John Crow Batty

I have consciously avoided posting on Trenners because it was going to be a awfully long time before we came to this moment and words in between felt meaningless . But now the joyous day has arrived and I pray he gets through the game well and his teamates support him to the fullest and make him feel like he is playing for a rosy team future and not like back in 2013.

I think the Merrett article was from a lot earlier but I could be wrong. The article I was referring to was a small single column story and nothing to do with Don Scott I believe.

It was long time ago but I recall reading in The Sun late in the late 80's an article saying that an unnamed club had a"hit man" playing suggesting his brief was a little more ambitious than the usual hardman tactics employed then. Myself and a few others thought the article may have been referring to Grinter. He was claiming regular scalps with no consequences for quite a long time then. The particular attention he later gained from tribunals suggests he may have been a candidate for "hit man".

That quote is an extreme example but most fans are used to be handed out piecemeal success mixed with regular mediocrity and are rightly anxious with the hard draw coming up given the inconsistent and quite alarming defensive play especially against sides we should be beating if improvement is genuine and sustained. It is a fair projection that we may only win 2 or 3 games for the remainder of the season unless we become more consistent. Our 5 wins so far could just be the vagaries of statistical variation. History suggests that we fall away away alarmingly in the second half of recent seasons. Not time yet for back slapping. Time for keeping the pressure on. Personally I will not be convinced we have improved until we claim a couple of big scalps to ensure we at least match the wins of the first half of the season.

I knew Dipper well from school days and met Grinter a couple of times at the pub. He used to live nearby and was always seen running around the neighbourhood. Both were really nice guys off the field. Never met the others. Dipper could barely play football at school and was recruited by Hawthorn only because of his size and powerful physique. They made him into what he was. Every team had enforcers. No such thing as duty of care in those days.

When the colonel was a spring chicken?

I liked the way he said how insanely fired up they were before a game and how motivational Northey was. Another planet.

We don't see often the maniacal play from us like the Hawks and better sides do when challenged. Or Carlton last round for instance. Like we are a dysfunctional public service department. Get the easy jobs done and don't bother if it's too hard. Just go through the motions. But never mind, just keep turning up because the weekly pay is still there. I just want to see a maniacal performance from us this week.

There were few players that would take him on man to man. He was also very resilient. He hit hard and even took hard hits better. He was the target of some huge hits and he always bounced up quickly. Not one to lie around groggy while getting his senses back.

One thing that should be remembered about Grinter was that he was an excellent kick. His foot disposal is comparable to Jack Watts both for field and goal kicking.

I must be getting deluded but blind hope has let positive feelings creep in. Last season the Bulldogs were 5/5 at this stage of the season and starting to attract some doubting scrutiny yet rallied in the second half. To go back further, Brisbane in 2001 were 5/5 also before commencing their unrelenting charge to 3 consecutive flags. This is kind of a watershed moment for us given the missed opportunities mixed with encouraging highs of earlier in the season. Will we suddenly become fairdinkum or fade away like the last two seasons? I have rummaged through the house and pulled out all my lucky charms and icons. Currently I am rubbing a statue of Blesssed Mother Mary hoping for divine intervention.

Check Eberts bowel motions.

Most of our mids have the fumbly below the knee problem or they swallow it up and don't get it off. Oliver excepted.

He wages war from the high moral ground which maybe slips under the radar?

I took a lot of punishment in the 186, Schwab and Scully days. SIn binned about 6 times I think including a 6 month holiday. Must have mellowed since then.

He used to break ornaments.

Sensing Grinter's closing footsteps Wallace shat himself and fumbled the ball. The ball was bobbling about six inches away from Wallace's face. Unfortunately the ball moved as Grinter swung his arm to punch it away. Anyway that's the way I saw it.

I feel for dee-luded. Withdrawl symptoms must be hitting hard by now. I hope he keeps taking his vitamins and camomile tea.

I have a feeling we might see a special effort from the boys this weekend. The pending fixture for the rest of the season is scary and it might shake them up finally and there is nowhere to hide.

There should be a sin bin list of all the current banned posters so we don't worry if they may have got run over by a bus or been eaten by a shark.

Wish we had some of his and his ex teamates grunt these days. Sorely missed.

Players should be forced to watch Carlton's game from last round all week. If they take note and play like them we will win irrespective of the ins and outs.

Was he selling drugs on Demonland?

Not just the defence but lack of support from the midfield and forwards to keep the ball from getting back too easily.

That is just WOW!