The Blues’ 11.8 (74) to 9.14 (68) elimination final win at the MCG helped expunge memories of the past decade Friday was 10 years to the day since Carlton last won a final. September 8, 2013 was one of those footy days that sticks in your marrow. On a perfect spring afternoon, in front of the loudest, most engaged crowd, Carlton ran all over the top of an emerging but rickety Richmond. I’ve never seen a more desolate supporter base than the yellow and blacks that afternoon.The Blues had been parachuted into the finals because of the Essendon scandal. But they had Chris Judd. The most even-tempered of footballers, he had been angered, of all things, by Richmond’s drum ensemble,...
When the AFL can negotiate a billion dollar TV deal but can’t tell us whether a goal is a goal, fans get dudded and players ask: what’s the point?As far as the AFL is concerned, every problem can be solved. Everything can be measured, conquered, spun and sold. Everything can be ameliorated with a snappy press conference, a diversionary thought bubble or a long lunch.It doesn’t always work like that, of course. The game itself operates in the grey zone. The way it’s funded and administered is built on conflicts of interest, on give and take, on taking a progressive stance one minute and cosying up to the likes of Lachlan Murdoch the next. On any given day, the governing...
This year offered West Coast a chance to reset. But two consecutive floggings and the biggest losing margin in their history have the Eagles in a tailspinChapter 12 of Stephen King’s Misery ends with the line: “Then the rain came and things changed.” In King’s book, the weather turned, Annie Wilkes’ mood darkened, and Paul Sheldon forfeited his foot. When the rain came for the West Coast Eagles in 2019, they kept their legs, but lost the double chance. Since that day, pretty much nothing has gone right.It was round 22 - Richmond at the MCG. One of the great games of the pre-Covid era. In the first term, the Eagles played almost perfect football – the clean, crisp, kick-and-catch...
There’s no need to bemoan a sport gone soft, just reflect on what it means to an Indigenous footballerRichmond supporters will be waiting for Tom Stewart on Friday night. It’s been coming for nine months. He’ll be booed as vociferously as a footballer can be these days. He’s fair game, apparently. He’s a magnificent footballer and a big boy. He rearranged Dion Prestia’s face, and now it’s payback time. “Good, clean fandom,” broadcaster Gerard Whateley called it this week.But what happened at the MCG last Sunday was more complicated than good, clean fandom. It was a particularly spiteful beginning to the Magpies v Swans game and the Collingwood crowd was riled up. At first, the booing of Lance Franklin seemed...
It depends whether John Longmire’s young team can buck a dispiriting historical trend dating back almost four decadesAs Sydney looks to create modern history in 2023, selective memory across the Swans’ collective is critical to their ability to contend for this season’s AFL premiership.Among the truisms in football is a trend Sydney must reverse after their humiliating 81-point loss to Geelong in last year’s grand final to claim their first flag since 2012. Continue reading...