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Without a doubt, this Covid-19 virus has sent the world into shock, disbelief and we are all now facing a future that is not only uncertain but dramatically changed…forever.  The way the powers-that-be handle this situation will be a testament to how we, as a nation, will recover and re-grow from this.

When the first round of the AFL season took place, it was one that received very mixed reactions, from “glad that footy is back” to “should not have started in the first place.” We saw great games of the AFLW season which, unfortunately for this season could not be completed and there were no Premiers for 2020 declared. We saw that around the world, people have been logging on and watching any sport, which has found them watching our game – AFL, and they have loved our game. It is weird, confusing and a bit scary that season 2020, when so many supporters of all clubs, especially those that could see a rise in their club, was now at an end. 

This sport is really a code that is so steeped in traditions, history and that family attitude that bind the love we have for the game, the club we love so much and the players in it – including the coaches, administrators and everyone involved in a club – with each other.  This is displayed in the very essence from the ones who week in and week out, give up their time to support their club in any way possible. I’m talking about the Cheer Squads. As one who is involved and a proud member of the Carlton Cheer Squad, I am struggling to think that the camaraderie and that family feeling that our Squad has built up, means that for season 2020, we won’t be together for a while, and this goes for every  Carlton group, and interstate groups.

For us, the Carlton Cheer Squad, it is more than a love of a team, of a club, it is a love for each other. We have become a family.  We fight, celebrate, argue, care and love each other like a family. We support each other when the chips are down and are there when there is a time for celebration.  I haven’t seen my “family” for a while and through the good and the bad, I bloody miss them. I miss the anticipation we all feel the day before a game. The messages sent to confirm times to meet at the ground. The discussions on who is going to do what on the day. The organization we share in getting the banner on the ground, laying out the floggers, the flags and giving at times, people who feel so honored to step on to the playing field and be a part of the rising of the club’s banner. I miss all that.

I miss the chants, the banter between the opposition, the times when we would either get soaking wet, or sunburned, but we would still celebrate and commiserate – together.

I’m not sure when we will be allowed to start again and reignite all this. I’m not sure if 2020 will be a year that we can or maybe we won’t be able to.  Maybe the whole world, including footy will be re-set and start again in 2021. No matter what, all I know is that I, together with all Cheer Squads, across the board and clubs, are feeling quite despondent right now, for we have been waiting for this all summer.

Everything we ever knew about footy will change from season 2021. Everything. It won’t be the same as it was before, it can’t.  We can’t just pick up where we left off. Players, coaches, and staff will have to pick up the pieces of their careers and literally start again. We will see some not come back; some come back with a vengeance and maybe some will come back and be the player no-one saw coming. But what I do know is that the family that is the Carlton Cheer Squad will be there no matter where and under what circumstances or conditions. Because we will be there in the good, the bad and the bloody ugly, and this, right now is ugly, and we are a family and that is what families do. Well, we do!

I am Bound By Blue!

While one season started, sweltering under the summer sun,

The joys that this brought can never be undone.

Seeing the girls in all their mastery, and majestic ways,

Made us all the more excited for the middle of March, and the start of AFL days.

It begins on the Sunday before, filled with excitement and anticipation.

I would go to sleep knowing that tomorrow I would be swinging into action.

Monday I would bring out my bag, making sure that all was in place.

My memberships ready to go, my beanie, scarf, and raincoat, just in case.

The media would be filled with what will be ahead, the start of this great six months.

Social media ablaze, the pros, cons, the speculations, bombard us on all fronts.

On Tuesday I would head to work, greet those who like me are eager and in the know

Of the importance of what is to come today, tomorrow.

On Wednesday the nerves would rise just thinking about the next 24 hours,

And how the start of this time, is not just mine, but ours.

Thursday would arrive and my concentration would be waning fast.

The time had arrived, the summer-long gone and well in the past.

That afternoon I would be heading to the ground early, for Cheer Squad duties follow,

And I would join in with placing flags, organizing the banner and be anything but mellow.

The Siren would blast, the cheer would roar and my emotions would be spilling over.

The long wait for this time to arrive, the love we have for our club, would all bring us a little bit closer.

But 2020 was not to be, and it is out of our control.

For a virus has shut the door to all of this and we are hurting, as an industry, as a whole.

For we cannot join in the melee that is the start of the AFL season, a sport that I love and adore.

I can’t be part of a world that is so uniquely ours and one that shapes our every contour.

But I may not be there to scream and cheer, and high-five supporters and players alike.

But I will be damned if I will let this interruption encroach on my excitement with this bloody virus strike.

So, join me when your team plays, wear your guernsey’s with pride and passion,

And let the players know that this will not deter us at all, in any way or fashion.

No matter where you watch, yell at the screen, curse the umps, scream out ‘ball’ and jump for joy when six points are scored.

Let the players know, female and male, that the grounds may be silent, but we are still and will always be on board.

As the siren sounds on Sunday night, then Thursday night next, hashtag the words #IAMTHERE and show your colors with pride.

Let the footy world know that we are united, so together, with all of us, we are with you on this very bumpy ride!

For I AM CARLTON. I AM FOOTY.

 

#IAMCARLTON

Since the start of the trade period, there has been growing speculation that SOS has had a falling out with the powers that be at Carlton.  According to news reports, he is set to leave the club under rather acrimonious circumstances.  There has been a backlash from some who have started a petition to keep him at the club.  There has been huge condemnation towards the club and specifically towards its CEO, Cain Liddle and calling for his instant dismissal.

Now I haven’t written for a while but feel the need to voice my view and opinion on this.  Let me first say that I love what SOS has done for the club in its re-build and who he has brought in to the club in terms of players. His ability to get a deal done is astounding and one that should be celebrated.  However, I am of the opinion and always have been, that with his close connection to two players at the club, his sons, that objectivity can sometimes, even in people with the best intentions, can cloud a person’s position in an organisation.

I love what SOS has brought to the club, but there should be no ‘finger-pointing’ and laying the blame on one or anybody.  There will always be in an organisation those that are at continual loggerheads, but how each party deals with issues will be a determination on each person’s role and future within that organisation.  How compromises and coming to an agreement to suit the organisation will determine how these people and the organisation move forward. To lay the blame solely on Cain Liddle is narrow-minded because it takes two to ‘tango’ as the saying goes and what Cain has brought to the club in terms of its growing membership, sponsorship and sense of overcoming a bitter past to a renewed present and future must never be overlooked.  To ask for his instant dismissal is so destructive that some just can’t see how destructive it will be for the club.

I am a firm believer that no-one, no matter how great they are, are indispensable. If we accept that, then we can accept the fact that SOS is also indispensable.  Yes, he has given us some great players, yes, he has an amazing capacity to wheel-and-deal, but it must never come as the cost of making his role one that no-one else can do.

If we want to be a successful club we can’t keep continually putting the needs of some over the needs of the club.  Just a few weeks ago some were bagging SOS for not doing the deal with Martin, now they are the same ones who are up in arms about his leaving.

We have to as a club thank SOS for what he has achieved during his time in his role, but him leaving will not spell the end of the rise of Carlton and we must not ask for his reinstatement and the sacking of Liddle because if we do, then we will lose not only current stars, but we will be sent back to where we were before Malthouse. 

Understand this, I love SOS and what he has done, but if it means he must now be moved on because of whatever reason of which the media and the social media world only speculate on, then so be it.  The club is in a position it hasn’t been in for a long time. Let us celebrate this and look forward to 2020, and for the rise of the club once more and not this bickering and backstabbing that only shows others outside the club that maybe we haven’t changed and we haven’t grown.

I will stand by Cain Liddle and the Carlton FC, whether that includes SOS or not. It takes a team to be successful and not just one person, no matter how great they are.

#BOUNDBYBLUE!

 

P.S This is my view and my voice only.

Without a doubt, the return of the irrefutable dynamic footy player, Mr Eddie Betts, has been met with mixed reactions, but on the whole, ones that are positive at the very least. If you watch the videos that Carlton has put online, you cannot help but be moved by what this means not only to him but the club and its supporters. I for one was devastated when he left and I put my jumper with his number on the back, in a cupboard and swore never to wear it again and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Now with his return, the number 19 has more significance than ever before. For those that disagree or think that his return is wrong, here’s my view and I hope those that disagree, will see my point.

Eddie Betts is a dynamic, electric and very charismatic person, on the field and off-field. What he can bring to a game is mind-boggling and one that inspires players and also supporters. He can perform the unattainable goal of, well the unattainable goal.  He can direct, determine and influence not only the game but his team-mates. He has the rare ability in any sporting world to be that bloody nuisance player that you want to tame, and it may work for some of the time, but not all of the time; and when he does what you know he is capable of doing, you sit back, shake your head and as Sydney Stack did this year, have to shake his hand.  That is what Eddie Betts is capable of doing on the field, but his off-field performance is one that is on equal footing.

When  Yarran left, then Garlett, neither actually fulfilled their potential. There were glimpses of what they were capable of, but they never really hit their mark and sadly, both have been lost to the footy world.  Eddie Betts is one of these people who wears his Indigenous background with pride and understands the pitfalls and the peaks that plague his fellow Indigenous players. He understood and supported both Yarran and Garlett, with his absence, both faltered.

His past, his growth and who he has become, is one that will enable him to mold, encourage, and be that empathetic senior player who can be that mentor to other younger Indigenous players. What he will be able to give to these players is one that no-one else can really give, because he has run the gamut of the lows and highs of footy life as an Indigenous player. His infectious persona is one that you just cannot help but admire and play along with.  His quiet determination to be the best he can possibly be and yet be that person that can be relied upon is one that is, well, priceless in the footy world.

Eddie Betts is now part of the AFLW Carlton team’s coaching personnel and one can only imagine what he will bring not only to the women’s team but to the men’s as well.  Yes, he is in his thirties, but one of Carlton’s greats (and my all-time favorite player) Craig Bradley was 38 when he retired.  He is the same type of player, same physique – who knows how long Eddie Betts can continue to play in the Navy Blue?

Carlton gave up their future 4^th-round pick for him and Adelaide will pay part of his current contract for one year.  He is on a year contract and just as with Simmo, his future will be determined by season 2020 and himself.

His return to the Carlton FC is the sporting stuff of magic because he has the ability to inspire, motivate and understand the game, the players and himself.  Why wouldn’t you celebrate this? I am.

#BOUNDBYBLUE

#WELCOME BACK EDDIE!

When the news came that AFL legend, Danny Frawley died in a car crash, the footy world as a whole, went into shock. The image of the car wreck hit the very core of every footy fan across the spectrum of the footy world.  Also, this week we saw the unveiling of the statue of the iconic display that trusted Tayla Harris into the spotlight not just in Australia but around the world.

Why these two moments are significant is because they both have garnished a reaction from everyone in footy. The reactions have been mixed for both and I don’t think some really understand the significance of these events.

If you looked at a dictionary of the meaning of “larrikin” in the Macquarie Dictionary, you would see that it is a defined as a mischievous young person, a lout or hoodlum, but in essence, it is defined as an uncultivated, rowdy, but good-hearted person.  Danny Frawley was the epitome of what the word larrikin implies – he was the Aussie lout, hoodlum, a mischievous, rowdy but good-hearted person.

Across the AFL world, those who knew him loved him and those who only knew him from his roles in the media…loved him as well.  He was happy to laugh at others, but also at himself, yet he had his demons and was brave enough to come out and state to the sometimes-unforgiving sporting world, his battles with depression and anxiety.

In the world of sport and the AFL, for an ex-player, ex-coach and a man who had the world at his feet, this was significant and it should serve as a huge warning to current players, coaches and others in the footy world.

The AFL has hired a person to head a Mental Health department and clubs are now looking more and more into having the necessary people and procedures available to them in order to assist players/coaches that are struggling, but that is not enough, for the players and coaches have to want to be helped.

Players and coaches alike must see past their paycheques and the glory that comes with being in the AFL as if they don’t, then they are heading down a path where it can be taken away so quickly. Indiscretions, drugs, alcohol, a career-ending injury and even saying “I’m ok” when you are not, can make a star fall from grace or given choice but to retire from the game.

I know that in this current climate there are huge issues with drugs and alcohol being rampant in our society.  On the website Beyond Blue, they state that drugs and alcohol can cause the symptoms of depression and/or anxiety.  But the catch-22 is that some use these very apparatus to cope.

The larrikin has been typically attributed to the Aussie notion of “she’ll be right mate” and so the men of our world bottle up their feelings, hiding behind the mask of the attributes of the larrikin.  When it all comes crashing down, they feel despondent and unmanly and there are some people who still hold to that theory, that they are unmanly, and they don’t really see the bigger picture. Which leads me to Tayla Harris and the statue.

Malcolm Blight has come out and stated that he thinks it is ridiculous that a statue has been made and placed at Federation Square about a footballer who was trolled on social media.  A lot of callers on SEN agreed with Blight.

The issue though in part was about the trolls on social media, but it was Channel 7’s reaction when they pulled the picture because of the trolls and then faced a massive backlash for that and subsequently, put it back up.  The trolls targeted Harris because of her agility and incredible athleticism and because Harris is a female, the comments made were derogatory and sexist.

This would not have happened had it been a male in that same position.  The statue is about empowerment not only of female athletes but of the right of females to be seen not because they are female, but of what they are capable of.

Nicky Winmar raised his guernsey to show the colour of his skin because he wanted to empower the plight of the Indigenous people in our country.  Tayla Harris was thrust into the spotlight because of a few idiots on social media and a TV station that decided that because of the trolls, a photo that epitomises everything we love about sport, should be taken down.  The backlash empowered people to show the inequalities shown our sporting world.

Danny Frawley came out to say he was struggling with depression and anxiety. This announcement empowered not only himself but other men who are also struggling and to allow them to come to terms with that and say to the world – I’m not ok.

Both Frawley and Harris should be celebrated for what they have achieved and empowered.  I have met Tayla Harris and had never met Danny Frawley, but I have a huge love and admiration for both who have empowered society in very different ways.

#BOUNDBYBLUE2020

After the announcement during the week that David Teague was now the official coach of the Carlton FC, eyes were then turned to see how he and the team would turn up on Saturday for a game against a much in-form St Kilda and a game classed as a “rubber” game.

If you were like me, I was glued to my computer screen at work and was thankful that I had two screens, so on one screen I was working and the other, watching.  I was emotional while watching the Press Conference and took a sigh of relief, for I could not really see any other coach (other than Clarko) being the Coach of the Carlton FC.  The reasons for this I have stated in other articles. That being said, I would like once more to state that I have nothing but admiration and wish to send a huge Thank You to Brendon Bolton for laying the foundation of this team and after the weekend’s game, for being instrumental in the team we have now.

This game on Saturday meant nothing to the final outcome of the competition, but it meant a whole damn lot more to the supporters of Carlton and they turned up in droves to the match.  The atmosphere was electric and you could have been mistaken for a finals match or a match that determined finals fate, was being played at the MCG.

The roar of the crowd when we kicked a goal. The roar of the crowd when McGovern took that amazing mark, his goals, his tug of his top showing who he is playing for. The roar of the crowd when Murph did what Murph does and kicked that goal from the pocket. The roar of the crowd when Harry McKay sealed the fate of the game from the 50-meter line shook the stadium foundations to the core.  The roar of the crowd when a fan favorite across the board – Kreuz spoiled a kick, in what could have been a goal in the last minutes of the final quarter.  But it was the roar of the crowd every time Daisy Thomas got hold of the ball and that “voodoo that he do” was so inspirational that there are now calls for Carlton to get him back.  But he understands the very nature of the footy world and while I would love Daisy to come back, I understand why he was let go.

Then the other roar of the crowd, the anger from the crowd directed at the umpires was astounding.  It was not just a few who protested at the inconsistencies displayed in umpire decisions during the game, it was the roar of the crowd that protested – the whole crowd. When a controversial decision went against Carlton and resulted in a St Kilda goal, you could not hear the cheers from the St Kilda fans, as they were drowned out by the boos from the roar of the Carlton fans. While we are all frustrated and angry at the umpires, a team that is focused on winning despite being thwarted by decisions that were out of their hands will know that it is that win that is all the more sweeter.

However, a team that has had a “lions share” of disruptions in the past, and played a game that in the end would have no bearing on the finals, dug deep, fought hard and put a contented grin on the face of its new coach.  The “rubber” game united a club and its fans, the ex-players, and the current players, because it was the fans, the ex-players, the current players that were all united with one very strong voice, we know who we want as our coach, we know what direction we want to go in, and that game showed why, because the direction we want to go is, that we will never give up or give in anymore.

In the past, we would have given up, succumbed to the inevitability of this “rubber” game as it didn’t matter what the outcome was. This match solidified that every match for the Carlton FC is a chance to show the footy world what this group of players is going to be capable of next year.  It may not have meant much for season 2019, but it did to the supporters – every one of them and it was a way to say thank you to a player who gave his all for a club that had disliked him once when he was playing for another.

This game may have been a “rubber” game but it mattered.  It mattered more than those outside the Carlton FC could ever fathom.  The Teague train may have finished its journey to the Carlton FC, but the train of Carlton 2020 is gearing up to roll out of the AFL station with not just a “toot toot” but the screaming sound of a bullet train fuelled by the burning fire and hunger for the possibilities that 2020 will bring. I’ve got my ticket!

 

#I Am Bound By Blue!

What we learn from the past is not to make the same mistakes again. It seems that for some, this message does not get through and the same mistakes are made again, and again.  However, what we also learn is what makes a great person or team – just great.  What defines them in terms of who they are and what they stand for. The past two weeks this concept was front and centre in my mind because of two reasons – the Reunion of the Carlton 1979 Premiership team and this week the announcement of Hawthorn’s Jarryd Roughead retirement. Both of these events serve as a catalyst for current players and especially those that have the honour of wearing the Navy Blue.

I attended the Reunion function along with over 900 other Carlton supporters. We were privileged to have a player sit at our table and more than that, to hear from some of the players from the 1979 Premiership Team, but none more than Jim Buckley, who is a great storyteller.  Besides telling us some great stories about their lives as Carlton players and some tales of what occurred during that season, the most prolific statement was made by Buckley.

When asked what message you would send the current players of the club, he stated that to remember that you are a team and that you are in this together and that they, the other players, will back you up. That you have to trust that they will be there for you during the game.  The camaraderie between the players was so evident that it was oozing on the stage when the players got together. The way they interacted with each other showed that what makes a great team greater is the bond between the players the pride for playing in a Navy Blue guernsey.  That message is one that is being displayed right now with David Teague giving this same message to the players – play for the pride of wearing that top you get to put on and for the club that it represents, and for each other.  Do that and success will come.

This weekend’s match did not pan out the way we all hoped it would, but we must not get disheartened either, for we are starting to become a team, a union of a group of players who are proud to wear the Navy Blue and fight for it.  McGovern did that, Jonesy did that, Wieters did that, SPS did that, Murph did that, Silvagni did that, Walsh did that, Daisy did that, to name but a few.

 

This game while means nothing with regards to our season, it is one that is a part of the growth of this team since Teague has taken over.  It was never going to happen overnight, it was going to take time and as Teague stated in his press conference, the team has to just learn to play four quarters all the time, every game.  They didn’t this game but with two games left, they have the chance to prove to themselves and to others that they are proud to wear the Navy Blue and that they are on the right track to becoming a team that could be reminiscent of the team from 1979.

This is so emulated in the Hawthorn player – Jarryd Roughead who epitomises what all Aussies love in a sportsman – decency, integrity on and off the field. His retirement must be a celebration of a great player and a great person.  His humility in accepting his limitations this year has been one that all young players should try and emulate.  His capacity to understand the game and his role has been one that is sometimes missing in the realm of professional sport. His focus on putting the team’s needs ahead of his own is something that must be the core ingredient for any team and any player, for it is that which makes a champion team rather than a team that is filled with champions.  Because it can make the ordinary become extraordinary.  Roughead played in such a team. Jim Buckley played in such a team.

What this shows is that don’t be fooled by thinking to have top class, champion players in a team will make them a team to be a champion one – it won’t.  It is those teams that play for the pride of playing in their team’s colours and for each other that become the champion team.  This need to play for each other, not for yourself is what makes a team a champion one.  Carlton has the makings of that and with the right person at the helm, emulating this by the way they carry themselves on and off-field, Carlton will become a champion team.

#I am Bound By Blue

#Teague2020

The task of who will coach the Carlton FC for 2020 has bee heating up with the hashtag of #Teague2020 gaining momentum and support from not only fans but players as well. I watched on AFL 360 David Teague chatting to the hosts and facing questions from them not only about the state of the team since he took over as caretaker coach but of his own ambition to become a senior coach. I thought the way he handled himself with poise and intellect was admirable. You can see if you look at him when they were talking and speaking to Rhyce Shaw of NM, that he is studying and watching intently everyone around the desk, and chooses his words with a level of respect not only for the Carlton FC, but for his role so far and the process of the club and the level of scrutiny regarding the next senior coach for Carlton.  His self-assuredness in tackling questions fired at him not only then but after games since he took over, is one that cannot be overlooked in terms of what you want from a senior coach.

He has proven his ability to coach given the circumstances in which he took over from Bolts who undoubtedly was instrumental in laying the foundations of the young players we have today. He has made a team filled with talent and potential to make them a team that is now hugely respected and at times, feared. Teague has all the hallmarks of the makings of a great coach. His calmness, his openness and his ability not to stutter or waiver under pressure, and he is under pressure. At every opportune moment, the media world pummels him with questions about the future of his coaching at Carlton and he is handling this with incredible dignity.

I have seen him during Open Training and what he is bringing to the playing group is one of pride. Pride in playing the game, their game, their way and allowing them to develop and fight for their place on the team, but he is someone who is bringing back the sense of the players’ hunger to play AFL and for the club.  He is not mincing words and acknowledges what went wrong at the WC game and how much growth the team has achieved so far and what will be achieved for the future. He is not afraid to be tough when needed, a prime example is the dropping of Mitch McGovern to make him earn his spot on the side and not just assumed it was a “given”.

The surge of support for Teague to become the senior coach at Carlton grows every day and is something that should not be overlooked, in any way. Because this has the capacity to be seen from players from other clubs whose time at their club may be on the line and are looking to see where else they could go to. To see a coach that has achieved what he has achieved not only from the playing group, but from the club as a whole, and from the supporters, would be something that a player will warm to. They will feel that they will be stepping into a team at a club that is on the rise and whose playing group adheres to what every footy club wants to strive for – success on the field and off. To come to a club that is breeding a culture of mutual respect and admiration across the board and a deep-seated hunger to put on the Navy Blue and fight for every single quarter. The fans haven’t seen this for a while and since Teague has taken over, that is exactly what we are seeing.

Personally, I don’t want to see a coach who has the mindset of past glories and a game that has maybe passed them by. I want a coach who understands every single facet of the modern game which includes not only the physical health but the mental one as well. I want a coach who understands the modern game on all levels and what this entails.  For some coaches, the game as a senior coach as passed them by but they would be great mentors.

The club stands on a precipice here with regards to who they appoint as senior coach and I like the fact that they are taking their time and probably waiting until the end of the season. But then again, they shouldn’t wait too long because the footy world is watching all the time and there may be a star footy player out there who is looking at leaving their current club and is deciding where to make their next step in their career.  The signing of Teague could be just the nudge that will make this type of player take that next step and nominate Carlton.

But heed some warning here. Australian’s suffer from the “tall-poppy” syndrome and are quick to raise someone up then shoot them down when they don’t live up to the expectations that the public, well, expect.  If Teague is signed, give him the utmost support and time to develop the club and the team we all want. The foundations are there.

I am BOUND BY BLUE!

Sit back, make yourself comfortable, maybe grab a hot drink, some biscuits to dunk, because I want to take you into the land of fairy stories. A land where things may seem real. Where you will be told amazing tales. Be aware though, not all are real and not all of it is true. Yet you will believe that they are because the storytellers will convince you that they know the difference between what is real and what is not.  They will be that one person who is convinced that they have their “finger-on-the-pulse” of reality and can determine the difference between speculation and reality. They can put aside their biases, they can use their magnificent “ability” to come to conclusions about what is going on and legitimately believe that what they are saying is factual and not a fairy story.

I am not talking about anyone else other than the AFL media – the journalists and the commentators in the world of footy.  They are fast becoming one of the biggest fairy storytellers this sporting world has seen and what is more surprising is that they really believe their own hype and their own belief that what they are saying is valid and true.  Yet they are nothing more than fairy storytellers.

As a bit of background, fairy stories grew from a movement in France around the 17^th Century where ladies-in-waiting would tell each other stories. Sitting around open fireplaces, they would base these stories on actual events or experiences but would embellish and infuse in the stories the fantastical and mythical elements to make them more intriguing and exciting to hear.  The AFL media world is not far from this very scenario, but instead of open fires, it is in technology that they gather around. The difference here is that back then, everyone knew they were fairy stories, now, the media believe their own stories. They believe they have the only finger-on-the-pulse, the only ear-to-the-ground of newsworthy information.

A journalist in SA has stated that Adelaide’s Don Pyke met with the Board to get reassurance that he will not be fired, and Pyke came out and categorically stated that this did not happen.  Journalists are stating that Alistair Clarkson has been offered a mega-deal to leave Hawthorn and coach Carlton.  While he may have been offered it in the hope that it could be possible that he leaves a club he has shaped and continues to shape – he is not leaving.  According to another journalist, Brad Scott will be coaching Carlton and this very same journalist came out and stated that the AFL had sent the Carlton Cheer Squad a “please explain” letter about an “incident” back in May.  There was no “please explain” letter from the AFL, yet we are to believe what this journalist is stating as being correct because he is adamant that his story is spot on!

Now another journalist who really should know better, has stated that the players of Adelaide are wanting to get David Teague back to the club to take over from Don Pyke. While this very same journalist could not state with certainty that this happened, they just put two and two together to come with nine!  Now I’m not saying this could not be true, because it could be, but let’s be logical here.  For Pyke to get the sack and bring in Teague, Adelaide would have to fork out $3 million to pay out Pyke’s contract.  That would mean that while the club could afford it, it is a big chunk of money that would eat into what they had to work with to get players into the club. This is a prime case of a major fairy storyteller looking at what is in front of them and, as all fairy storytellers do, maybe embellish just a little to make this person seem more relevant and outlandish and believable.

With three clubs who have caretaker coaches and each proving not only their ability to actually be a senior coach of their respective clubs, each has come out and stated that right now is not the time to deviate from the final matches of the season to discuss this with the storytellers.  But the storytellers have not given up on creating their fairy stories. When SOS met with Ross Lyon it was touted as being a meeting to discuss the senior coaching role.

Some supporters believe that what a journalist or a commentator states is actually true, but for the most part it is just a story, a fairy story.  It is one that is based on speculation, conclusions that they themselves believe based on their “brilliant” powers of deduction (they are not Sherlock).  They look at what is actually real then embellish it just a bit to create a bit sensationalism across the AFL world. Don’t be fooled into what they are saying as being real as the sad truth is that what is real and what is not gets mushed around in the muddied pool of the media world and the need to be the first to break a story or to get it right.

Only believe in what the clubs come out and state even if they themselves change what they say from one week to the next. Due to circumstances in this world of a game that is based on the success that a club brings on the field, this is the only source that has their fingers on reality and not clouded in the pages of fairy stories from the media.

I am BOUND BY BLUE!

 

This past weekend has been an amazing weekend of footy. Not just in footy wins (or losses) but the over-riding sense from fans that the umpires and the AFL are just not getting it  – the discontent that fans are feeling about not only the game but the umpiring of the game.  Yet despite this, the sweetest victory is one where “the man” may have stuffed up big time, may have completely shown incredible bias towards one team over another. May have even not really understood the rules and gives a free-kick that is either not there, soft or is not sure why they blew the whistle and need confirmation from the other umpires.

The lead-up to the Carlton vs Adelaide game was one that was seen by the AFL world as a game that was one-sided: Adelaide would win.  If you looked at the tipping in The Age, only two people tipped Carlton to win and not by much.  With the Big Kreuzz out, it was going to be Andrew Phillips to take over as the main man in the ruck and he did a stellar job and even scored a goal.  With Zac Fisher out of the game due to illness, Paddy Dow stepped in.  The team was set, the ball was bounced and in the first half of the first quarter, it looked like the AFL world had gotten it right with regards to Adelaide forging ahead to ultimately win the game.

Interestingly, Adelaide had been one of the teams who are efficient in their scoring, yet Carlton, since Round 12, had outscored their opponents by an average of 15 points per game that resulted from possessions that came from their forward half.  After five minutes into the quarter, Adelaide had scored two goals. But a goal from Crippa put the score back to six points, then Taylor Walker scored and the Crows were again twelve points ahead. Matthew Kennedy and Darcy Lang scored a goal each and the score was even.  With two behinds and another goal by Taylor Walker, then a behind by Will Setterfield, a goal by Jack Silvagni, followed by a behind from Levi Casboult, put the Carlton team ahead at the end of the first quarter and from then on, in the second quarter, the third quarter and the final quarter, Carlton were ahead in every sense.

Carlton won the disposal count – 385 compared to 343; kicks, handballs, efficiency inside 50. The club was leading in hit-outs, clearances, center clearances, stoppage clearances, contested possessions, uncontested possessions, marks, marks inside 50, contested marks. But there were a few areas in which we were behind, one which was one we could control and one which we could not.  Our turnovers were 74 compared to 62.  Panic and being unsure of what to do and who to kick to results in turnovers.  The great thing about that is that even though we did turn it over, we never really stopped there because we tried and tried to get the ball back and more often than not, it worked.

The area that we had no control over was the free-kick count and that 27 to the Crows and 19 to Carlton.  Now I am all for the human error factor when it comes to umpiring in any sport, but this year, the umpires are getting it wrong so many times and it is hurting the game substantially because they are putting themselves in the forefront of the game and are effecting the game in ways that the AFL world should be wary of.

Fans of the game have the, on the whole, the utmost respect for the umpires and the job they do, in the past that is. But now, with the total lack of consistency, the farcical Score Review that saw what was a goal, not being paid and those in the Score Review box, not even paying the slightest bit of due diligence and halt the game and do what their job is: to ensure the integrity of scoring is upheld. Together with the huge discrepancies of free kicks in a game, and not just Carlton games,  the umpires are losing the fans respect.  Yet despite all this, Carlton (and Essendon) showed resilience and a determination that had been missing for some time and basically told “the man” – screw you, we are going to win anyway and they did.

For Carlton’ supporters it showed what the team had been missing for a while, a hungry need to win, no matter what and despite being thwarted, this need never wavered. To become a team, a great team, no matter what is thrown at you, how you respond determines the outcome and Carlton responded.

The end of the season draws near and Carlton; could though mathematically and if all the cards fall in exactly a very certain way, make the top eight; will end the season knowing that this club is on the rise. The fans can see it, the coaches can see it and the players believe it. Because they won despite the barriers placed in front of them from “the man” and that makes this win against Adelaide, all the sweeter.

I Am BOUND BY BLUE!