EPL: Hammers hammmered by rampaging Swansea

  Swansea 3-0 West Ham   What an amazing start to the season for Swansea. Eight goals in their first two games after managing just 44 last season. West Ham was humiliated in their second outing back in the big time. Early on it was the Hammers making all the running as Swansea continually turned [Read more]

Discussion: Today’s Champions

    Right now I’m wondering if Martin Pike was a Champion. Four Premierships, All-Australians. A B&F. He did it in winning sides, he did it with no support at Fitzroy. What about John Blakey? Rohan Smith? Both played over 300 games of elite level football. Many say you can’t reach that number without being [Read more]

Neville Strauch: A man for all seasons and age groups

The late Neville Strauch, a legend of the Bendigo Football League, was one of those rare people in football who was able to make the transition from club footy to the bigger arena of football development.

The View from Shepparton: Round 22

Another great round of footy with of course some really unexpected results. I found the Richmond Essendon game interesting for a couple of reasons, the first being that I marvelled as to how a team (Richmond) could have so much of the play and yet only be 29 points up at the half time break [Read more]

DA Puzzle of the Round (23)

David Astle signs off with his final puzzle of the season.

An AFL petition calling for a supporters’ election

Paul Spinks has had enough. He is calling for a supporters’ advocate to take the grass roots message to city hall. Will you join him?

1980 A Personal Footy Almanac – Round 22, Saturday 30 August, v South Melbourne, Lake Oval

Richmond’s run to the 1980 premiership struck a significant speed bump in the guise of South Melbourne at the Lake Oval, leaving a young Sam Steel to ask: What strange meteorological Bermuda Triangle operates down here?

The last Sunday in August

You see it every September in the Herald-Sun. Photographs of victorious premiership sides in suburban and country leagues across the state. Jubilant players leaning into a huddle. Laughing out loud and yelling “Yeah, you beauty!”

At the races with Dad

My father always had superstitions with numbers. He always told me to take quinellas, 5 and 7 always. For what reasons, no one really knows, yet there are times now when I’m at the track when I hear his voice, ” 5 and 7″. I just say,” yeah, yeah, 5 and 7 dad, I know”.

AFL Round 22: Winners and Losers

If the Hawks-Swans match is a sign of things to come, then September is going to be a tremendous month for footy fans (Blues fans excluded). This was football. The SCG was rocking.

Almanac Rugby League – NRL Round 25: Melbourne v Cronulla – Storm rises like Lazarus – again

You know things are going bad when the team’s padre can be seen leaving the ground before the final siren. Apologies to Father Bob for giving up on the Melbourne Storm in their round 25 match against Cronulla, but seriously, who leaves a game when you have three of the game’s finest in your line-up?

AFL Round 22: The 2012 ‘Mopsy’ Fraser Cup

Greetings Tipsters So how was the penultimate round for you? Good for some, great for others, devastating, embarassing and maybe the first waves of relief that pretty soon you won’t have to be humiliated by the silly buggers out there wearing the same colours as yourself. That’d be the Mosquitoes, wouldn’t it? Early on, the [Read more]

Footy as Religion: A Myth for All Seasons

By Phil Dimitriadis Man has built in himself images as a sense of security – religious, political, personal. These manifest as symbols, ideas, and beliefs. The burden of these dominates man’s thinking, relationships and his daily life. (J. Krishnamurti)   Corporate, religious and political rhetoric often sits comfortably with Australian Rules expression and its desire [Read more]

People and Memories: Barry Ross, St.Kilda Cheer Squad

Every football club has people like Barry Ross. Dedicated, unflinching volunteers, working quietly behind the scenes, sweeping floors, running the canteen, selling raffle tickets. In a life given to St. Kilda, Barry’s done all that and more. These days he drives the bus for the cheer squad.

AFL Round 22: Freo, give song heave ho before finals

And Greatness Is upon us…the 8 teams are now left to jockey for positions in the last round and history is made when for the first time ever when 10 teams miss out. Make the most of the finals opportunity or waste it at your peril… Speaking of Timmy Rogers and greatness how about Zeus [Read more]

WAFL – Round 23: Swans get a grip on second

THE four might be settled but round 23 still threw up some interesting results. Of most interest was the nine-point win by Swan Districts over Claremont at Bassendean. Swans took control early and led by 40 points at three quarter time. The Tigers sent a message by kicking six goals to one in the last [Read more]

AFL Round 22 – Richmond v Essendon: The same old thing

It has certainly been a long few weeks for my favourite club. Heavy losses started against St Kilda and Collingwood and ended with a complete embarrassment against Carlton last week. My friends luckily didn’t bag me about it. This week we needed to win to be mathematically possible of even making eighth spot. That wasn’t [Read more]

The Middle Australia Report

Middle Australia (The Editor and The Chairman) have been writing their Friday afternoon sports report for years and distributing it to their band of keen email followers. They are confident that they are ready for footyalmanac.com.au to bring it to the world. Here is the first instalment with its comment on cycling and cricket.

Temptation Island: Bali Ha’i

A funny thing happened after the film and before the match on Saturday night. This is the story of how one man (we’ll call him Neil) was tempted to switch from footy culture to Arts culture…while the footy season was still underway!  

Crio’s Q: “Deus Absconditus”

If you don’t mind, Umpire! As usual, the umps have copped a bashing this AFL season. The “deliberate” epidemic at Subi the other week generated another outburst of “worst ever” vitriol on talkback radio. We all seem to recognize a bad umpire….but what makes a good one? Last year, under the magnificent title “Deus Absconditus”, [Read more]