By Peter Schumacher I reckon the the games in Sydney and Adelaide prove that footy is the best code of all. A few years ago Kevin Sheedy asked why people would be bothered watching a game where one or two goals might be scored when they could watch our game and see many goals being [Read more]
Weekend Memoir: Round the grounds
May 16, 2009 by 7 Comments
by John Harms During the past week the scheduling of AFL matches has been a topic of discussion. Monday night’s match between Collingwood and St Kilda, despite being an ordinary game, seems to have been a reasonably successful experiment. However many feel that football has hijacked yet another day of the week. Spreading [Read more]
Weekend read: John ‘Pa’ O’Keeffe – a true football person
May 15, 2009 by 4 Comments
by Patrick O’Keeffe Pa taught me how to kick a stab pass, torpedo and drop kick. I think that I might have been about 6 or 7 at the time. I remember it being an overcast day, in a park not too far from Glenelg Oval. I was eager to impress my grandfather. Unfortunately [Read more]
Jones files: After sixty years, I’m still yelling for the Pivots
May 15, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Richard Jones GROWING up in Geelong in the late 1940s and early 1950s there was no way I could have been anything but a supporter of the Hooped Marvels. My father was a Welshman who had migrated to Australia in the mid-1920s, ostensibly to escape possible employment in the coalmines of south Wales. So [Read more]
Middle East Correspondent: Branch’s grassroots work honoured by Sydney clubs
May 14, 2009 by 1 Comment
by Rocket Gillett There has been a proliferation of cups and medals and even sporting venues and facilities named in honour of former club heroes or officials in recent years. I reckon that has been a good thing. It’s great to see people recognised for their contribution to the game. Personally I like to [Read more]
AFL Round 7: The View From Shepparton
May 13, 2009 by Leave a Comment
by Peter Schumacher What The View wonders about at the end round 7 is how Neil Craig maintains his popularity in Adelaide. The Crows haven’t really done anything much during his tenure, and once again lost at home to a team that had had 3 successive losses. What with Mick and Terry increasingly appearing to [Read more]
General footy writing: My All-Australian team so far
May 10, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Josh Barnstable With one-third of the AFL season gone, there have been many surprises. Some players have exceeded expectations while others have been disappointing. If the All-Australian team was to be picked today, this would be my team: Back: Sam Fisher (StK) Zac Dawson (StK) Josh Drummond (B). Half-back: Brendon Goddard (StK) Chad Cornes [Read more]
General footy writing: Chelsea’s pain is small fry for a Bulldogs fan
May 8, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Andrew Gigacz I’m not a big follower of soccer but I’m aware of the controversy surrounding Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Conspiracy theorists say the referee was “encouraged” to assist in avoiding a second successive all-English final. Chelsea players, officials and fans clearly were in pain after getting [Read more]
Weekend read: The money game
May 8, 2009 by 6 Comments
By Paul Daffey Amid all the talk about overcoming injury, flying for the big mark and striving for the premiership, it is sometimes forgotten that football clubs need money to survive. In larger country competitions, they need lots of money. There are player payments, affiliation fees, hot showers and new footballs to provide. In recent [Read more]
General footy writing: How a boy earned his Hawthorn stripes
May 8, 2009 by 2 Comments
By Jason Christou Grand Final day 1989. Cross-legged under the television. Before me, a glass of chilled milk. I watched the condensation dribble down the glass, pooling into a moist ring. Expectantly, I tilted my head towards the television fuzz. A week earlier Mum had helped me attach streamers to the balcony barrier. My team’s [Read more]
Great days at East Freo
May 6, 2009 by 2 Comments
by Bruce Houston As a ‘past player’ of East Freo I receive their regular mag. I was looking at it on the weekend and thought I must send you a list of EF players in the AFL. Surely, no other individual club could match it. I’d be pretty confident that EF would still hold [Read more]
Bulldogs fan in familiar anguish
May 6, 2009 by Leave a Comment
By Chris Riordan “Dad, they’re not going to win with only twelve players. You’ve sacked most of the side already!” Not yet quarter-time and, according to my footy buddy, I’d gone all “Phillip Lynch” on the Doggies’ list. “Eagleton, must go. Johnno, leave while you still have some dignity. Hit it, Mitch, you’re our only [Read more]
The view from Shepparton: Round 6
May 5, 2009 by Leave a Comment
By Peter Schumacher Who is the most tragic footballer in the AFL: the Fev or Matthew Richardson? I reckon after last week’s effort the gong would have to give it to Fev, although Richo has an imposing record. My wife and I stopped in our tracks spellbound as Fevola’s last mark was called so well [Read more]
This Geelong Life
May 5, 2009 by Leave a Comment
by Ed Harcourt “You don’t know what love is until you’ve learned the meaning of the blues.” It was June 16 1991. A typical Melbourne day at the MCG. Round 13 of The Australian Football League’s season was my first as a member of The Geelong Football Club. We sat on the wing [Read more]
Warm feeling on a cold day
May 4, 2009 by 2 Comments
By Damian O’Donnell It was mid-winter, the mud was cold and deep, and the rain had a sting to it. It came down on that awkward winter angle where no part of the body is shielded. My footy boots were full of water and my long-sleeve jumper hung shapeless, like a clock face in a [Read more]
It’s SimCity Time!
May 4, 2009 by 2 Comments
by John Kingsmill In the current SimCity Adelaide Stadium Debate, I hope that the Advertiser’s report of State Treasurer Kevin Foley’s plan to move AFL from AAMI Stadium to Victoria Park and to couple footy with car-racing was flippant. I hope that Kevin Foley was only thinking aloud, exploring the last thing that someone [Read more]
Old East Fremantle Would Have Been A Contender
May 3, 2009 by 6 Comments
by Rod Gillett and Dave Warner When Paddy Ryder was awarded the Anzac Medal for his game for Essendon in this year’s match against Collingwood it occurred to me that here was yet another top-class player produced by the East Fremantle Football Club. I thought there was a story in it. I contacted [Read more]
The Lone Supporter
May 3, 2009 by 4 Comments
by Chad Woodbine Here, in South Korea I have a great life. My job is easy, I’m newly married – with all the wonderful things that come with that situation and my mother in law is my beer supplier. But there are some things that I don’t have. My wife knows that and [Read more]
Cats Could Do With An Overhaul
April 29, 2009 by Leave a Comment
by Angus Nicholls I’m pretty much a Holden man. Don’t know if I was born this way or was somehow subliminally groomed by the General during my formative years. What’s more it doesn’t matter given that we’re talking about the General’s mortal enemy and the Greatest Footy Club on Earth. Co-located in [Read more]
People, Places and Footy on ANZAC Day
April 29, 2009 by Leave a Comment
by Andrew Starkie North Melbourne versus Richmond 7.20pm, Saturday, April 25, Etihad Stadium This is primarily a match report for the North versus Richmond game, however, I do want to share some observations from earlier on ANZAC Day. Earlier in the day… A small group gathered around the cenotaph for the dawn service at Reservoir [Read more]
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