Father-son combo gets Pies over the line

  Collingwood v Brisbane Round 22 MCG by John Sandy First against fifteenth, on paper this looked like a one sided affair. Collingwood had a number of players out; with Maxwell and Wellingham joining Shaw and Dawes on the sidelines as well as Davis, Krakouer and Johnson all rested to recover from niggles. For Collingwood [Read more]

A toast to the ANU footy club

  by Professor John Molony   I am singularly honoured in being asked to propose the toast to the ANU Football Club. There are many reasons I feel this way. One is that few nights can match this night. I look back and remember Bucko startling Gough Whitlam, our guest for the evening, when he [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – An afternoon of hope

This assignment started out full of hope – what better thing to do than write about a Canterbury victory over Manly, especially at Brookvale.  Being almost out of finals contention five weeks ago, the Bulldogs had won three of the last four matches and were back in with a chance of finals glory. To add [Read more]

Blues need to look forward

As anyone who has been attempting to play catch-up in a tipping comp will attest, the one thing this AFL season has recently cried out for was some uncertainty. Proceedings have come to resemble the average English Premier League season, where a handful of clubs have cleared out from the pack and most speculation presides [Read more]

Chance for a sneak peak at AFL future

  by Troy Thompson If you barrack for Brisbane, Hawthorn, Richmond, GWS or Essendon – or for that matter any club, you may have good reason to head down to Royal Park tomorrow (Wednesday) and Friday to see players your club has scholarship listed or those that may be playing against your club in future.

Almanac Rugby League – Seeing Cleary

Rugby league in Penrith faces its share of battles, that’s no secret. But on a Saturday night at Centrebet Stadium, it certainly feels like rugby league heartland. I’m visiting my mate Steve, who lives in the mountains and has the severe misfortune of being born a staunch Parramatta fan. He usually holds a torch for [Read more]

Europe at 2.4 km/h

I first met Ken Haley in the studio of 774 ABC Melbourne (I think) when he was preparing to undertake a wheelchair odyssey across Europe. That resulted in a terrific book called Emails From The Edge. Given the success of that book, and Ken’s love of travel, he’s had another go and this time produced [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – Dragons go close

I don’t miss too many Dragons games. Whether live or on TV or even on the radio I’ll make a serious effort to catch the game each week. I’ve even been known to submit to that unique form of pain – watching a match you’ve recorded earlier that evening even though you already know your [Read more]

Into the Valley of Death……………………….

  by Damian O’Donnell The good people at Down Syndrome Victoria must be Geelong supporters; they organized their annual fund raising day at the Moonee Valley races on the same weekend that the Cats have a bye, meaning of course I can attend Moonee Valley without having my ear to a radio all afternoon. It [Read more]

The most over-used word in footy

  By Domenic Favata Game-plan, formation, style, press, composition, makeup, form, arrangement, configuration, format, ‘spine’, framework, order, STRUCTURE- the most overused word in footy. Exactly what is a structure fellow sports enthusiasts? I believe it is the way a team sets up when they are not in possession of the ball, how they press and [Read more]

You Know

You Know.   Every time I, or a team I coach, make it into finals, about now, when the time is right and the steel has to come out, I tell this story to the squad. Because it was true. Because it hurt.   It was my first year at the club. We had only [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – The worst game ever played

I sit in front of my computer embarrassed to be writing my first review for the Almanac on possibly the worst game of the year.  14th versus 16th on the NRL ladder does not necessarily make this a bad game, and you would think that both proud clubs would be trying desperately to avoid the [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – The Cronulla Curse

If there was ever a moment that typified life as a Cronulla supporter, one only had to look at the Sydney Football Stadium last Saturday night in the Sharks’ seemingly meaningless Round 24 encounter with the Headless Chooks. After playing some of their better football in recent weeks, the Sharks had managed to open up [Read more]

THE WRAP – ROUND XXII

WHERE LIFE IMITATES SPORT What a round it’s been in Footy Eddie.  The Hawks led at every change and at the final siren to send the Flags along La Via Lygon to halfmast and consign The Miseries to the Bottom Half of The Eight.  The Mighty Adelaide Scarecrows, unable to muster a 100 point demolition [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – Monday’s closing in

When you have put The Bear to sleep (no longer able to play) there is nothing better than combining all the Fs at the footy. Family, friends, food, fruit from the vine(s) and fun. No matter where you are when this is locked in place, the footy looks after itself. In today’s match-up, it is [Read more]

Saints Round 21: Going Down the Toilet

Yvette Wroby’s take on the weekend.

Almanac Rugby League – A sad way to go: Gold Coast v Canberra

I thought about taking the train from Bris Vegas to Skilled Stadium at Robina on the Gold Coast with my 12 year old daughter. It would be Alan Tongue’s last game in Queensland and it would nice to say goodbye. Tongue has been our mutual hero for different reasons. I like how he plays every [Read more]

The Footygods: Elpis

The greeks were funny about hope. Some of them thought that there wasn’t much point having hope because the gods would do you in anyway. Some thought that hope only existed to make your suffering even worse. But they did give hope a minor goddess; Elpis; a young woman who held flowers in her hands. [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – Loving The Locals: Wests Tigers v Parramatta Eels

Loving the Locals Leichhardt life is a peach. “Why?” I hear you ask To say that my wife, Ronnie, is a very committed Tigers would be akin to saying that Pope Benedict XVI is a very committed Roman Catholic. For mine though, where else is it possible to wed a café culture to the rough [Read more]

Almanac Rugby League – The Form Slump

    The once-mighty (often mighty, actually, when you consider the 11 premierships in a row) Dragons are in a slump. The reigning premiers played the very sharp Melbourne Storm outfit on Friday night, in far-off Melbourne town. The slump is about to get deeper. Those close to me would argue that of all the [Read more]