by Peter SchumacherSydney and Adelaide. How I fervently wish that Brisbane and Western Bulldogs had been in that list. Can’t blame the umpies for Brisbane‘s loss, though as one correspondent was quoted as texting on Jon Faine’s (ABC Melbourne) program this morning Brown doesn’t have a back apparently or words to that effect.Tasmania has officially said [Read more]
Jones files: The lighter side of broadcasting in PNG
May 22, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Richard Jones I’VE been broadcasting either from the studio or from outside locations since the mid-1960s. I lived in Papua New Guinea from 1963-76. PNG was the Territory of Papua New Guinea before self-government in 1973 and independence in 1975. When I started calling amateur boxing tournaments from ringside for the ABC’s 9PA Port [Read more]
General Footy Writing: The Roys are back in town
May 21, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Adam Muyt Royboys. It’s got to be one of the best nicknames in Australian football, conjuring up all sorts of affectionate images of a footy club and the people who followed it, most blessed with a particular (peculiar?) outlook and attitude. And now it’s the title of a doco having its first airing at [Read more]
General footy writing: It’s time mulligans were introduced to footy
May 20, 2009 by 7 Comments
By Darren Smith No one can accuse this forum of not covering the big issues … I recently used the term “mulligan” in a description of the Round 7 game between St Kilda and Essendon, suggesting that, if Essendon could have taken a mulligan for their first quarter, they would have. This claim was met [Read more]
General footy writing: Cats need Moons to cut funny business
May 20, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Damian O’Donnell Has the first crack appeared in the Geelong armour? For the last three seasons the Cats have been an organised, well-drilled organism. They have honoured “the process” and broken the game down to a few basic key-performance indicators. The group has overwhelmed the individual, and, to quote Pink Floyd, all the players [Read more]
General footy writing: Middle East correspondent: Make it a grand national final
May 20, 2009 by 3 Comments
By Rod Gillett The AFL’s threat to play the Grand Final in Sydney after the contract with the MCG expires in 2032 begs the question: why not play the Grand Final around on a rotational basis so that each city in the competition gets to host the game? If the game is truly to become [Read more]
General footy writing: May 17, 1859 and the codification of footy
May 20, 2009 by 4 Comments
by John Harms The date, May 17, is of great significance to the Australian nation. Especially footy-lovers. Not that too many of us know about it. On May 17, 1859, at the Parade Hotel, on Wellington Parade, East Melbourne, four men from the committee of the fledgling Melbourne Football Club (and maybe [Read more]
General footy writing: New coach: Grounds for change on tackle rule
May 19, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Andrew Fithall Crikey, the grounds are hard. In Round 1 a Williamstown Juniors under-16Ds player hit the turf and broke his arm. The ground hasn’t got any softer since then. It is Tuesday afternoon. I am at home when I should be at work. I am on carer’s leave. Bill is on a nearby [Read more]
General footy writing: Away strips make me want to look away
May 18, 2009 by 5 Comments
By Andrew Gigacz It shouldn’t bother me but it does. On Friday night Hawthorn played away and wore a guernsey that was wrong on just too many levels. It was ugly – not just ugly to look at, but a representation of the ugliness that is modern footy marketing. Of course the AFL will tell [Read more]
View from Shepparton: Round 8
May 18, 2009 by 2 Comments
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]
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