The 2012 ‘Mopsy’ Fraser Cup – Round 10

Greetings Tipsters

Upset. The Oxford online defines upset as: Verb 1 – make (someone) unhappy, disappointed, or worried; 2 – knock (something) over; 3 – cause disorder in; disrupt: 4 – shorten and thicken the end or edge of (a metal bar, wheel rim, or other object), especially by hammering or pressure when heated; Noun 1 – an unexpected result or situation; 2 – the state of being unhappy, disappointed, or worried; 3 – a disturbance of a person’s digestive system. Further details can be found here http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/upset?q=upset

This writer was ignorant of its use in metallurgy but all the others are relevant. There’d have been a few disturbed digestive systems in the Essendon brains trust and Ratto’s guts must be rumbling like Vesuvius. Certainly, there was much disorder wreaked upon the accepted hierarchy, much as the Frost Giants attempted upon Asgard.

Pertinent, yes? Certainly, because I flicked off the Mosquitos/Fuschias match early in the third term, figuring, as we all did, that Hird The Third’s young warriors would eventually get it together and life would proceed along the path we expect it to, and I watched ‘Thor’, featuring an overly-muscled blond young Australian fellow who had to learn the value of humility and wisdom in order to achieve his true potential and it could have been Michael Hurley only he was better looking and Perky Girl was making ‘corr!’ type noises unlike anything I’ve heard from her while watching a football game, with the possible exception of Josh Kennedy, since she last watched ‘Dreamie Tom’ Brady drive the Patriots downfield for yet another touchdown, perhaps it was good fortune that she didn’t watch the Superbowl.

Thus, one may consider this to be the loss the Mosquitos had to have and, as a fan of the Sydney Sparkies, the timing is terrible because they’ll be getting all worked up to a state of vengeance and I’ve yet to get a digirecorder but must this week because I’ll be out for dinner Sateve.

Or maybe I’ll switch allegiance to the Barbecues, you gotta love their pluck, you gotta love Mad Sheeds walking along the fence at halftime and having a go at the Pivotonian multitudes because the kids were level with the reigning premiers at halftime, sure, the natural order reasserted itself after the long break and a few slices of orange, but the kids still gave a reasonable account of themselves which is more than can be said of the Schoolies who were collectively pummelled from pillar to post, so much so that Gaz’ 53 touches were rated as of little to no account by Nat The Buck on account of how he had nowhere to go with them, his efficiency rate was in the 40s because, I hate to say it because I’m all for the greater glory of the game, but the Schoolies are shaping up as the new Purps and the Gold Coast is a graveyard for professional football teams.

So maybe North are congratulating themselves on staying at Arden Street, but that aint paying off in any worthwhile way, Brad The Unlucky Scott has managed the embarassing achievement of 100 point losses in each of his three years in charge and his Joeys allowed the hitherto underperforming Buddy to kick 13 goals, the highest single game total since Scott ‘Pudding’ Cumming kicked 14 against the Murder in the last year of the Twentieth Century, back when full-forwards really were full-forwards and kicked goals all over the place and no-one spouted crap about them having a great game because they created contests but only had two kicks, by the gods, what would Plugger have to say about that?

Not too much, he was last in the news for crashing his enduro motorcycle in the Finke Desert Race and being somewhat injured and more interested in breeding greyhounds and looking after his four daughters, Plugger has more pressing tasks than watching football. He might’ve dug watching Buddy go for it, as would any Mayblooms fan and their fan forum is doubtless lit up tonight with pleadings for Lance to play out of the goalsquare.

Bloomin’ heck, remember positional play? Granted, football this year has been better than it has for several years, with fast running, quick ball movement, long kicking and marking contests, but it is frustrating to see a turnover in the backline and a fast break leading to little more than a speculative kick from 70 yards. I’d like to predict, perhaps more in hope than anything else, that coaches might start directing a proven forward to hang around in the forward half, at least, while the rest of the team all pile on a throw-in like a bunch of six year old soccer players. Note that the Riewoldt Jack kicked two goals in the last term on Frieve, with the game in the balance, when he was unaccountably 20 yards in the clear.

Note also that the Riewoldt Nick, facing a wobbly, indetermined kick from Milne, had to decide between marking it or letting it go through for a goal, did neither. Has the sheer weight of St Kilda history come crashing down on Nick and the rest of the team? An errant bounce has cost this team two Grand Final wins, just as a wobbly punt scored them their only flag.

Against this, Richmond are showing confidence and brass. Their fans are loving it and are looking forward to being hated. They’ve waited a long time for this… It’s gonna be good for football, you know it will.

Cheers, Tipsters

P&C, A ‘Stop Privatisation of Footy’ production, a division of Trans-Dementia Enterprises.

Brought to you with the assistance of The Raspberries’ ‘Starting Over’.

About Earl O'Neill

Freelance gardener, I've thousands of books, thousands of records, one fast motorcycle and one gorgeous smart funny sexy woman. Life's pretty darn neat.

Comments

  1. The Wrap says

    Love your work Earl. Where did the ‘Mopsy’ Fraser come from? He was my favourite player as a member of the prototype Tiger Army (aged 10). I would have had #21 on my duffle coat – only they weren’t around then.

    John Mosig aka The Wrap

  2. Love the Raspberries reference, Earl. It’s ” Go All the Way” on high rotation in Eagleland.

  3. Earl O'Neill says

    Peter – I try to educate, not just inform. If I were you, I’d go for The Squires’ ‘Going All The Way’, it’d sound great blasting out over the MCG after the last siren of the year. Unless it’s a repeat of 2006.

    John – mutual admiration society here, I get a genuine LOL reading The Wrap. I started writing the column around 1999 for a tipping group and chose Don ‘Mopsy’ Fraser because he represented a type that was lacking, if not extinct. I first read about him in Jack Dyer’s ‘Wild Men Of Football.’ There are a lot of mad Tiggers in the tipping group.

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