the female of the species on heat. She’s saying that she’s fed and fat and ready to propagate the species. The warble [Read more]
The Pre-Wrap: Benny G appointment signals glimmer of light at end of Tigers tunnel
August 14, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Where Life Imitates Football What a week it’s been in Footy Eddie. The changing of the guard at THE TIGER DEN has begun as Benny Gale comes home to PUNT ROAD. With new facilities and a new attitude, TLSPRF catch glimmers of light peeking out from the edges of the storm clouds. The maudlin fairground [Read more]
General Footy Writing: Collingwood for premiers; it’s written in the stars
August 12, 2009 by 9 Comments
TAURUS: Horoscope – August 12, 2009 Today you might have some important phone calls which you want to make, Danni, and you’ll want to get them out of the way before doing anything else, no matter what it is. You’ll definitely get your message across today, as your communicative abilities are very strong. Words combine [Read more]
General Footy Writing: Last-finishing Roys remind us that it’d be good just to be able to finish last
August 12, 2009 by 4 Comments
When your AFL club no longer exists – at least in its original form – there are plenty of ‘lasts’ left to ponder. The last player left in the comp to wear a Roys jersey, Brisbane’s Chris Johnson, hung up his boots in 2007. And on Monday, another direct link with Fitzroy’s rich history ended [Read more]
General Footy Writing: Do you hear the people meters sing?
August 12, 2009 by 5 Comments
By Tony Wilson Does anyone feel like storming the Bastille with me? Honestly, I’m up for it. We’d meet at Parliament House, say hello to all the principled protesters like the anti-desalination plant mob and the protect-old-growth-forests lot, and then walk down Bourke Street arm-in-arm, chanting, ‘Hey hey, ho ho, a team in West Sydney [Read more]
Crio’s Question: What is the Grand Final you dread?
August 11, 2009 by 11 Comments
This has been a terrific season for AFL fans in Victoria, with sensational games between Victorian opponents regularly packing the grounds. But there may be a price to pay if two Victorian teams make the Grand Final. As difficult as some find it to believe, for many of us it is less stressful if Brisbane, [Read more]
View From Shepparton: My worst fear is that the Pies will win the flag
August 11, 2009 by 3 Comments
This week The View comes via sunny Palm Cove in Far North Queensland. Collingwood are definitely the big winners, Port Adelaide the big losers (again).
The Wrap: Serious questions about Cats after topsy-turvy round
August 10, 2009 by Leave a Comment
What a round it’s been in Footy Eddie. The Bluebaggers asked some serious questions of The Sleepy Hollow Pradas’ credentials to contest the September Challenge Rounds. The Scraggers have a Dog Day Afternoon as they kick themselves into Limbo against The West Coast Eagles. Over in Van Diemens Land an undermanned TTTBFTF removed any doubts [Read more]
Last rites: What a day. And tomorrow I’m getting married!
August 8, 2009 by 2 Comments
Ben Santamaria What a 24 hours! More ups and downs than a pogo-stick convention. A snapshot of my day: 2pm Thursday: A single-man living in a shared house in Fulham, London. 5pm Thursday: Collected the keys to my new house and hung the first painting on the wall. 8pm Thursday: Caught in a torrential downpour [Read more]
The Pre-Wrap: Backhanders still fly after all these years
August 7, 2009 by Leave a Comment
What a week it’s been in Footy Eddie. And let’s nail this tanking issue once and for all. We’ve had the archival staff going through the Rules & Amendments as far back as 1857 and can find nothing that says you’re not allowed to cheat. Get caught and you’re in trouble. Ask them around at [Read more]
Local Footy: The day that Welcome Advice saved Bushpig coach’s honeymoon
August 6, 2009 by 27 Comments
The Rivcoll Bushpigs, the club from the old Riverina College of Advanced Education (now Charles Sturt Uni) in Wagga, enjoy such a reputation as a social club that their opposition in this Saturday’s Farrer League fixture, the Northern Jets, is holding a get-together at the Bushpigs’ annual Old Bores Day.
General Footy Writing: Life is confusing when you’re a Cat at the Cattery and you’re barracking for the Crows
August 6, 2009 by 4 Comments
By Bob Utber I need to speak to Mr John Harms. I think that with his understanding of life he is the only one who can sort me out. I went to the president’s lunch at the Cattery last Saturday as a guest of the former mayor of Geelong, Bruce Harwood. Nothing odd in that, [Read more]
View From Shepparton: I’m glad Voss emphasised Lions’ first half rather than second
August 5, 2009 by Leave a Comment
I couldn’t bring myself to put my mind to this stuff earlier as I was so distressed, horrified, mortified, by our second-term fade-out against Collingwood. I was so happy at half-time. The birds were singing, well they would have been had it been day time, Brisbane were looking great, Brown was on fire although he [Read more]
Top 10: Australian footballers who excelled in other sports
August 4, 2009 by 40 Comments
By Damian Watson With the recent news of Brisbane Bronco and State Of Origin representative Karmichael Hunt making a shock transition from the NRL into the new Gold Coast side in the AFL, I decided to take a look back and count down the best 10 senior footballers who excelled in other codes.
General Footy Writing: Danihers biography taps into a sentimental yearning for the past
August 4, 2009 by 2 Comments
By Adam McNicol The back cover of The Danihers contains a quote from Kevin Sheedy. “They say nostalgia is the most powerful drug in the universe. If so, this book should be banned.” Sheeds might have been off-target with his effort to win the coaching position at Richmond, but in this case he’s spot on. [Read more]
Crio’s Question: Novel premiership odds depend on how you define St Kilda strip
August 4, 2009 by 11 Comments
The Irish betting organisation Paddy Power is best known in Australia for its novel approach to gaming, such as when it called for punters in 2008 to bet on the name of Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman’s then unborn child. Their slogan is prominent on the sideboards at EPL matches. Having now bought out Sportsbet, [Read more]
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