By Ged McMahon On face value, the red and black team seemed a little undersized. But at no point were they to be underestimated. They were the boys from Tiwi College and this was their home turf. Visiting their remote headquarters was the Narangba Valley Vipers, a bunch of Brisbane school kids about to [Read more]
Almanac Rugby League – Monday night is punt night
August 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The Wests Tigers entered this match on the back of a 6-0 winning streak and only a mentally-ill pundit would have tipped anything but a Tigers victory. I would have thrown “Titans diehard” in the above category but I think there are about as many of them as there are genuine Gold Coast Suns and [Read more]
Almanac Rugby League – An ugly win is still a win
August 29, 2011 by 1 Comment
It was a balmy night, with the threat of light rain. Nevertheless no rain eventuated. Johnathan Thurston and Gavin Cooper were sick leading up to the game. Both had a stomach virus. Ashton Simms was ruled out with niggling knee problems. Cronulla were fortunate to have exciting playmaker Albert Kelly back in the fold after [Read more]
Almanac Rugby League – A Knight to forget
August 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The Knights somehow lost to the Bulldogs after leading 22-6 at halftime and Ben Barba put his hand up for try of the year honours. Since getting a clip over the ear for using the term ‘mongrel’ too much at my first Knights home game in ’88, I have been a Newcastle diehard. I’ve got [Read more]
Almanac Rugby League – Spooky stuff at the Royal in Tumut
August 29, 2011 by 1 Comment
Liam Hauser Canberra versus Penrith rugby league clashes always bring back a distinct memory for me, even though I am a Queenslander and support the Brisbane Broncos. The first Grand Final I ever saw was in 1991 when Penrith downed Canberra 19-12 as Royce Simmons had a fairytale finish to his career. As an [Read more]
Almanac Rugby League – Dragons find some fire at last
August 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I’m sure there are worse way to start a footy game. But after seeing the first few seconds of the Dragons clash against the Warriors at WIN Stadium, I’m hard pressed to come up with any. Dragons captain Ben Hornby placed the ball on the kicking tee to start the game, walked back, ran up [Read more]
A Good Weekend of Footy
August 29, 2011 by 2 Comments
Two games of footy, one local and one AFL, the weather is great, what more could you want on a weekend? With all the necessary jobs done on the Saturday morning it was on the bike for a short ride to one of my favourite grounds, the Brunswick Street Oval, home of the Fitzroy Football [Read more]
Fortress K.P.
August 29, 2011 by 15 Comments
By Chris Bracher I have been going there for forty years. I lived in Winchelsea and Kardinia Park was my “local” VFL ground. Once a year I would persuade my less than enthusiastic Dad to take me to see my beloved red and white play. South was never much good when I was a kid [Read more]
THE WRAP – ROUND XXIII
August 29, 2011 by 1 Comment
WHERE LIFE IMITATES SPORT What a round it’s been in Footy Eddie. The Pies, acting on instructions from the RSVPA’s Dr Hugh Wirth, helped euthanize The Long Suffering over at Fremantle. The Leafblowers were howling as Buddy piled on an unassailable lead in The Coleman while his team introduced Coach Williams to caretaking at the [Read more]
The other Suns
August 29, 2011 by 3 Comments
The Suns are playing the Demons at the G. I would have been there but a freaky wall of the most horribly foul weather kept my plane from taking off. So it’s for two reasons I’m thrilled to hear the Suns Reserves are taking on Mt Gravatt Vultures in an NEAFL [Read more]
Fitzroy: Part I
August 29, 2011 by 10 Comments
Fitzroy Pt. 1 Lou barracked for Geelong and had a wicked laugh. All bongs and cackles. I’d had my wost year ever, at the club I liked least, and had qualified for reserves finals. Fuck the ‘locals first’ policy. I played a corker. We lost anyway. The season was done. As planned, Lou and [Read more]
The Footygods: the Trojan wars
August 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The Trojans were unbeatable at home. They had a walled city by the water. They were able to defend easily and they could sweep out of their city to attack their enemy. They could always replenish their wounded soldiers. After a few years, the invading armies started thinking that they couldn’t win. The Trojan wars [Read more]
September? Let the narrative be complicated.
August 29, 2011 by 60 Comments
August 29 and there is a hint of green on the birch and the possums have eaten every pink blossom off the peach tree. This has the potential to be a superb September, a writer’s treat. Sport always gives us stories, many of them wonderful, but this September promises a stack of possible complications. I [Read more]
Almanac Rugby League – A costly call
August 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I write this feeling like a bitter and twisted man. Hopefully by the end I have come round. The Warriors have had their season ripped apart by the most abhorrent refereeing decision of the year. Sorry if that sounds a bit over emotive but that’s what it feels like for a Warriors fan that will [Read more]
Almanac Rugby League – A Manly boy in the City of Churches
August 29, 2011 by 2 Comments
Residing in a ‘non-league’ state means you have to go the extra mile to get your fix of the Greatest Game of All. It’s not in the papers, it’s not on the news and it’s certainly not talked about in the pub or around the watercooler on a Monday morning. Living in Adelaide for the [Read more]
Almanac Rugby league – A long way from home
August 29, 2011 by 1 Comment
The finals are just two weeks away. Brookie Oval is packed out for a Friday night cracker, first versus second on the ladder, one team undefeated after 12 games, the other undefeated at home for the season. The teams with the best for-and-against in the comp, sharing a rivalry built up over recent seasons (one [Read more]
Crio’s Q: Adversity
August 29, 2011 by 10 Comments
The Swannies must have ached this week. There’s no way that the death of a mate’s child can be fuel to win a game of footy. But they “dug deep”, knowing there was nothing else that they could do. I thought they’d be emotionally spent. Grieving and, to be honest, probably outclassed. But they won. [Read more]
Pies say no to derailment of finals aspirations and why purple doesn’t make black or white
August 29, 2011 by 1 Comment
By George Habib As I said goodbye to many Melbourne supporters at Mt Hotham on Friday afternoon I decided that a blanket ban on football columnist is a necessity over the next six weeks. Could there be more of a focus on the ‘kirribilli’ agreement between Malthouse and Bucks? I don’t read the Hun but [Read more]
VWFL – Darebin’s amazing run of 5 flags in a row comes to an end
August 29, 2011 by 1 Comment
On Saturday 27/08/2011 at Mantello Holden Oval a huge crowd that included Hugh Delahunty the Minister for sport who tossed the coin, Sue Alberti Western Bulldogs board member & VWFL partner after whom the Premiership cup is named and Cameron Schwab, David Neitz, Chris Connolly and Karen Hayes from the Melbourne Football Club saw a [Read more]
Chelsea v Norwich City at Stamford Bridge
August 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Chelsea 3 Norwich City 1 Crowd 41, 795 at Stamford Bridge A promising start by Chelsea against Norwich City was quickly thwarted by the Canaries. The signs of a crushing defeat at the hands of Chelsea were obvious in the opening minutes when Ramirez pulled the trigger just outside the penalty box but was saved by [Read more]
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