Welcome to our Footy Tipping Competition for 2023

Leader- Leon laragy

Round 24

Greetings All – well done everyone!

Congratulations to Richard Phillips for finishing off the season with a round high of 7 correct tips!  Further congrats to John Green, Thomas Glass, Vivienne Fry, Wendy Kelly, Rod Kelly, John Smyth, Barry Amond, Martyn Pickersgill, John Carson, Alan Stevens and Paul Crompton for managing the next highest of 6 correct.  Please see the tables below for the final Overall standings and the completed Fourth Prize Pool standings.  Overachievers this season are:

Block 1 – 1st John Green, Ian Marchment
Block 1 – 2nd Vivienne Fry
Block 2 – 1st Leon & Michele Laragy
Block 2 – 2nd Alan Stevens, Simon Appel
Block 3 – 1st Garry Sebo
Block 3 – 2nd John Carson
Block 4 – 1st Vivienne Fry, John Green
Block 4 – 2nd John Hewison, Rod Kelly
Overall – 1st John Green
Overall – 2nd Garry Sebo
Overall – 3rd Simon Appel

* See table below for $ summary

And with great pleasure I can reveal the winners of the ‘Boot on a Stick’ for being 4th last are Deb and Derek Skues!  Congratulations!  – of course, this Perpetual Trophy will be ceremoniously presented at the Grand Final Lunch!

Many thanks to you all for your commitment this season – ten of our numbers managed to collect a financial reward for effort!  However, I sincerely hope you all enjoyed participating regardless of how you fared in the standings!!!

Thanks to all those who have contributed anecdotes throughout the season.  And special thanks to Paul Compton for sharing his twelve watercolour depictions of football grounds of yore.

The competition might be done, but it is certainly not dusted – there is the GF Lunch, so…

…please book for the Grand Final Lunch, Wednesday 27 September…

AND it is open to ALL club members & Partners so spread the word!

The plan is to have balloons and streamers in the colours of the Grand Finalists.  Also, on display will be prints of Paul’s 12 watercolours.  … and if you wish, wear something reflective of your team e.g. scarf, tie, beanie, badge etc.

Thank you all once again, and I hope to see many of you at the GF Lunch.

Round 23

Congratulations to Vivienne Fry and Paul Crompton for achieving a round high of 8 correct tips!  Well done to Simon Appel, Paul Stephens and Richard Phillips for managing the next highest of 7 correct.  Please see the tables below for the Overall standings and the Fourth Prize Pool standings.

Please note Round 24 is the last (yippee!) and it commences on FRIDAY, August 25  – If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

One round remaining… will there be movement?? … there’s a mob fighting it out for 1 & 2 in the Block 4 Pool!! … and of course, the Boot on a Stick is up for grabs too!!

This week I am pleased that we have a ‘rookie’ contributor, it is the final contribution for the year and it is from Russ Vial; Russ has some interesting insights into football history of the Brighton area:

Grand final day VFA 1925 Brighton playing against Williamstown, at their home ground, Captain Coach Gordon Rattray with unrivaled kicking ability, was accredited as the first person to use the long distance torpedo punt kick.

Under his leadership Brighton would go from a club that had never won a grand final, to a competition in back to back grand finals in 1926/1927 though a premiership win still eluded them.

Early members carried fond memories of playing matches by the beach, the game play punctuated by the regular rattle of passing trains.

According to a popular club legend Brighton player Tom Callow executed the longest kick in football history when he managed to land the ball on a Sandringham bound train; the ball continued on to the Sandringham station with the guard tossing the ball back on to the grounds on the return trip towards the city. Thus went the story, Callow’s kick had sent the ball six miles!

Many thanks Russ!

…remember to book for the Grand Final Lunch Wednesday 27 September…

AND it is open to ALL club members & Partners so spread the word!

Paul Compton’s final club ground painting is of the Collingwood Football Club’s Victoria Park (circa 1903)

Click here to read description of this Footy Ground plus photos and descriptions of others all done by Paul Crompton

Round 22

Congratulations to Ian Marchment for achieving the maximum possible with a round high of 9 correct tips!  Well done to John Smyth for managing the next highest of 8 correct.  Please see the tables below for the Overall standings and the Fourth Prize Pool standings.

Please note that the penultimate round, Round 23, commences on FRIDAY, August 18  – If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

With just two rounds remaining, who will rise and who will fall?? …(BTW, I hope everyone has paid their $30 fee! Please check with our Treasurer if you are not sure)

This week we have another contribution from Lloyd Jenkins:

Footy clubs attract Characters like moths to a light.  Suburban footy or Country footy, the stalwarts are there. 

And there she is. Grace. A solid and formidable lady.  Seated at the fence in a commanding position where the teams run out. Her wicker basket is packed with sustenance for the day. Two thermos flasks to share around at half time and the usual hefty, corned beef sandwiches and fruit cake, also handed around. Knitted beanie in club colours and a powerful voice used to memorable effect in all day attacks upon the opposition. “Get back to where you came from, your useless no-hopers. You couldn’t get a kick in a football factory. And if you touch our young Thommo this umbrella will touch you where it hurts most”.  Grace at her formidable best.  

And over there, nattily dressed under his gray felt hat and under his usual tree, is Early Ernie.  Ernie arrives miserable and goes home miserable.  His own team cops his mutterings for four quarters.  “Why don’t they kick it long and why don’t the Backs stick to their man and why can’t our Rucks take a pack mark and why doesn’t the Umpy open his eyes.”  It’s a good idea to stay away from Ernie. Let him enjoy the match on his own. But don’t dare speak a word against his team.  It is HIS job to criticize his team and next week he will arrive very early, as always, to get his regular spot under the tree.  That’s why they call him Early Ernie.  And on Sunday he opens up the Church, early, and takes up the collection too.

Grace is not a Church person.  Anyway, she is too busy washing her share of the footy jumpers from the day before.

We salute the stalwarts don’t we.  Lloyd Jenkins. Many thanks Lloyd!  (aka ‘the Man from Redan’ [Redan as in ‘sedan’])

Please remember to sign up for the Grand Final week lunch which is on Wed 27 September – go to the Events webpage to do so!

Round 21

Congratulations to John Hewison and Peter McGregor for achieving the round high of 8 correct tips!  Well done to John Green, Garry Sebo, Simon Appel, Leon & Michele Laragy, Colin Neave, Thomas Glass, Wendy Kelly, Rod Kelly, Barry Amond and John Carson for managing the next highest of 7 correct.  Please see the tables below for the Overall standings and the Fourth Prize Pool standings.

Please note that Round 22 commences on FRIDAY, August 11  – If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

You may recall last week’s update presented June and Billy’s cancelled passport dilemma which emerged following the Australian Border Force’s revelation that June Walker, much to her disbelief, was no longer with us… Did Billy sail without June?  Or, with less than two hours available, did they travel through pre-Xmas traffic to Passport HQ in the city and sort out the problem and return to the Queen Elizabeth in time to sail together?

To the great credit of the Senior Border Force Officer at Station Pier, having witnessed the devastating impact Passport HQ’s ‘solutions’ had had on Billy and June – she, with great resolve driven by her empathy, again contacted Passport HQ and expressed her own and June and Billy’s extreme dissatisfaction with the proposed solutions. 

The strenuous representations caused the penny to drop at Passport HQ as a different approach was offered.

Passport HQ instructed the Senior Border Force Officer to view any other form of identification June could provide.  June willingly produced Drivers Licence, Medicare card and credit cards etc. The Senior Border Force Officer finally said to Passport HQ “June Walker is standing right here in front of me and she is Definitely Alive”!!

Even then, much deliberation was required before June was allowed to board with Billy and only on the proviso she agreed to promptly sort it out on her return!!

Epilogue I – A word from Billy: “While all the above was happening an Irishman sitting nearby was intrigued by the happenings, we got chatting, it turned out that he and his son were part of the entertainment team on board the ship.” 

“We really liked their performances and saw them many times in the bars or lounges on Board. Every time we were in their company they said – ‘Hello there, I see you are still alive June’ in their broad Irish lilt.” 

“Thank God she was, we had a great trip.”

Epilogue II – Billy and June subsequently found out that another June Walker from the same suburb had died earlier in 2022 which obviously had something to do with the mistake.  I checked it out, the actually deceased June was almost 20 years younger… Perhaps ‘AI’ might be needed in the Passports Office…

Please note I do not need any further story contributions – many, many thanks to all those who have shared a tale or two!

Paul Compton’s club ground painting this fortnight is of the Fitzroy Football Club’s Brunswick Street Oval (circa 1907) – click the following link to see a larger image and accompanying text:  https://www.beaumarisprobus.org.au/footy-grounds/

Round 20

Greetings Fellow Feather-Dusters…

With such a disastrous round of tipping I’m foregoing the acknowledgements this week… To summarise: eighteen achieved 3… six achieved 2 & four managed 1… Away Teams pulled 6! Please see the tables below for the Overall standings and the Fourth Prize Pool standings.

Please note that Round 21 commences on FRIDAY, August 4  – If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Continuing the maritime theme, this week we join our new friends June and Billy Walker (both in their ninth decade & full of vitality) as they embark on their long awaited post-Covid cruise to New Zealand aboard Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth… sailing a few days before Christmas 2022 with their return set for early in the new year – How exciting!!  What could possibly go wrong?

They eagerly arrived at Station Pier in plenty of time, checked in for the cruise, then went through to Customs for security Check-In and Boarding.

Billy was processed and allowed to proceed… but where was June??  Billy discovered that June had been detained by Australian Border Force officials; as Billy joined them there was much discussion between Border Force members and June.

June was ushered to a corner area and told her her passport had been cancelled!  The reason given to June for the cancellation.  Border Force records showed that … “she is deceased”!!  Understandably June was very upset; she had had her health challenges… but… and Billy was somewhat nonplussed as well!

Much animated discussion took place between a Senior Border Force Officer and Billy and June… Passport HQ was contacted (US President Ronald Reagan once said: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”) … upshot – June could not travel!!!  The news was devastating.  How could it be?  What could be done?

The ship was sailing in less than 2 hours!!  Passport HQ ‘rose magnificently to the occasion’ and made two suggestions:

  1. Billy and June leave the port and go to Passport HQ in the city to “sort it out” (pre Xmas traffic, getting cabs, a frantic 30 to 40 minutes drive each way! Plus waiting time and processing time, would they have priority? Would it get sorted?)… or
  2. Billy sails and June goes to the passport office in the near future, sorts it out, and then flys to New Zealand to join the ship…

What course of action did Billy and June take?? … What would you have done?? All will be revealed in next week’s update!

Round 19

Congratulations to the luck thirteen who achieved the maximum possible round high of 9 correct tips: John Green, Thomas Glass, Wendy Kelly, Rod Kelly, Vivienne Fry, Colin Neave, Martyn Pickersgill, John Hewison, Chris Renwick, Keith Ross, Richard Phillips, Deb Skues and Howard Hoskins. Six had the next highest of 8 correct, well done to: Garry Sebo, Leon & Michele Laragy, Barry Amond, Ian Marchment, Errol Stubblety and Paul Crompton.  Please see the tables below for the Overall standings and the Fourth Prize Pool standings.

Please note that Round 20 commences on FRIDAY, July 28  – If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

In the last update Tom Glass shared his tale of ‘Chivalry at Sea’ – his story had my thoughts run to the heroism on the Titanic in its final hours.  Casting my mind to those dreadful last moments for so many women, children and men, I ponder, given similar circumstances, how in this day and age such an event might unfold?

I recently learned that the ‘women and children first’ notion is referred to as the ‘Birkenhead Drill’ – it was established through the tragic sinking of H.M.S. Birkenhead in 1852.  A relatively recent example of the ‘Birkenhead Drill’ was witnessed in March 2011, mercifully without tragic consequences; 83 people were rescued from a Kentucky barge restaurant that had floated down river as a consequence of heavy rain. Women were rescued first, then the men.

Incredibly, in 2012, almost one hundred years to the day after the sinking of the Titanic, the Costa Concordia disaster occurred.  In stark contrast to the brave souls of the Titanic, Captain Francesco Schettino of the Costa Concordia claims he “fell onto a lifeboat” when the ship was capsizing!! Perhaps not surprisingly, his trial in 2015 did not buy his excuse! I understand the less than chivalrous Captain is incarcerated in a prison on the outskirts of Rome – apparently, he is expected to reside there until he is around 80 years old – hope he is enjoying his ‘Roman Holiday’!

If you have a lighthearted/interesting story to share please do so – it need not be football related, it can be on any issue, and can be quite short.

Paul Compton’s club ground painting this fortnight is of the Geelong ground ‘Kardinia Park Oval’ (circa 1951) [looks like a ground in the bush!] – click the following link to see a larger image and accompanying text:  https://www.beaumarisprobus.org.au/footy-grounds/

Round 18

Congratulations to the eight players who managed the round high of 7 correct tips! Well done to the seven players who managed the next highest of 6 correct.  Please see the tables below for the Overall standings (check whether you are currently coming fourth last), and the final standings for the Third Prize Pool.

Round 18 concludes the Third Prize Pool – Congratulations to the following prize winners: Garry Sebo secured first place (39 correct tips), in second place is John Carson (38  correct tips).  All prize monies will be distributed at the end of the season. [Payout dividends: 1st place $112.00; 2nd place $56.00 – total prize pool $168 (first dividend is twice as much as the second dividend)]

The Fourth Prize Pool now commences and covers the six remaining rounds – this is the final opportunity to finish the season on a high as we all start the ‘fourth quarter’ from scratch!

Please note that Round 19 commences on FRIDAY, July 21 (no more Thursday starts!) – If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

I am very pleased that we have the following anecdote from Tom Glass this week:

Chivalry at Sea:  Another sporting pursuit favoured by some is ocean yacht racing.  During Easter 2010 the annual Queenscliff to Port Fairy Race was run by the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria.  A strong east to south-easterly wind produced a very quick passage to Port Fairy.  The next day the competitors were faced with a difficult return passage, bashing into a big easterly swell rounding Cape Otway.  After enduring 10 hours of this, the yacht ‘Addiction’ decided to call into Apollo Bay for respite and cook-up some hot food.  The harbour master’s advice that the channel leading into the harbour had been freshly dredged proved to be misleading, as the easterly swells had since filled it in.

Consequently, 50m off the breakwater Addiction hit bottom, losing all way and was soon picked up by the swell and pushed further aground.  With some quick work an anchor was set to stop the inshore drift.  The Easter crowds soon gathered on the breakwater to watch the action.  A Mayday call resulted in a launch and crew coming out to give assistance.  However, the yacht was being tossed about so severely in the rolling swell, the launch couldn’t approach closely enough to safely extract the crew. 

So, Plan B was enacted, by streaming a rope behind the yacht so the crew members, with the lifejackets inflated, could swim to the downwind end of the rope where they could be rescued with the assistance of a rescuer in a wetsuit.  As 4 of Addiction’s crew of 10 were female, the decision was quickly made to rescue the women first.  Soon after this was successfully achieved, an inflatable rubber rescue boat miraculously arrived from the Apollo Bay Surf Lifesaving Club and successfully extracted the remaining (male) crew from the stern of the yacht and subsequently dropped them at the beach in knee deep water, much to the chagrin of the now saturated females!  

Footnote:  Addiction was ultimately saved, but with substantial damage resulting from being dragged into the harbour behind a powerful launch.  After a lengthy process she was fully repaired and continues to be competitively sailed to this day.

Many thanks Tom!  If you have a lighthearted/interesting story to share please do so – it need not be football related, it can be on any issue, and can be quite short.

Round 17

Greetings All

Congratulations to John Smyth for achieving the maximum possible round high of 9 correct tips! Well done to Garry Sebo, Simon Appel, Alan Stevens, Thomas Glass, Wendy Kelly, Rod Kelly, Barry Amond, Errol Stubblety, Colin Neave, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, John Hewison, Martyn Pickersgill and John Carson for managing the next highest of 8 correct.  Please see the tables below for the Overall standings, and the Third Prize Pool standings.

Please note that Round 18 commences on Thursday, July 13 – If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Round 18 is the last leg of the Third Prize Pool – will there be upsets?  Prizes to those with the top two highest scores!

The Lords Test has energised a lot of folks in recent days, and the Leeds test was even more absorbing as a consequence.  Reflecting on those events at Lords, I recalled my son’s junior cricket seasons, and many years later, his good fortune to play a cricket match as an adult at Lords and my good fortune to witness him do so.

Junior Cricket was where not just the kids but the parents learnt all the basics – the chorus of “Get back in your crease!!” was often heard emanating from the boundary during the under twelve games in particular… and junior cricket wicketkeepers were pretty adept at shying at the stumps of any unfocused youngsters.

Rowan Sawers (former VFL/AFL field umpire) had two boys playing for a junior cricket side we would encounter every season – one was a fine wicketkeeper who, where opportunity beckoned, would throw the stumps down without compunction – and nor should he have been concerned, that’s how the game was and is played!!

Re Lords… about ten years ago my wife and I saw our not so young lad play for the Melbourne Cricket Club at Lords – very exciting but rain impacted.  In the stand sitting on my left was a retired Englishman who apparently attended the ground very often during the cricket months. It was late in our innings when our son made his way to the wicket, the ground announcer correctly pronounced his name as he stepped out onto the hallowed turf… I was filming this proud moment with my smartphone when the aforementioned Englishman turned to me and said, “Where did he get a surname like that?”, I replied as I continued to film “From his father…” then, after a pregnant pause I added “I’m his father”…  The chap was mortified!  Offered some form of groveling apology, and I don’t recall seeing him thereafter.  Yep, the denizens of Lords are indeed a cultured lot!!

If you have a lighthearted/interesting story to share please do so – it need not be football related, it can be on any issue, and can be quite short.

 

Round 16

Greetings All

Congratulations to the twenty-two who achieved the round high of 8 correct tips (well, actually 7 plus the point for the draw)!  Well done to the five who managed the next highest of 7 correct.  Please see the tables below for the Overall standings, and the Third Prize Pool standings.

Please note that Round 17 commences on Thursday, July 6 – If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Just two more rounds remain for the completion of the Third Prize Pool – can Garry Sebo hold on to first spot with nine players not more than 2 tips shy of him? Prizes to those with the top two highest scores!

As many are aware, Noel Ineson has recently moved from Bayside to live on the Bellarine Peninsula.  Noel was a participant in last year’s tipping competition; I called him weekly for his tips and entered them on his behalf.  Noel chose not to participate this season due to his impending move.

In reflecting on Noel, I recall an exchange he had with our Synchrotron tour guide in early December 2022.  The tour was just a week after Lady Susan Hussey’s widely reported faux pas committed at a reception hosted by Queen Camilla; Lady Hussey upset one of the guests (Ngozi Fulani) when questioning her origins by repeatedly asking where she was “really” from… this was interpreted as racist. Now I stress that Noel’s exchange with the tour guide was not untoward in any way, but it did highlight to me how an innocent question to anyone, let alone someone from a non-English speaking background, can create confusion.

Many would know my hearing is not so good, but I’m pretty sure I heard Noel ask our guide what his background was… the guide, 20 something and originally from South America I believe, was a little nonplussed and proceeded to detail his ancestry, whereupon Noel, quick as a flash, cut him off saying “no no, what are your qualifications?”  !!!! … The guide’s English was excellent but he clearly did not get Noel’s drift on that occasion… and fortunately he had no axe to grind!  – We wish Noel all the best in his new venture!

If you have a lighthearted/interesting story to share please do so – it need not be football related, it can be on any issue, and can be quite short.

 

Round 15

Greetings All

Congratulations to Garry Sebo, John Green, Tom Glass and Colin Neave for achieving the maximum possible round high of 6 correct tips!  Well done to John Carson, Wendy Kelly, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Barry Amond, Martyn Pickersgill, Geoff Cupples, Peter McGregor, Leon & Michele Laragy and Keith Ross (postrema autem non minimus) for achieving the next highest of 5 correct.  Please see the tables below for the Overall standings, and the Third Prize Pool standings.

Please note that Round 16 commences on Thursday, June 29 – If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

This week I’m pleased that we have the following contribution from Lloyd Jenkins – a follow-on from his effort last round:

“An earlier story referred to the Bungaree footy team from the potato country around Ballarat . Yes, they were called the spud diggers. Frawleys all over the place.

That red soil district was fondly called “Little Ireland“. In a later era, the great Danny Frawley emerged as full back and captain for St Kilda.  He and Plugger Lockett travelled together from Ballarat to train and play with the Saints. 

On one journey, the naughty young pair sat in the back of a Ute travelling along Beaconsfield Parade tossing out gifts as they went. Yes, best quality spuds from the Frawley farm at Bungaree. Nil damage, nil repercussions.  Turning a blind eye was the wise choice of authority that day. Two big tough blokes, loved sporting identities, in sport loving Melbourne.  The blind eye was turned.

Carn the spud eaters.  L  J”

Thank you very much Lloyd!  An apposite tale – St Kilda commemorated the much loved Danny Frawley with the 3rd annual “Spud’s Game: A Match for Mental Health” last Friday – a fundraiser for various mental health initiatives run out of the Danny Frawley Centre. (As the Saints are yet to win one of the “Spud’s games”, perhaps the AFL could schedule the 2024 game against the Eagles?…)

If you have a lighthearted/interesting story to share please do so – it need not be football related, it can be on any issue, and can be quite short.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in – remember to click the ‘Submit’ button!!

Paul Compton’s club ground painting this fortnight is of Essendon ‘Windy Hill’’ (circa 1950) – click the following link to see a larger image and accompanying text:  https://www.beaumarisprobus.org.au/footy-grounds/

Greetings All

Congratulations to Simon Appel, John Green, Garry Sebo and John Hewison for achieving the maximum possible return of 6 correct tips!  Well done to the fourteen who achieved the next highest of 5 correct.  Please see the tables below for the Overall standings, and the Third Prize Pool standings.

Please note that Round 15 commences on Thursday, June 22 (the last ‘Bye’ round) – If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

This week I’m pleased that we have the following contribution from Lloyd Jenkins:

“You are seven years old.
The local footy team has an important game today against the so called tough blokes from Bungaree, potato country. 
1939 Finals are coming.
You and your little gang arrive in good time.
The Sav and Roll man is setting up.
Fire in a cut down petrol drum, black with use.
Metal rod across the top to hold the metal bucket with the Saveloys in the water.
His wood is a bit damp, smoke all over the place.
We stand around until the choice morsels are piping hot.
Lashings of tomato sauce are applied.
Be careful not to mess up your best overcoat. 
The cash situation will just manage another at half time.
We are allowed into the shed to admire our blokes getting ready.
Much loud talk, lurid in fact.
What we gunna do to this weak mob.
We eventually trudge home.
It is the lousy umpires fault.
Another loss.
Thrashed in fact, but we reckon our hero, ruckman Crasher Corbett, was easily the best on ground.

L  J”

Thank you very much Lloyd!  If you have a lighthearted/interesting story to share please do so – it need not be football related, it can be on any issue, and can be quite short.

Good luck everyone for the next round & don’t forget to get those tips in – remember to click the ‘Submit’ button!!

Round 14

Round 13

Greetings All

Congratulations to Ian Marchment for achieving the maximum of 6 correct tips!  Well done to John Carson, John Smyth, Richard Phillips, Deb Skues, Tom Glass, Paul Stephens and Alan Stevens for achieving the next highest of 5 correct (Tom did not submit tips this round and, unusually, Away Teams managed 5).  Please see the tables below for the Overall standings, and the Third Prize Pool standings.

Please note that Round 14 commences on Thursday, June 15 – ONLY 2 DAYS AWAY!  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

This week I’m pleased that we have the following contribution from Ian Marchment:

“When my son was in Junior school at Brighton Primary, I ran Vic Kick for St Kilda for 6 years (now Oz Kick) and had boys from Brighton Grammar as well. As we were in the St Kilda zone, we were entitled to play one match at half time in the AFL per year.

Having a close relationship with the Vice principal Bill Miller at Brighton Primary and Mr Thoms principal at Brighton Grammar Junior school (BGS), I suggested to St Kilda FC, we become an emergency team, if other teams could not field a team.  We would be advised on Thursday or Friday and both schools were advised to supply 9 players each. We had one girl Martine who was our captain and had won the best and fairest in years prior (Her brother went on to play for Hawthorn).

We finished up with 4 matches, one at Collingwood, when Nicky Winmar famously lifted his jumper, two at the MCG and one at Waverley plus the finals.

On the morning of our grand Final at Waverley, BGS had house football matches and 9 of our players participated, our full forward Robert kicking 4 goals.

I asked the house master if he could rest some of these boys as they had a Grand final that afternoon and was politely told house football was more important.

As you may anticipate half our team were lethargic and sadly we got done and Robert did not kick a goal.“

Thank you very much Ian!  If you have a lighthearted/interesting story to share please do so – it need not be football related, it can be on any issue, and can be quite short.

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

Paul Compton’s club ground painting this fortnight is of Footscray – ‘Western Oval’ (circa 1954)

 

Round 12

Greetings All

With only 7 games available, congratulations to the eleven tipsters who attained the round high of 5 correct. Welldone to the sixteen players who got 4 correct.  For reasons unknown, Ian Marchment did not manage to submit his tips for this round and was awarded the ‘Away Team’ winners by the ESPN system (I hope all is well with Ian).  See the tables below for the Overall standings, and the now finalised Second Prize Pool standings.

The completion of Round 12 concludes the Second Prize Pool – congratulations to the following prize winners: Leon & Michele Laragy secured first place (40 correct tips), in second place are Alan Stevens and Simon Appel (39 correct tips).  All prize monies will be distributed at the end of the season. [Payout dividends: 1st place $84.00; 2nd place $42.00 – total prize pool $168 (first dividend is twice as much as the second dividend)]

The Third Prize Pool now commences!  It covers 6 rounds, from Round 13 until and including Round 18 – the great news is we all start the ‘3rd quarter’ from scratch!

Please note that Round 13 commences on THURSDAY, June 8 and concludes the following Monday with the King’s Birthday match.  [Please keep in mind, from rounds 13 to and including round 18 they all start on a Thursday]  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at:  https://www.footytips.com.au/home

This week I’m pleased that we have the following contribution from Peter McGregor:

“Some may have heard this one, but I was once a primary school teacher at Chelsea State School (before my 20+ years with CRA/Rio Tinto) and when I came to the school (1963), I was asked to take over the football team; which I did (having played for Bairnsdale in the Latrobe Valley when I was there previously).

Our team had two little boys – let’s call them Leigh and Kelvin, Grade 6 and Grade 4, who were good at everything, including schoolwork. Our football team beat every other team we played by a mile – the only problem was their mother, Mrs M, who followed us to every game and abused hell out of the poor umpire during the whole match (and anyone else who took her fancy).

I was sure Kelvin was better than his brother and would eventually make the Big Time, but it was Leigh who did set the football world on fire, in one way or another.

That same year, a little girl named Jenny LeDeux started Prep Class (her father was one of our teachers – and has been my best friend ever since). She eventually married Jumping Jack Hawkins and gave birth to a little boy named Tom.“  Thank you very much Peter! 

If you have a lighthearted/interesting story to share please do so – it need not be football related, it can be on any issue, and can be quite short.

 

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

Round 11

Congratulations to Alan Stevens for achieving the round high of 6 correct tips!  Well done to Jim Duggan, Chris Renwick, Leon & Michele Laragy, Paul Stephens and Peter McGregor for achieving the next highest of 5 correct.  See the tables below for the Overall standings, and the Second Prize Pool standings – Only one round to go in the Second Prize pool!  Will there be movement??

Please note that Round 12 commences on Friday, June 2.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at:  https://www.footytips.com.au/home

This week I’m pleased that we have another anonymous contribution:

“When I was about 12 or 13 years old I was a student at the East Oakleigh Central School.  The legendary John Kennedy was our football coach and at the time he was playing for the Hawthorn Football Club.

Mr Kennedy arranged an inter-school match with Lloyd Street Central School at our oval in East Oakleigh.  They were a good team and very much older and stronger than us.  One of their players and the captain was Lindsay Fox.  In the first half they were leading by about 15 goals and we had not scored other than a solitary point.  At this stage I thought the best way to counter Lindsay as he was running into kick for another Goal was to pick up a handful of mud and throw it at him, this I did, I then turned and started running away with Lindsay in hot pursuit!

He never caught me as in those days I was a good runner!  I never returned until after the game and their team had left in a bus.  In later years we caught up at Melbourne High School however he had no memory of the incident.”

Thank you anonymous contributor – a great story!  As the Hawthorn coach, John Kennedy is famously remembered for his half-time address during the 1975 VFL Grand Final against North Melbourne:  “At least do something! Do! Don’t think, … Don’t hope; DOOOO!!!  At least you can come off and say, ‘I did this, I shepherded, I played on.  At least I did something.” … or, perhaps, ‘ I flung mud !’

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

Paul Compton’s club ground painting this fortnight, coincidently, is of the North Melbourne Recreation Reserve popularly known as ‘Arden Street’ (circa 1975) [ As mentioned, Hawthorn played North Melbourne in the 1975 GF: North was admitted to the Victoria Football League in 1925 but had to wait 50 years for its first VFL/AFL premiership when it defeated Hawthorn in 1975, despite John Kennedy’s inspirational address! ]

Round 10

Congratulations to Ian Marchment, Simon Appel, Leon & Michele Laragy, John Smyth and Alan Stevens for achieving the round high of 8 correct tips!  Well done to John Green, Jim Duggan, Vivienne Fry, Barry Amond and Paul Crompton for achieving the next highest of 7 correct.  See the tables below for the Overall standings, and the Second Prize Pool standings – Only two rounds to go in the Second Prize pool!

Please note that Round 11 commences on Friday, May 26.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at:  https://www.footytips.com.au/home

At our General Meeting last week our excellent guest speaker was Bruce Green, the legendary long time Head Professional at Royal Melbourne.  I was one of the few in the room who knew nothing of Mr Green – to rectify this defect I ‘google’ researched Bruce and happened to come across a twenty year old article from The Age newspaper – here is my condensed version of the article:

In 2003, over a period of six months, set after set of golf clubs, each worth at least $3000, were disappearing from Royal Melbourne, Yarra Yarra and Kingston Heath pro shops.

After months of mystery and fruitless investigations, Bruce Green saved the day!

Bruce was playing a round at Royal Melbourne with friends (money may have been riding on the outcome…) As Bruce was about to putt for a birdie on the 18th he noticed a young man in golf attire loitering near the club storage area.

Realising the chap fitted the circulated description of the suspect, Bruce abandoned his putter and contacted Sandringham police and the man was arrested – the article stated the man tried to flush his car keys down a toilet when Bruce challenged him.  After police retrieved the keys (mercifully no detail on that process) they found five sets of golf clubs in the boot of the suspect’s vehicle. More goods were found in the man’s home.  Most of the missing equipment was from Royal Melbourne.

The article concluded with: “Mr Green is a cool customer, as legions of those who have benefited from his teaching would attest. But his nerve was tested like never before when he stood over a three-metre birdie putt on the 18th on the day the man was arrested.

About 30 minutes after leaving the 18th green to contact police, Mr Green returned to sink his birdie putt.

‘I was in the right place at the right time,’ he said of catching the thief.”

Well done Bruce!  He had the man put in ‘Irons’ !! … sorry…

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

Round 9

Greetings All

Congratulations to the fifteen who achieved the round high of 7 correct tips!  Well done to the ten tipsters who achieved the next highest of 6 correct.  25 out of 28 active players in the top two achievements is too many to list but indicates a very tight competition!!  Please see the tables below for the Overall standings and the Second Prize Pool standings.

Please note that Round 10 commences on Friday, May 19.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at:  https://www.footytips.com.au/home

This week we have another contribution from Derek Skues on Barry Humphries:

“On reflection, I have two more Barry Humphries stories:

  1. When Prince Charles (now King Charles) was at Timbertop (the outward bound year of Geelong Grammar School) in 1966 I attended a Barry Humphries Concert in Melbourne, where one of the characters he portrayed was as Prince Charles PR consultant.

The widely publicised misdemeanor of Prince Charles at that time was when he was caught drinking at the Merrijig Hotel. Barry’s character conducted an hilarious telephone discussion with his client trying to put a positive spin on Charles’ action. I gather Charles subsequently met Humphries and thoroughly enjoyed his form of humour.

  1. When Deb and I first lived in Hong Kong in the late 1970s Barry put on a performance at the Mandarin Hotel. He opened the show walking in as his character, Sir Les Patterson, however, his entry was considerably delayed.

Subsequently, it was revealed that as Barry was staying at the Mandarin Hotel he left his room and decided to enter the lift in character. Unfortunately, his two female lift companions were so offended that they complained to the management who had Sir Les ejected from the hotel. It took some time before he could convince the concierge that he was the star of the show!

Regards, Derek”

Many thanks Derek for sharing those reminiscences. If you have an interesting/ amusing anecdote on any matter please send it to me – it would be most welcome (e.g. a practical joke backfiring, absurd encounters with bureaucracy, something involving a sport [golf] – 200 to 250 words if pos)

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

Paul Compton’s club ground painting this fortnight is of St Kilda (circa 1944) – click the following link to see a larger image and accompanying text:  https://www.beaumarisprobus.org.au/footy-grounds/

Round 8

Greetings All

This round was ‘a bad day for the bookies!  Congratulations to Ian Marchment, John Green, Simon Appel, Jim Duggan, Leon & Michele Laragy, Chris Renwick, Rod Kelly, Paul Stephens, Geoff Cupples and Howard Hoskins for achieving the maximum of 9 correct tips!  Well done to Richard Phillips, Martyn Pickersgill, Garry Sebo, Errol Stubblety, Thomas Glass, Wendy Kelly, Keith Ross, John Hewison, Peter McGregor, Alan Stevens, John Carson, and Paul Crompton for achieving the next highest of 8 correct. Please see the tables below for the Overall standings, and the Second Prize Pool standings.

Please note that Round 9 commences on Friday, May 12.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at:  https://www.footytips.com.au/home

This week we have an anecdote from John Opie titled ‘Technology at its best’:

“Last year my brother-in-law in Canberra lost his mobile phone. He and I searched his house and car to no avail. Using the landline, he rang his wife who was out in her car to see whether he had left the phone in her car. No, it couldn’t be found.

His wife drove home and we searched the car again. Again, no luck.

He then rang his daughter and with her using her mobile phone’s “Where is my Phone” type program saw that the lost phone was located where his wife had stopped the car to answer her husband’s call.  We drove to the area indicated which was on a busy divided road near the war memorial but it couldn’t be found.

Using his wife’s phone, he rang his daughter again. While talking to her, and with the aid of the program, he was directed step by step to the exact spot where the lost phone was found.  It was in the middle of a busy divided road.  The cover had protected the phone to a degree as it still worked, and this was how the program located it. The screen, however, was a bit crazed as it had been run over by a bus!!

My brother-in-law realised he had put the phone on the roof of his wife’s car to adjust one of the seats. The protective cover must have kept it there until she did a U turn to come back home.

The technology used to find the phone worked to perfection with incredible accuracy.”

Many thanks to John for sharing that interesting tech tale; John related it at our Digital Technology meeting last week. At that meeting, among other things, Microsoft’s Bing Image Creator was demonstrated – below is a storyboard, inspired by John’s story, which was created using AI generated images. If you can be bothered, try it (it’s very easy to use, interesting to explore, and free): https://bing.com/create

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

Round 7

Greetings All

Congratulations to Jim Duggan, Keith Ross and Geoff Cupples for achieving the round high of 7 correct tips!  Well done to the 16 who achieved the next highest of 6 correct. Please see the table below for the overall standings, and as the Second Prize Pool commenced from Round 7, a second standings table is also below.

Please note that Round 8 commences on Friday, May 5.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at:  https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Although emailed recently, to ensure it is shared with our broader membership I am pleased to provide Derek Skues’ reminisce of Barry Humphries involvement with the Pointside Players of Beaumaris (around 1957ish).  Additionally, I have included a copy of the original program for “Lady Windermere’s Fan” signed by Barry Humphries in 2012.  The program was provided to Derek by Ian Macrae (Joan Macrae’s son).  Interestingly the program in addition to listing Barry in the cast also shows prominent local identity Mrs Harry Shaw was the patron of the group – for more information on local identities please see the article titled “Memories of Point Avenue, Beaumaris” by our very own Tim Harding:

Memories of Point Avenue, Beaumaris

Derek wrote:  “While it is fresh in my memory I provide a Barry Humphries story in response to your request, particularly, as it took place in Beaumaris.

As some are aware, Tom Glass and my grandparents, Harry and Violet Shaw, lived at 11 Lang Street, known as “Pointside”, in the converted stables of the old family property, known as “The Point”. The Cameron family lived nearby in Reserve Road. Mrs Cameron, Marjorie, created and directed a theatre group known as the “Pointside Players”, which held its productions either in the large shed up the hill, originally used to house a 1,000 hen poultry farm, or outside in the extensive garden.

Although I was only about 12 or 13 at the time I attended all of the productions, one of these was the Moliere play, “Tartuffe”, in which my father participated. Other productions were Noel Coward’s play, “Blythe Spirit” and the Broadway play of “Bell, Book and Candle”, written by John Van Druten. I can’t remember in which of these two plays a young unknown Barry Humphries took on one of the lead roles. I do recall that everyone was so impressed with his performance they predicted a great future acting career for him. They were clearly right!

Therefore, we could claim that it was in Beaumaris where his career took off.  Regards, Derek”

Many thanks to Derek for sharing that very interesting memory.

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

Paul Compton’s club ground painting this fortnight is Hawthorn (circa 1950)

Round 6

Greetings All

Congratulations to Vivienne Fry for achieving the maximum of 9 correct tips!  Well done to John Green, Ian Marchment, Barry Amond, Richard Phillips, Garry Sebo, Errol Stubblety, Chris Renwick, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Colin Neave, Leon & Michele Laragy, Thomas Glass, Wendy Kelly, Rod Kelly, Paul Stephens, Peter McGregor and Geoff Cupples for getting the next highest of 8 correct. Please see the table below for all standings.

Please note that Round 7 commences on Friday April 28 (just 2 days away!!).  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at:  https://www.footytips.com.au/home

The completion of Round 6 concludes the First Prize Pool – hearty congratulations to the following prize winners: John Green and Ian Marchment share first place (39 correct tips), in second place is Vivienne Fry (38 correct tips).  As was the case last season, all prize monies will be distributed at the end of the season. [Payout dividends: 1st place $67.20; 2nd place $33.60 – total prize pool $168; first dividend is twice as much as the second dividend]

The Second Prize Pool now commences!  It covers 6 rounds, from Round 7 until and including Round 12 – the great news is we all start the ‘2nd quarter’ from scratch!

Vale Barry Humphries!  An Australian cultural colossus. Many fitting tributes have been written in the last few days.  Apparently Barry was known to parody Australian rules football and its fans in his stand-up routines and characters; I believe one such character was the “overly-enthusiastic Melbourne football fan” Sir Les Patterson!  An MCC member no doubt!  I guess we all knew never to arrive late at one of his performances… If you have a tale to tell about Mr Humphries please share it with us! (Sadly & shamefully Barry was shunned in recent years by the Melbourne Comedy Festival – To my astonishment I read this morning the Festival hierarchy say that the “Barry award” was never actually named after Barry Humphries… it seems the Barry award had become synonymous with Barry Humphries, but it was “more about ‘Barry’ being a funny and iconic Australian comedy name”… hmmm… )

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

Round 5

Congratulations to John Green, Martyn Pickersgill, Vivienne Fry and Tom Glass for achieving the round high of 8 correct tips!  Well done to Ian Marchment, Simon Appel, Barry Amond, Garry Sebo, Errol Stubblety, Chris Renwick, Leon & Michele Laragy, John Hewison, Peter McGregor, and Alan Stevens for getting the next highest of 7 correct. Please see the table below for all standings.

Please note that Round 6 commences on Friday April 21 (FYI: all games for Round 5 until Round 12 will commence on a Friday). If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at:  https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Only Round 6 remains to decide the first prize pool winners: Currently, John Green and Ian Marchment share first place, and all by himself in second place is Martyn Pickersgill.  However, within just a couple of tips of Martyn are eight (8) players (BTW, no prize for third) – with just one round remaining, will there be any changes???  Some interesting games in Round 6; remember, the last match for the round is the traditional ANZAC Day clash between Collingwood v Essendon (Tuesday April 25) – accordingly, my Round 6 update will be sent out the following morning.

You may recall in my Round 3 update I stated “anecdotes (even non-football) would be welcome” – I am very pleased that I have the following anonymous contribution to share:

“Paul is the brother to one of our club members. Paul recently had solar panels installed on a ‘great deal’.  On completion of a good job the power company sent a computer-generated summary of cost versus monies paid. The company owed him three cents. Two weeks later a BANK cheque arrived by registered paid post in the amount of three cents.  The company had paid a twenty-dollar fee to draw the cheque. As a novelty Paul took the documentation to his Rotary Club meeting.  Much hilarity.  Then another Rotarian got up.  He had received an invoice for power used in the amount of NIL.  Something to do with an overpayment earlier. He did not pay the NIL invoice… so they cut off the power!!”

Thank you anonymous contributor!  … If you have a shortish, humorous story to tell please send it to me.

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

Round 4

Congratulations to Hesketh Pearson Esq for achieving the round high of 8 correct tips!  Well done to John Green, Vivienne Fry, Colin Neave, Leon & Michele Laragy, Geoff Cupples and Alan Stevens for getting the next highest of 7 correct. Please see the table below for all standings.

Please note that Round 5 commences on Thursday April 13 (Nota Bene: all games for Round 5 will be played in Adelaide in the inaugural “Gather Round”). If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at:  https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Only Rounds 5 & 6 remain to decide the first prize pool winners: currently Ian Marchment occupies first place with John Smyth, John Green and Jim Duggan sharing second place (no prize for third) – with two rounds remaining, can they hold on or will others move up???

Those white trousers (by Lloyd Jenkins)

If you are old enough you will remember this. At the local football ground a player takes a hefty bump. The breath is knocked from his body. He is ‘winded’, gasping for air. Out rushes the club ‘trainer’ in his white trousers. The white trousers, well more or less white, are a sort of badge of medical authority. He has other duties. He sweeps the shed [ there are no ‘dressing rooms’ ] cuts oranges into quarters, hammers studs into the players’ working boots and removes them after the game. He gives the star players legs a ‘rub’ with an oily liniment that reeks to high heaven. Most of us do our own bit of a rub over there in the corner, kidding ourselves that it makes a difference. The trainer’s club loyalty knows no bounds. The winded player is placed on his back, knees up. This is dramatic high-speed work. The legs are grabbed in a pumping action, whoosh whoosh, up down up down. This adds to the player’s agony but is designed to fill the lungs with life giving fresh air. It has to be done; everybody understands that tradition. The opposition players jeer at the victim as they run past. ‘Look at him, the great actor.’ But they know it might be them next time. The player recovers, via nature and much gasping of his own, and is sent to chase the ball again. Our white trousered hero returns to his fence position, next to the Coach and ready as always with free advice. Those white trousers give a certain authority to his multitude of roles around the place. He is not told by the Coach to “keep ya mouth shut until I ask ya.” In today’s modern AFL game there is no place for the leg pump work. They now know that it was useless. Stand him up, rub the stomach a bit, and away he goes. No drama, thumbs up by the Doctor to the bunch of Gurus in the dugout, plus a round of applause from the players own crowd. What a star.  L. J.

Thank you, Lloyd!  See below for two photos I found of ‘white trousered’ trainers – circa 1899 & circa 2015.  Note, in 1940 a trainer might be paid one pound (£1) a week; in 1980 a trainer might get $35 a week – in 1940, £1 would buy 48 loaves of bread, in 1980 $35 would buy 65 loaves…

 

Round 3

Greetings All

Congratulations to John Carson for achieving the round high of 6 correct tips! (FYI – Home Teams pulled 7, fortunately it’s ineligible for prizes!!)  Well done to Jim Duggan, Ian Marchment, Martyn Pickersgill, Richard Phillips, Wendy Kelly, Barry Amond, Garry Sebo, Chris Renwick and Tom Glass for getting the next highest of 5 correct. Please see the table below for all standings. 

Please note that Round 4 commences on Thursday April 6 and concludes Monday April 10 – enjoy Easter!

If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at:

https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Many would recall that through last season’s updates I endeavoured to include football related trivia/anecdotes, this season I’ll do so again but I’ll need your assistance – so, if you have something to share please send it to me as I might include it in my weekly ‘Standings’ email – e.g. the mighty Saints are celebrating 150 years since formation – as the club has had a ‘party club’ reputation in recent times there may be some “publishable” accounts out there!  Any anecdotes (even non-football) would be welcome – first, second, third hand accounts or even apocryphal stories would be considered – not too wordy though 🙂  Next week I will publish a contribution by Lloyd Jenkins.

In my last update I referred to my conversations with ChatGPT – for balance, I thought I’d check out Microsoft’s “new Bing” which is an “AI-powered answer engine” – I posed the same question: “do you know what footy is”

Bing’s reply: “Yes, footy is a term used to refer to football. It can refer to different types of football depending on the context. For example, in Australia, it refers to Australian Rules Football which is a fast, free-flowing game that is the most popular sport in Australia. In other countries, it can refer to soccer or rugby.” … [LL note: I recall hearing some time ago that the soap ‘Neighbours’ introduced the term ‘footy’ to the British… Cultural reflux?]

However, there are grumblings about AI chatbots and they are growing louder; according to The Times “Italy becomes first western nation to ‘ban’ ChatGPT” (joining China, Iran, North Korea and Russia) – the reason stated in the article: “because of potential breaches of privacy and data laws”… However… the date/time stamp of the article’s publication has me a bit suspicious of its veracity – “Saturday April 01 2023, 12.01am BST”…

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

Greetings All 

Congratulations to Jim Duggan & Ian Marchmont for achieving the round high of 7 correct tips!  Well done to John Green, John Smyth, Paul Crompton, Simon Appel & Martyn Pickersgill for getting the next highest of 6 correct. Please see the table below for all standings.

Please note that Round 3 commences on Thursday March 30.

If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, please enter your tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

I read on Thursday that PwC will introduce an Artificial Intelligence tool to help its Australian lawyers conduct research and analysis, manage claims and eventually offer legal advice.  As it happens I’m on the AI bandwagon!  In recent weeks I have been using the ‘ChatGPT’ app – it’s claimed to be “a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology that allows you to have human-like conversations and much more with a chatbot”…

The following is my conversation with my chatbot on Wednesday last week:

Question: “do you know what footy is”

Chatbot’s reply: “Yes, “footy” is a colloquial term used to refer to various football codes in Australia. Typically, it refers to Australian rules football, which is a popular sport played on a large oval-shaped field between two teams of 18 players each. Other football codes in Australia include rugby league, rugby union, and soccer, which are often referred to by their specific names.”

Further question: “thank you! can you help me pick AFL winning teams?”

Chatbot’s reply: “As an Al language model, I don’t have the ability to predict the winning teams for AFL games. There are many factors that can influence the outcome of a game, such as player performance, team strategy, weather conditions, and more. The best way to make informed predictions for AFL games is to stay up-to-date on the latest news and analysis of teams and players, and to consider factors such as a team’s recent form, injuries or suspensions, and their record against their opponents. However, keep in mind that sports betting or gambling should always be done responsibly and within your means.”

Well, sadly, no help for our tipping… but, I did think the Chatbot’s advice was sound, and in particular, the closing sentence was somewhat ‘Tim Costello-esque’!!  

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

Greetings All

We are underway!  Thanks to everyone for getting your tips in – this season we have twenty-seven in our comp; and again there are a couple of ‘teams’ playing.

Congratulations to Errol Stubblety for achieving the round high of 8 correct tips! Well done to John Green & John Smyth for getting the next highest of 7 correct. To summarise: 1 tipped 8 correctly, 2 tipped 7, 19 tipped 6, 3 tipped 5 and 2 tipped 4.  The table at the very bottom of this email shows our respective standings (data from ESPN).  I have added a column with the actual names of the participants involved.

Please note that Round 2 commences on Thursday March 23 (FYI re fixture: for season 2023, 11 rounds start on a Thursday night – Rounds 1 to 5 & Rounds 13 to 18: all other Rounds will commence on Friday nights)

This season through my weekly updates I will be incorporating a series of twelve superb watercolours by our very own Paul Crompton.  Paul’s paintings depict match day scenes, capturing the energy and excitement of our great game.  All 12 VFL clubs are represented – the scenes of the grounds range from the early 1900s to 1975. Paul wrote that he “produced them over 20 years ago, the history was written by the club historian at that time. They were hung in the MCG hall of fame for a year or so before it was demolished for the northern stand”.

Starting from this round (and in every second update email thereafter) I’ll incorporate one of Paul’s watercolours. To help manage the size of the emails the accompanying text for each painting will not be included, however, I have provided a link to our website where you will find a larger image along with its accompanying text.  By the end of the season all 12 paintings will have been published.  And there’s more… At our end of season event, copies of the paintings will be on display at the venue.  Thank you, Paul, for sharing your creative artwork with us!  And thanks also to Geoff Bransbury for developing our website to display them.

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)