Almanac Literary: Come along to the Dunkeld Writers Festival 2024, 23-25 August

Join writers and enthusiasts at the 2024 Dunkeld Writers Festival to be held from 23-25 August in the picturesque township on the southern edge of the majestic Grampians National Park. Find the full details here.

NRL Round 23 – Rabbit in the Vineyard: Here (Olympic Stadium, Homebush) and there (Olympic Stadium, Paris)

Rabbit in the Vineyard tried to be in three places at once – athletics in Salisbury, following a lad he coached in Brisbane who was running in the Olympics, and watching the Rabbitohs on TV. Mixed results – fine at Salisbury, a relay record in Paris, but same old, same old for South Sydney against their nemesis, Melbourne Storm.

NRL Round 24 – Prop in the Canefield: You gotta love footy!

Prop in the Canefield is looking forward to the NRL match to be played at one of his favourite grounds, Salter Oval in Bundaberg. His Odd Footy Fact also makes for interesting contemplation.

NRL Round 24 and NRLW Round 4 – Where have these Broncos been?

The continuing uncertainty of both NRL and NRLW comps keeps the fans and the tipsters on edge. Ian Hauser tries to untangle the threads to find his winners.

‘From water boy to Gabba match winner…” by KB Hill

KB Hill chats with Zac O’Brien, a true football journeyman, who kicked the winning goal in his very first AFL game at the Gabba.

Almanac Footy Opinion – Carlton 2024: A Tragedy

Blues tragic Peter Fuller sees Carlton’s demise as a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions. It’s hard to argue against his formidable logic.

Revelling in the Riverina: Episode 17 – Beside the Billabong

Peter Clark continues his journey Revelling through the Riverina on his way to Rand via a wander through Coreen and Daysdale presenting in-depth histories of the area and the local football clubs.

Almanac Book Reviews: ‘On Sport: Reviews 1995-2023’ by Bernard Whimpress – Reviewed by Barry Nicholls

Bernard Whimpress has written on sports for over fifty years. Barry Nicholls reviews one of Bernard’s many books, ‘On Sport: Reviews 1995-2023’ – a collection of sporting books reviewed by Bernard over many years.

Round 23 – AFL Footy Fixture 2024: Who, where, and when

Penultimate round of footy for AFL season 2024 with the fight for the final 8 still wide open.

Almanac Olympics: Raygun

No matter what others thought, Matt Zurbo thoroughly enjoyed the breakdancing performance by Raygun at the Olympics because of the humour, irreverence, ‘and a laconic disregard for norms’ that were displayed, but mostly because it was so bad!!.

Almanac Book Reviews: Knuckles, The Don, and Ernie Sigley: Michael Sexton’s ‘Stories for Harry & Ray’

Mickey Randall has great joy reviewing ‘Stories for Harry and Ray’ a magnificent collection of stories by much loved Adelaide author Michael Sexton.

Sexual Calisthenics

A brief poem from Damian Balassone about coming off second best.

Round 22 – Essendon v Gold Coast Suns: A Big Mac upsets the Bombers!

It took a Big Mac to ground the Bombers eating up their chances of playing in the finals in 2024.

Cam Hooke’s Collingwood Life 2024: Round 22 Review / Round 23 Preview

Cam Hooke’s Collingwood Life 2024 reviews Round 22 match against Sydney, and Previews upcoming match against Brisbane.

Almanac Teams: Arrivals and Departures (Sydney)

You may have cheer, cheered these players in red and white or other colours over their footy careers – it’s Rodney Boyd’s Sydney Arrivals and Departures

Almanac Poetry: I warn you

This week’s poem from KD is a warning to all of its readers. [And editors – Ed.]

Twelve Recommendations from Twelve Months in Ballarat

A year on from moving to Ballarat with his partner, Ian Wilson provides us with a rundown on his favourite local spots

Almanac Footy History: ‘Kicking Against the Wind’

Roy Hay tells us about a new book, a history of the Portarlington Football Netball Club. Copies are available now.

Almanac Book Reviews: ‘Harry Hodgetts: The flawed broker behind Don Bradman’s move to Adelaide’ by John Davis

Barry Nicholls reviews ‘Harry Hodgetts:  The flawed broker behind Don Bradman’s  move to Adelaide’ by John Davis. Barry provides a fascinating insight into the rise and fall of business man Harry Hodgetts and his role regarding the business and cricketing interests of Australia’s greatest batsman.

Almanac Podcasts: Matt Zurbo interview on CDFNL Insiders Podcast

Matt Zurbo was recently interviewed on the ‘CDFNL Insiders’ podcast reflecting on his life in country footy.