Grapeviney

Definitely seemed to be a step back in time - hopefully it will prove to be an abberation rather than a proper reflection of where we're at Sloppy disposal, poor decision making, lack of pressure - it really did remind me not so much of the cellar-dwelling efforts of '08 or '09 but moreso of our ordinary games in 2010

hmmm now there's an idea - maybe we will get to see petterd tonight after all

yeh that annoyed me too don't think it's necessarily about being PC... more a case of wanting him to bleed for the club - god knows we supporters do

listening to sports today last night and they were wondering about the wisdom of petterd tweeting this info so soon after the club released the squad..

certainly no-one who has played just 17 games has had so much press Mark Stevens on said on MMM last friday night that he's probably the #2 star attraction in the league at the moment, behind franklin - the kind of player everyone wants to watch can't wait to see him in action this year, definitely the most exciting player we've had at the club since schwarz '94

so good to hear the song twice in one night and very excited to watch liam jurrah play this year..

i dont agree with the notion that the book was either stupid or inane, or that its author was some idiot

Oddly enough i had a footy dream last night too - when it finished we were six goals down to the magpies early in the second quarter of a final played at night and hadn't even put a major on the scoreboard... and i was late to the game too

i presume you're talking about "Way to Go", by the late and great matt price, one of the better journalists this country has / had thousands of readers of his work at The Australian would beg to differ that he was ''some idiot'' - indeed, 31 pages of pretty heatfelt tributes at the bottom of his obit, here http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/mattprice/index.php/theaustralian/comments/journalist_matt_price_dies_aged_46/ /end rant

nah, they were pre-89.. early to mid 80's from memory there was one that really sticks in my mind, describing the scene in Carlton's dressing room after their 1973 Grand Final loss to Richmond, and a crying Vin Cattogio. Actually found an excerpt at the Blueseum: ”when Vinny came into the rooms after that game, he was pale and upset. He made straight for the showers because his statistics read three kicks and five handballs. It was sad to see his solitary form sitting in the bath, his arms resting on his knees, his head down, his eyes full of tears. That Grand Final failure was the worst experience of Vinny’s life. It coloured the rest of his sporting career. In fact, he didn’t play a senior game in 1974. He was, in his own words, 'never in contention.' Throughout his football career he sought absolution and an opportunity to atone for his failure, but he didn’t get another chance because ’73 was his last Grand Final.”

Would be great to read a collection of his clippings from he wrote for The Age There's also actually an earlier book by Barassi, written with Peter McFarlane, The Life Behind the Legend

^^hmmm, i'd be happy if we finish fourth this year

this is going to be the crucial thing a few years down the track.. if all our young guns grow up to be older guns, it's going to be nigh on impossible to keep them all, and stay within the cap aah, they should all be made to read robbie's (auto)biography with ron reed, and discover how sticking with one club can pay an emotional dividend at the end hehe

Heart and prayers go out to the Broadbridge family and Troy's friends at this time. The rest of the world moves on but Im sure their grief is still great. I hope the passage of time has eased some of that pain

Played the number's game with my five year old niece tonight, asking her what her favourite number was. 3 was the answer - which would have been fine 10 years ago but wont suffice now. Then asked her whether she wanted to wear the number of the player who has sent her cards / letters (Aaron Davey) as she is a junior member. She couldn't really remember that. Then I asked her if she liked #9 and she got pretty excited at that. When we told her 9 was 3 + 3 + 3 she was ecstatic, so it looks like JT will get the nod, although there was also discussion of 31 and 24 too. Will be happy with any of these on her back

My father, who signed up just last week, got his today, but my brother and I, who resigned two months ago, will have to wait till after the holidays it seems. odd

that is 100 per cent pure gold , and not just cos i used to wear batto's number on my back

Nine straight, out of an incredible total of 27.5. 167 It's a shame there aren't more Schwarz clips on Youtube, i've only ever found two and they're both pretty short

I'd like to see Sylvia in the leadership group - it might just push him to take the next step up and be the really great player he should be. I reckon it will come down to Davey and Green. I'm gunning for the former but I think it will be the latter

Just signed up my 7-month old nephew this morning. His dad's a lion but mum's a demon so he'll probably end up with memberships at both clubs. The battle for his heart and mind has begun

Great read Whispering, looking forward to future instalments. Was interested to read in the Red Fox biography about Eddie Jackson, who sat on the bench for the 1948 grand finals against the Bombers. The limited skerricks of info I could find about him on the net suggest he was a great user of the footy, particularly by hand.

maybe he can wear (and redeem) uncle jay's no. 26 guernsey

two other things to note in that article: and most encouragingly:

David Cordner would have been running around at about the same time - I presume he was son of Dr Don, or Dennis ? Definitely not a champion though.. The first of them was probably the best: Ron Barassi Snr / Jnr !!!

I read it just a couple of months back wattsup and like you i thoroughly enjoyed it. It's meticulously researched - really an exhaustive account with dozens of interviews with friends, colleagues, team-mates, and players who played under him. I think one of the main reason Norm Smith didn't kick a ton is because of his unselfishness and the decoy forward line set-up which saw so many other players around him kick goals. I found the chapters on his bust-up with the club to be quite sad - and if you youtube the tony charlton footy show episode with Norm talking about his departure, it's enough to bring a tear to the eye! Fasntastic read, a super addition to football literature by author Ben Collins