West Coast Eagles: Some teams are good, not great, but just good. Sometimes they are great and shoot to the top of the ladder and win the odd premiership, but then they lose some skill and drop down in the top 8. The Eagles used to be like this. 2002, they finished 8th. 2003, they [Read more]
Barney’s 2010 AFL Crystal Ball Part 7: St Kilda and Sydney
January 8, 2010 by 338 Comments
by Josh Barnstable St Kilda: So close, yet so far was the story for St Kilda in 2009. 22 wins from 25 games but failed on the big stage against Geelong. That hurt them. It hurt them more then any other premiership loss would have hurt any other club. They have a great team that [Read more]
Barney’s 2010 AFL Crystal Ball Part 6: Port Adelaide and Richmond
January 7, 2010 by 648 Comments
by Josh Barnstable Port Adelaide Power: The Power made a resurgence of sorts on the field, putting in some good displays while also getting rid of that shocking home guernsey that they have worn since their inception to the AFL in 1997. Port Adelaide will now sport a new guernsey made by a six year [Read more]
Barney’s 2010 AFL Crystal Ball Part 5: Melbourne and North Melbourne
January 6, 2010 by 340 Comments
by Josh Barnstable Melbourne: Off the bottom of the ladder into finals contention is where the Dees will find themselves in the next couple of seasons. What’s so different though? Dean Bailey has predicted a change, he has changed the gamestyle that was, at times, ugly, recruited the best two kids in the country and [Read more]
Second Test, Day 4: Australia accomplishes Mission Impossible
January 6, 2010 by 1 Comment
by Andrew Gigacz Day 4 dawns cloudy for Australia, literally and metaphorically. A lead of 80 with two wickets remaining has even the most optimistic of us in doubt. But optimistic I remain and prior to the start of player, I go searching for the silver lining in those clouds. And I find it. Australia’s [Read more]
Mysteries and Demons revisited: An Australian miracle, a Pakistani collapse.
January 6, 2010 by 4 Comments
They call it Test cricket because it has a tendency to test all your resources, both mental and psychical. I wrote yesterday of demons and mysteries. At that stage, it was Australia battling the demons, and Pakistan which held all the mystery. Well, as they say, a day is a long time in cricket (and [Read more]
Barney’s 2010 AFL Crystal Ball Part 4: Geelong and Hawthorn
January 5, 2010 by 111 Comments
by Josh Barnstable Geelong Cats: The premiers, in decline maybe? You wouldn’t think so, as the only major loss from the premiership side of 2009 is captain Tom Harley, but form in the second half of the season pointed towards a change of form in the next couple of seasons. The forward line lacks a [Read more]
Mysteries and Demons: Not a Dan Brown sequel, but a Pakistani blockbuster
January 5, 2010 by 2 Comments
Pakistan has always been one of the most fascinating cricketing nations; though not always for the right reasons. There’s usually an alleged teenage prodigy of indeterminate age, who often turns out to be 26 years old and a father of three; the continual unexplained revolving door of captains, coaches and virtually everyone else in the [Read more]
Big Bash a big hit with the kids (and Dad?)
January 5, 2010 by 2 Comments
They say parents go to the football and take their kids. With basketball, it is the kids who go and take their parents. Twenty20 is the basketball form of cricket. Having looked at the cricket calendar I knew we weren’t going to be around for the international short-form games but saw January 2 as an [Read more]
Second Test, Day 2: Akmal misses 50, Dips’s daughter misses the 48 tram
January 4, 2010 by 3 Comments
By Damian O’Donnell The first day back at work is the second day of the second Test in Sydney. The first Pakistan wicket to fall is actually the second (after North dropped a dolly), and the first time I heard a live score was when the second wicket fell. The radio is playing quietly in [Read more]
Second Test, Day 2: Intuition wins out over process
January 4, 2010 by 3 Comments
by John Harms Play School was just finishing as the cricket started at the SCG, and on Channel 9. The Australians had it all before them, having been bowled out cheaply the previous afternoon. The Pakistanis had bowled beautifully, and taken most of their chances, and then their openers Imran Farhat and Salman Butt hung [Read more]
Barney’s 2010 AFL Crystal Ball Part 3: Essendon and Fremantle
January 4, 2010 by 20 Comments
by Josh Barnstable Essendon: A tough year for the Bombers finished in an unlikely finals berth that they didn’t deserve, and it showed with a 96-point thumping by the Crows showing them the exit from September. Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas are gone, their two goalkicking stars of the past decade. The Bombers don’t have [Read more]
When Did it Change
January 4, 2010 by Leave a Comment
By Debbie Kairn When Did it Change When Sydney to Hobart got so fast It used to last almost to next year Constitution tested before the yachties rested When did it change The MCG to Simply the G Are M and C less important when goal posts at each end stand rampant When did it [Read more]
NIGHTWATCHMAN? – someone please explain
January 4, 2010 by Leave a Comment
My English immigrant father, having only daughters, raised me with an understanding of cricket; of course when I was growing up test cricket was the dominant form of the game. It is certainly a format for the devoted and over many years of observing and analysing, I have come to enjoy and respect it. While [Read more]
Barney’s 2010 AFL Crystal Ball Part 2: Carlton and Collingwood
January 3, 2010 by 45 Comments
By Josh Barnstable Carlton: After such a promising season, it seems it could all go down the drain with the loss of Brendan Fevola. The two-time Coleman Medalist departed during trade week after the Blues were angered by his performance at the Brownlow Medal. Getting Lachie Henderson for Fevola was a dud deal, but a [Read more]
Second Test, Day 1: Mohammads make a mountain for Aussies to climb
January 3, 2010 by 4 Comments
By Steve Healy A few days ago, I told my good friend Gigs that I’d be able to report on day one of the cricket. But after doing so, I realised that the Test started on Sunday, the day we were hosting my sister’s Italian boyfriend (who came to Australia on Wednesday) for a barbeque [Read more]
Ridiculous things you really didn’t need to know about this Test match
January 3, 2010 by 26 Comments
By Andrew Gigacz AUSTRALIA IN SYDNEY is an anagram of IN A RAINY DAY TUSSLE. PAKISTAN IN SYDNEY? is an anagram of YES! AND STAY IN PINK! DRAW IN SYDNEY is an anagram of DRY ENDS. I YAWN. A TIE IN SYDNEY is an anagram of I.E. DENY SANITY. Australia were [Read more]
Barney’s 2010 AFL Crystal Ball Part 1: Adelaide and Brisbane
January 2, 2010 by 246 Comments
by Josh Barnstable It’s that time, the time we all cherish as youngsters, I’m sure the fellow members of the Fab 5 will be feeling this feeling that I’m having as I type this. It’s a time of hope, anticipation and gratitude. No, not Christmas, no, not the start of the New Year. The magical [Read more]
First Test, Day 4: Aamer red hot, Healy red-faced
December 31, 2009 by 32 Comments
By Steve Healy Going to the Boxing Day test is a rarity for me, in actual fact I’ve only been twice before. Last year on day three, and in 2005 on day four. On both occasions, the visiting team was South Africa. While walking into the MCG on a sunny December 29, I realised that [Read more]
Poetry: “Footyless”
December 31, 2009 by 80 Comments
By Danielle Eid Footyless Being Footyless is not hard to explain Truthfully I must admit I think I’ve gone Insane No happiness, laughter No suffering or pain Just thoughts of Old Malthouse and his almost finished reign. My scarf hangs in my closet, my Collingwood jersey too The flags stand beside them with nothing else [Read more]
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