filthy dirty mongrel

whilst yesterday's humiliation of swan districts in the 2nd semi final was wonderful, to lose our captain to a cheap shot by a gutless hillbilly was heartbreaking. clancy rudeforth is as tough as they come and leads by example. he thoroughly deserved to have the opportunity to hold the premiership trophy aloft in two week's time but instead he's having his shattered jaw put back together and will watch the grand final from the sidelines. having seen the incident live and subsequently watched the footage, there was no excuse for luke pratt lifting his elbow to hit a bloke coming in for a shepherd. it was a dog act by a dirty player. for pratt to have labelled ian richardson a dirty player a few weeks ago simply beggars belief. richo is as far from a dirty player as they come whilst pratt has shown his true colours on the weekend. if there's any justice he'll be rubbed out by the tribunal for a long time.

great weekend of footy

wow.. what a brilliant weekend of footy. it's hard to believe that last season freo finished 3rd bottom and claremont 2nd bottom. on saturday freo went into our first final in 4 years as a huge underdog but emerged supremely victorious. considering hawthorn beat our reserves side by 116 points two weeks ago, it was a remarkable turnaround. yet again the young players really stood up and played outstanding footy. hill and morabito were excellent and exciting whilst broughton was unstoppable in defence. matt de boer was as hard as nails and when he straightens up in front of goal will be an even better player. as for the older players, i reckon mcpharlin was BOG as he completely humiliated buddy franklin. mcphee was also brilliant on hodge.

i have to admit i couldn't understand why harvey kept playing mcphee early in the season as i thought he was awful. i guess that's why harvey's a senior coach at the top level and i'm not because he's been proved right as mcphee is now a crucial part of the side.

and then yesterday my mighty tigers absolutely destroyed swan districts who finished second on the ladder. despite us missing chad jones who is the best full forward in the competition and schammer who has been a key midfielder throughout the season, swans still weren't able to put up any sort of a challenge. so now we're though to our fourth grand final in seven years. unfortunately we've been like geelong of the early 90s when they made a number of grand finals without winning any so it's vital we go the final step this year. i'm still stinging from us losing the 2007 grand final after finishing top of the ladder and would be devastated for it to happen again. thankfully i don't believe it will.

so go you mighty dockers on friday night an eat 'em alive tigers in two week's time.

thanks hase

so paul hasleby announced his retirement from the afl today. hase has long been one of my favourite freo players and it's sad to see his career come to a premature end. it's also sad he experienced so few finals campaigns but he's certainly in elite company with that given champions such as robbie flower and bob skilton also went through their careers with clubs mostly anchored to the bottom of the ladder. the pride and passion hase showed for the freo footy club was inspirational and i've no doubt he'll still be around the club post-retirement.

good luck with your future endeavours hase and also with your impending fatherhood. i've really appreciated all you've done and the pleasure you've given me over the years.

the power of music

i'm watching rage at the moment and once again the power of music to pull me back to particular places in time has astounded me. listening to certain songs is like a time machine. they just showed the clip for joe jackson's "steppin' out" which always takes me back to the trampoline and putt putt centre in augusta (around the corner from the colour patch general store) where we'd go as kids in 1983. they played a compilation cassette over and over and the songs that i most remember from it were steppin' out and UB40's cover of red red wine. every time i hear either of those songs i'm immediately back there.

next they played 'smooth operator' by sade and suddenly i'm a 14yo year 9 student at scarborough high school waiting for stephen buhlman to bring me a tape-2-tape copy of a compilation cassette with that song on it.

it's the same when i hear 'last chance on the stairway' by duran duran off their incredible 'rio' album. it always takes me back to kalbarri in 1986 when brett arnott came on holiday with us. i'd only just bought 'rio' (4 years after it's release) and this was the only track i hadn't heard before so it stuck in my mind.

now comes on 'superfreak' by rick james. this always takes me back to the mid 90s and into adam brown's flat in vic park with the como bapo youth group as it was the first time i heard this song. yep... i heard mc hammer's sample before i heard the original.

another song that always takes me back is the rather awful '(i've just had) the time of my life' from the dirty dancing soundtrack. it pulls me back to 1988 and the school bus on the way back from our year 12 camp at club capricorn just outside of yanchep. for some unknown reason the girls loved the dirty dancing soundtrack and inflicted it on us as we headed back from camp.

i could keep going on but i won't. the point is that music has a stunning ability to transport one back to a certain place and time. it does it better than any other medium and the sensory feelings it brings are undeniable. i don't know how it affects others but for me, i grieve deeply for my lost youth. i guess that says a lot.

western derby XXXII

well, what can i say about sunday's wonderful western derby. i clearly remember a time when freo were crap and i'd turn up to each derby with a dream that we'd win but knowing it was pretty unlikely. at the time i regularly said to people who queried why i stuck by freo that the hard times would just make the good times all that much sweeter. now i know just how right i was. the really great thing about watching freo this year has been seeing the young fellas playing good hard footy and playing with an intensity we've not had in the past. i really hope this is something we'll see a lot of in years to come and that the club's culture of accepting mediocrity is being permanently changed now. we had a false dawn in 2006 and i'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that history doesn't repeat itself.

of course, the flip side to the great enjoyment of watching freo heading towards the finals is the schadenfreude of watching the weagles wallowing at the bottom of the ladder. i didn't hear until after the game that harvs and pav had asked freo members not to bring wooden spoons but i doubt it would've stopped me. part of the great sporting rivalries is taking joy in your bitter rivals doing it tough. i've sat through many derbies when we've been belted and taken the jibes of the weagles fans on the chin (and never left the game early - take note weagle fans) so it's only fair they take some of their own medicine now. what i didn't expect was to for a photo of me to grace the media! ahh... it's all a bit of fun.

the other significant thing that happened at the derby was that i finally fulfilled my end of the bet and wore a weagles jumper for the whole game. for those not in the know, in late 2003 i made a bet with doc munners that freo would win a premiership before the weagles won another. at the time it was a reasonable view given we'd just finished the home & away season in 5th place and had dominated the weagles during the year. history shows we got smashed by essendon in the elimination final and didn't play finals again until 2006 whereas the weagles developed a brilliant midfield, played in a number of finals series and won a premiership. the terms of the bet was that the loser had to wear the opposition guernsey to a derby and it's taken me a while but i've now done it. thank goodness i don't have to it again!!

wilson tuckey = scumbag

how low can wilson tuckey sink? his attempts to politicise the tragic deaths of the aussie mining execs in africa by trying to link them to the resources super profits tax demonstrates yet again what a despicable person he is with not a shred of decency or dignity. he's simply pathetic and unworthy of the powerful position he holds. the people who continue to vote for this embarrassment should be ashamed of themselves

homeopathy on trial

homeopathy is a load of crap but, for the most part, a rather harmless waste of money. sadly the danger of 'alternative' medicine is sometimes highlighted in a most tragic way. the story of penelope dingle and her slow and painful death from cancer is a case in point. mrs dingle's diaries record that her homeopath told her homeopathy would cure her cancer and she should avoid conventional medicine, including pain relief. rather than undergo surgery to remove the cancer and follow this up with appropriate real medical care, mrs dingle chose to treat her cancer through a strict diet and regular homeopathy treatments. rather predictably her cancer didn't retreat but instead spread and eventually ended her life. suddenly what usually passes as a harmless pseudoscience is exposed as a malevolent and deadly con which should, at the very least, be strongly regulated but preferably ended. any other fraudulent treatment which results in death would be and there's no doubt that homeopathy is a deadly fraudulent treatment.

absolutely awesome

until today, the largest margin in any match i'd attended was 169 points (claremont vs east perth at the waca in 1988) but that was smashed today. my tigers were absolutely ruthless in their 194 point demolition of peel at tigerland this arvo. peel were fortunate to be given a couple of charity goals by the umpires which kept the final margin below 200 points but that's fine. what makes the win even more remarkable is that our captain is out suspended at the moment and andrew browne isn't playing. also, when we beat peel by 110 points in round one wilkes kicked 5 goals and fyfe kicked four and neither played today. chad jones was brilliant and ended up with 10 goals despite regularly having the full back hanging off him. brabazon and schammer were unstoppable in the midfield along with foster and mitchell. it's also great watching ninyette play as he gets better each week. and it goes without saying that richo was in everything. what a great arvo at the footy!!

good luck johnno

well, the shock news of the night is that michael johnson was apparently caught by police on the weekend in possession of illegal drugs. my opinion on drugs is well known and it's certainly very disappointing to have one of our players being an offender. my belief is that johnno's well being has now got to be the priority. we saw through the early to middle period of the last decade the manner in which a certain other club was willing to put on-field success ahead of the health of their players. they were informed by police that players had been caught on wire tap discussing their drug use but none of the players were suspended or reprimanded by the club. this has to be the blueprint for how not to deal with drug abuse within the club. on the other hand is the example set by geelong with matthew stokes this season. he was suspended by the club but at the same time it was made clear he had their full support and they cared about what happened to him. i reckon, if the reports on johnno are accurate, that freo need to take a similar approach. he's a player who's very much loved by the club's supporters and all we want is to see him overcome whatever issues he has, to be happy and healthy in his private life, to be a good role model for aboriginal kids and to fulfil his potential as a footballer. personally, i wish him all the best and can't wait to see him better and successful.

ban the burka?

i've watched with interest the growing movement in parts of europe to ban the wearing of the burka and the comments by corey bernardi of the liberal party that he considers them to be 'unaustralian' (what does that actually mean?) and wants them banned in australia. tony abbott stated that he finds the burka 'confronting' and would prefer it wasn't widely worn. personally i have no more problem with a muslim wearing the burka than i do with a priest wearing the dog collar, a jew wearing the yarmulke or a buddhist wearing their robes. in fact, as one astute commentator pointed out, there are some much more offensive items of clothing regularly seen in australia. i certainly know which of the below pictures i find least confronting!!

such is life

i've only heard and read some excerpts from the interview ben cousins gave to fox sports recently but it's been very interesting. obviously the excerpts making headlines are to do with his infamous drug addiction. he tells of how he experienced considerable paranoia and felt that the afl was out to get him. obviously this wasn't the case and presumably he realises this now. he also spoke of how he wants to continue playing on with richmond next season and i hope he's able to do so. i've never been a fan of ben but i'm glad to see him overcome his problems and i really hope he's able to stay on top of his issues for the long haul. there's no doubt he was a very talented player and it's a shame he won't be remembered solely as such.

what really surprised me is that the interviewers were honest and brave enough to broach the subject of the common perception that the 2006 flag won by the weagles has been tainted by the revelation of significant drug use within the club during that season. unsurprisingly cousins is quick to state that he doesn't believe it is. well, i'm sorry ben but the reality you'll have to live with is there's a lot of unbiased people (ie. non weagle supporters) who will always see the 2006 flag as having been very tainted by the exploits of you and a number of your team mates and will continue to treat it with significant disrespect. i'm afraid that is one of the prices you'll have to pay.

gold!!

last night was the long awaited concert by spandau ballet at sandalford winery and it was one worth waiting for. the opening act was tears for fears who played all of their big hits including shout, everybody wants to rule the world, head over heels (my fave TFF song), mad world, pale shelter, woman in chains (my least fave TFF song) and sowing the seeds of love. they were pretty good without being spectacular.

but i wasn't there to see tears for fears... i was there to see one of my fave bands when i was growing up. only a couple of years ago the idea of the original five members playing together was pretty remote as tony hadley was still rightfully very bitter about his treatment at the hands of gary kemp but it seems they've patched up their differences and are good mates again. i'm sure the big bucks this tour is bringing in would've helped with that. regardless, i was very excited to finally have the chance to see the band play live. in a word, they were wonderful. they were as tight as though they'd been playing together for years and tony's voice is still golden. they played everything i wanted to hear and even a couple of great tracks off the 'parade' album. with a back catalogue including such great songs as round and round, true, gold, communication, lifeline, to cut a long story short, only when you leave, through the barricades and highly strung, we were guaranteed a show packed with familiar songs and all were played. they didn't have quite the same excitement factor as duran duran had when i saw them on their big comeback shows in london in 2004 but i still have no complaints. i reckon the venue probably detracted from the atmosphere as it's so big and having the hoi poloi sitting at the front of the stage is no way to have a gig with any sort of atmosphere as the people who know how to enjoy a concert are stuck up the back. i doubt they'll be back here any time soon so i'm really thankful for the opportunity to see one of the great bands of the early 80s

the real deal

what can i say about today's game against geelong? it was one of the most entertaining and enjoyable afl games i've been to for a long time. to beat the reigning premiers and remain undefeated three rounds into the season was almost unimaginable three weeks ago. i can't believe how rapidly the team has developed this season and the way the young players have stepped up and taken responsibility on the field. regardless of whether or not we make the finals this year, the future is looking very bright.

and of course my tigers defeated the mongrel lions at leederville oval today to also remain undefeated in the wafl. what a great start to the footy season!!

freo, way to go

holy cow.. what a start to the season. a couple of weeks ago the media was tipping us to lose the first four games and yet here we are, sitting second on the ladder and undefeated after two very good victories. the thing that's most exciting has been the contributions of the new blokes to the club. we all know how good sandilands, pav and haselby are but now they finally have a young group of players who can make the most of their abilities. barlow has been unbelievable in his first two games whilst silvagni has also played two outstanding games. the hyperactive aggression of ballantyne is fantastic to watch as he madly chases either the ball or any opposition player silly enough to pick it up. morabito has shown glimpses of what he's capable of and i'm looking forward to watching him develop.

so, all is happy down at dockerland ahead of a huge test this week against geelong. wouldn't it be amazing if we could knock off the reigning premiers? there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to.

the end of the bill

it's with great sadness that i read today that ITV have decided to axe 'the bill' which is one of my fave programmes. i've watched it for many years except for the period when it was going through it's worst soapie-style stage. it provided me with most of my knowledge of london life although i don't know if that was a good or bad thing. it was certainly a surprise when i moved there and found that people don't generally use words and phrases like 'guvna' or 'nasty little toerag' and that there wasn't actually a place called sun hill. i've thought the show's really improved recently with some good story lines but i guess when they cut down from two episodes per week to one i knew it wasn't going to last much longer. so thanks for entertaining me over the years. you'll be missed!

len fallon RIP

my grandpa died yesterday morning. it's been a long time coming but when it finally happens it's hard to comprehend. i guess my brain just isn't processing the information properly. i know the fact that he's gone but it doesn't seem real. i guess the funeral will help change that.

grandpa was a good bloke who lived a long and godly life. making it to 94 is a pretty good effort! he was very proud of his australian heritage and was well known for being able to recite poetry to suit any occasion. the advice he gave at my 21st on the type of women to seek out was certainly very interesting. his speech at my brother's wedding was also quite a classic. he worked as a mechanic and used his skills to keep our mini going for a lot longer than it should have. he was also quite the genius at using scraps of metal to manufacture parts for lawnmowers to keep them going.

but no one's perfect and grandpa was no exception. he was known for his explosive temper and there was many a time i saw him blow up at people without any real provocation. he was also one of the worst drivers i've ever been in a car with and quite scary at times.

so the last of my grandparents has now passed away. i'm sad.

ruby hunter RIP

i'm really sad this morning to hear of the death of ruby hunter. she and her partner, archie roach, did so much to bring a human face to the experiences of the stolen generation and help us understand a little bit of what they went through. for her to have been forcibly removed from her parents at the age of 8 and still go on to live such a full and productive life speaks of the amazing inner strength of the woman. also, to have met the love of her life at the age of 16 when homeless on the streets and to remain with him all her life speaks of her great loyalty. she was truly a remarkable australian and an inspiration and example to us all.

my thoughts are with archie roach and her family.

love it or leave - cya pauline

for all of her faults, you've gotta give credit to pauline hanson for having the integrity to truly embrace the 'love it or leave' mentality. so many people, usually meatheads, spout it as some sort of anti-immigration or anti-multiculturalism mantra directed at non-caucasian australians with the premise being if they don't love the meathead view of how australia should be they should leave. the funny thing is they chant it without really being prepared to leave the country themselves. the fact is, australia is a tolerant, multicultural society so either love it or leave... or in the words of the bumper sticker: FIFO (fit in or f**k off).

somewhere a village is missing an idiot...

lycra-clad loser

i almost had a prang with a cyclist on the way to work this morning. as i was turning right onto weaponess road at a roundabout, some dickhead on a pushbike decided that he didn't need to follow the rules of the road which demand that he give way to vehicles which have already entered the roundabout (usually coming from the right). instead he kept going as i was turning through the roundabout and then actually shouted at me when he was almost hit. i'm so over these lycra-clad losers. after a couple of years working on st georges tce i'd had more near misses as a pedestrian from these idiots hurtling along footpaths than i could count. they want drivers to treat them as equals on the road but they also want to be able to fly along footpaths. basically these arrogant prats want control of wherever they choose to ride and woe betide anyone who gets in their way.

what am i going to do about it? to be perfectly frank, absolutely nothing. apart from whining here that is.