AFL Round 20 – Preview: What chance the Pies and other fantasies?

John Harms casts an eye over Round 20 and wonders what chance Collingwood, and whether the Bulldogs can get Mick Malthouse’s head to finally explode.

Third Test – Day 3: Is it possible to like KP?

John Harms spends the night on the couch to see the Australians fight it out, and does not change his view of Kevin Pietersen.

AFL Round 15 – Preview: Nightmare on Tipster Street

JTH with some thoughts on a round where tipping 1 out of 9 is not out of the question.

AFL Round 14 – Preview: More footy and less circular discussion about media and PR strategy at Essendon please

Is anyone finding the discussion on Essendon mind-numbing? Let them just get over there and get whipped by the locals. John Harms with some thoughts on a round of matches that look very difficult to pick.

AFL Round 13 – Brisbane v Geelong: Unchosen. How the footy gods tired of a bunch of half forward flankers

Sparkling footy from the Lions lifted the hearts of almost everyone as the Cats were left to contemplate the role of decadence in the crumbling of empires. What a memorable game of footy! The day the footy gods abandoned Geelong?

AFL Round 13 – Preview: Yawn

JTH with some thoughts on the final stanza in the dirge that is the bye period. And he can’t find an upset – unless, of course, the gods really are toying with North.

AFL Round 9 – North Melbourne v Adelaide: Brad Scott and the God of the Old Testament

What has Brad Scott done to have such wrath visited upon him?

One small step for footballkind: a morning at Brunswick Street Oval Auskick

Is there anything purer than a five year old’s fluked drop kick?

AFL Round 7 – Geelong v Essendon: I went to the footy with George Foreman and saw a great Geelong victory

JTH has a day out, as do his Cats.

AFL Round 6 – North v Port (preview): Embrace the Chaos

North Melbourne are not in form. But look out once they are. John Harms looks at the mindsets of Port and North in the lead-up to this week’s game and, on the evidence available, tries to understand their coaches.

AFL Round 4 – Preview: Some (early) thoughts

JTH has an early look at Round 4 and bangs on about rams, ewes and lambs.

Balanced news values or parochialism?

JTH has landed in Adelaide.

AFL Round 1 – Hawthorn v Geelong: P. Flynn, G. Galilei and the insight of the Hawthorn fan

JTH enjoys the opening day of the footy season.

AFL Round 1 – Preview: Saints in strife?

JTH previews Round 1 and has serious concerns for the old Saints list and the plodliness of Collingwood.

NAB Cup Final: Browny

John Harms thinks Jonathan Brown and his Lions will be motivated by the big man’s last chance at silverware.

Director’s Cut

Recently John Harms had a piece in The Age – a rarity these days – on how people choose their footy teams. Here are a couple of passages which didn’t survive the cut.

India v Australia – Second Test: Two Spinners Please

John Harms thinks a second spinner is essential in Hyderabad, not that it is likely to make much of a difference.

So Theo can say, “I saw Black Caviar”

The Harms boys went to the races last Saturday.

Where the shiny-faced meet the shiny-arsed

John Harms looks at the latest Shane Warne instalment.

Happy New Year

Just a short note to wish everyone the very best for 2013 (and to let you know that in the few hours since midnight, despite extensive searching, I have been unable to find a single reason why Geelong won’t win the 2013 flag). I trust the Christmas-New Year week has been an enjoyable one for [Read more]