thirty-one

Years ago I umpired a friendly match between two completely non-footballing clubs. I was also the trainer. (LOL) So noone heard me stop play whilst I dealt with someone down with cramp, and suddenly one of the guys is completely in my face, DIDN'T I SEE THAT? HOLDING THE BALL! He was totally going off. Over a friendly game. Because someone was caught with the ball. He was purple in the face with rage, fists shaking at me, spluttering all over me in his anger at me not paying a free kick. It was fascinating and somewhat terrifying. I think that was the moment I no longer called the umps white maggots. Of course they don't wear white anymore so... Also I can see why they need more than one or two umps. Don't think I ever ran as much in my whole life as I did that day. Then having eyes on the play and off the play. Anyway the game got called off when one of them managed to break both his tibia and fibula when he fell over. Didn't get pushed or hit or anything, just fell over a tussock of grass. The unpaid free got forgotten at that point. And someone else dealt with the guy, thank bob, I was umpiring up the other end of the field when it happened and we were like where's A? "Oh, he broke his leg." WTF? So we ended the game.

I stand (uh sit) corrected!

Gerard was always full of himself. I started to go to training way back when and he did not impress me in any of my interactions with him (until then I thought he was fabulous because I judged him by his football). Anyway I got the impression that Gerard thought himself too good to be a Dee and he was much better off with the show ponies like Capper at the Swans.

The Collingwood hate runs long in our family. My mother raised us all to be Demons. She'd sing songs like this to us: "Good old Collingwood forever, They KNEW how to play the game. SIde by side they fell together, To uphold the Demons' name! Hear the barrackers a squealin', Just like Collingwood do! For the premiership's a cakewalk, For the good old Red and Blue!"

Lever said not a whole lot about what's up with his knee, getting a scan, maybe a week or two. He's more worried about May.

Woecakes. My streaming isn't working. Complained at Fox/watchAFL. Need DL to step up and run some commentary for me, or I could find a radio broadcast maybe...

Amusing myself with the idea of Petty and BBB in a three legged race after a comment elsewhere about our forward line having five legs. Guess the AFL won't count them as one player though.... Carn Dees! Prolly won't watch the game tonight, need all the beauty sleep I can get!

GO DEES! I might wake up along the way and check the scores but night games are brutal when you are 5-7 hours ahead, depending on daylight savings... But the game starts in only half an hour - at 12:30am here.... ETA and watchafl has upgraded the interface so now I can actually see the icons on my big screen tv and will not hit start of game when I want to rewind 15 seconds...

My insta had Kozzie kicking a goal from the race/ground access in the pocket. Not even on the field, not that he can play this game anyway. Freak! Instagram also indicates that a bunch of the players from different teams are mates off the field. Brodie and Max still follow each other, I really rather doubt there's bad blood there. Can't get too pumped about the game, I'm a day behind and five hours ahead in my time zone, so that means I'm supposed to be catching some ZZZZs at game time. CARN DEES!

Good luck, Caleb! May you wear the number 6 guernsey longer than your recent predecessors!

If I can mix fandoms (though one at least is a bit suspect these days), number 6 is becoming our Defense Against the Dark Arts number these days - someone comes in, wears it and leaves again quick smart.

I remember seeing pics of Jake at various (men's) training sessions. In one he has an elastic wrap around his knee (4th of September) and appears to be walking with no crutches, in another he was riding in a golf cart or was next to it with a bunch of small wounds each covered with tape around his knee - apparently repairs are done arthroscopically rather than cutting a ruddy great hole in people like my sister had done in the 80s or 90s. Again no obvious crutches. Dunno what this means for recovery, though it has to be an improvement over that 20cm sliced open leg and the no crutches is a vast improvement over eight or so weeks with them and a huge knee brace. Found this Massachusetts general hospital ACL rehab protocol online, gives an idea of the process. They do use crutches and knee braces but for nowhere as long as what my sister suffered. By nine months, the person should be ready to play sport again according to it. And being an AFL footballer, he will be getting the best of the best wrt surgeons and rehab.

RIP, Ronald Dale Barassi, my handle here's inspiration and Mum's favourite player ever. 31 has woven through my family's life since the 50s. My sister shouting "Barassi" on the Hume highway at irregular intervals way back when. Took my parents a while to realise she was seeing the 31 sign on the side of the road. The joy when he returned to the club in the 80s (and the despair of only winning one game). I was a completely Melbourne mad teenager then. Always our hero, Ron, and a legend of the game. Thank you for all you gave to us, the club and footy in general.

Time to go and do young man things before injuries make him old before his time. Thanks for giving it all you've got, Hibbo/Pig. We'll miss your guts and the glory.

Sean is one of my all-time favourites. I sat with him on the picket fence at the G waaaay back when training was there. He'd done his knee and could only watch on. That picket fence was extremely uncomfortable but it was nice sitting there with him. He remembered me all the way through (why was I so shy? Jeez, he seemed like a ripper bloke), waving to me whenever he saw me at training or outside the rooms after a game. I'll never forget the heart in my mouth feeling of watching him defend the goal square, oh god, Sean, don't hurt yourself again!