Tuesday, June 24, 2008

a nice patch of Salvation Jane





Spectators,

Absolutely no idea what the Tigers did in training last week, but whatever it was, it didn’t work.
After last week saying… ”never seen so much dropped ball, so many knock ons, kicks that failed to find touch”
Blah blah blah, nothing changed.
A classic case of They Only Had Themselves To Blame.
A wide open opportunity to beat another under strength side, away, missed, badly
Matty Head managing three fundamental errors in a row from the off -- was obviously still asleep when the team bus pulled up -- and all the signs did not look good.
The whole process when deep into the second half was symptomatic of the malaise, with the Tigers on a messy and confused attacking raid; the Great Hoddo throws a wild pass out the back when he didn’t really need to, only to see a Brisbane player swoop on the pill and set up a sweeping counter attack to have the ball planted on the ground underneath the uprights 80 metres away at the other end in a matter of seconds for the Bronco’s to tie up the scores.
Joisus.
When Karmichael Hunt [the bane of football commentators the world over -- Mike Hunt to his mates] potted a very lazy field goal, with what, seven or eight minutes left in the match, there was plenty of time to play the get out of jail card, but no one could even contrive to push the match into extra time.
The irony in all of this is that Benji Marshall probably had his best game of the season, in the wake his photograph of being sensationally splashed across the front page of the Daily Terror mid week viz a viz some shenanigans at the Sapphire Lounge.
Perhaps he should spend more time in Kings Cross.
After saying the Mighty Tiges were “traveling nicely”, the past couple of weeks have been an absolute disaster on the table, dropping from sixth to 12th, just like that, as other teams do some leap frogging, while others tread water in the log jam.
Straight after the match, SC Sheens was on the phone to the boys down at Balmain Road to book the team in for a couple of lengthy mid-week sessions in the Room Full of Mirrors.
There they might contemplate the frightening prospect that the wheel nuts are starting to come dangerously loose.


BRISBANE BRONCOS 19. Tries: Moon, Kemp, Kenny. Goals: Ennis (3). Field goals: Hunt (1).

WESTS TIGERS 18.
Tries: Hodgson, Halatau, Fulton. Goals: Hodgson (3).
At Lang Park, Brisbane.
Crowd: 27,864.



A very predictable stroll in the park on a chilly, but piercingly crystal clear Sunday winter’s afternoon in the National Capital, ah, the light Fawlty, the light…against the hapless Demons.
How’d you go being a Melbourne supporter?
You’d have to have a very high tolerance level for hopeless jokes and sad sacks.
Dean Baily’s only been in the coaching job five minutes and already he only has a couple of tufts of hair left on his head to pull out.
When BBB “Slugger “ Hall slotted through four big ones in the opening quarter it looked for all the world like the great man was in for a twelve goal bag, and he should have kicked at least ten, given the number of shots he sprayed wide in the rest of the game.
Marty Mattner looked to be best on ground, while the Henry Playfair kiddie was not far behind.
The best off season buys the club committee has laid the cash [and not much of that either] on the table, for off season buys in many a long year.
Looks like the Goodes Train has been reported or spotted by the eagle eyes down at the video match review committee for another innocent fairy tap, and will take the one match fall, on account of he has no choice this time.
Perhaps he’s not the protected species as everyone thinks he is, but rather the marked man that he appears to me to have been all along this season.
Does the tribunal the count the bye as a game?
Should do – back in the olden days you were rubbed out for so many weeks, not games.
Did the Swans deliberately take the pedal off the metal in the Championship Quarter, or was it a lapse of collective concentration?
You be the judge.
By the look of the contortions on the face of St Paul, he seemed to be more concerned at half time than he was at three quarter time.
Who would’ve thought that Jude Bolton has played 200 games of senior footy, and yet he could walk down Pitt St unmolested?
With the side having come to rest in a nice patch of Salvation Jane, SC Roos has cancelled all training this week and told the players to go away, get out of his hair, get out of town; to report back for duty at his place on Saturday afternoon for the traditional mid season break BBQ, where they can get on the grogs, reminisce about 2005, and talk a lot of shit.
Then it’s the much anticipated annual fixture against the Evil Pies at the Western Paddock the following Saturday night.
Tickets to the cheap seats are already in hand.

MELBOURNE 2.2 5.3 10.5 11.8 (74). Goals: Bate 4, Wonaeamirri 3, Miller, Johnson, McLean, Bruce.
SYDNEY 7.2 10.5 12.10 17.12 (114). Goals: Hall 5, Mattner 2, O'Loughlin 2, Buchanan 2, Goodes, O'Keefe, Jolly, Malceski, Roberts-Thomson, Playfair.
At Manuka Oval, Canberra.
Crowd: 11,437.