hardtack

It seems that my optimism was a little misguided as I’m to continue my fortnightly chemo cycles until..? I’d still like to think I could honour my ‘promise’ that we will play at the Marrickville Bowlo on the 31st August, if only in a somewhat reduced capacity (I refuse to let this [censored] get the upper hand!!)… and I’d hope that Andy Doc Temple Ellard will be fit to do a set with The Chickenstones… after all, that was the plan and our incentive to beat this beast; definitely so in my case. Please stay tuned. The accompanying images are some I whipped up with the help of my AI (don’t worry, I will never claim such images as my own work). They express a little of the disappointment I felt today, as well as my resignation to the fact that it’s probably all for the best. The first image is a selfie I took upon arriving home from the Rusty Priest, the rest are generated using that image as a reference point. I hope you can appreciate/enjoy them (some of them do take a bit of poetic licence when it come to my visage)…

Thanks for your kind words rjay! Yes, it is a bit of a battle, but there are still many who are doing it much tougher than me. Sure it’s very possible that it will get me in the end, but at least I’m comfortable, both physically and, being the pragmatist that I am, mentally. I start what might be my final cycle of chemo on Monday, but should know more after meeting with my oncologist prior to getting hooked up for my fortnightly infusion; I will also find out the results of my CT scan, but as they haven’t called me about it, I get the feeling it’s probably nothing serious, just an attack of vertigo. I’m still hopeful that the gig will happen on the 31st August, but that’s pretty much in the hands of the medicos. I’ll wind up with a few images created by me as well as one on myself and a club legend in Shanghai…

Yes, that’s really sad… I believe he first became a grave digger when he gave up music. I heard a story (urban myth or true?) that he once went to visit his former manager armed with a gun, and threatened to shoot him if he didn’t stop sending royalties cheques. A friend of mine Peter Head (had a band in the 70’s called Headband - supported the Stones at Randwick Racecourse), did a bit of playing with Peter Green in early 70’s London… I recommend his book Headonism that was launched last week.

I think Trac is more likely to remain a Dee… partially because Clarry doesn’t seem too invested and partially because the club is more likely to be shopping Clarry around (a result of the first partial reason 😉).

When you take into account, player age, attitude, and ‘personality’ (like it or not, they have to face the media), I can only think of a couple who might fit the bill… Langdon and Petty. Sadly they don’t consistently perform on the field, but name me one player in our group that does. Langdon at least has a good head on his shoulders and presents well before the media. Someone mentioned Pickett, but as has been noted in other threads, he’s a shy retiring type who would have great difficulty in dealing with the media circus. Let him just concentrate on his onfield performance.

Good god, you have such a way with words… love it!!

Stripe me pink!! Now there’s an expression that’s not used enough!!

We’re a rabble! I’m not sure that we can teach them anything if we keep going the way that we are, as they’ve developed so many bad habits, and are not going into games with any serious intent!! To me, from the reports I read (which are excellent, by the way), it appears that training is too much fun and not enough earnestness. I’d like to see training sessions broken up into the different skills, but with real game simulation, where pressure is emphasised. [censored] off the soccer balls, as these things need to be approached seriously, otherwise we learn nothing and nothing changes! I obviously don’t attend training, so I might be making unfair/unjustified assumptions (correct me if I’m wrong), but I just can’t believe that what we are seeing is the product of a well organised teaching/learning system. We simply can’t blame players for their poor onfield performances without first looking at training, because that’s where it all starts!

Very sad to hear of the passing of Mick Ralphs, guitarist for Mott the Hoople and Bad Company. He was the first cousin of the guitarist, Steve Ralphs, in my first Sydney band, The Tenants. Apparently he’d been very ill since 2016, so it didn’t come as a surprise to those close to him.

Well, I’m still above ground and posting here… so I guess that’s a plus!

They need to simulate the pressure that accompanies kicking for goal in a match (when it matters). Maybe $100 to the player for each shot that goes through (from a spot specified by the coach) and $50 from the player, paid into the xmas party fund, if they miss. 🤣

Your efforts don’t go unnoticed and, for me at least, don’t go unappreciated!! Being a Sydney based fella, any training report is welcome… so don’t worry, despite me not getting involved in discussions, I’m welcoming them with open arms!!

I’m confused… how did I get involved in some discussion I don’t recall being involved in?

Probably not so naive, but he is human and it seems fairly obvious that he has a very close relationship with Goodwin as his coach. As I said (to cover my [censored] 🤣), it’s just a thought.

All of this talk about changing coach must be making Kossie a bit nervous; particularly if one of Trac or Oliver (or both) were to be traded out for picks. These are the people who he has a good relationship with, and it was those relationships that probably played no small part in getting him across the line. How would he feel having just signed a 9 year deal, only to lose the people that he felt closest to? I hope that if things do head down that path, that it doesn’t have a detrimental affect on his game next year. I understand that such decisions must be made for the betterment of the club, and I know they’re supposed to be professionals and would be expected to cope with such events, and yes, I know that one player cannot be bigger than the game, but Kossie strikes me as someone who is quite sensitive and it could take him some time to get over such moves. Just a thought.

Umm

He was considered to be one of the best shots on goal in the entire competition at that time.

Having just started cycle #11, things are still heading in the right direction… in fact, I was informed by one of the nurses taking care of my infusion, that it looks like I get a break from (or complete?), this bout of chemo as it all seems to finish with cycle #13, which pretty much equates to six months worth. This is good news in as far as it means I’ll be able to start looking at booking a few gigs in the coming months. On the flip side though, I have experienced a couple of bouts of vertigo over the past few days, so I will be undergoing a CT scan on my head and neck just to make sure that there’s nothing sinister going on… who knows, they might discover a brain in there somewhere. In keeping with my previous posts, here are some more photos and an AI image… the hands, while being heavily edited, are pretty close to accurate. As a result of peripheral neuropathy, the finger prints are almost completely gone and the skin is smooth and almost plastic like… my fingers actually feel like they have those plastic elastoplast bandaids all over them. Enjoy…

I’d like to see all of our prospective forwards, including Jefferson and Van Rooyen, spend time playing back at Casey… if they can learn how defenders think, that would be very advantageous. Neitz started as a defender, TMac showed a lot when he was moved forward, Petty and now Disco have unfortunately not been settled in one position for any great length of time, which could explain their inconsistency when sent forward. Just a thought.

Relax… you shouldn’t get yourself all tied up in NOTs over this!!

I don’t know…when you’re in Rundle Mall, if you suddenly hear the strains of Duelling Banjos approaching… run!!!

A 34 year old Kozzie would not be expected to have the pace and zip that he currently excites us… rather, he will have developed the smarts to make the most of the talents he has at that stage of his career. Do players like Travis Boak, Darling, and other veterans, keep going with the skills they had when they were in their early 20’s? Of course not… they have honed their skill set and adapted it to suit their current physical abilities. Kozzie will also, at that age, be a great mentor for players entering the system. No one would or should expect him to be performing at the level he does now, in the latter part of his contract.

We’ve also been linked to GWS’s Brown apparently.

Sorry, but I have to take exception to that comment… it should read, the greatest ruckman of all time!!

How long have you been waiting to use that one? 🤣