Footy Tipping 2022 – Beaumaris Probus

Footy Tipping 2022 - Leader Leon Laragy

Each week Leon notifies the 24 players with an email of the results and some witty dialogue or analysis

Round 22

Greetings All

Three players had the highest possible return of 9 correct! Congratulations to: Vivienne Fry, Colin Neave and Keith Ross. A lucky thirteen players managed the second highest of 8 correct, well done to: Richard Phillips, John Green, Alan Stevens, Martyn Pickersgill, Geoff Cupples, Peter McGregor, Rod & Wendy Kelly, Leon & Michele Laragy, Simon Appel, Garry Sebo, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, John Hewison and Barry Amond.

Please remember, Round 23 starts this ** FRIDAY ** 19 August !! … Round 23 is the ultimate round! Where will the dust settle? Coming up the Straight, with a Furlong to Go, are:

Block 4 Standings –

Sharing First: Rod & Wendy Kelly and Bob & Tina Wigg
Sharing Second: John Green, Deb Skues, Garry Sebo, Martyn Pickersgill, Vivienne Fry, Peter McGregor, Geoff & Merry Bransbury and Barry Amond

Overall Standings –

Sharing First: Rod & Wendy Kelly, Leon & Michele Laragy and Simon Appel
Second: Garry Sebo
Third: Geoff & Merry Bransbury
Fourth Last… Noel Ineson

Trivia/Anecdote

You may have heard of Tony Ongarello’s passing in July – Tony played for Fitzroy in the VFL in the 50s and regularly appeared on ABC television football panels in the 1960s and 1970s. As it happens Tony Ongarello is believed to be the last player in the VFL/AFL to have scored a goal from a place kick; he scored two goals from place kicks late in Fitzroy’s narrow loss to Geelong in 1955. The place kick is a type of kick commonly used in soccer, rugby league, rugby union, American football, Canadian football, and, once upon a time, Australian football.

In Australian football, place kicks were once regularly used for taking set shots for goal after a mark or free kick, and occasionally for kicking out after a behind. The place kick was an option but most players preferred punts or drop kicks. The method used by those who knew what to do was to create a divot with the heel in the intended direction; the ball would be placed at a slight upward angle in the divot with its long axis pointed at the target. The attached photo from the very early 1900s shows Vin Coutie (played for Melbourne) placing the ball for a place kick. I wonder, did any of our tipping fraternity ever employ the place kick or witness it executed in a game?

Good luck everyone for the very last round of the competition! Don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon (As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 21

Greetings All

In what was a challenging round for some, one player stood tall and had the highest of 7 correct, congratulations to Noel Ineson! 3 players managed the second highest of 6 correct, well done to: Rod & Wendy Kelly, Martyn Pickersgill and Bob & Tina Wigg.

Please remember, Round 22 starts this ** FRIDAY ** 12 August !! … this is the penultimate round! What changes will there be to the leaderboards? We saw plenty with Round 21!!!

The battle for the ‘Booby Prize’ (awarded to a player occupying the Fourth Last place in the overall Standings) is in full swing; Noel clearly does not want it, so we find John Green currently occupying 4 last outright. Remember, a highly desirable perpetual trophy awaits the anointed ‘winner’!!

Trivia/Anecdote

I pen this update from the environs of Ballarat and as it happens this week’s item is courtesy of our very own Ballaratian Lloyd Jenkins – many thanks Lloyd for sharing the following:

“I have had my turn at footy stories but Leon seems to want more. Here goes. As Redan junior players our games were early. We finished in time for us to dash on our bikes to a seniors game somewhere. Ballarat East had a player with a booming kick. Regular sixty yard punts. He was fiery. Oh yes ! At a final break the Coach gave him a mighty spray. We youngsters were out there of course, spying, wide eyed as the spray went on. “ B lazy. B useless. B stupid. B idiot. Back to the B seconds. “ Ah, the remembered adjectival oratory. The ball was bounced. Our fiery friend got it, hot under the collar from the spray, turned around, and deliberately booted his longest ever kick down to our Redan forward line. Did we enjoy that ? Well, what do you think.” Lloyd Jenkins.

Apropos being in the Ballarat neighbourhood… while in Ballarat last Friday night, 20 minutes before the start of the Demons v Pies game, just as we were leaving the bar the barman revealed he was a passionate Pies supporter… without any encouragement he then illustrated the dimensions of his commitment to the Black and White… the expression ‘too much information’ comes to mind… We were told the following as we inched our way to the exit:

He would donate a kidney to Eddie Maguire
He would take a bullet for Eddie Maguire
His last will & testament requires that at his funeral his coffin is to be festooned with the Black and White and that the club song is to be sung by the congregation
His coup de grace was that his grandmother declared she would only ovulate after a win by the Pies AND that all her kids were born nine months after such a win!

Questions –

I wonder how the grandparents pulled up after the Pies’ great win last Friday night? and
I wonder what Lloyd Jenkins makes of his fellow Ballaratian!!

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!! Cheers, Leon (As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 20

Greetings All

Five players had the highest of 8 correct, congratulations to: Garry Sebo, Chris Renwick, John Hewison, Bob & Tina Wigg and Leon & Michele Laragy. Thirteen players managed the second highest of 7 correct, well done to: Jim Duggan, Rod & Wendy Kelly, Paul Stephens, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Vivienne Fry, Deb Skues, Colin Neave, Keith Ross, Barry Amond, Peter McGregor, Martyn Pickersgill, John Green and Richard Phillips.

Please remember, the Next Round starts this ** FRIDAY ** 5 August !! … 3 rounds remain!

You may recall that there will be a ‘Booby Prize’ for a player occupying the ‘Fourth Last’ place in the Overall Standings (NB positions of Home Team & Away Team are ignored). Many thanks to Chris Renwick for this innovative idea ! Contenders currently in the vicinity of 4th last position are: 4th Last is Noel Ineson, in 3rd Last is Richard Phillips, & in 5th Last is John Green. At the end of the home and away season, if more than one is in 4th last, a draw will ensue as only one is to be recognised – a highly desirable perpetual trophy awaits the anointed ‘winner’!!

Trivia/Anecdote

This week’s item is the second leg from Derek Skues; Derek forwarded contributions for himself and Deb (Deb’s published last update) – many thanks Derek for sharing the following:

“My story relates to me acquiring two tickets at a charity auction to dine with Eddie McGuire prior to a Collingwood game at the Docklands Stadium, now known as Marvel Stadium, about 10 years ago.

I invited a farmer cousin of Deb’s to join me, who is a race horse owner and trainer, and avid Pies fan and lives near Wagga.

We didn’t realise until arriving that we were to be joined by over 100 others for the lunch. However, we were on a table with the Collingwood Vice President, Jack Kennedy, the Olympic swimmer, Giaan Rooney, and the owner of a previous winner of the Melbourne Cup.

Not only did Collingwood win but we had a very entertaining day surrounded by the Collingwood elite and witnessing Jack Kennedy’s verbal abuse of players who were not performing to his expectations.” Regards, Derek

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon

(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 19

Greetings All

One Team achieved the round high of 9 correct (NB – everyone gets 1 for a Draw), congratulations to Deb Skues (with some input from Derek!). Fourteen players managed the second highest of 8 correct, well done to: Simon Appel, Rod & Wendy Kelly, Paul Stephens, Garry Sebo, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Vivienne Fry, Colin Neave, Keith Ross, Geoff Cupples, Chris Renwick, Barry Amond, Peter McGregor, Bob & Tina Wigg and John Green.

Please remember, the Next Round starts this ** FRIDAY ** 29 July 22 !!

Trivia/Anecdote

This week’s item (and next week’s) are, coincidently, courtesy of the high flying “Bombers and Pies” team of Deb & Derek Skues; Derek has forwarded contributions for himself and Deb – many thanks Derek for sharing the following:

“Deb and I have a couple of football stories to share. Firstly, I recount Deb’s, as follows:

Deb became an Essendon fan following the influence of a couple of classmates at the Benalla East Primary School. However, it was not until 1993 that she had the opportunity to become fully engaged following her part-time support over the previous 40 years.

That year our daughter was going out with the son of the Essendon Football Club General Manager. So when Essendon reached the grand final Deb was offered a ticket to the players box, surrounded by past players.

So she witnessed a great win against Carlton along with the Essendon elite, an experience she has never forgotten and is recounted as soon as football stories are being told by her companions.”

Thank you Deb; Derek’s tale will appear in the next update (an interesting game on the weekend between Essendon and Collingwood – I understand Deb and Derek attended the match… kick after the siren win to the Pies! How cruel!)

As I have received a number of contributions following the last update I am pleased to write that I do not require any further contributions this season. I am very grateful for all the contributions received – thank you all!

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon

(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 18

Greetings All

It is a pity Noel Ineson missed the first game and got the losing away team – so Noel only managed the highest return of 8 correct! Congratulations Noel! Seven players managed the second highest of 7 correct, well done to: Simon Appel, Rod & Wendy Kelly, Garry Sebo, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Geoff Cupples, Alan Stevens and Peter McGregor.

Please remember, the Next Round starts this ** FRIDAY ** 22 July 22 !!

We have some Third Block winners! Congratulations to them all; the final standings for the Third Block Prize Pool [$144] (Rounds 13 to 18) are:

The outright winner of First Prize is: Simon Appel ($48 prize
Sharing Second Prize are: Rod & Wendy Kelly, Colin Neave, Leon & Michele Laragy and Deb Skues ($24 prize
(NB, all prize payouts will occur after the completion of Home & Away rounds)

Please note, the Fourth (and final) Block Prize Pool begins with Round 19 and concludes with Round 23 – We ALL start from Zero!

Trivia/Anecdote

Way back in Round 12 Bulldogs star Bailey Smith received a two-match ban for headbutting Geelong’s Zach Tuohy – not acceptable on a footy field and certainly not the sort of thing you would see on a netball court… you would think. I imagine many of you would be familiar with the term ‘White Line Fever’? In the mid-1980s the City of Melbourne sponsored a fitness program for office workers called the ‘Corporate Challenge’. My office participated with a mixed Netball Team. The boss had a competitive streak and ensured two former VFL/VFA players working in our organisation participated in our team – no names, no pack drill… In one of our games our two macho former footballers came up against two equally self confident Alpha types in the opposing team – I can’t recall what ignited the flames but it was explosive. Words, pushing, wrestling and then, sadly, a headbutt! Our chaps were the nicest fellas… Apparently ‘White Line Fever’ is claimed as an Australian term – it certainly described the radical, inexcusable change in my former colleagues’ behavior. Netball is indeed a tough game!

Only five more rounds remain, so if you have anecdotes/recollections/suggestions could you please share them with us!

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 17

Greetings All

One team managed the highest return of 8 correct, congratulations to: Leon & Michele Laragy. Six players managed the second highest with 7 correct, well done to: Simon Appel, Rod & Wendy Kelly, Keith Ross, Vivienne Fry, Colin Neave and Deb Skues.

Please remember, the Next Round starts this ** FRIDAY ** July 15 !!

Just Round 18 remains in the third Prize Pool Block (Rounds 13 to 18) – one team is in outright first with 31 (Leon & Michele Laragy); four share the second highest tally of 30 (Howard Hoskins, Colin Neave, Simon Appel and Deb Skues). Just one out of the money are: John Green, Martyn Pickersgill, Paul Stephens, Keith Ross, and Rod & Wendy Kelly… What will happen?

Trivia/Anecdote

Until recently I never fully appreciated the expression ‘take the wind out of someone’s sails’. My longstanding neighbour down the street, Reg, is a four wheel drive enthusiast and has for many years travelled north each Melbourne winter. A few weeks ago I saw that he had returned so I popped in and said hello. Among many things discussed I mentioned I was running a Probus group’s Footy Tipping comp, a revival of my workplace habit of 16 or so seasons. Reg then informed me he too was running a Footy Tipping comp… and that he had been doing so since 1975!! This is his 48th consecutive season!! Not only that, he said he created and maintains his own website to run his tipping competition (which at the moment hosts five different competitions). He manages all this using satellite technology while he off-roads in some pretty remote places. He was soon to head north again – I wished him good luck!

Your Help Needed: I will soon send you all a survey on a number of questions I need to settle regarding this competition. I will be canvassing whether we will have a special event for awarding prizes and celebrating the season, and if so I’ll seek input on what form such an event should take. Also I’ll be calling for suggestions as to what the ‘Booby’ prize should be – you may recall the Booby prize goes to the player/team that comes fourth last at the end of the season (NB Home and Away teams are not counted – e.g. currently Bob & Tina Wigg, Noel Ineson and John Green are jointly fourth last – But only one of them would be awarded!). Please complete the survey when it comes through – I will greatly appreciate your ideas/suggestions.

If you have anecdotes/recollections/suggestions please share them with us.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon

(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 16

Greetings All

Nine players managed the highest return of 7 correct, congratulations to: Simon Appel, Rod & Wendy Kelly, Leon & Michele Laragy, Keith Ross, Barry Amond, Deb Skues, Martyn Pickersgill, Peter McGregor and John Green. Eleven players managed the second highest with 6 correct, well done to: Jim Duggan, Paul Stephens, Garry Sebo, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Chris Renwick, John Hewison, Vivienne Fry, Colin Neave, Geoff Cupples, Noel Ineson and Richard Phillips.

Please remember, the Next Round starts this ** THURSDAY ** July 7 !!

In the Block 3 standings (Rounds 13 to 18) there has been a big shakeup – three now are outright first (Howard Hoskins, Martyn Pickersgill and John Green). Five sit in second (Deb Skues, Simon Appel, Paul Stephens, Colin Neave and Leon & Michele Laragy). With 2 rounds to go, Nine players are not more than 2 tips out of the prize pool – will there be big moves?

Trivia/Anecdote

This week’s item is courtesy of Paul Stephens – Paul’s ESPN handle ‘Harold Chudleigh Esq’ has intrigued me all season; many thanks Paul for sharing the following:

“Harold Chudleigh Esq is a nom de plume I created after becoming rather fascinated with the flamboyant names which floated through British society at a time when accounts were paid in guineas and bureaucrats were called civil servants. While Harold is a pseudonym, others, like Hesketh Pearson, Sir Penderel Moon, Negley Farson, and my favourite, Radclyffe Sidebottom, are all real people I’ve discovered through reading books. Over the years I have been rotating through these names in another tipping competition, and I like to create a bit of mischief by using them when signing visitor books. My daughters find all this a bit embarrassing which is most encouraging.”

(To help old Chudleigh deal with the modern world, the pre decimalisation value of the tipping comp entry fee of $30 is 14 Guineas 6 Shillings – I hope everyone has paid! Must check with our venerable treasurer)

If you have anecdotes/recollections/suggestions please share them with us.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon
(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 15

Greetings All

In a challenging round two players managed the perfect return of 9 correct, congratulations to: Simon Appel and Howard Hoskins. Four players managed just one less, well done to: Paul Stephens, Keith Ross, Martyn Pickersgill and John Green.

Please remember, the Next Round starts this ** THURSDAY ** June 30 !!

At the halfway juncture of the third Prize Pool Block (Rounds 13 to 18) Howard Hoskins (19) leads four with the second highest tally of 17 – can Paul Stephens, Colin Neave, Martyn Pickersgill or John Green catch Howard or even overtake him? Or will one or more of the 12 players who are not more than 2 wins out of second highest move up?

Trivia/Anecdote

This week’s item is courtesy of Lloyd Jenkins – many thanks Lloyd for sharing the following:

“As a non-participant in the tipping contest I find that the weekly reports bring on a degree of nostalgia for old codgers like me. We recall the drop kick and stab kick, both banned by coaches long ago for un-reliability. At training we all fancied ourselves at drops and stabs. The failure rate was high, but in expert hands [ or feet ] they were pretty to watch. Thorald Merret and Barry Cable with stabs, Lindsay White of Geelong and Fred Swift of the Tigers with drops. On early season rock hard ground an attempted stab that went wrong would nearly break an ankle as the foot hit the ground first. A drop that scudded along the ground brought on delighted yells from the opposition spectators. A nicely spinning drop kick was so much easier to grab in a high mark as against a wobbly punt. A stab on the run and delivered chest high to a leading forward was a gem of sporting execution. Success rate by most of us ? About 15 % mate, on a good day. Drops and stabs were unachievable with a wet ball. The drop punt entered the game. Tiger ruckman Jack Dyer [ Captain Blood ] is often credited with the introduction of the more reliable drop punt but that was HIS story. Jack jumped onto the bandwagon in his television days later on. Ah the stab. Like a bullet, 20 to 25 yards, hit the chest of the sprinting full forward ‘laces up’. Wow.” Lloyd Jenkins

If you have anecdotes/recollections/suggestions please share them with us.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon
(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 14

Greetings All

A solitary player achieved the highest return of 5 correct for the round, congratulations to Geoff Cupples. Eight managed the next highest result of 4 correct; well done to: Paul Stephens, Garry Sebo, Howard Hoskins, Leon & Michele Laragy, Chris Renwick, Alan Stevens, Colin Neave and Deb Skues..

In the Block 2 Prize Pool Standings (Rounds 13 to 18) three players command top billing with 10 correct tips. Eight players hold down second place with 9 correct. There are 4 full rounds remaining (no more bye rounds!) in this block which affords plenty of opportunity for folks to move up. Ken Beadle is following up the rear which he assures us is his intent – I wonder whether Ken is the perennial ‘lanterne rouge’ of the Beaumaris Probus Bike Group?

Trivia/Anecdote

Earlier in the season I discussed with Colin Neave the background of his ESPN handle “Wong 19” – time was against us and I did not get the complete picture; all I recalled was Colin said his dad had an involvement with a local Chinese restaurant. I recently obtained from Colin a fuller story – many thanks Colin for sharing the following: “Yes my Dad and some work mates at what was then Australian Motor Industries Ltd ( of which he was the GM and negotiated the first assembly deal for Toyota in the world out of Japan in 1962 ) had a Chinese chef in the Canteen. They decided to set him up in what was then the Ko Sing Chinese cafe in Sandringham. (now called something else) I worked there as a waiter for a while when at School and later so got the nickname by which I am still known by some School mates. 19 was my age when I retired from waiting duties. The investment in the cafe by my dad was a disaster!”

If you have anecdotes/suggestions please share them with us.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon

(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 13

Greetings All

Five players achieved the maximum return of 6 correct for the round, congratulations to: Peter McGregor, Howard Hoskins, Colin Neave, Martyn Pickersgill and John Green. Twelve managed the next highest result of 5 correct, well done to: Deb Skues, Garry Sebo, Bob & Tina Wigg, Leon & Michele Laragy, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Alan Stevens, Barry Amond, Paul Stephens, Geoff Cupples, Vivienne Fry, Rod & Wendy Kelly and John Hewison.

Early days in the third Block Prize pool (Rounds 13 to 18)!!

Please remember, the Next Round starts this ** THURSDAY **, June 16 !!

Trivia/Anecdote

Some have recently brought to my attention that not only am I leading the comp but I’m also the Administrator… I point out that the ESPN tipping system prevents tampering! In the past in non-ESPN competitions some administrators have been caught fiddling. On one occasion there was a Victorian Police Integrity probe into claims of cheating in a local Cop Shop comp – participants were suspicious of the person running the comp’s uncanny ability to select winners!. However, a well documented case is found in the Hobart office of the Bureau of Stats. An IT chap was sacked for rigging his office comp – he was quite rightly let go in my opinion! However, he was reinstated following an appeal… an interesting working environment followed I imagine! For the record, I’m doing so well thanks to my wife, also the Herald Sun tipsters (BTW if anyone followed Jane Bunn they would lead our comp by a margin of three)

If you have anecdotes/suggestions please share them with us.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon

(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 12

Greetings All

Six players secured the highest return of 5 correct tips, congratulations to: Paul Stephens, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Howard Hoskins, Leon & Michele Laragy, Deb Skues and Martyn Pickersgill. Twelve players attained the next highest result of 4 correct, well done to: Simon Appel, Garry Sebo, Rod & Wendy Kelly, John Hewison, Chris Renwick, Keith Ross, Barry Amond, Noel Ineson, Colin Neave, Peter McGregor, Bob & Tina Wigg and Jim Duggan.

Please remember, the Next Round starts this ** THURSDAY **, June 9 !!

We have some Second Block winners! Congratulations to them all; the final standings for the Second Block Prize Pool [$144] (Rounds 7 to 12) are:

Sharing First Prize are: Howard Hoskins, Leon & Michele Laragy and Geoff & Merry Bransbury ($36 prize)
Sharing Second Prize are: Barry Amond and Noel Ineson ($18 prize)

(NB, all prize payouts will occur after the completion of Home & Away rounds)

Please note, the Third Block Prize Pool begins with Round 13 and concludes with Round 18 – We ALL start from Zero!

At halfway point of the season the overall standings are: 1st with 76: Leon & Michele Laragy; 2nd with 75: Paul Stephens and Simon Appel; and 3rd with 74: Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Garry Sebo and Rod & Wendy Kelly.

Trivia/Anecdote

I hope you enjoyed the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Did you know the first Melbourne v Collingwood Queen’s Birthday match took place in 1898? I wonder whether Edward Oxford, a resident of Melbourne then, attended that game. If he did, that would have been … ironic… given Mr Oxford attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria on 10 June 1840 – Her Majesty was four months pregnant with her first child. A jury found the 18 y.o. Oxford not guilty of treason by reason of insanity. Mr Oxford was institutionalised for the best part of 28 years until he was given conditional release for transportation to a British colony – he chose Melbourne!! He resided in Melbourne until his passing in 1900, less than a year before the death of Her Majesty. Mr Oxford had changed his name, married a Melbourne widow and published writings on Melbourne’s society – no one knew his past. I expect Mr Oxford would not have been a Melbourne supporter! Apparently Queen Victoria was not amused by the jury’s verdict – Her Majesty thought the law should have enabled a “guilty but insane” verdict which would have seen Mr Oxford hanged; Her Majesty believed unwaveringly that if Mr Oxford had been hanged, his death would have deterred other potential regicides – six other attempts were made on her life.

If you have anecdotes/suggestions please share them with us.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon

Round 11

Greetings All

Two players secured the highest return of 8 correct tips, congratulations to: John Green and Martyn Pickersgill. Ten players also attained the next highest result of 7 correct, well done to: Garry Sebo, Rod & Wendy Kelly, Paul Stephens, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Leon & Michele Laragy, Chris Renwick, Keith Ross, Alan Stevens, Howard Hoskins and Peter McGregor.

Please remember, the Next Round starts this Friday, June 3 !!

Regarding the second Block prize pool (Rounds 7 to 12) – There are six players with the highest tally at the moment, they are: Howard Hoskins, Vivienne Fry, Leon & Michele Laragy, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Barry Amond and Noel Ineson. Four players share the second highest number of correct tips, they are: Keith Ross, John Hewison, Peter McGregor and John Green. Just Round 12 remains to complete this block… and it is a ‘bye’ round… meaning there are only six games to impact the top two positions. Will there be upsets??

Trivia/Anecdote

In recent years I have noticed there are a number of Australians playing American Football (aka Gridiron); they are playing ‘football’ in US colleges and the NFL – most have done so by drawing on skills learned playing Australian Football; they typically play as ‘Punters’ as they know how to kick a similarly shaped football. Sav Rocca and Ben Graham had good NFL careers post their AFL days. Former Melbourne player Darren Bennett is credited with blazing the trail for Aussies when he established himself as an NFL punter in the 1990s. However Darren was not the first by a long chalk – a century earlier an Aussie was a legend of American Football !!

Patrick John O’Dea (1872-1962) was born just up the road in Kilmore. O’Dea’s Wikipedia entry credits him as playing in 1893-95 for three league clubs and lists him as playing for Victoria in 1894. However Pat became legendary in the US when he played football for the University of Wisconsin from 1896 to 1899, captaining the team in 1898 and 1899. Pat O’Dea’s spectacular punting, drop-kicking and goal kicking skills made him a superstar of his day.

If you have anecdotes/suggestions please share them with us.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon

(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 10

Greetings All

Eleven players secured the highest return of 7 correct tips, congratulations to: John Hewison, Rod & Wendy Kelly, Vivienne Fry, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Barry Amond, Noel Ineson, Leon & Michele Laragy, Richard Phillips, Keith Ross, Colin Neave and Martyn Pickersgill. Eleven players also attained the next highest result of 6 correct, well done to: Simon Appel, Paul Stephens, Garry Sebo, Chris Renwick, Alan Stevens, Geoff Cupples, Howard Hoskins, Bob & Tina Wigg, Jim Duggan, Peter McGregor and John Green. (… we could have a cricket match with these two groups!)

Please remember, the Next Round starts this Friday, May 27 !!

Regarding the second Block prize pool (Rounds 7 to 12) – Three folks have the highest tally: Vivienne Fry, Barry Amond and Noel Ineson. Sharing the second highest number of correct tips are: Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Leon & Michele Laragy, John Hewison and Howard Hoskins. Two rounds remain in this Block; thirteen players are not more than 2 tips out of the money.

Trivia/Anecdote

I once played on the same team as ‘Lethal’ Leigh Matthews… basketball team that is!! A team for ‘mature age players’ which was organised by the cricket club where our son played junior cricket. A stalwart of the club was a ‘mad’ Collingwood fan (any other sort?); somehow he had enticed Leigh Matthews to join our team – I think Leigh was at a loose end as he had recently completed his coaching stint at Collingwood. Leigh’s extraordinary football achievements are very well known, his basketball achievements unlikely to be so! Our team lacked ‘schooled’ technique but Leigh compensated with an uncanny natural athletic ability. Leigh was quite good at scoring goals, albeit his style was unorthodox. He would shoot for goal as though he was passing the ball i.e. hands either side of the ball, lobbing the ball gently to the hoop … I venture to think a foolhardy purist might have offered Leigh a critique … but only once!

If you have anecdotes/suggestions please share them with us.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Round 9

Well, well, well… it has taken 9 Rounds to unearth a perfect return of 9 correct tips – Congratulations to Noel Ineson for securing the maximum!! Four players attained the next highest result of 8 correct, well done to: Barry Amond, Richard Phillips, Bob & Tina Wigg and Jim Duggan.

Please remember, the Next Round starts this Friday, May 20 !!

We are halfway through the second Block prize pool (Rounds 7 to 12) – Noel’s stellar performance has catapulted him into a share of first place along with Howard Hoskins, Vivienne Fry and Barry Amond. Sharing the second highest number of correct tips are: Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Leon & Michele Laragy, John Hewison, Peter McGregor and Bob & Tina Wigg. With 3 rounds remaining opportunity exists for movement in the standings (Notwithstanding Round 12 is a ‘bye round’ with only six games).

Trivia/Anecdote

Apropos Lloyd Jenkins’ round 6 anecdote regarding his contribution to the stellar football career of Essendon great Jack Clarke, did you know that well-known distance runner Ron Clarke was Jack’s younger brother? Former Australian Football League CEO Andrew Demetriou stated that Ron as Mayor of the Gold Coast played a major role in the AFL establishing the Gold Coast Suns on the Gold Coast.

Trivial Anagrams: Can you unscramble the following letters to identify some of our fellow Probians?

Am Judging
Losing Rower
Gory Saber

Round 8

Two players achieved the round high of 8 correct tips, congratulations to: Vivienne Fry and Howard Hoskins. Six players attained the next highest result of 7 correct, well done to: Garry Sebo, Leon & Michele Laragy, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Alan Stevens, Barry Amond and Peter McGregor.

Please remember, the Next Round starts this Friday, May 13 !!

Apropos Ken Beadle’s mention last round, Ken subsequently advised that he was deliberately aiming for the booby prize at season’s end not realising the comp rules – however Ken is undeterred and is enjoying his quest to achieve a zero round!!

Trivia/Anecdote

“False Memories” are real! It is difficult to conceive that a person can genuinely claim to remember something that is in fact entirely false and imaginary. However I had one such ‘memory’. I’m a Cats fan and my second team is St Kilda. In 2009 the Cats and the Saints played in the Grand Final. A colleague at the time, a huge Saints fan, was by marriage related to former Geelong captain Steven King, who played for Geelong in the 2007 premiership team; however he played with the Saints in the 2009 Grand Final. The Cats won in 2009 – I watched the game on TV with keen interest. When I saw my dejected colleague at work I asked him what he thought of Steven King striking Geelong’s fullback Matthew Scarlett during the game. He replied: “It didn’t happen”. How could it not have happened? I saw it. In vain I repeatedly scoured my recording of the game for the incident. I had to accept that my memory was false – but I can still picture it. … Saints v Cats this weekend …

If you have anecdotes please share them with us.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon

(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 7

23 out of 24 players had either the highest or second highest number correct for the round. Eight players achieved the round high of 6 correct tips, congratulations to: John Hewison, Vivienne Fry, Keith Ross, Richard Phillips, Jim Duggan, Bob & Tina Wigg, Peter McGregor and John Green. Fifteen players attained the next highest result of 5 correct, well done to: Simon Appel, Garry Sebo, Rod & Wendy Kelly, Paul Stephens, Leon & Michele Laragy, Chris Renwick, Geoff Cupples, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Alan Stevens, Deb Skues, Colin Neave, Barry Amond, Noel Ineson, Howard Hoskins and Martyn Pickersgill.

Normally we would not focus on the nether regions but Ken Beadle’s effort this round must be acknowledged – one correct tip is, in an inverted sense, somewhat impressive.

However, please note that no prize will be awarded for last place in the overall standings. As stated at the beginning of the comp the intention is for a ‘booby prize’ to be bestowed on a player/team from those with the fourth least number of correct tips at the end of the season!

Please remember that Round 8 starts this Friday, May 6 !!

You will note there are now two ‘Standings Tables’; the first covers overall standing, the second shows how we are doing in the Second Block which covers Rounds 7 to 13.

Trivia/Anecdote

This week’s item is courtesy of Simon Appel – many thanks Simon for sharing the following:

“My schooling was mostly as a boarder at Geelong College. Located quite near the Geelong Football Club grounds, we often observed Geelong training. The players would train from around 3.30 pm through 5pm, or sometimes even as late as 6pm. Training comprised end-to-end kicks and marking, with some circuit work around the oval. Training ended with showers in the rooms, together with much camaraderie. I recall the likes of Bobby Davis. Built like a mallee-root, covered in hair, he would stand in the showers, mates all around under their showers, with beer in one hand (‘long-neck’ bottles!), and often a smoke in the other. Training has changed a little.

Cheers!!!!!”

If you have anecdotes please share them with us.

Round 6

Nine players achieved the round high of 8 correct tips, congratulations to: Garry Sebo, Rod & Wendy Kelly, Paul Stephens, Chris Renwick, Geoff Cupples, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Alan Stevens, Barry Amond and Noel Ineson. Eight players attained the next highest result of 7 correct, well done to: Simon Appel, John Hewison, Vivienne Fry, Richard Phillips, Colin Neave, Howard Hoskins, Bob & Tina Wigg and Jim Duggan.

We have some winners! Congratulations to them all; the final standings for the First Block Prize Pool [$144] (Rounds 1 to 6) are:

In outright First is: Simon Appel ($57.60 prize)
Sharing Second are: Garry Sebo, Rod & Wendy Kelly, and Paul Stephens ($28.80 prize)
(NB, all prize payouts will occur after the completion of Home & Away rounds)

Please note, the Second Block Prize Pool starts Round 7 and concludes Round 13 – We all start from Zero! FYI: Round 7 starts this Friday, April 29!!

Trivia/Anecdote

This week’s item is courtesy of Lloyd Jenkins – many thanks Lloyd for sharing the following:

“ One of the greatest of the Bombers was Jack Clarke. His era was nineteen fifties into the sixties. It is not well known that I taught him all he knew about playing the game. It was around 1948. A crack junior team from the Essendon district visited Ballarat to face up to the crack local side, Redan Juniors. We of Redan billeted the visitors. We were ready to demolish the lairs from the big smoke. The two centremen met before the bounce to shake hands as instructed. This was an innovation for us. ‘Hello, I’m Jack Clarke was the greeting from a neat well spoken Essendon player. ‘Hello, I’m Lloyd Jenkins ‘was the reply from the country lad. The ball was bounced. Jack Clarke got it , swung towards goal and delivered it like an arrow to the full forward. GOAL. That opening stanza was repeated and repeated from then on with the country lad chasing in circles with nil success. Jack Clarke, best on ground. Country lad nil possessions, nil kicks, nil anything. Jack Clarke learned much from me that day and went on to be one of the all-time greats of the game. I imagine he was ever grateful for that learning experience at Ballarat. As for the country lad he realized early that he was not destined for success at Aussie rules and switched to baseball as a winter sport. It was a wise move. “ Lloyd Jenkins.

If you have anecdotes, please share them with us.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon

(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 5

Congratulations to Paul Stephens, Keith Ross and Geoff Cupples for achieving the round high of 8 correct tips. Five players attained the next highest result of 7 correct, well done to: Simon Appel, Leon & Michele Laragy, Garry Sebo, Alan Stevens and Barry Amond.

In the Standings Table (see table) Simon Appel is still in outright first with a tally of 34 correct. In outright second with a tally of 32 correct are Leon & Michele Laragy.

As you know, Round 6 concludes the first Prize Pool block; only players finishing with either the highest or second highest tally for rounds 1 to 6 share in the prize pool ($144) – the prize pool is always shared using the following ratio: those in first place receive twice the amount of those in second.

What will Round 6 bring? Who will rise and who will fall??

Trivia/Anecdote

This week’s item is courtesy of Vivienne Fry – many thanks Vivienne for sharing the following:

“As a 13yo newly arrived migrant in Australia from Malta in 1963, going to a “foreign” school in a new country and speaking a new language was quite overwhelming and frightening at times. However I tried my hardest to belong and fit in the school environment. It so happened that one of the first girls to befriend me, was a Demon supporter. Every Monday morning she would talk on and on about “Barass” and how good the Demons played football in the weekend. “Barass” was not in my English dictionary and football was not played with a round ball but she convinced me that to be her friend I had to follow the Demons. This created a dilemma: coming from a tiny very Catholic island where religion dominates its entire culture, and having been brought up to fear and abhor anything to do with the devil, I thought it would be a sin to follow the Demons where I should be following the Saints. So the only way to solve this was to go to confession and confess my sin. I think the priest must have been a Melbourne supporter. He said “say three Hail Marys and go in peace.”

Go Demons!!

Vivienne Fry

How did you end up following your team? If you have anecdotes please share them with us.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon

(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 4

In the Standings Table (see table) Simon Appel is still in outright first with a tally of 34 correct. In outright second with a tally of 32 correct are Leon & Michele Laragy.

Trivia/Anecdote

This week’s item is courtesy of Vivienne Fry – many thanks Vivienne for sharing the following:

Go Demons!!

Vivienne Fry

How did you end up following your team? If you have anecdotes please share them with us.

Nine players achieved the round high of 6 correct tips; congratulations to Simon Appel, Rod & Wendy Kelly, Chris Renwick, Garry Sebo, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Colin Neave, Howard Hoskins, Noel Ineson and Barry Amond. Nine players also managed the second highest tally of 5 correct tips; well done to John Hewison, Paul Stephens, Vivienne Fry, Martyn Pickersgill, Leon & Michele Laragy, Alan Stevens, Geoff Cupples, Jim Duggan and Peter McGregor.

Please note that Round 5 starts this Thursday, April 14 !!

In the Standings Table (see table) Simon Appel is outright first with 27 correct tips which gives him a handy 2 tip lead over three players sharing second place – Rod & Wendy Kelly, Leon & Michele Laragy and Chris Renwick.
With two rounds to go to conclude the first Prize Pool block, 14 players are 5 or fewer tips away from the second highest tally of 25 – does two rounds provide enough opportunity to climb into the money??

Trivia/Anecdote
I imagine many of you would recall the Junction Hotel in St Kilda. Google shows it was a grand building in its heyday but it ended its days as a billboard support as shown by the photo taken in the early 70s. In the early sixties my older sister was friends with Richmond Football Club legend Graeme Richmond; she introduced Graeme to our father and the two of them would go to the boxing at Festival Hall. I recall that Graeme ran the Swan Hotel in Richmond and that he also operated the Junction Hotel in St Kilda just prior to the time it was demolished to enable the
much needed widening of High Street. The Junction Hotel was a favoured watering hole for Saints fans making their way to and from the adjacent Junction Oval on Saturday afternoons during the footy season. Apparently the pub would lower the Saints’ flag to half mast whenever the team lost. We can only imagine the post match pandemonium in the public bar in those days of the ‘Six o’clock swill’!! The Saints ended their association with the Junction Oval when the club moved to Moorabbin in 1965. The club’s solitary premiership in 1966, was, ironically perhaps, the year mandatory six o’clock closing ended – Perhaps it should be reintroduced for
the Saints’ sake!!

Did any of you go to the Junction Hotel after a game? If you have anecdotes please share them with us.

Round 3

The highest number of correct tips for Round 3 was eight which was secured by five players; congratulations to: Paul Stephens, Garry Sebo, Chris Renwick, Leon & Michele Laragy, andSimon Appel.
The next highest tally was seven correct which was achieved by five players; well done to:Vivienne Fry, Deb Skues, Richard Phillips, John Hewison, and Rod & Wendy Kelly.

** Please note that Round 4 starts this Thursday, April 7 **

In the Standings Table (see table) Simon Appel is in the lead with a tally of 21. With the second highest tally of 20 is Leon & Michele Laragy. Three players are on 19 and five have 18 correct. Round 3 is the halfway point of the first of our four ‘quarterly’ prize pool blocks; with 3 rounds to go there is plenty of opportunity for big changes to the composition of the players that will finish with the top two highest tip totals at the close of Round 6!
Tips on Tips:
● After you enter your tips you can always make changes provided the game in question has not started.
● Don’t count your tip before the final kick of the game!
Trivia/Anecdote
This week’s item is courtesy of Howard Hoskins – many thanks Howard. Howard is a keen Melbourne supporter; he wrote: “My first Grand Final attendance was in 1957 when the Dees beat Essendon I was also there in 1964. I have been fortunate to attend 27 Grand Finals which I thought was a pretty good record, however on speaking with ex President Roger Wilson who informed me he has been to every Grand Final since 1956 (a total of 65) bar the last two covid years. As we know Roger follows Collingwood and in that time he has witnessed 3 Magpie victories and 14 losses. As we know that’s how the term Colliwobbles came about.” – Did we see a touch of the ‘Colliwobbles’ on Saturday night in the game against the Cats?
If you have anecdotes please share them with us.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!

Cheers, Leon
(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87

Round 2

Congratulations to Martyn Pickersgill for achieving the round high of 7 correct tips. Six others attained the next highest result of 6 correct, well done to: Simon Appel, Bob & Tina Wigg, Rod & Wendy Kelly, John Hewison, and Vivienne Fry.
Please note that Round 3 starts this Thursday, March 31 !!
In the Standings Table (see below) Simon Appel is in the lead with a tally of 13. With the second highest tally of 12 are five players/teams. To illustrate prize allocations, the first Prize
Pool up for grabs covers Rounds 1 to 6 – those players achieving the first two highest tallies at the end of Round 6 are in the money!

Tips for Entering Your Tips:

● For the ESPN website; the URL is: https://www.footytips.com.au/home (click ‘Sign In’)
● Get the ESPN app for your smartphone! I find it very easy to use. It is typically the case that when you open the app you are already logged in – it seems that just closing the app does not log you out. (If you do logout of the app it will request your e-mail address and password)

Trivia/Anecdote (feel free to skip this)
In reflecting on my association with anyone directly or, dare I say, even tenuously linked to our fabulous Australian game I recalled another Carlton great – Chris Judd.
I remember Chris’ first game in a local under 14s cricket team; I was officiating as the umpire at the bowler’s end. A wicket fell and Chris stode to the crease and took block. Chris fashioned to send his first delivery to kingdom come, however, unfortunately for Chris, he missed and the ball struck his pads plumb in front and I gave him out. Was that the moment Chris said “cricket ain’t for me, I’ll play footy”? … Why do I remember that incident? – Well, Chris at such a young age was just marking time; his reputation as a football talent was already well to the fore. Even while Chris was playing cricket in the under 12 teams the talk was he was destined to be an
AFL superstar – I vaguely recall the epithet ‘Brownlow Medalist’ mentioned – not bad for someone on the cusp of 12 years of age!

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in!!
Cheers, Leon
(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 32 75 87)

Round 1

It’s fantastic that we have twenty-four in our comp! Wow, what an amazing beginning to the season – so many close games.
To summarise the standings: five of us tipped 7 correctly, eight tipped 6, six tipped 5, three tipped 4 and two tipped 3. The table below shows our respective standings (copied from ESPN data). I have added a column with the actual names of the participants involved; you will see there are a number of ‘teams’ playing. Early Days!!

Did You Know – The ESPN system allows you to enter/change your selection for any game provided the game has not commenced. So, should you miss putting tips in before the start of the round you can still put tips in for the games that have not been played.If you have any football related trivia/anecdote please send it to me as I would like to include it in my weekly ‘Standings’ email – e.g., have you (or a relative, school mate etc) played for or tried out for an AFL/VFL club; or perhaps you have had dealings with AFL players, or spotted a football luminary somewhere. For instance, did you know that Barry Amond when he first lived in Melbourne supported Carlton as his neighbour was the late Sergio Silvagni? (However, Barry was dissuaded from following the Blues by family members who insisted he support Melbourne – he’s only just forgiven them!)