My son Marcus and I were at ANZ for this game. Terrible venue but what a cracker of a match, and what a result for the long suffering Tiges faithful. Finals confirmed. The game dragged on for some minutes after this but the collective wisdom consider this the “winning goal” and it certainly is fitting. Dustworth Q. Martin dobbed it into the cheer squad right in front of us. Sensational.
The other football, my other team
The first footy game I ever saw is lost in the mists of time. The first soccer match, on the other hand, is cemented in my mind. The 1975 FA Cup at Wembley, long haired Alan Taylor scoring twice for the claret and blue of West Ham against the feeble white of Fulham. And with that I became a West Ham fan.
They won the Cup again in 1980.
I cannot honestly swear to have followed them through thick and thin. In recent years they have been strangers to Free To Air television, and its largely been through the Guardian’s Football Weekly podcast that I have kept in touch with their travails.
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
Football, and now I am talking about your association football, whipped-in-from-the-corner-flag, curled-over-the-wall-and-in off-the-crossbar, come-on-ref-he’s-off-by-miles, striker-on-loan, 4-4-2, stepover stepover nutmeg game – its a soap opera. The Hammers have had some batshit insane star players (Paolo di Canio) some deeply ropey managers (‘Arry Redknapp) and the current owners I believe made their money in the porn industry. I could never take any football team as seriously as I take my Aussie Rules team – it would just kill me.
But, I do love West Ham. They trumpet their legacy of playing ‘beautiful football’ – three of the England 1966 World Cup winning side were from Upton Park. To be fair they have abandoned ‘beautiful football’ whenever it has suited them, but the current side is living up to that legacy. They are playing beautifully, and they are winning, just at the precise time some of the perennial big clubs are struggling. Chelsea started the season so badly, they sacked The Special One. Manchester United are in a funk, and have apparently lined up The Special One to take over next year. Manchester City seem to be in a holding pattern as they wait for Pep Guardiola to arrive for next season – the players seem to think it would impolite to win the league with the outgoing manager. Arsenal just can’t be trusted to win anything. Liverpool – not sure they are still in the Premier League, I’ll have to check.*
The real excitement is all about Leicester, who at this point last season were odds on to be relegated. They weren’t, but they sacked their manager anyway (more for off field issues than anything), then hired a man who most football followers would characterise as a Harmless Grandpa in Claudio Ranieri. They are now nearly 3 wins clear on top of the table. Even so, the hardest heads are tipping they will falter and be run over at the end by … Spurs. Usually hovering between 5th and 8th, Spurs have never really seemed like a threat to muscle past the big money of the Manchesters, Chelsea and Liverpool.
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
OK, back to West Ham now. They are fifth. I don’t think they can win the league from there, although its mathematically possible. But they are a bloody good chance of a top four finish and that means; Champions League. On a practical level that brings an influx of cash but on a football level it means Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint Germain, Real Madrid. I might get to watch Auckland’s own Winston Reid clean up Ronaldo, now that would be really something.
Not only are the Hammers on the cusp of [operatic choir] The Championsssssssssssss but they only have to get over a disinterested Man Utd to meet Everton in an FA Cup Semi Final. In the other semi, the very beatable Crystal Palace play Watford. In other words I am predicting that West Ham are going to win the FA Cup in 2016. They last won in 1980. What else happened in 1980?
OK, sure Fleetwood Mac were number 1 with Tusk for about 6 months but I was thinking more of this;
*That was a joke Liverpool fans of course you are still in the Premier League AND the highly regarded Europa Cup which was almost won by Fulham.
TTBB merch reminder
Tiger Tiger Burning Bright is a spare time project, put together out of our love for football and football fans. Specifically for the Richmond Tigers and their unique brand of followers. If you would like to support this project, a range of fundraising products are available here on Redbubble. All profits go to defray the costs involved in running this project.
Our three designs are the classic look-at-me Black On Yellow, the inner-city-cool of Yellow On Black, and the fascinating yet untidy Virtual Duffle Coat. There are shirts and hoodies, mugs, phone covers, pillow covers, leggings, notebooks, pencil cases – too many items to list, in fact just too many items, full stop.
But if you are a Tiger, or you know a Tiger who needs something a bit different to express their Tigerosity – please consider shopping at Redbubble and helping us out at the same time.
Reading the 2016 tea leaves
I am so sick of cricket. There are too many kinds going on simultaneously all over the world. It gets you hankering for a game that (The Footy Gospel’s excellent work notwithstanding) is scarcely known beyond these shores. If there’s one thing you can rely on in footy, it’s that your favourite player isn’t going to spend the off season with the Dhaka Danger in the Bangladeshi T20 league. You’d never see our blokes somewhere like that anyway because floodplains are notably poor for altitude training.
So, I haven’t watched any footy since Grand Final Day – still interested in my predictions? I have watched some NAB Challenge highlights. And very misleading they are too, because from reading the stream-of-consciousness of Twitter during the games, people are not that impressed with the overall game of some individuals who come up well in the edited snippets. [Aside – reading tweets of people with pay TV is the new going down to watch colour TV through the window of Radio Rentals – discuss.]
My impressions are just that we seem to have recruited pretty well, Reiwoldt has never looked better, Cotch looks sharper than he has in years, and Jacob Townsend’s tackling technique needs work (he was knocked cold by some Port player’s arse). I am pretty excited by the potential in Mabior Chol, but he is probably in the ‘project player’ category, despite Brendan Lade saying he’s a chance for Round 1. I saw Daniel Rioli’s turn of pace, and what would have been a stunning goal if not for Ty’s radar being a bit wonky. You can’t help but feel excited having a Rioli.
The Port game ended up as a demolition derby, and the main loser is Reece Conca. As far as I know there is no miracle LARS-equivalent for hammies. Only patience and mental toughness will get him back, and I wish the young man all the best with it.
Overall I am pretty optimistic but lets face it, that is based on a very narrow base of information and largely on my sunny good nature. I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t make the 8 this year. Port will not miss out and GWS really look ready to take that step to me. The teams who’ll make way are Adelaide and North. Sydney are going to fall out of contention but still make finals. There’s is one big upwards mover: the Doggies. Here’s my final 8;
West Coast
Western Bulldogs
Hawthorn
Fremantle
– – – – – – – – –
Port Adelaide
Richmond
Greater Western Sydney
Sydney Swans
Premier: West Coast d Westen Bulldogs (Norm Smith to Andrew Gaff of WC)
Coleman Medal: Jeremy Cameron, GWS
Brownlow Medal: Patrick Dangerfield, Geelong
So it’s come to this
With the Tiges gorn, many in Melbourne and here in Tasmania will be willing on the Hawks and the Roos in their respective trips to Perth this week. A 1970s flashback grand final, or in fact an all-Tassie Launceston v Hobart grand final; would be Good For Football.
We have put these graphics up for this week on the Swan Street billboard. If you know any Hawks or Roos supporters, let them know that these designs below are available on t-shirts and whatnot here on Redbubble, or just search ‘Footy Enigmas’.
What next?
North Melbourne15.15 (105) d Richmond14.4 (88)
I realised today, a week after the fact, that I had not even vaguely considered writing up the Elimination Final loss to North Melbourne. I thought of this today while I was reading The Holy Boot’s sorrowful Tigers Don’t Win Finals.
As a means of self-preservation I often sarcastically yearn for the days where Richmond were hapless. I understand how to deal with that sort of failure. But this new failure is prickly, it pierces and it leaves you blind with pulsating disappointment. They’re laughing at us again.
Unlike Boot, I put it behind me straight away. I am a less emotional Richmond fan, optimistic by nature and burdened helped by my family makeup; a wife and younger son who barely speak the football language, and an older son who needs a heavy dose of positivity any time Richmond concede a clearance from a stoppage, let alone a goal or a match.The Holy Boot has spent a week in mourning, unable to speak the names of the recently gone missing (Cotch), while I have spent the week pretty much normally with just occasional moments of staring into space, or banging the desk and shouting WHY CHAPPY WHYYYYY to the alarm of pets.
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
As footy gets to the end of the season I feel simultaneously the joys of spring and a mild panic at the dwindling number of games. I love the Tigers, I do, but I just love footy as well, so while it continues (counting down now 3 games left) I can distract myself from the misery that I know awaits. After the fella from Synergy Leveraged Events Solutions (probably) depresses the trigger to fire the coloured paper shrapnel at the 2016 premiers, it will be time to face this abyss.
I did go to the local Grand Final yesterday which was a belter, and the emotion at the final siren was as real as anything you’ll see in the AFL; of course I identified with the losers, strewn about the field like bodies at Culloden or Waterloo.
I cannot do what other fans do and throw themselves into trade speculation. There is no joy for me in tipping players to be delisted. The world of nods and winks and late mail about blokes walking out on their clubs – I am happy to read about it all in the past tense in March. No matter what someone has done or not done, if they’re a Tiger I want them to stay. How could Bennell or Yarran be an improvement, they’re not TIGERS.
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
I read another great piece today by 14-year-old Paddy Grindlay, Reflections On Another Wasted Year. And I am grateful to Paddy for giving me something I can safely turn my mind to.
Newy is not for booing. Newy is for cheering with emotion, for talking of loyalty and service. Newy is a legacy, he displays the Richmond spirit in every action. But he’s gone now. We are hollow without him.
Who is going to replace Newy? Not just on the list, I mean who is going to replace his heart, his wisdom, his courage and his leadership? I nominate Bachar Houli. Bachar never goes missing. The difference between his best and his worst games is negligible. His courage at the contest and in taking responsibility are unquestioned. As a quality person you would not find better on any list in the league. We did not realise what we were getting when he came across; so much more than we expected.
I am talking to you now Bachar. We need you brother. There are blokes at the club who have been there longer than you, blokes who are younger, there are better players than you, more athletic, blokes with 3rd or 4th generation footy brains in their hands, in their feet. You can teach these guys something. There’ll be new guys coming in, teenagers from the footy factories, journeymen and discards from other clubs, Stevie Morris types who might have won a few premierships in the WAFL or SANFL and think they know what’s what. If you can teach them your calm, your patience and your constancy, we’ll be a better team.
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
Let them laugh I say. There is a streak of wilful ignorance running through footy; it expresses itself nastily in booing Adam Goodes but also in the easy stereotypes of clubs. We all love to have a go at the party boys of St Kilda, silvertails of Melbourne etc, but of course St Kilda had Lenny Hayes and Robert Harvey; Melbourne had Rod Grinter. The tropes are easy to overturn. I think the worst thing a club’s followers can do is identify themselves with a defeatist stereotype. I am all for Footscray doing whatever it can to escape the image of doughty battlers. And I refuse to bow to people who want to paint Richmond as chokers.
I believe we can make finals again in 2016. I believe the team owe themselves and the fans a vastly better performance in their next final, and we owe it to the team to expect that. The laughter is nervous laughter. Look at this mighty club, its got its shit together at last, its got 70,000 members and an administration the fans are actually proud of. Imagine if they could just put it all together on the big stage in September. They should laugh while they can. Go Tiges.
The Swan Street billboard
Dugald is a man with connections. One of his pals named Dan runs an outdoor advertising company IOM. Dan wanted some “local Richmond content” to put up on his new screen, on the wall of the Central Club Hotel, Swan St. So Dugald wrote a few things and I knocked up layouts, and boom – TTBB is on show on the main drag of Richmond 3121, in between the paid ads.
For the last few days Dan has been running a couple of specials for us. They will stay up until 6.00 this evening – when the Swans’ opponent for next week at ANZ will be revealed.
Septigers
I am as excited about Richmond making the finals again, as I am terrified of what will happen on Sunday. We have made steady progress on 2014, sealing finals to all intents and purposes a few weeks early. Last year we stretched the definition of mathematically to new dimenions to edge West Coast out of the finals. We are now in the Regular Finals Club, have 70,000 members, some first class young players coming through and Cotch, Lids and Jack near career-peak form. We beat the benchmark side twice; Fremantle on their patch and later Hawthorn who had looked to have the rank brown and yellow ribbons on the cup already. We are the duck’s guts.
But having been there when North Melbourne tore us a new air vent in Hobart; I fear and loathe them. In fact I might watch the game on Sunday through the bottom of a Chivas Regal bottle for the full Hunter S. Thompson experience. The patched-together combo they threw out against us on Friday kept us to two goals in the first half. We got serious and belted them in the last quarter but the game was a mixed bag of portents and dry-runs.
Ziebell and Lindsay Thomas are chances to miss, and 3-goal Kayne Turner is sure to be sidelined for a week after concussion; his elbow-to-head + head-to-ground incident looked bloody terrible. Ziebell gives me the willies; he and Goldstein together were driving the bus that ran over Richmond in Hobart. I worry less about Goldy; we have stitched up sides with a dominant ruckman before. Dusty is our barometer; he took too long to click into gear (I am murdering this metaphor) on Friday. Once he was going it was glorious, but I want him going before quarter time on Sunday or he DOESN’T GET AN ORANGE.
Tip for Sunday: Tigers by 11 points. If we can get past the Bananas In Pyjamas then look out, pretenders from the west and the leafy east. Tigers are impatient and unpredictable animals and may not follow anyone’s ‘premiership timetable’.
Double header at home
On Sunday I saw the VFL side play for the first time, at Punt Road. They were absolutely terrible, getting flogged by Coburg who were just below them on the ladder. Matt Dea and Hampson looked a class above their surroundings but the standout players were all Burgers. I honestly don’t know how blokes on the verge of being promoted to the Richmond seniors can shine in a side playing at that level.
Ivan Soldo is indeed very, very tall. But he runs like a man made of balloons, making his cousin Big Ivvy look like Matt Shirvington. The Bean moved around purposefully but the delivery was terrible so he had nothing to work with. Gordon and Menadue bobbed up but I recognised them more by their numbers and haircuts than any particularly impressive play. Castagna looks useful and Dave Astbury did a few eye-catching things.
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
We nipped off just before the end to hustle through the park to the MCG. I was with Josh down from Wagga (Kangas fan @armchair_footy from Twitter)) and Dugald. We met Andy (@Harri_Chas from Twitter) and the Lapsed Tiger at the gate, and through craft and guile managed to all go and sit together in their sensational seats. It was the best view I have ever had at an AFL game. Andy warned us that this was a “polite area” – I did boo the score review at the final siren though.
The Tiges took a while to get going, but six goals for the opening quarter suggested they were going to push for the big win that was there for the taking. Lids is in career best form in my eyes, he and Grigg led the run and spread. There was a sensational running goal to the potato magnate. The word that kept occurring to me was “silky”– we were not doing the grunt work when we lost it (1 tackle for the first quarter) but just looked classy when we had it.
Then the 2nd quarter reset the story; it was still going to be a win but a lame one with no benefit to our %. There was a lot of keepings off but the urgency had gone out of the game somewhat. The army was rumbling with discontent, we had come to see goals. Lambert took a brave mark, shook off the damage and converted well to settle us down a little, but the Suns won the quarter. Ty kicked goals regularly but seems to be relishing his panto villain role; he’s added some Cristiano-style prima donna moves. After someone else goals, he has a few moments thinking what might have been before he joins in the high fives.
Gold Coast had terrible luck with injury, Dixon turning his ankle just after half time when they had subbed off Nicholls. Later Jack Martin clashed heads with Cotch and had to be wheeled off. This opened the door for us to pile on some scoreboard hurt, but it took a while to happen – eventually we gained 5.5% which is pretty handy around now.
The 3rd quarter started with a fantastic slips catch mark and goal to Newy. The game needed Dusty, and he appeared regularly to put an end to an aimless chain of handballs with a dash through the lines and either a goal or a kick to advantage into 50. Ivvy made a couple of mistakes, such as the one on the goal-line where he flapped at the ball like the new Chelsea-version Petr Cech, and let Tom Lynch snare a goal.
Matt Thomas did his job well, and it was reassuring to see he’s still got it, at least against lowly opposition. But something’s gone wrong if he’s in the 22 in 4 weeks time. The other ‘in’ was Steve Morris, who parked his car near me earlier in the day. I could have lingered and wished him good luck as he got out of the car – why didn’t I? I tend to like the players to stay at a distance. He shook off the disappointment of being snubbed by a graphic designer, and was energetic and desperate. If he gets another chance in a final playing in defence I won’t arc up. But if they were decorating the Superstore again they’d be unlikely to feature a life-size Stevie as they do now. The wheel turns.
Which brings me to Chris ‘Newy’ Newman who has just announced this is is last season. Like this bloke painting his fence, you sense he waited until we had locked in finals. Newy ran down Malceski in the 3rd quarter and it felt like a couple of old dogs just having a fun time in the sunshine. He is still contributing and I suspect at least half of what he gives the team is not out on the field, and will be much harder to replace.
Even in our 8-goal last quarter there were long stretches of doldrums where it felt like we didn’t know what we wanted from the game. Percentage boost or no injuries? Practice at putting the foot on the throat, or practice at just doing the first stage stage of the slingshot, over and over? But that is ungracious of me because we were also treated to some champagne football. The highlight of the match for me was Jack’s soccer pass to Lennon who marks, and finds Jack who kept running. He could have kicked it from there but squared it to Lids who goaled.
I don’t know about you but I have never seen the Tiges win by 83 points. For those keeping score at home, this is just my 4th Richmond win, after the ’99 Ponsford Stand Inferno v Carlton, Swans R23 at ANZ last year, and the recent Dreamtime game. I am genuinely just happy to be there and sing the song.
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
After Tigerland we had a terrific treat, being let out onto the turf for kick to kick. Dugald and Andy had to head off, but Josh, the Lapsed Tiger and I got out there with several thousand other people and about a thousand footies. We pinged little Cotch-style passes around over the heads of toddlers and past the noses of adults, and then found ourselves mostly out of sight of each other but able to communicate by means of longer chip kicks. It was hilarious, I think we all grinned til our faces hurt. When we were ordered off we continued outside, joined by James (@ichymochek) from out Sunbury way. Just four blokes who met over Twitter kicking a footy around outside the MCG like kids. Happy days.
Hawks dismantled
My best hope for Friday night was no injuries or suspensions and no major damage to our percentage. Well, we achieved that and more.
What a stirring win. We’ve had a few over Hawthorn and we’ve been in great form so I don’t know why we were such long odds. I know a number of Tigers who made the bookies suffer.
Just to focus on Hawthorn for a minute, we genuinely dismantled their game. They were reduced to firing it into the forward line with a trench mortar, up and down, and our Sensational Six down back just killed it time and again. Burgoyne, Hodge and Mitchell made basic errors under perceived pressure. Breust and Roughy didn’t see enough of it to make many mistakes. Cyril’s set shots were dreadful. McEvoy seemed like a liability, just beaten to a smooth paste by Ivan all night. I don’t think this was one of those ‘complacent favourites didn’t come to play’ situations – we made it happen with our pressure and run from the first bounce.
I love the team aspect of footy. I don’t have much time at all for individual sport. Champions thrill us with their exploits, but even better for me is to see a team go out with a plan and execute it, every member doing their job, 100%. OK, 99% because I really can’t explain what went on in Ty’s mind when he cocked up that goal in the last quarter. But you get my drift.
This fellow Hardwick, he’s putting together a decent CV of coaching conquests. I think we all agree Clarkson is the benchmark at the moment, and Dimma took him down. He has not enjoyed a ton of respect at times from the fans and the wider football world, but it might be time to reassess that.
I would love to know what Dimma’s instructions to the 22 were. Grimes kicked to the corridor twice in one quarter from the half back flank – boneheaded decisions or part of a brilliant plan? Once he hit his target perfectly, once it ended in a stoppage with no harm done. Dusty’ first six or eight minutes were incredible, receiving and giving off tiny kicks through gaps and blind handpasses that came off. The skipper was nasty. Dimma’s got guys doing things they actually don’t know how to do. They are in midair like Wile E. Coyote, and they just need to avoid looking down for the next 8 weeks.
Anything is possible, which is quite frightening really.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- …
- 20
- Next Page »