Is there anything that riles the footy fan more than perceived injustice? Just sit in the stands and see the irate supporters vent their spleen at the perception their team “not being given a fair go”. I must admit that I find a similar sense of inequity when it comes to the recent match review [Read more]
Magahertz v Rockdogs is on again
June 23, 2011 by 5 Comments
Maybe it is just the networks I tap into, but I reckon this year’s Community Cup has created more anticipation than in previous years. An event which started in 1997 as a fundraiser for the Sacred Heart Mission, is now a major sporting and social event, with the beneficiary being Reclink. As given on their [Read more]
DA’s Clue of the Round (14)
June 23, 2011 by 9 Comments
Perhaps this pairing is not unique – See what you can unearth in the week. But I’ve discovered one team list Where two current players exist (One just a lanky beginner, His mate a feted flag winner) And each surname can create The surname of the other teammate. (Can you name the club, [Read more]
The barren backyard
June 23, 2011 by 10 Comments
I am standing on the Newtown & Chilwell football ground, looking across the grass to my distant past. I started playing here 40 years ago – not for the red-and-black Eagles, just for fun. A kick of the footy after school at the Elderslie Terrace end of the ground with my neighbour John. Two kids, [Read more]
Will you damn well take the game on you Crows!
June 23, 2011 by 5 Comments
Back. Sideways. Sideways. Back. Sideways. Back. No, it’s not the latest dance craze, nothing as entertaining as that. It’s the pattern of the Crows’ ball movement, the ‘Slow Sherrin Shuffle’, and it’s driving the fans crazy. Exhibit A: last Friday night, second quarter, Docklands. Ben Rutten takes the kick-in after [Read more]
Chasing that elusive premiership
June 23, 2011 by 3 Comments
CHASING THE ELUSIVE BUSH PREMIERSHIP It’s been a while since I’ve written an update and it’s not because things are going badly and I’ve cracked the sads but more to do with the fact I get pretty busy these days. The Imperial Football Club is sitting pretty in both grades at the moment with a [Read more]
One Hundred Years Ago: Round 8, 10th June, 1911
June 22, 2011 by 9 Comments
‘Football in the Mud’ was the headline The Argus chose for round 8 of 1911, and the weather was the dominant theme for more than just VFL fixtures. The constant rain was certainly causing havoc and confusion in the Geelong District League where communications went badly amiss for previously undefeated Chilwell. On the advice of [Read more]
God Said
June 22, 2011 by 7 Comments
Somewhere between last week’s snow, and this week’s constant rain, the hard, grey weather that floods or buries roads, God put his finger over our oval, leaving a blue sky that lasted six hours, and whispered “Bloody oath. Play.” There was no wind, no mud. Just cold air and sun getting in our eyes. Our [Read more]
Time Shifted Thrills
June 22, 2011 by 1 Comment
That week, Round 13, I was not going to be able to watch my Tigers battle the Lions at the Gabba that week, due to the fact that I was scheduled to keyboard St Kilda vs Geelong at the same time through my job with Champion Data. It goes without saying that it is an [Read more]
GigStuff 55
June 22, 2011 by 26 Comments
by Andrew Gigacz THERE’S TONS TO TALK ABOUT Over the past few days I haven’t been able to get the Crowded House song, Four Seasons in One Day, out of my head. But as I’ve been singing it, in my mind and occassionally (to the great annoyance of my sons) out loud, the first [Read more]
Harmony Sainters’ style
June 22, 2011 by 12 Comments
Love and death. Or on the hip side of the Yarra: sex and death. That would be the St Kilda side. (Of the Yarra) Love and death. It’s the sum total of it all. Saturday night and I am in the kitchen dealing with kids. I have been occupying them, entertaining them, playing with them, [Read more]
There’ll be plenty of beers after the game
June 22, 2011 by 3 Comments
by Glenn Harris You know I remember it like one of those things from your childhood that is ingrained into your brain and will never leave you. It was a few months before my 43rd birthday. I was tired, bruised and on my way home. As we drove down the long straights [Read more]
Sat’dy arvo footy – June 25th
June 22, 2011 by 2 Comments
by Chris Riordan It’s not just AFL players who anxiously awaited tribunal calls this week. There have also been some celebrated, even unfortunate cases in suburban and country comps. The comical one was down on the peninsula where a player got a week for dropping his dacks and saluting the crowd! Less amusing [Read more]
Saints March In, Coober Pedy Style
June 22, 2011 by 4 Comments
Will the Coober Pedy Saints march in with their first win of 2011? They look smart in their red, black and white strip. At least as smart as St Kilda look half the time. It’s the eighth round of the Far North Football League (FNFL) season so it’s been a piss-poor start. Hornridge, the [Read more]
The Most Beautiful Kicks
June 21, 2011 by 38 Comments
by Matt Zurbo The most beautiful kick I’ve ever seen on a football oval was a torpedo by Andrew Levi. The third most beautiful kick I’ve seen was a goal in a VFA/VFL Grand Final by Ian Rickman. His Williamstown were 42 points down at the start of the last quarter, then, [Read more]
English lessons at Windy Hill.
June 21, 2011 by 1 Comment
by Shane Goss In the days pre-AFL and Metricon Stadiums, suburban grounds played host to the game’s biggest stars. Back then the AFL was the VFL. Telephone-booths were still in use and Big M milk was the flavour of the times.The ‘match of the day’ or ‘games of the round’ were taking place every Saturday [Read more]
Good Guys and Heroes
June 21, 2011 by 8 Comments
By Sasha Lennon Saturday the 18th of June 2011 was a special day. It was a day for good guys and heroes. It was about players past and present, and what happened on the field was just a side-story. My eight year-old daughter Molly and I were in Hawthorn’s second home of Launceston, to watch [Read more]
He’s alright, this [Geelong player*] *insert your preferred young’un
June 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
He’s alright, this kid Menzel. In 2007 when the Cats finally won a flag, I was in London desperately searching for a pub that was showing the game at two in the morning. As the opening bounce drew closer I knew that we were going to win, and that I wasn’t going [Read more]
Clarence Clemons – The Passing of a Musical Inspiration
June 21, 2011 by 11 Comments
by Peter Baulderstone One of the great things about the Almanac is that its’ about more than footy. Its’ footy and sport as an entrée to things that are deepest and most important in life. Stuff that would sound ‘preachy’ if stated overtly, but sounds natural and unforced in the context of fandom, mateship [Read more]
A day with the Tigers
June 21, 2011 by 1 Comment
by John Green There are many types of Tiger in the football jungle. They may be found in places as diverse as Coburg, Werribee, Mitcham, Morwell, Colac-Coragulac, Woori Yallock, Kyneton and Foster. Or Glenelg, if you want to continue your safari outside Victoria. Today I’m watching the Tigers in the afternoon and fronting up [Read more]
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