by Nick Sculley After yet another tumultuous off-season the Saints have adopted a siege mentality. The St.Kilda versus the world idea has been enforced by coach and captain alike, and to an extent it has acted to deflect any excess attention away from the club. As a loyal St.Kilda supporter this summer’s indiscretions and controversies [Read more]
Crio’s Q: The pre-season grind
March 22, 2011 by 12 Comments
The serious stuff is about to start but no doubt the clubs have been putting the players through some pretty interesting pre-season drills over the summer. And variations of such things would have filtered through to suburban and country level pre-seasons. There’s bound to be a story or two out there of a training drill [Read more]
The Match Committee Ep 1
March 22, 2011 by 2 Comments
The Roosters are working through the telling issues which are part and parcel of a modern footy club. They deal with them in their own way. Episode 1 can be found at www.thematchcommittee.com Have a look and return to make your comment.
Crio’s Q
March 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment
by Chris Riordan Apparently another Pies Flag is a given. The world, it seems, is back on its hyperbolic axis – despite their last consecutive (can’t bear “back-to-back) premierships being over 70 years ago! Here’s a way to stay interested in what will manifestly otherwise be a “cakewalk” – using the increasingly popular “head-to-head” betting. And it is [Read more]
A Difficult Conversation
March 21, 2011 by 14 Comments
When his daughter, upon learning of Gary Ablett’s departure north, asked “Daddy, do we still barrack for Geelong?”, Gerard Whateley knew he’d reached a pivotal moment. Read his response. http://www.geelongcats.com.au/geelongnews/newsarticle/tabid/3933/newsid/109483/default.aspx
Strike?
March 21, 2011 by 10 Comments
Does anybody recall much about the Essendon player strike at the start of 1970. I think around 6 players were in dispute, Geoff Pryor, definitely; Gosper, John Williams, and Don Mckenzie i think were amongst them. Lost to Carlton in R 1 , with Les Stillman kicking 6 for the Dons, but beyond that my [Read more]
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
March 21, 2011 by 12 Comments
Different things stir our spirit; reach into our soul. What stirs mine may not stir you. I suppose it’s what makes the world go around. Recently on this site Peter Flynn wrote about the mighty Black Caviar. The sight of it powering away from its rivals obviously captured him. I can understand that. A horse [Read more]
Should he stay or should he go?
March 21, 2011 by 23 Comments
A special investigative feature, looking at the truth behind the Malthouse Buckley rumours. By John Weldon Is it too early to begin speculation about the possibility of the Malthouse Buckley succession deal falling through at the end of this season, should Collingwood win (or not win) the2011 flag? No it’s not. Well not according to [Read more]
Tipping Rebellion
March 20, 2011 by 3 Comments
If there’s one thing I like, especially in Football, it’s tradition. One of my earliest memories is Dad coming home from work with the footy tipping cards. He’d call me into the kitchen before tea, and read out the eight games to me. What I thrill I got from choosing what team I wanted to [Read more]
Willaston Dreams
March 20, 2011 by 1 Comment
Pictures by Almanacker Peter Argent It’s a great time of the year for footballers around the country. Wherever they might be. Some have been hard at it all summer. Running with squinted eyes through the shimmery white heat, loving and hating (at once) the beads of sweat which trickle between their shoulder blades, down the [Read more]
Sid Myers rewards
March 20, 2011 by 7 Comments
It was raining hard on a mid-winter Tuesday night; the oval full of water and mud; everything well dark. The club had fallen hard. We were in what, D-division? Something involving knuckles and no hope. We’d won one game, they’d sacked the coach. Eight of us had bothered to show up. We milled around the [Read more]
The 21st Annual LADDER LADDER Competition
March 19, 2011 by 9 Comments
What the hell is a LADDER LADDER competition, I hear the uninitiated ask? Well it’s NOT the Tip The Top 8 comp. That is indeed another fine way to have fun with footy and you can find the details of that one right here. The LADDER LADDER Competition is simple: it’s a comp that requires [Read more]
Giga Bites 6 – Director’s Cut
March 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Below is an extended version of Giga Bites, which appeared in the Saturday Age on 12th March, 2011. Giga Bites Andrew Gigacz AN ELUSIVE MATCH-UP It may surprise some footy fans that, despite being two powerhouses of the AFL, last night’s NAB Cup Grand Final was only the second time in a hundred years that [Read more]
THE WELCOME BACK WRAP
March 18, 2011 by 10 Comments
For the Philosophical Marngrook Follower What an off-season it’s been in Footy Eddie. Lots of juicy stuff for the Yellow Press. The Fev, Chicken Lips Nixon & the now 17 year old chick, Bomber’s Betrayal, the return of The Culture Club, an Ashes Creaming, and on top of all that, we have a new Reigning [Read more]
In Pre Season, Speculation Springs Eternal
March 18, 2011 by 15 Comments
Conventional football wisdom appears to have undergone a major reversal in recent times. Not so long ago, it was a given that winning back-to-back flags was a task achievable by only the greatest teams. History still supports this view. Yet recently, every reigning premier begins the season lauded as a dynasty in waiting. Numerous are [Read more]
Almanac Racing: Moonee Valley, Caulfield
March 18, 2011 by 4 Comments
I’ve felt a bit sorry for Moonee Valley’s Fridays “under lights” this season with wretched weather blighting their chances of getting a sporting foothold. This is the last non-footy weekend, so it is to be hoped that the Alister Clark Stakes (3yr.olds, Gr2, 2040m) meeting gets a good crowd and the interest can then be [Read more]
Folking it up at Port Fairy
March 18, 2011 by 11 Comments
It might be called a Folk Festival but Port Fairy encompasses much, much more than that one genre. Our posse, mostly from the suburb of Preston, makes up five families of ten adults and eleven kids. In that mob, as many as 100 concerts are attended. In some instances, during the course of a day [Read more]
The ball is in dispute…
March 17, 2011 by 6 Comments
There is not a single holy grail of football; it is a different thing to each man. Some crave September silverware and the reflected glory of team success. Fathers dream of lacing up the first pair of boots on their offspring and watching them take the field. The purist, however, must one day embark on [Read more]
Essendon’s everlasting legends
March 17, 2011 by 1 Comment
There has never been a shortage of legends at Windy Hill. Dick Reynolds was announced Essendon’s greatest player of all time at a September function in 2002. King Dick was a four time premiership player, won Essendon’s best and fairest seven times and claimed three Brownlow Medals in a career that spanned some 320 games. [Read more]
In A-league of Its Own – Grand Final edition
March 17, 2011 by 7 Comments
Tom’s weekly outlook on the A-League Well, what a climax to an amazing A-League season. The Version 6 Grand Final last Sunday was one of the all time great games of domestic football in Australia. In front of a crowd of over 50,000 and many more watching from around Australia and the world, pre-match favourites [Read more]
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