hardtack

Ok, I decided I’ll have a go at this one. There is no real method to my madness, and my list was built on the assumption that the names that easily sprung into my mind, were the bands that had the biggest affect on me. They are in no particular order, other than the fact that listing one band of individual would trigger memories of other bands, hence the reason that all of the Australian bands of grouped together (again, no specific order within those names). Anyway, I give you… my top 200 bands (including some individuals): Ryuichi Sakamoto The Clash The Jam The Style Council General Public The (British) Beat The Dictators The Nails The Stranglers The Members The Damned Doll By Doll Psychedelic Furs Gang of Four Elvis Costello (the Attractions, the Imposters, the Coward Brothers etc) Joe Jackson Brinsley Schwarz Graham Parker & the Rumour Dr Feelgood The Sensational Alex Harvey Band The Cream Humble Pie The Small Faces/The Faces The Jeff Beck Band Roxy Music ELP The Nice Mahavishnu Orchestra (John McLaughlin) The Steve Miller Band The Allman Brothers Band The Velvet Underground James Brown Lou Reed Pop Will Eat Itself XTC King Crimson Curved Air Be Bop Deluxe Van Der Graf Generator Tangerine Dream Kraftwerk The Residents Snakefinger Frank Zappa & the Mothers of invention Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band The Sex Pistols The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band Viv Stanshall Led Zeppelin Chicago (first couple of albums) Blood Sweat and Tears Pacific Gas & Electric The Kinks The Beatles The Rolling Stones The Yardbirds Fairport Convention Steeleye Span The Pogues The Strawbs John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers Blue Oyster Cult The Throb The Reels The Easybeats The Loved Ones Lobby Loyde & the Coloured Balls The Purple Hearts (featured our former bass guitarist Bob Dames) The Wild Cherries Mike Furber & the Bowery Boys Company Caine Spectrum Ariel The Stars Carson County Boogie Band Broderick Smith Big Combo The Dingoes Wendy Saddington & Chain (also with Copperwine) Chain Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs Daddy Cool Mighty Kong Sons of the Vegetal Mothers Billy-T Paul Madigan & the Humans The Ferrets The Lime Spiders (featured our guitarist Ged Corben) The Cruel Sea (Ged Corben was a founder member when they were essentially an instrumental band) Hunters & Collectors The Birthday Party Boys Next Door Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Sekret Sekret The Sports Harem Scarum Jo Jo Zep & the Falcons Drowning Not Waving (Dees supporter, David Bridie) My Friend the Birthday Cake (Dees supporter, David Bridie) The Huxton Creepers (Dees supporter, Archie Law) Mackenzie Theory (Dees supporter, Rob Mackenzie) Radio Birdman Regurgitator Crowded House Kevin Borrich Express Kahvas Jute Tamam Shud Tully The Bee Gees (pre Saturday Night Fever) The Seekers Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band Skyhooks Matt Finish Midnight Oil The Angels The Screaming Jets The Backsliders Coloured Stone Gondwanaland The Living End Warumpi Band Paul Kelly & <insert band of choice> Kutcha Edwards Archie Roach & Ruby Hunter Gurramul & Mandawuay Yunupingu Mixed Relations Yothu Yindi The Hitmen Mental As Anything Dog Trumpet The Aliens La De Das Ayer’s Rock Healing Force AC/DC (Bon Scott era only) Flowers/Icehouse GangaJang The Allniters (featured our early guitarist Mickey Mahoney) Kush The Numbers Freshwater (featuring Alison McCallum of ‘It’s Time’ fame) Sun (featuring Renee Geyer) SPK Severed Heads Buffalo Alberto Y Los Trio Paranoias Prodigy Pink Floyd MC5 The Ramones Television Iggy & the Stooges David Bowie Traffic The Spencer Davis Group The Texas Tornadoes Los Lobos Lemmy (Hawkwind & Motörhead) Ministry Van Morrison Quicksilver Messenger Service The Byrds Jefferson Airplane Big Brother & the Holding Company (Janis Joplin) They Might Be Giants Wheezer The Blue Hearts Buddhadatta The 5, 6, 7, 8’s Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra Japan Little Feat Manfred Mann Earth Band The Crazy World of Arthur Brown Yello Yellow Magic Orchestra (aka YMO) Jimi Hendrix (Experience & Band of Gypsies) Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green era only) Argent Neil Young Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Joni Mitchell Procol Harum Robin Trower Genesis (Peter Gabriel era) Kate Bush Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen Asleep At the Wheel The Rock ‘n Roll Trio Weather Report The Screaming Blue Messiahs Rockpile Dave Edmunds Nick Lowe Wreckless Eric Thunderclap Newman Talking Heads ZZ Top Hank Williams Bob Dylan The Band

and Foxtel.

Whether we supporters or media pundits care or not means nothing, this is about the team taking confidence into future meetings with the Dockers… beat them today and the seeds of belief will be planted.

Yes, but we need to start somewhere, for our own belief, and a practice match is as good a time as any 😊

The result of a good vindaloo?

Agree with all of that… and as it was Fremantle who pretty much destroyed our season 2024, inflicting two thrashings on us in rounds 12 and 19… practice match or not, we need to show them that they don’t own us.

At least the distraction came after the last of the non-Dees practice matches had been played and discussed. But speaking of distractions, and more particularly, food fights @Sir Why You Little and @Tarax Club, read on… I was a student at Trinity Grammar and recall a time when a Mr Whippy van (in their very early days - early to mid 60’s?) turned up in the narrow road behind Trinity’s old primary school play area which led to a side entrance belonging to Xavier. Mr Whippy was perceived as a threat to our beloved tuck shop and the tuck shop ladies therein, so in what was probably the only piece of ‘bi-partisan’ action ever, involving the two groups of students from Trinity and Xavier, masses of kids queued up and purchased masses of ice-creamy treats. Mr Whippy no doubt thought all of his Christmases had come at once, but… his Christmas cheer quickly turned to Christmas panic as every one of those ice-creamy treats was hurled at his van, while other ‘operatives’ let the air out of his tyres. Poor Mr Whippy left with his tail between his legs and his van attached to a tow truck. Now THAT, despite it being ridiculously one sided, was a food fight for the ages!

That kid’s a great interviewer! He leaves a lot of those so called media experts for dead.

Not the kind of movement I had in mind. 🤣

My son played on him as an under 14, when Errol played for Maroubra (I think it was), where his dad was the coach. You could see he was going to be something special, but he was, at that time, as most coaches’ sons seemed to be, a bit of a scumbag. He has developed into a great player and a great role model, so I really do genuinely wish him a speedy and full recovery.

I think Picket Fence just felt a movement in his trousers.

This is DeepSeek’s prediction. Which I do like a lot more than ChatGPT… Predicting the final ladder for the Australian Football League (AFL) at the end of the 2025 home and away season is highly speculative, as it depends on numerous factors such as player form, injuries, team strategies, and other unpredictable elements. However, based on recent trends and historical performance, we can make an educated guess. ### Potential Top 8 Teams (in no particular order): 1. **Melbourne Demons** - Consistently strong in recent years with a solid core of players. 2. **Brisbane Lions** - Have been building a strong team and performing well in recent seasons. 3. **Geelong Cats** - Known for their resilience and ability to remain competitive. 4. **Sydney Swans** - A young and talented squad that has been improving steadily. 5. **Western Bulldogs** - Known for their dynamic play and strong midfield. 6. **Port Adelaide Power** - Have been consistent performers in the home and away seasons. 7. **Richmond Tigers** - Despite some aging stars, they have a history of strong performances. 8. **Carlton Blues** - Emerging as a strong contender with a mix of youth and experience. ### Middle of the Pack: 9. **Fremantle Dockers** - Show promise but need more consistency. 10. **GWS Giants** - Have the talent but need to convert it into consistent wins. 11. **St Kilda Saints** - Improving but may not have the depth to break into the top 8. 12. **Adelaide Crows** - Rebuilding phase, showing potential but not yet ready for top 8. ### Bottom Teams: 13. **Collingwood Magpies** - Struggling with consistency and player turnover. 14. **West Coast Eagles** - Aging list and struggling with form. 15. **Hawthorn Hawks** - Rebuilding phase, focusing on developing young talent. 16. **North Melbourne Kangaroos** - Also in a rebuilding phase, focusing on youth development. 17. **Gold Coast Suns** - Showing improvement but still lacking the depth to compete with top teams. 18. **Essendon Bombers** - Struggling with consistency and team cohesion. ### Final Thoughts: The AFL is known for its unpredictability, and any team can rise or fall based on a variety of factors. The above prediction is based on current trends and historical performance, but the actual ladder could look quite different by the end of the 2025 season. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, it's always best to follow the season closely and keep an eye on team performances and player developments.

Collingwood in 12th, Melbourne 13th and Hawthorn, and this is the craziest prediction, 17th!!🥸😳😵‍💫🤷🏼‍♂️ It appears to be using last year’s data and not taking into account training form, injuries, draftees, etc.

And Kai in the near future.

Read the report by following the link posted just above 👆 and all will be revealed.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring politics into a football discussion. 😉

Started third cycle of chemo today. So far not feeling and side effects and feeling pretty good. Unfortunately my peripheral neuropathy and resultant balance issues, is here to stay (upside is that I get to look sophisticated with a lovely ornate walking cane). These are how I spend some of my time in the chair…

I’m glad his first name doesn’t start with the letter ‘S’.

I’m nominating myself, having stated that as Carlton was involved, it would work in our favour. 🤣

You make a good point, but…as Carlton have lost their first round pick in Jagga Smith for the season, the AFL may be more likely to come to the party.

Hopefully the AFL will see sense and open a new SSP window for the next fortnight, in order to cover any injuries incurred during the pre season.

Five on the interchange bench, or did you intend Johnson to be the sub?

I see in the Casey match report that Mentha came off with a minor ankle injury… hopefully that initial opinion of the observer is accurate and that it’s not more serious. Who said MFCSS is dead?

Maybe Killer Carl Cox or Bulldog Brewer, but let’s face it, heaps of the ‘bad guys’ used the foreign objects which could range from some small concealed mystery item that was never fully revealed to a folding chair.

Wasn’t it Mark Lewin who had the sleeper hold?