the splintered pack

  12 goals clear Krakouer kicks the last on impulse     spring petals — Cloke plucks one close to home     Sandilands jumps — the splintered pack releases the goal sneak     the many paths life takes us peppering the goals     Swan sets off everyone left behind     winter’s [Read more]

round 22 – haiku bob – nearing spring

  warmer nights — the kick-out reaches the centre square       our latest back six concedes the first goal in under a minute       the old world connects to the new — Fasolo curls one back       late winter — gaps in our desire filled by Ball     [Read more]

Haiku Bob Round 21: length of the wing

  full moon Leon in every passage         a forward thrust as far as Tarrant’s fist and no further         six points such cheap reward for Wellingham’s goal         buds begin to flower — Fasolo plucks one from the pack         tucked under [Read more]

Haiku Bob Round 20: somewhere the moon

  winter rain — the ball tossed between bodies of water     somewhere the moon — Port players have trouble finding the ball     soggy night — Blair uses his lack of height     night rain — Collingwood players add to the glitter     non-stop rain — a dyke erected across [Read more]

somewhere the moon

    winter rain — the ball tossed between bodies of water   somewhere the moon — Port players have trouble finding the ball   soggy night — Blair uses his lack of height   night rain — Collingwood players add to the glitter   non-stop rain — a dyke erected across the half-back line [Read more]

The White Mouse

by Damian O’Donnell She crept around; a tiny mouse, But when she struck, It was through the heart. She made Hitler’s list, Her name at the very top. Where is she? the lunatic raged. New Zealand saw her birth Australia her growth, The French her courage.   Vale the White Mouse.

round 19: haiku bob – slipstreaming

This week’s match report comes from Budapest in Hungary where I attended the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Fascinating city. Wonderful race. And another Magpie victory.   practice session — every one of Cloke’s kicks is a goal     safety car — Prismall’s knee collapses at the first turn     slipstreaming – Pendlebury moves [Read more]

Hotel Docklands-ifornia

  by Anthony Thomas   MYSTERY surrounds the discovery of a woman in the toilets at Etihad Stadium suffering from cold, two days after the Melbourne venue was last used. It’s believed the 57-year-old woman had spent two days locked inside the ground in central Melbourne following the AFL match between Geelong and Richmond on [Read more]

backing into the swell

taking my lead from fellow floreat pican andrea mcnamara this week. i too was ‘by the sea’ for this game. actually, it was a lake – and we were in the middle of it. on an island about 3 hours north of stockholm called örjung. beautiful, peaceful place with classic swedish scenery – water, forest, [Read more]

A Heavenly Forum

Oppy and Mocky were chesting the bar, Looking down on the Tour from a heavenly star, “Doesn’t seem fair we’ve all fought so long, The Champs Elysee needs an Aussie Fair song.”   But things just don’t happen from man’s good intention, Just a small touch of luck – some divine intervention, So they called [Read more]

STRANGE BIRDS IN PARADISE: Album Launch

STRANGE BIRDS IN PARADISE A West Papuan Soundtrack.   ALBUM LAUNCH. NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB SUNDAY 14 AUGUST 2011 Buy Tickets Here   “Music can rise above tyranny” “Art is a weapon and culture is life, as long as they can sing they will prevail.” Film-maker Charlie Hill-Smith on the plight of the West Papuans in their [Read more]

Rhys is home

  by John Kingsmill* My town is a little better, more loving, less convoluted. Still cold, but Adelaide’s winter skies are cloudless for a while and then a weather system settles in for three or four days of genuine rain. Partly clouded, they call it.  I think

among the rotting leaves

  cross wind — a betting slip among the rotting leaves   no sunlight on that side of the ground — just Daisy   but for their whistles the umpires would disappear *   a chill in the winter sun — Swan scuffs his first kick     the first petal separates.. Daisy’s one hander [Read more]

FOR THE OLD COACHES

I look at all our coaches nowadays And listen to them holding forth post-game: The stream of phrases, sausages, all the same, Ground up, churned out, consumable clichés. Where are the masters of the pithy phrase Whose wisdom, wit – and frequent lack of shame! – Brought World of Sport and Football Inquest fame? The [Read more]

one goal blurs

  murky light — the umpire sees a free no-one can   old woman knitting — our forward work slowly comes together   rain starts — Daisy comes from the clouds   winter afternoon — the torpedo punt drops short   misty rain — one goal blurs into another   hundred points up — the [Read more]

Labuan Island

The morning is humid and busy in Labuan. Fishing and cargo boats cut in and out of the small harbour while street vendors sell their wares on noisy corners.  Footpath cafes buzz with local gossip and laughter. A kindly, old taxi driver motions me over to where he is sheltering under a tree.  He tells [Read more]

under the press

  jet lag fog — Daisy handballs over his head to his opponent   low cloud — Hawks wilting under the press   leaves gone — Cloke leads into the space   murky day– Cloke’s hands trap the light   flags flutter on top of the scoreboard — the kick doesn’t come back   night [Read more]

John Harms’ Celtic Dream

  ‘Twas Thursday night – the Match Committee, Down Corio way – the windy city, Chris said “its tough – this coaching lark”, “No finals played on Kardinia Park”.   Need fresh ideas – a new game plan, Not ‘forward press’ nor ‘man to man’, Now Bomber’s gone to Windy Hill, Need fresh ideas to [Read more]

Kota Kinabalu

It’s late Sunday afternoon and I haven’t slept since Friday night.  I flew out of Tullamarine midnight Saturday and landed in Kota Kinabalu, via Kuala Lumpar,  10 am this morning local time. I’m surviving on a mixture of adrenaline that accompanies arriving in a new place,  some chicken and rice concoction I found in this [Read more]

Geelong’s Lament

By Rod Klein   Nothing was lost until the moment when cursed coin was tossed, and then for Cats, all time stood still whilst Collingwood applied their noisome drill.   The tide, for men hooped in blue and white, has flooded from the shore with premier-ship astride. In quickening sand and on the muddied strand [Read more]