the end of footy

well, it's the last weekend either of my teams are playing this season and it's ended on a high note. i headed to subi oval on friday night without any great expectations given the number of injuries and retirements the club's had. the most enjoyable wins are the ones you don't expect so to see my boys give collingwood a good hiding was very satisfying. it's been a pretty disappointing season (yet again) but the future's looking up. we've got some pretty promising kids who are hard at the ball and prepared to do the gutsy things. we've got a lot of room on the list and an early draft pick. i just hope the club takes this opportunity for a fresh start and plans for the future rather than following our past of trading for a big name.

yesterday was a big day for claremont. we've been anchored to the bottom of the ladder for a lot of the year and were looking at getting our first wooden spoon since i started barracking for the club as a 10 year old in 1981. we were also coming up against the second placed team on their own dungheap so things looked grim. it turned out to be a tight game and my boys acquited themselves very well. the game was up for grabs at 3/4 time and kerry gave a pretty inspiring talk. the last quarter was a see-sawing affair but my boys held their nerve and fought back every time souths kicked a goal. the win lifted us off the bottom and the form of the young players bides well for next season.

so, it's into the finals for the next few weeks and then i'll have weekends all to myself.. and i'll be counting down the days til next season starts.

tigers, a derby and shauny mac

what a great weekend for footy. on saturday my tiger cubs kept alive our hopes of getting off the bottom of the ladder by beating east freo by 64 points. i've been quite critical of roger kerr's coaching this year but i reckon i may have judged him a bit early as his game plan seems to be coming together. we've got a lot of first year players who are starting to show some very promising signs and as long as they don't all get drafted to victorian afl clubs, we should get some great service out of them next year. ian richardson's the pick of the bunch and is a real ball of excitement. every time he gets anywhere near the ball, he draws huge calls from the members' stand and is becoming a real cult hero at tigerland.

sunday was a bittersweet day as we trounced the e-girls but said goodbye to shaun mcmanus. shauny mac is one of those old fashioned players who's not particularly blessed with silky skills, doesn't have a pretty haircut and will never be described as 'metrosexual' but has a heart like phar lap. he's worn his passion for the club on his sleeve and over the past 14 years and has eked out every last bit of ability in his quest to make the club successful. to my mind, macca was part of a trilogy that also contained troy cook and dale kickett. all three were passionate about the freo footy club and they were all hard as nails but exceptionally fair players - the demolition derby of 2001 excepted in kicketty's case (although it could be argued that phil read deserved everything he got and probably more). i'm really going to miss watching macca play. it was always an adventure when he got the ball and i'm sure a small part of my hair loss is his responsibility.

while we said goodbye to an important part of the club's past on sunday, we got another look at the future and it's looking pretty rosy. the new young players are hard at the ball and exciting to watch. palmer is always willing to get under the packs while mayne and ibbotson seem to have no fear. i'm really looking forward to next season as things can only get better.