Round 7 – Geelong v West Coast: Prostrate in Prachuap (as Pussies Pounce Eagles)

To celebrate the death of Plantar Fasciitis (it’s an irritating foot injury), I decided to walk around Koh Chang Noi (it’s an island), but had hardly started out before, without any effort, aggravating my Achilles in the same leg. The island circuit attempt became more hobble than hike.

Now that affliction is lingering like a tiresome guest at a bad party. To rest up, I journeyed to Prachuap Khiri Khan, a coastal city as pleasing as its intriguing name suggests, situated in the narrowest part of Thailand – the Myanmar border is only fifteen k’s away to the west.

Prachuap’s main attractions are friendly citizens, a picturesque bay, few foreign tourists and good, cheap seafood. Even though we are in the middle of an oppressive Thai summer with daytime temperatures in the high 30’s and above, and not much cooler at night, where thought of movement is enough to make you break into a sweat, Prachuap, while still hot, is tempered by soothing sea breezes.

Aiding convalescence was the discovery that the TV in the room of my budget lodgings at the Yuttichai Hotel broadcasted Australia Plus. Footy, you beauty! Arriving on a Friday arvo meant a weekend of it to indulge in. Though, after a fortnight of island life, air-con, WiFi and electricity were appreciated luxuries in themselves.

I wrote previously about the demise of the Australia Network. Australia Plus, its replacement, is rarely encountered, and to find it here was unexpected, but welcome.

Moggies V Suns had to make way for Port V Tiges, so wasn’t among the six games covered. However, I was still prostrate in Prachuap the following weekend when Cats and Eagles were given preference to Blues and Pies.

The Australia Plus reception, never crystal clear had, by then, deteriorated, as if being streamed via a slow internet connection, the vision jerky, strobe-lighting, and the audio out of sync.  The latter didn’t matter with footy coverage, however, but the Sherrin bobbed around like a shuttlecock, jump-cutting in sudden passages of fast motion, as did the players, some appearing to be launched into packs by hidden hands. But you got used to it. Unless, of course, it was perfectly okay and I was unknowingly consuming a dodgy batch of anti-inflammatories.

The broadcast is a few minutes behind live, so if following the AFL site simultaneously on a laptop you can make decisions about whether to continue watching or not.

Hallucinations aside, and presuming I wasn’t seeing things, and to cut a long story short …the Cats made the play, got the frees (often a rarity, even at home, despite prejudices to the contrary), then it became too easy, inappropriate handball materialised, the Eagles sensed it and got a run-on (I switched off the telly here – briefly), but most pleasingly of all, the Cats responded.

I felt West Coast might have a tougher go of it this year with a harder draw and increased expectations. They should still make the finals. Geelong, meanwhile, is befitting from an easier draw in 2016, so judgement needs to be withheld, but increased depth and good wins over Port and the Hawks are promising.

Plantar Fasciitis most commonly affects athletes – in my case, there was an exception. It took nearly a year to begone. Joel Selwood recently had a bout if it, and has hopefully completely recovered. Occasionally, a partly torn tendon is the problem, which for some reason heals more quickly if fully torn. Robert Harvey went to extreme lengths to be rid of plantar, jumping from a chair to land flat-footed and snap the tendon. Brad Ottens ran it into submission.

As for the Achilles, it’s on the improve and the hobble less pronounced. Next stop is Hua Hin, ninety minutes of minivan mayhem to the north, and favoured destination of Thai royalty. Not sure what to expect there, but if Australia Plus isn’t among the guesthouse TV channels, maybe I’ll find it in a bar – as long as it doesn’t entail a long hike or circuit.