One oft asked question is, “Do you remember where you were when…?” For my wife, this question could easily relate to her first sighting of a young North Melbourne rookie in 2008. As is our want, my wife and I show up at training sessions following drafts to cast our ‘expert’ eye over the youngsters [Read more]
THE PRE WRAP – ROUND IXX
August 6, 2010 by 4 Comments
FOR THE PHILOSOPHICAL MARNGROOK FAN What a week it’s been in Footy Eddie. And what a round we have in store for us. Two top sides slug it out for the Minor Premiership. The two up and comers decide which Flag flies high over their co-tenanted ground. Two Born To Rule Swaggerers slug it out [Read more]
Almanac Racing: A new season beckons
August 6, 2010 by 5 Comments
A rider must accompany this rant, warning that I have overnight returned from an extended visit to Darwin which encompassed the last three days of their Carnival. My best tip, therefore, is to book early and go next year. Great fun is assured, but it can be tough going and may have taken its toll [Read more]
Aker: Individual Good vs Common Good
August 6, 2010 by Leave a Comment
From the response to Josh’s piece, it seems too much Aker is barely enough (for the next 10 minutes anyway). This piece from Andrew Hamilton of Eureka Street draws parallels between Aker’s sacking and the election campaign; a case of individual and collective goods in tension with each other. http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=22523
Almanac Rugby League – Book Review: Voices from Brisbane Rugby League
August 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment
This review was previously published in Queensland Labour History http://www.boolarongpress.com.au/photos/Voices%20from%20Brisbane%20Rugby%20League%20Large%20%281%29.jpg Review of Greg Mallory, Voices from Brisbane Rugby League: Oral Histories from the 50s to the 70s, Boolarong Press 2009 Greg Mallory, and his editor, Gail Cartwright, are to be congratulated for adding to our archive of oral history collections. Like all such works, this [Read more]
Book Review: Nine Lives
August 5, 2010 by 1 Comment
Title: Nine Lives (Football, cancer and getting on with life) Author: Adam Ramanauskas with Emma Quayle ( rrp $36.99) Publisher: Penguin Viking At the age of 25, and less than a month after marrying his childhood sweetheart, AFL footballer Adam Ramanauskas sat in his doctor’s office and was told that he had cancer. For the [Read more]
The Cult Heroes
August 5, 2010 by 27 Comments
After Kyle Hardingham’s first game for Essendon in Round 17, Dan Silkstone of The Age was so impressed that he proclaimed that “the Bomber faithful had a new cult hero”. A couple of exciting hangers and four majors was just the debut that Essendon fans would have been hoping for from Hardingham. But was it [Read more]
Local Footy: Stevie J all the way in a rare game for Wangaratta
August 5, 2010 by 4 Comments
At last year’s Footy Almanac lunch before the grand final, Steve Johnson’s father Terry was asked to name the best game he had seen his son play. It was expected that Terry would name one of Steve’s many great games for the Cats—maybe his Norm Smith Medal performance in the 2007 grand final. Instead, he [Read more]
The ’76 Peter Moore
August 4, 2010 by 3 Comments
by James Gilchrist This is an extract taken from the unpublished manuscript “Tragic – The Diary of a Magpie Fan” it won second prize in the Sminkworks Short Story Competition in 2007. Some of the pitfalls I faced growing up included being short, freckle faced and red haired, having to wear light blue cotton skivvies [Read more]
Did the Aker sackers make the right decision?
August 4, 2010 by 17 Comments
by Josh Barnstable If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you wouldn’t have heard what has happened in the world of AFL. On May 20, Western Bulldogs star Jason Akermanis wrote an outlandish article in the Herald Sun about homosexual footballers coming out of the closet. Akermanis claimed that two [Read more]
Bomber form irrelevant as Saints succumb again
August 4, 2010 by 5 Comments
by David Downer As pre-match curtain raisers go, you could do worse than spending a lazy seven hours at the All Nations Hotel in Richmond. Amongst the now familiar joie-de-vivre of the “afternoon session”, the impending federal election ensured any non-footy banter turned political in nature – the turn a touch more left than right [Read more]
“We’ll be right”
August 4, 2010 by 1 Comment
by Andrew Starkie Western Bulldogs versus North Melbourne 2.10pm, Sunday, August 1 Etihad Stadium, Melbourne During half-time, a craggy old Northerner wobbles up beside me and rests on the railing. He’s wearing a Kangaroo beanie and needs a walking stick to stay upright. We get to talking and his voice is like a firecracker as [Read more]
Cloke and swagger
August 4, 2010 by Leave a Comment
by Sue Currie Anticipation was buzzing on Saturday as I climbed aboard the Collingwood Special at Clifton Hill station. This week was ‘rivalry round’ between my Pies and our historic arch-enemy, Carlton, which is a misnomer in our case, since every Melbourne-based team sees us as their greatest rival. Just look at Sheeds’ new joke [Read more]
In A League of Its Own – Issue 2
August 4, 2010 by 7 Comments
Tom’s weekly outlook on the A-League The brand new season kicks off on Thursday in Melbourne and I can’t help but look ahead to what should be one very competitive year. Here are my predictions for most of the big topics, and I’m sure there will be plenty of debate over them.
Just another flogging at the hands of the Pies
August 3, 2010 by 10 Comments
by Steve Healy Collingwood v Carlton games are normally a pleasure to watch. It is undoubtedly the greatest rivalry in footy. This match was a pleasure to watch, but not the sort of pleasure you get from a hard fought contest, where both teams go hard at the ball and the ball bounces from one [Read more]
A Tiding of Magpies and an Interloper Farewell Haiku Bob
August 3, 2010 by 19 Comments
by Peter Flynn It is early Saturday night not long after sunset. I saunter down Gertrude Street listening to Port versus Hawthorn. Bizarrely, I find myself barracking furiously for Port Adelaide. It’s funny who you can end up supporting in neutral sporting contests. Each Port pack mark in front of goal evokes a well-concealed short [Read more]
Why oh why?
August 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment
By Ged McMahon Last Thursday I did something that I really shouldn’t have. I betrayed a long term intimate relationship. I broke the trust and went against everything I’ve ever believed in … I tipped against my beloved Bombers. I agonised over my decision for some time. I felt sick in the stomach and was [Read more]
The Albatross Rules – Chapter 21
August 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment
21. The Professor in the Wilderness After the dramas in the committee room the president could have been forgiven for staying in town to shore up support. He knew the street would be buzzing with half-truths. ‘The Profs trying to sack the board.’ ‘He’s gone power hungry.’ ‘Maybe he wants the merger… he’s been talking [Read more]
The View from Shepparton – Round 18
August 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment
The question is, will the Bulldogs move forward after their win against North Melbourne or it all come to a ghastly end if not on 21 August then some time in September? Will the Bulldogs fortunes be in sync with those of their number one ticket holder? I think that it is fair to say [Read more]
Sydney Smackdown at the hands of Geelong
August 3, 2010 by 12 Comments
By Susie Giese I am a great little sister. Along with mum, I went all the way to Sydney, just to visit brother Darren. Oh, what’s this? Geelong is playing in NSW this weekend? What a pleasant coincidence! At first, I thought the dreaded Kardinia Park weather had followed us up north. Rain, the weatherman [Read more]
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