One Blog in September

2002-10-01T01:37:00.000+10:00

COLLINGWOOD FANS have been going through pain in the last few days. One fan has had an injury to go with the insult.

2002-09-30T00:29:00.000+10:00

PEOPLE WHO don't follow sports cannot understand how crushing it usually is when your team loses an important game. And even people who do follow sports might struggle to understand the reaction in Melbourne to Collingwood's loss.

It's a kind of ecstatic despair. Collingwood fans remained at the MCG long after the Grand Final ended (rather than quickly leave, as is traditional for followers of losing teams). They've called radio talk shows and flooded newspaper letters pages with praise for their defeated players. Distraught about losing to Brisbane, they are proud beyond measure of Collingwood's performance.

Here's why: against the best team in the AFL, Collingwood – written off by almost every commentator in the land – came within nine points of winning. More important than the score was that few failures of skill (and no failures of will) were evident. It was heroic.

As was, for that matter, Brisbane's effort in resisting Collingwood. Brisbane, it may quickly be forgotten, were playing with only one ruckman after the first quarter, and were at the MCG for only the third time this season, in wet, slimy conditions that cannot have been to their advantage. As well, umpiring decisions favoured Collingwood, yet still Brisbane prevailed.

The miracle of 2002 might not be Collingwood's near-win, but Brisbane's actual win. Given similar injury problems and arena disadvantages, no other team in the AFL could have halted Collingwood; likewise, no other team than Collingwood could have pushed Brisbane as hard.

Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse's extraordinary reaction to the defeat was in keeping with an extraordinary day. Very rarely in elite sports does a team play so well yet still lose – and to a deserving victor.

Collingwood proved that there can be victory (of a kind) in defeat. I feel privileged to be among the team's supporters. They'll have earned many more after Saturday.

2002-09-29T02:34:00.000+10:00

THE PRIDE OF BRISBANE TOWN have saved the nation from a rampage of Collingwood fans making a disgrace of themselves.

The game itself was magnificent- the inclement weather prevented the Brisbane Lions from running away with it, and Collingwood's hardness of body and mind was awesome. However, the Lions proved themselves to be the strongest side since the Hawthorn Express of the late 1980's.

My Match Highlights?
Keating's stellar performance in the ruck for Brisbane after Beau McDonald went off early.
Nathan Buckley and Michael Voss. Captains with a capital C.
The gun forwards, Rocca and Lynch.
Ferocious tackling.
Mickey crying.

Maulthouse proud of Collingwood.

"We are now a great team"

Buckley wins the Norm Smith Medal

Both sides complain about the umpires. Brisbane- Collingwood

2002-09-28T00:53:00.000+10:00

TIM BLAIR AND GARETH PARKER are in Melbourne ready for the big game- so I'm manning the decks here online. Hopefully all set for a ten goal thrashing of Collingwood. Mr Parker promises a full match report, and if Mr Blair can be coaxed into writing a few words, we'll post that too.

Of course, if Collingwood win, he won't need any coaxing.

Anyway, I'm off to watch the Fox Footy Channell Grand Final marathon. Go Brisbane!

2002-09-26T09:29:00.000+10:00

THE AFL have really lost the plot with this year’s Grand Final entertainment.

I applauded them a few weeks ago for re-introducing the Grand Final sprint and kicking comp.

But these worthy activities have taken a back seat to performers who have little or no connection with footy.

Take Killing Heidi for example, a band fronted by a pair of anaemic pin cushions who as young ’uns would rather stay indoors and listen to the hippy music of their parents than kick a footy around in the invigorating, fresh country air of their home town:

“Their interest in music began early - one gets the sense that the after-school alternatives, football and netball, left them cold.”

Then there’s The Whitlams, a Sydney band who take their name from our worst ever Prime Minister, a band who sing songs about exterminating the average footy fan’s favourite punting vice.

Next they have Mark Seymour, a whiny dud who once protested against the Formula One Grand Prix but did a remarkable back flip when the price was right.

He of the remarkable about-face is now singing a song which, according to the AFL website, “was not penned about football”.

And last, but by no means least worthy of this rabble of half-baked "musos" (and I write that with the utter contempt that one is entitled to have when one can nail every single one of Ace Frehley's solos from KISS Alive and KISS Alive II), there is Kate Ceberano, a fruitcake devotee of a nutty religion.

Surely the AFL shouldn’t be embracing a heretic who dares follow anything but the one true religion?

When is a decent band like TISM going to get a gig at the AFL Grand Final?

By Jiminey, their lead singer is even named after an Aussie Rules legend!

2002-09-25T02:59:00.000+10:00

EVER WONDERED what Tim Blair is REALLY like? Leapin Larry L gives this classic description of the Collingwood fan-
"The television coverage on Saturday afternoon offered compelling evidence of how crazy Pie-Wood fans are. Every last one of them from eight to 80 had the “nobody home” glassy stare of complete fanaticism. You couldn’t get a shot of any Collingwood fan after a goal where they weren’t giving the familiar “two beers, thanks” gesture to their nearest Adelaide counterparts, except when it was a “one beer” order, or they betrayed their ethnic background with the more comprehensive, but equally familiar, Mediterranean gesture involving the use of both arms. "

Model citizens, I'm sure.

2002-09-24T18:07:00.000+10:00

THERE'S BEEN no mention of this yet on any of the wires or at the News Ltd or Fairfax sites, but apparently a colossal bungle has occurred in the production of this year's Grand Final edition of the Football Record.

All the Collingwood player photographs are - according to radio reports - accompanied by text that refers to Carlton players.

Hmmm ... bungle or sabotage?

Omen watch: the AFL had to alter cover mockups of the 1990 Footy Record when Collingwood and the West Coast Eagles played a draw in the first week of the finals, pushing the Grand Final date back to October.

2002-09-23T23:40:00.000+10:00

OBIS INSTAQUIZ:

Two players who competed in the 1990 Grand Final will be on the field during the 2002 Grand Final. Can you name them? Well, can you?

Answers tomorrow.

2002-09-23T23:39:00.000+10:00

MAYBE YOU don't have a team playing in the Grand Final. Perhaps you live in Adelaide, and cannot bear to even think about the Grand Final.

For you people, a special treat: enjoy a rousing game of Crab Ball!

2002-09-22T13:44:00.000+10:00

ALL THE NEWS you need to read, at your one-stop Pie Shop! Here are the highlights from today's papers:

Say it slowly - very slowly - because it does not make sense when you first hear it: Collingwood is in the Grand Final.

On this day, Collingwood earned its place in the September sun.

Collingwood stormed into its first Grand Final in 12 years and kept alive Victoria's hopes of securing this year's Premiership.

From the outside, Collingwood's ascent to the grand final looked like a miracle, which was why the wondrous strains of thousands of singing supporters still carried into the Magpies' rooms beneath the MCG last night an hour after the final siren.

Adelaide's dream of a third AFL crown in six years is over, scuttled by an inspired Collingwood in the premiership quarter at the MCG yesterday.

The Magpie Army had assembled at Richmond station at 1.30 for their march to the ground. Looking like a pack of feral Hare Krishnas in black and white, they were led, chanting and singing, by a man in a gold jacket.

The Magpies can win it - that is the message from vanquished Adelaide captain Mark Ricciuto after the Magpies marched to their first Grand Final in 12 years yesterday.

Fraser last night confessed he had feared coach Mick Malthouse would drop him from the Collingwood team as his poor form lingered into the finals. "I'm not going to lie to you. The thought had crossed my mind," he said after the Magpies won their way into next Saturday's grand final by 28 points.

The Crows have enjoyed some high times in a variety of MCG dressing rooms in recent years. Last night will not number among them … Beaten, they were almost to a man bruised as well. Some so badly they would not have been around next week no matter what the result.

Collingwood defender Jason Cloke's grand final dream is on the verge of collapse after he was reported for striking Adelaide's Tyson Edwards during the second quarter yesterday.

Can life get any sweeter for the Magpies? Four years ago the club was almost broke, now it has $1 million in the bank and is one of just three Victorian clubs that will record a profit this season. Malthouse said it was the performance of the entire club that had achieved this.

Malthouse said last night that his team now believed it was good enough to be playing in the biggest game of the year but conceded he had not dared think that far ahead at the start of the season.

The fans were back in full voice and the noise became deafening at the 13-minute mark when Anthony Rocca launched a trademark 60m bomb from inside the square to stretch the lead to three goals.

2002-09-22T02:28:00.000+10:00

WELL, I GUESS my credibility as a on-field pundit is trashed. I'm just glad I got the tip about Port Adelaide wrong. It would have been hell on Earth here in Adelaide if the Power had got through to the Grand Final.

2002-09-22T02:13:00.000+10:00

PATRICK SMITH'S LATEST ruminations about football economics

"We have created an unsustainable economy. The 16 clubs have created a micro-economy of greed and irresponsibility. The clubs alone have controlled the finances that dictate how much money coaches are paid. Malcolm Blight was paid $1 million to coach St Kilda. The club continues to record losses. Carlton will pay Denis Pagan $2 million over three years, while it has a debt of $9 million and may lose more than $500,000 this year.
It is madness. The AFL has plans to introduce a ceiling on football department spending. It is warmly supported by clubs such as West Coast and Richmond, but shunned by the likes of Collingwood, Essendon and Geelong.
But surely it is worth consideration. The AFL will finalise its position over summer. Geelong chief executive Brian Cook argues that you cannot legislate competent managerial practices. He argues clubs must learn the ability to say “no”. Fair enough, too, but that little word has appeared in the vocabularies of few football administrators.
What is undeniable is this: That coaches are overpaid. If their money was cut significantly, not one would be lost to the system because even on their reduced salaries they could not find jobs that paid that well outside the AFL. As Cook said, clubs are their own worst enemy."

I have argued elsewhere in favour of salary caps, however, I'm not sure whether or not extending the caps off field is a good idea.

This boils down to the essence of coaching. A club can make up for player deficiencies by having a great coach. I have felt for a while that North Melbourne are a 5 place better team then their list because of the wisdom and leadership of Dennis Pagan. By that reckoning, Carlton will finish 11th next year. While a salary cap and draft provide a theoretically level playing field, it then becomes of paramount importance for the football department to give a club the decisive edge. And the coaches that can really turn a club around are in very short supply, and the clubs that have them are always keen to keep them. This creates a supply/demand imbalance that of course leads to exploding salaries, just as it does in unregulated player markets.

Smith continues-
"...Eddie McGuire and Mick Malthouse have rebuilt a team and a club. McGuire’s passion for the Pies has reignited the lust for the club within his supporters. Malthouse has got Collingwood to a preliminary final when everybody, especially Port Adelaide, thought it impossible."

But, would McGuire have been able to hire Malthouse if there was a salary cap on footballing departments?.

I fear one of the effects of imposing a salary cap on footballing departments will be to preserve the clubs with excellent footballing departments and make it far harder for clubs that are trying to rebuild to do so. It often takes big bikkies to make a coach move on. The effect of a new regime can be dramatic- look at Adelaide 1996 and Adelaide 1997. The rise of Brisbane and Collingwood is another example. I'm alright Jack, my club's in great shape, on and off the field. But you'd be spitting if you were a Sydney or Richmond fan, wouldn't you?

Salary caps don't work without a draft to go with them. How do you draft a coach?

2002-09-22T01:57:00.000+10:00

A DARK DAY for Adelaide fans, but well done to Collingwood, who played good solid finals football. They will be worthy runners up to the Brisbane Lions.

2002-09-21T17:36:00.000+10:00

COLLINGWOOD: 13.13 91. Who dares to doubt my awesome predictive powers?

2002-09-20T23:11:00.000+10:00

A FEW DAYS before Collingwood destroyed Essendon in the 1990 Grand Final, I wrote a little newspaper item about the magnificent omens indicating a Magpie victory. The number 13 loomed everywhere:

•It had been 13 years since Collingwood had played in the drawn 1977 Grand Final, the closest we'd come to victory since 1958.

•Collingwood's Premiership total stood at 13.

•Alan Richardson, who wore 13, was dropped on the eve of the big match.

And there were a bunch more that I can't remember. Anyway, in the Grand Final itself ...

•Collingwood scored 13 goals

•Craig Starcevich practically sealed the match after being brought on at the 13th minute of the first quarter

•And 13 charges were laid after a brawl at the quarter time break in which Gavin Brown (26 – double 13) was knocked out.

Things didn't go so well in 1992 and 1994, the last two years Collingwood made it to the finals. A lack of thirteens was the problem. We got kicked out after scoring 12 goals against St. Kilda in 1992; the bastard Saints scored 13.13 91. A twelve-goal score also saw us lose in 1994.

So, how do things look in 2002?

•During the home and away rounds, Collingwood won 13 games.

•Against North Melbourne in round 13, Collingwood scored 13 goals to win after receiving 13 free kicks.

•In our only game this year against Adelaide, who we play on Saturday for the right to compete in the Grand Final, our halftime score was 13.8, and our final score was 138.

So we will defeat the Crows. The numbers tell us so. There is only one negative omen: it's been 12, rather than 13, years since our last flag. But Buckley magic will overwhelm that statistical flaw. Go Pies!

2002-09-20T10:30:00.000+10:00

RICHARD COLLESS is either extremely brave or extremely foolhardy – this is not the first time he has dared cross the most powerful man in football!

"The recent ravings of (Collingwood coach) Michael Malthouse following on the Eddie McGuire comments are just a single example of the constant pressure that we are subjected too by rival clubs and, like any other club in this competition, we are constantly competing with other codes.”

Eddie Everywhere’s response was swift and thoroughly ambiguous:

McGuire, speaking during his hosting segment on Channel Nine's The Footy Show, said he did not want to insinuate Sydney had paid Wallace.

But he said prospective coaches wanted to go to non-Victorian clubs because they were allowed to pay their players 100 per cent of the salary cup, with Victorian teams only allowed to pay their players 92.5 per cent.

"It's pretty clear that there's ... no fluke that there's two teams without coaches at the moment (the Bulldogs and the Kangaroos) and both of them are at 92.5 per cent of the salary cap," he said.

"So boo-hoo to the Sydney Swans who feel so hardly done by at the moment.

"It's not that flash for some of the clubs in Melbourne who are trying to make things happen."

McGuire said of Wallace's scenario: "Luckily at the Swans there's no pay-out because you wouldn't want them to be paying two coaches next year but he hasn't sacked his manager because he's pretty happy with things at the moment.

"Work all that out - because I can't."

Neither can I – what are you saying, Eddie?!

And I should have put this warning up front – if you don’t want to waste all day watching a status bar graph crawl its way across your screen, don’t hit any of the links to the AFL website. It’s at its slowest today – which is saying something.

2002-09-20T01:26:00.000+10:00

PRELIMINARY FINAL PREVIEW

Collingwood vs Adelaide, MCG, Saturday Afternoon.
Collingwood come into this game fresh after a two week break, and Nathan Buckley comes into the side for Molloy. Adelaide have named an unchanged lineup. The Age tipsters lean to Adelaide by 10 tipsters to 7.

Adelaide have match hardness, self belief and finals experience. They went missing again for a half of football last week, yet still kicked 20 goals, and a come from behind win like that can be inspiring. It was rather like the 1997 preliminary final against Footscray, although there the Crows didn't squander a 40 point lead.
Yet such games can work against you too. It might lead to that emotional feeling that it was the win that mattered. Certainly, no one tipped Adelaide to do as well as they have, not in Melbourne, nor even in the City of Churches.

Collingwood are entereing uncharted territory. For them, big game nerves might play a factor, but they are fresh, young, fearless, and brilliantly coached. If they have been using their week off wisely, they should be able to overcome their nerves.

My tip is for Adelaide. I think that the experience and the self belief is too great for Collingwood to overcome, and it's actually been a while since Collingwood played a really good solid game of football- their win against Port Adelaide was a case of Licuria, and Port losing it more then anything else. My heart says Adelaide by 90 points, but my head says Adelaide by 24.

Brisbane vs Port Adelaide, the Gabba, Saturday Night.
Brisbane are rested, fit, and invincible at the Gabba. All 17 of the Age's tipsters have gone for them. Charman goes out for McDonald. This should be easy.
Port Adelaide are tired, unsteady, and suddenly got the yips. No one gives them a rats chance. Lade goes out for Wakelin.

Do you see something wrong with this picture too?

There's NO SUCH THING as a sure bet in a final.

Brisbane go into this game fit, raring to go, in great form, and have had the fortnight off. They are playing at their stronghold, which has been breached only once this season, and they saw off their last challenger, the Adelaide Crows, with almost embarrasing ease. There's no negatives at all.

Port Adelaide go into this game with a nearly full strength line-up. They are fit, and have at last won their first final, a good come from behind effort against Essendon. Their coach has a few matchups to worry about, most prominently, where to play Chad Cornes, (My guess is he will play up forward; Jonathon Brown won't be caught out this time.) They are free from expectations.

My Tip is for Port Adelaide to win. This is not a case of Adelaide pundits sticking together. I loathe Port Adelaide and all their works, no matter how much I respect their onfield achievements. Do you expect a Manchester City fan to cheer on Manchester United? No. My mind goes back to early 2001 where the supposedly invincible Essendon side lost a game to Carlton which had four key players out. I saw Carlton priced at up to $6 dollars, and somehow I just knew they were going to win. Complacency is Brisbane's enemy here, which is remarkable considering they lost to Port Adelaide less then a month ago. Final's football is something else, but you can't argue that they won't be affected by what's gone on for Port Adelaide in the last fortnight. Port Adelaide to win by 15 points in perhaps the match of the season.

2002-09-20T00:55:00.000+10:00

THE CITY OF MONASH has taken the chance for one last bite out of the AFL. They have sent a rates bill of $2.7 Million dollars for the old Waverly Park.
In Adelaide, the City of Charles Sturt makes sure it gets the most out of Football Park too. Can't trust these local councils, can you?

2002-09-19T07:54:00.000+10:00

BRUCE McAVANEY does nothing to quash “those rumours”.

On Talking Footy on Tuesday night, McAvaney was discussing with former Crows coach Graeme Cornes whether Wayne Carey would struggle with the hype in Adelaide and compared the situation he faces with that of Tony Modra.

McAVANEY: You made the famous comment that Modra’s a more popular person than Don Bradman and in the context you were right because he was a “sexier” man…

Hmmmmm…..

2002-09-18T02:41:00.000+10:00

THE ALL-AUSTRALIAN TEAM is announced. Dermott Brereton thinks
"the selectors make a choice knowing that they are being overly flamboyant, in hope of predicting the future rather than simply rewarding the immediate past."
and looking at the selection of Pavlich, one can only nod in agreement. Dermott was also horrified that Andrew McLeod didn't get a mention, however as a intimate Crows-watcher, I'd have to say it hasn't been one of his standout seasons.

I was surprised no-one from Collingwood or Essendon got in, and I also thought Crawford was lucky to get in. All in all, it's hard to argue with the bulk of the side, although there's plenty of quibbles about some of the positions.

2002-09-18T02:34:00.000+10:00

NORTH MELBOURNE look likely to pick a rookie coach, with front runners being Mark Harvey and Dean Laidley. This suggests that North are looking to the bottom line more then anything. However, I always enjoy seeing new talent having a go, so good luck to the winner!

2002-09-17T13:58:00.000+10:00

MICK MALTHOUSE'S explanation for declining crowds, as reported by The Australian:

"Supporters are not fools," Malthouse said. "They don't want to see a side with 92.5 per cent salary cap play against the 'Sydney cap' or the 'Brisbane cap'. They don't want to see a million and a bit dollars difference in the salary cap and think: 'There's five good players. We haven't got those good players. What hope have we got?'

"We're seeing all the hallmarks of people getting pretty disappointed and disillusioned with sides they follow that aren't on a fair break.

Does anyone have a silo of salt? Taking coaches seriously about the salary cap is like listening to Saddam Hussein denounce pre-emptive military action.

2002-09-17T07:35:00.000+10:00

COULD THIS be the first scoop that we at OBIS have broken?

From Arma, Footy Banter Team Founding Father (retired):

“If I know anything about web coding of forms, the Ten Poll on the AFL website is a sham.

I checked out the code on the page, and the percentages are "hard coded" into the page, i.e. no matter what anyone might vote, the numbers don't change.

I thought "no, that can't be right".

So I entered about 20 responses for the response with only a 6% response.

And sure enough - no change to the numbers.

Perhaps if you know someone who is a real web programming head you might want to get them to check it out. But I reckon that the AFL website is publishing the numbers that it wants to create the impression that it wants to.

Perhaps it's a bit of a "who cares" for the Essendon question.

But what if they were asking something a bit more touchy, (e.g. "Do you think that the free to air networks have done a better job that last year in covering the footy?”) and then publishing their own made up numbers as "results".

I know that they are very unlikely to ask that one, but I think that you can see where I am going.

That is all

Big Arma”

The Poll in question was the one on "how many premierships should Essendon have won between 1999 and 2002?"

Arma did his snooping on Monday afternoon, I checked around 10pm Monday night and again around 7:30 Tuesday morning.

Same result every time - no matter how much I clicked on "4" as the answer, it still came up "6%".

Over to you, Channel 10 AFL website people - Is your poll a sham?

2002-09-17T01:04:00.000+10:00

IS THIS story, displayed prominiently with a colour photo in today's West Australian, a peace gesture?

The Eagles have appeared in the wrong (front) half of the West for nearly a week as the paper has waged a campaign against the club. And fair enough too.

West Coast has been less than forthcoming after the explosive Ben Cousins/Daniel Kerr story broke last Monday. The club said skipper Cousins had broken his arm after falling down the stairs at Claremont nightspot Club Bay View, but neglected to mention the fact he had punched team mate Kerr in the face on the same night.

When this story was printed on Tuesday, the club issued a statement saying it had not heard of the incident until it appeared in the paper. But coach John Worsfold subsequently revealed that he knew about the incident on Monday.

When journalists were threatened that a press conference, called for the retirement of Mark Merenda and Richard Taylor, would be terminated if questions were asked about Cousins or Kerr, the West had had enough. That prompted these opening paragraphs from Grant Taylor, a police roundsman, under the headline "Cover-up over Cousins":

ATTEMPTS by the West Coast Eagles to cover up a fight between captain Ben Cousins and teammate Daniel Kerr have backfired.

In an embarrassing admission yesterday, coach John Worsfold revealed he knew about the fight when asked at a press conference on Monday how Cousins injured his arm.But he did not mention it because "nobody asked me".

All of a sudden, the Eagles found themselves in unaccustomed territory at the front of the newspaper. A prominent graphic detailing the club's off-field troubles gave the impression of a club in crisis. There was no doubt that this was war.

But today, the waters appear calmer. West Coast CEO Trevor Nisbett is given a good hearing as he attempts to dispell perceptions of a "rude, arrogant and smug" club. The piece speaks of a "new era of openness and accountability". The accompanying picture of a smiling Nisbett between the club's two premiership cups looks like a PR job well done.

Who can explain the seemingly rapid reversal? Perhaps the West's cricket writer and media columnist John Townsend, who we are informed is an avid reader of OBIS, might give us a clue?

2002-09-13T11:04:00.000+10:00

DON HANLY, Carlton's CEO, has been defending the club's handling of Wayne Brittain's sacking.

If the jungle drums are beating true, Hanly might cop a dose of the same medicine.

From what we hear, you're next, pal.

Don't be surprised to see Denis Pagan reunited with an old Arden Street comrade, former CEO Greg Miller.