Anarchists,
The AFL Umpires’ Association has a lot to answer for, for mine.
After being deliberately hounded, frustrated, badgered, targeted, harried, mistreated, tormented, bullied, affronted, appalled, teased, disgusted and disgruntled by Bamfords for his entire football career from day one, is there any wonder that Barry Hall is as mad as a hatter and unusually prone to “brain explosions” and “mind snaps”?
Who can blame him?
Not the first or last man to be driven absolutely insane by cheating, dirty rotten umpires.
Anyone can see the cogs going around in Barry’s brain.
So, when the gearbox un-meshes in a spectacular fashion it’s never unexpected, and its there for all to see.
BBB Hall’s first infringement wasn’t really even worth a free on every eye witness account, let alone a fifty metre penalty, let alone three 50’s!
[See photographs above for clear evidence].
You’d have to seriously ask: Were the Bamford’s in their right mind?
What mysterious secret rule book have they been reading, and where did they get it from?
And then Bazza’s coach goes and disgracefully holds The Great Man responsible for single-handedly losing the match!!
A critical away game at that at the G, when it was of no fault of his own, and the Bamfords apparently get off utterly scott free in the mind of SC Roos!
Go figure?
Not hard to see why the poor bloke is completely bonkers.
If Hall is ever committed to Callum Park, it’ll be a bloody goal umpire in a white lab coat and fedora who signs the papers to certify the creature of pity to the asylum.
Thinking that Big Bad was dropped from the “leadership group” some time ago; but when all is said and done, it’s down to the “leadership group” to accept responsibility for failing to win any away game at all up to the split round, isn’t it?
The buck stops with SC Roos and the various “captains”, surely?
Instead, they appear to be in denial, while trying to pin the tail on the very convenient scapegoat.
Disappointing.
You’d have to query if they have started to run out of ideas.
Sure, some new kiddies might struggle from time to time in the big league but you can’t blame a bloke like “Rick” Shaw, who had an outstanding game in the backs in a losing side.
Characters like him are the face of the future.
And while The Goodes Train has been on fire for a month, and Mickey O isn’t playing badly after he got started – comebacks by those two after last season -- there are more than a few other ageing passengers with tired legs that have lost a yard or three who are now being exposed as the old men they are.
A couple of injuries and its season kaput, if it isn’t already.
Don’t know that the atmosphere around at the traditional mid-season BBQ this weekend at Roosy’s place will be particularly festive.
Beer Cans and Burnt Rissoles at 30 paces.
Tickets to the cheap seats are in hand for next game against the “Pride of the Nation” aka The Evil Pies aka “good ol’ Collingwood!”, who will no doubt set out to remind the Swans just how good Sydney/South used to be.
HAWTHORN 4.5, 7.5, 9.11, 12.14 (86). Goals: Franklin 3, Williams 3, Roughead 3, Ellis 2, Mitchell.
SYDNEY 2.5, 4.7, 8.7, 11.9 (75). Goals: Goodes 3, Hall 2, Jolly, McVeigh, O'Loughlin, J.Bolton, Mattner, Kirk.
At Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Crowd: 44, 464.
Glad the decision not to attend Balmain’s spiritual home on Friday night was made early.
Looks like some weak poofiness has come over me in my old age, but it was too cold by half and there was the threat of rain.
Lets face it, its been 20 years since 1989, when every home game was attended bar none, and every home game was at Leichhardt.
Once again it was a case of the forwards being out-muscled and failing to go forward, unable to create any useful field position, except on the back of home crowd penalties, to put the backs into any sort of position to do much genuine threatening of the try line.
Rugby League is a fairly simple game.
The wingers might as well have sat under a shade tree.
Farah had a hangover from State-of-Origin One, and Benji didn’t have any room to move with his kicking game.
When your two ponies aren’t in harness, its pretty much goodnight nurse from the off.
Didn’t help that Garef “That Pom” Ellis, perhaps the most consistently good player of any this season, front or back, declared himself unavailable with an accidental injury to his Social Finger.
With five consecutive losses, one can only pin one’s hopes on the unlikely event of SC Sheens somehow pulling off the miracle worker stunt and inspiring a late season purple patch to get anywhere near playing beyond the home and away matches.
As it is, he wouldn’t be looking to the Club Secretary-Manager for any kind of bonus.
But, as the supreme optimist will always say, it’s only just June.
Still, gets you to thinking that it’s been something of a test of faith following The Tiges since ’05.
Said then, say now; could be another long time between drinks.
WESTS TIGERS 10. Tries: Farah, Tuiaki. Goals: Marshall (1).
PENRITH PANTHERS 26. Tries: Walsh (2), Aiton, Daniela, Tighe. Goals: Walsh (2), Cooper (1).
At Leichhardt Oval.
Crowd: 14,100.
