One lazy afternoon, in a marquee on the banks of the Brisbane River, in a spot which would have been three metres under water last January, I sat with the battered and the downtrodden at the feet of Michael Leunig. We had been drawn to him in our individual and collective downtrodden-ness because his topic [Read more]
Inside the Brownlow – Floreat Pica Society style
September 28, 2011 by 4 Comments
by Ramon Dobb Last night, the Floreat Pica Society continued its tradition of having its global network of members in all of the footy hot spots of the world. I was an extremely fortunate recipient of a corporate invitation to the Brownlow Medal and thought I’d share a few snippets of the experience [Read more]
My Magpies refuse to die but almost kill me in the process
September 25, 2011 by 9 Comments
Furious!!! Would be a good word to describe how I felt by half time. Crap!!! Would be a good word to describe how we were playing. Fierce!!! Would be a good word to describe how they were playing, and gob-smacked!!! Pretty much summarizes how I felt by the end of it all. Danielle EidIm 23, [Read more]
Best Night Ever.
September 25, 2011 by 6 Comments
A few years ago we met a family from Zimbabwe who had started going to our church at Rosanna. The father, MT, was studying at Latrobe University. MT and Rhee, like us, have three young kids and so we invited them over for a meal. Our three children James, Thomas and Ben loved running around [Read more]
The willing and the wounded weave a way to the big day
September 24, 2011 by 9 Comments
escapology n. methods and technique of escaping esp. from captivity, confinement in box etc. Yes, this was a great escape for the Pies, and we make it through to the finale by the skin of our teeth. The record volume of FPS email traffic pre-match said a lot about the excitement [Read more]
One Hundred Years Ago: Grand Final, 23rd September, 1911
September 22, 2011 by 31 Comments
Essendon had been the outstanding team of the year. They’d had the better of Collingwood in both previous encounters this season, including an historic 85 point thrashing of the Magpies in round 4. They were firm favourites to wrap the flag up in this game. But Collingwood coach George Angus had reason to suspect [Read more]
Looking Back and Looking Forward
September 18, 2011 by 6 Comments
So it’s the Pies and the Hawks on Friday night. It’s 34 years since these sides squared off in a final,the second semi in 1977. That was a fantastic game, in which the Pies withheld a late Hawks charge to win by two points. The win came at a huge cost however, as Michael Tuck’s head came [Read more]
POISE AND OTTENS
September 12, 2011 by 6 Comments
Poise versus flashes of brilliance. Geelong versus Hawthorn. The weather gods have no concept of timing. They sent the wintery blast up from the Antarctic and into the MCG just in time for Friday night. Cold, hard rain hit the players’ faces and ran down the backs of supporters whose resilience was tested in [Read more]
Geelong are no underdogs
September 12, 2011 by 20 Comments
One of the more curious aspects of our time is that while no one wants to be an actual underdog, it’s helpful in many ways to be perceived as one. This produces some odd disconnects between spin and reality. Billionaires accuse artists and academics of being elites. CEO’s bemoan the dominance of workers as they [Read more]
What a bloody relief
September 11, 2011 by 3 Comments
This was a game we just had to win. Inexplicably a team with a 20-1 record had dropped the last round of the season by 96 points and now found themselves in a final facing a team with a 17-5 record, only half a game inferior to what got us top spot last year. Round [Read more]
The true key to AFL premiership glory
September 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment
What is the biggest guide to which club will achieve premiership success in the AFL this season? Most people would suggest winning form is the key. While those more superstitious might say that luck on the day is all that is needed? Well, it is neither of the above, nor is it anything else that [Read more]
Haiku Bob – round 24: some buds open
September 5, 2011 by 9 Comments
spring evening squealing cats spoil my dreams packed ‘G long after the goal I hear it fast moving clouds a chain of handpasses ends with a goal the curved path of the moon — Fasolo from the pocket last drinks our last goal turns out to be our last filling the half-empty stadium final siren [Read more]
Pendlebury
September 4, 2011 by 4 Comments
Pendlebury. The pub was small and full. There was a great no-name band crammed into the corner, a few loose units dancing, people in booths talking, everybody pushing like mud rivers to get to get drinks, to the smoker’s section, to and from the fire. I wore them all, and the music, like a [Read more]
Floreat Pica: Take Your Pick
September 4, 2011 by 5 Comments
By Paul Fahey Round 24 Vs Geelong 2011 The first weekend in September is usually reserved for the first weekend of AFL finals – we have to be thankful that this was NOT the case this year! As this game was a “dead rubber” I believe that you the type of person you are [Read more]
Friday Night Footy 360
September 4, 2011 by 5 Comments
Ever since the shock loss to Sydney ended the Cats four year unbeaten run at Kardinia Park last week all and sundry have been declaring “Geelong are wobbly”, “The Cats are vulnerable” and “Hawthorn are now the biggest threat to Collingwood”. Funny how they seem to have forgotten that we’ve beaten Hawthorn twice this season [Read more]
Collingwood’s Loss is Australia’s Gain
September 3, 2011 by 7 Comments
“My fellow Australians, I speak to you tonight to announce that I will be standing down immediately as Prime Minister of this great country. Over the past year I have given my all to this country that I love so much, and that has given me so much. But I have to acknowledge that the [Read more]
Round 24: Blog
September 3, 2011 by 63 Comments
So what to make of that effort? Or lack thereof. Lucky we’ve been assured there’s no such thing as tanking. It would have been more polite for the Pies to alert everyone (ala the Hawks) that they were taking all this Irrelevant Round stuff to heart. Might have saved people the effort of turning up. [Read more]
the splintered pack
August 31, 2011 by 1 Comment
12 goals clear Krakouer kicks the last on impulse spring petals — Cloke plucks one close to home Sandilands jumps — the splintered pack releases the goal sneak the many paths life takes us peppering the goals Swan sets off everyone left behind winter’s [Read more]
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