by David Enticott It has been a horrible week. We’ve been locked up inside with gastro for four days straight. Our three boys have had it, Melissa and I have it and now our cat and two dogs are starting to show signs of being seriously unwell. Heaven help us if swine flu ever hits- [Read more]
AFL Round 7: Thank God it’s a school night
May 12, 2009 by Leave a Comment
By Andrew Fithall What happened in the last quarter last night? Monday night football. Ben Cousins says there could be only one thing worse than Monday night football and that would be Tuesday night football. For a parent with children, attending the football on a school night has its advantages. Like not having to [Read more]
Local footy: Lunch with the hyphens at Old Geelong
May 12, 2009 by 5 Comments
by John Harms It’s midday Saturday. I am Yarraside, standing on the balcony of the wonderful art-deco pavilion at Como Park. I know it well. In summer it is the home of the South Yarra Cricket Club made (more) famous in GCJD Haigh’s celebrated yarn The Vincibles. GCJD is the inspiration of [Read more]
AFL Round 7: Brave, brave Alex
May 12, 2009 by Leave a Comment
By Chris Riches Every football supporter knows the moment. It’s a moment when a particular player you’re watching does something that makes you sit up a little straighter in your seat, open your eyes a little wider, pay attention a little more closely. It’s a moment that can move you to turn to a fellow [Read more]
Williamstown CYMS Round 4
May 11, 2009 by Leave a Comment
by Dene Macleod williamstown cyms football club SENIORS ELTHAM 7.2 11.4 16.10 18.11-119 WILLIAMSTOWN 2.2 7.4 12.4 13.7-85 Williamstown CY’s made the long trip to Research on Saturday only to be comprehensively beaten by Eltham Old Collegians. In a replay of last year’s Sect. D 3 Grand Final, the ‘Turtles’ jumped the [Read more]
Poetry: Why we got beat
May 11, 2009 by 1 Comment
WHY WE GOT BEAT by W.A.G. Walker Acky ad an ankle Gazza ad a groin Clarrie ad a corky Herbie ad a hernia. Harry ad a hangover Pete ad piles Dezzy ad a dose Morrie ad a migraine Charlie ad a crucial. Trev ad the tom tits Albie ad a achilles Con [Read more]
AFL Round 7: One of these vantage points is not like the others
May 11, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Peter Flynn I am standing on the hill overlooking the Warrnambool racecourse. The natural geography makes for a magnificent vista. It is 25 minutes until the start of the Grand Annual Steeplechase and I am accompanied by Ando, Doddo and Jonno. It feels like I am spending a day at the races with the [Read more]
AFL Round 7: Dons’ win a victory for instinct over process
May 11, 2009 by 6 Comments
By Damian O’Donnell Zone, schmone. Flood, schmud. Reputation, schmeputation. The Bombers blew all these to the scheisenhaus on Friday night with joyful, fast, youthful, exuberant, unpredictable football. I watched the game like a kid watching Shrek for the fifteenth time. It was good old-fashioned fun. From the very start the Bombers played like young blokes [Read more]
VAFA report: Brothers keep Beders in the hunt
May 11, 2009 by Leave a Comment
By Paul Daffey The St Bede’s Mentone juggernaut rolls on, with the Beders defeating Collegians by 53 points at the Harry Trott Oval in a rematch of the 2008 A-section grand final. As with most St Bede’s wins, a couple of families played key roles as their team kicked eight goals in the last quarter [Read more]
Local footy: Bendigo league almost gets a college team
May 11, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Richard Jones DURING the early 1980s turmoil in Bendigo football, one of the stranger proposals was to introduce a college or university team into senior ranks. A football team from the then College of Advanced Education, now LaTrobe University, Bendigo, was suggested as an additional senior club. The Bendigo and Golden City leagues had [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]
AFL Round 7: Bombers go on Hawk Hunt
May 9, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Pamela Sherpa We’ve beaten enemy No.1 (Collingwood) and enemy No.2 (Carlton) in thrillers this year. Now we face enemy No.3, Hawthorn. They beat enemy No.2 in a thriller last week and happen to be the premiers. Despite always being a chance against arch rivals there’s an awful feeling that this week will be quite [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]
Interstate Hell With the AFL
May 6, 2009 by 3 Comments
Background: When the TV rights changed from Channel Seven to Nine during the previous agreement it resulted in Friday night footy going from an 8.30pm time slot to 11.30pm . This caused immense frustration to viewers north of the Murray. I expressed my frustration in a poem. INTERSTATE HELL WITH THE AFL (2002) A national [Read more]
Ex-Blue gets leather poisoning
May 6, 2009 by 1 Comment
In the Sheds By Paul Daffey Readers may remember a bag-of-bones midfielder with blond hair who played for Carlton in the Denis Pagan era. His name was Jon “Hopper” McCormick, and although he impressed during his 26 AFL games he was offloaded after the 2004 season. In recent years McCormick has lived in his home [Read more]
Hats off to Castlemaine’s seven-decade servant
May 6, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Richard Jones JACK Jefferies’ service to the Castlemaine Football Club has spanned every decade from the 1940s to the early part of the 21st century. He has been a player – and a premiership player, at that, in 1952 – a club president, vice-president and committeeman and also the vice-president of the Bendigo Golden [Read more]
Water, water, everywhere but not a drop to drink
May 6, 2009 by Leave a Comment
by Avan Stallard There’s a remarkable little documentary called Cunnamulla. It tells the story of some of the less fortunate soles in the Queensland town of the same name. If you’re not familiar with the place, Cunnamulla is a settlement 800km west of Brisbane in the middle of nowhere. It also happens to be [Read more]
You have to love the genius of Blighty
By Adrian Vitez Around 30,000 attended this Round 6 match-up at the Gabba. Like most other interested parties, I received it via the channel 10 telecast led by Quarters, and featuring the great Blighty on special comments. Blighty fits the special comments job description perfectly as he never fails to offer comments which are unique [Read more]