In the testing ground with the centre half backs

Carolyn Spooner’s review of the champions of the footy spine has reached the heroic position of centre half back.

Almanac Books: Extract – My lifelong love affair with the Swans by Jan Courtin

With Bulldog supporters hoping for an end to their 62 year Premiership drought, Jan Courtin, in this extract from her book, recounts when the 72 year wait for the Bloods was finally over in 2005.

Solving the Case of the Roys Ring-In Premiership Trophy

Mystery solved! The case of the Fitzroy Premiership that wasn’t! Read all about it!

Round 17 – St Kilda v Melbourne: Achievements and Winning Mind

As Yoshi develops his writing skills, his Saints continue to provide positive material especially in the streak against Melbourne.

Round 6 – Melbourne v St Kilda: We’re back!

Yoshi enjoys his day off dancing, singing karoake and watching his Saints come marching in at the Coolabah Pub in Osaka. If every weekend could be this good.

Round 5 – Melbourne v Richmond: Being with footy

Paddy Grindlay, in navigating a way through the fog of a desultory start to Richmond’s 2016 season, has found wisdom playing, training and umpiring around Woodend: “The brilliance of footy will save us all.”

2016: A year of high and low anniversaries for Fitzroy Football Club supporters

Philip Mendes reflects on the significance of this year’s anniversaries for Fitzroy Football Club – the good and the not so

The Art of Coaching

What makes a good coach? David Parker tackles this with a touch of Sun Tzu.

Round 23 – Melbourne v GWS: One for the true believers

Joseph Ryan was rapt with Sunday’s game. And the die-hard support. Melbourne fans can look forward to 2016.

Round 22: Fremantle v Melbourne: McClelland Clinched Despite D-Grade Performance

Is Mick Jeffrey a hard marker or are Freo looking a bit shaky on the eve of the finals? Despite knocking off the Dees to the tune of 50 points, Mick has his concerns.

Round 21 – Carlton v Melbourne: Sill awaiting the purple patch

Geoff Woolcock is such a Dees man he flies from sunny Brisbane to the MCG (via Docklands) and gets there mid-pummeling. That’s love.

49 questions on a Tuesday

How many cabs in New York city? How many questions can a Tuesday carry? Footy, cricket, life… Got any answers?

Round 12 – Geelong v Melbourne: Good Luck With That…

Rusty Berther is a man who has dished out curses on his beloved Demons – now, after years of suffering and a breakthrough win, he’s ready to offload one onto Geelong.

Round 7 – Hawthorn v Melbourne: Contenders v Pretenders

Steve Baker, neutral observer, nearly chokes on his incredulity on the way to the MCG. What’s going on when a coach praises a player for dropping himself? What’s going on when the final margin is 105 points?

A Look at the 2015 AFL Season Tea Leaves

Tony Robb boils the kettle and swirls some lapsang souchong in a cup and comes up with his prognostications on how the 2015 AFL season will unfold. Good for some and not-so-good for others.

Coaching a Young Club from the Bench

While coaching from the sidelines is de-riguer in the NFL, suburban footy and world soccer, opinions in the AFL world are still divided on the effectiveness of coaches calling the shots from the boundary line versus coaching from an elevated vantage point in the stands. Yoshi weighs in with some thoughts on where best to coach elite players from.

Roy Boy Legends – 1970 – 1996

Philp Mendes tugs at the heartstrings of old Roy Boys fans with his greatest Fitzroy Team from 1970 – 1996.

[Note: Chruistmas news is the Fitzroy Football Club in the Ammos is to be celebrated with a weekly Almanac column next year. If you’d like to be a contributor please contact [email protected])]

AFL Round 12 – Melbourne v Collingwood: Hunting Woozles

There is something about the deification of Paul Roos by the commentariat that reminds David Wilson of Winnie the Pooh’s gloriously muddled thinking.

AFL Round 9 – Richmond v Melbourne: A Tale of Two Suburbs

Two teams battling. How good are they? Gregor Lewis feels the time warp spinning back to 2011 in watching Melbourne and Richmond. But this time, there’s a certain something about the Demons.

Paul Roos and the psychology of football

Steven Whiteside with a look at the unique challenges facing Paul Roos at Melbourne.