PART ONE: HOW THE MYTH WAS BORN
2012 was looking like it would be a lot of fun for Hawthorn fans, as the season approached you were able to open a newspaper or watch one of the now ubiquitous football panel shows without being made aware that the Hawks were one of the favourites for this year’s premiership. With the main players from the 2 Hawks superdrafts of 2001 and 2004 now well and truly in their primes and a bunch of the younger players now approaching the 25-50 game mark things were looking great for the Brown & Gold and the footy world were falling over themselves to crown them as champs before a ball was bounced. However, as any Hawks fan who has been paying attention knew, outside of 2001 & 2005 a host of draft missteps that have haunted this team since the 2008 premiership would continue to cause pain for us in 2012.
As mentioned, 2001 was where the myth of the Hawthorn list management genius was born. The Hawks had suffered through the doldrums of the post Dunstall years, suffered the indignity of seeing Lockett break the 1300 goal landmark whilst our hero was retired on 1254 goals after missing time in his late career with knee injuries as well as missing games in his peak with a fractured skull. This meant that even the small pleasure of seeing a Hawthorn Champion as the Goals record holder was taken from us. From 1998 to the end of the 2000 season this was all we had to think about as the product the Hawks put on the field was underwhelming despite a plucky elimination finals win in 1999 and the bitterness of Melbourne Hawks battle still was fresh in the minds of all fans. However then came the magical 8-0 start to the 2001 season. After a classic opening game win over Collingwood, this plucky young Hawks team led my Nathan Thompson up forward and with Jade Rawlings & Jonathan Hay forming an amazing combination down back rolled through the next 7 weeks, a major scare against North Melbourne survived when Hay made one of the all-time great tackles seconds before the final siren to stop a certain goal and secure the win.
Suddenly, for the first time in years the Hawks were back page news again. Trent Croad got the full double page spread treatment in the immortal "The Business of Being Trent Croad" article in the Herald Sun. The major highlight of the article was a story of when Dermie (who we were told had become a mentor to Croad) had seen Croad smiling and laughing with Matty Lloyd while the Hawks were getting belted by the dominant Essendon team of the late nineties. Dermie grabbed Croad after the game and told him that next time Lloyd wanted to have a chat on the field that Croad was to 'turn around, spit in his face and say 'don’t talk to me or I’ll break your jaw" '. This article, coupled with the fact that our hated historic rival Essendon were dominant during that whole period combined with the giddy unexpected joy of the start to the season meant the Round 9 clash with the Bombers received an epic build up. When the Bombers refused to move the match to the MCG from Colonial Stadium, meaning that 30-40,000 Hawks fans, (including myself) had to watch the game on TV only added fuel to the fire of the pre-match build-up. In the end though it was a colossal disappointment. In a 100 point flogging of West Coast the week earlier Hay had injured his ankle in the last minutes and a sense of foreboding fell over any Hawks fans who were paying attention. Matty Lloyd was at his velvet sledgehammer cheating best in 2001 and Hay was our only hope to stop him. Within minutes of the start of the game Lloyd had milked 2 cheap Free Kicks, taken a couple of huge marks and all but put the game out of reach. Hawthorn left the field that night humiliated and all the hopes that had been raised in those first 8 weeks were replaced by real doubts about what this team could accomplish. When we went winless for the following 3 weeks those doubts only deepened.
Eventually the team did shake off the psychological scars of that night but the confidence that had propelled the team through those improbable first 8 weeks was gone, never to return. Rounds 16 & 17 were the only back to back wins that Hawthorn managed from the remainder of the regular season and when the Hawks lost their last 4 games heading into the finals including a humiliating loss in Round 22 versus a 4 win St Kilda team coming just 5 weeks after losing to the 2 win Fremantle Dockers there was very little faith amongst Hawthorn Fans when looking ahead to the upcoming Finals campaign.
Then the incredible happened, after belting Sydney in the first elimination final the Hawks went across to Adelaide to face the all-conquering Port Adelaide team. At this stage Port Adelaide hadn't gained their September chokers tag as yet. To pessimistic Hawks fans heading into that game they were just the team that had belted us 7 days after the Essendon debacle and were ready to repeat the dose. Instead in one of the all-time great Hawthorn performances a team that talent wise did not come close to matching up with that great Port Adelaide team went into enemy territory and shocked the AFL world coming home with a gutsy 3 point win.
All of a sudden the team that had lost its last 4 games of the season, that had lost to two teams with a combined 6 wins just a few weeks earlier was suddenly preparing for a rematch with Essendon and a place in the Grand Final. This time there was no flogging, Hay held Lloyd magnificently and when down by less than a kick with moments left in the game Trent Croad let fly with an amazing torpedo from inside the square the entire Hawthorn Army was planning their trip to Melbourne for the Grand Final parade 6 days later. Unfortunately as we all now know the ball drifted late in its flight, struck the post and Essendon went coast to coast to kick the sealer and go the Grand Final to face a Brisbane team that had just demolished Richmond.
What does all this have to do with 2012 you may ask, well it’s the way the Hawthorn brains trust responded to this joyous, surprising, frustrating and ultimately confusing season that set us on a path to the sustained relevancy of this current Hawthorn team and also ensured that the Football Department at Hawthorn would have its many draft mistakes papered over by a pliant football media.
The 2001 draft class had been talked about as an amazing talent pool all year, unfortunately for the Hawks there surprising season meant they would be picking in the teens when the future superstars would all be long gone. Trent Croad who had took us to the brink of an unlikely Grand Final was a fan favourite, a key position player (always tough to find) and phenomenal talent. He was also our best trading chip. When rumours started to circulate that the Hawks were considering trading the hero of the preliminary final hero, there were literal protests at Glenferrie Oval, talkback was lit up by enraged Hawthorn Fans and the general consensus was 'we were a drifting ball away from a Grand Final, let’s go win it next year' or 'Croad is top 10 player in the competition (he wasn't, not even close, but his trade value was never higher) so we should not trade him'. In an amazing display of leadership the Hawks football department ignored all the noise emanating from the fans and the media, knowing full well that if they were wrong it was the end of their careers in football. However, they stuck to their guns and made the trade. Trent Croad and the up and coming tall defender Luke McPharlin for the Overall Number One pick along with picks 20 and 36. The Hawks turned those 3 picks into Luke Hodge (1) Daniel Elstone (20) and Sam Mitchell (36) along with their own picks which went on Rick Ladson (16) Campbell Brown (32) and Simon Cox (48).
This was an amazing haul. Yes the Hawks could have picked Chris Judd who is now the consensus top player in the competition and a Brownlow Medallist but there is not a Hawthorn Fan who would trade Hodge for Judd straight up today, Hodgey is beloved by Hawks fans and as a Premiership Player, Norm Smith Medallist and current club captain who leads by example there is little doubt why the love is there.
Daniel Elstone is the one miss on that list, he never played a senior game for the club, Simon Cox played 2 seasons as a senior player draftee and finished 2nd in our Best and Fairest in his 1st year after being picked in the 3rd round.
The remainder remains one of the great draft day hauls in AFL history. Ladson 150 game premiership player still going strong, Campbell Brown the cult figure tough nut defender, premiership player now sadly moved on to the money on the Gold Coast and finally Hodge and Mitchell, both have Captained the club, Mitchell a premiership captain, Hodge the heart and soul of the place for a decade, both amazing leaders and both integral to our 2012 season. The Hawks had committed to youth and were prepared for the short term pain, in stark contrast to Richmond who topped up on mature aged players and consigned themselves to a decade of irrelevancy as a result. More than consigning themselves to irrelevancy the failures at Tigerland helped deepen the belief in the genius of the Hawthorn brains trust, every Richmond loss only served to reinforce in the minds of the lazy football media, locked into their narrative that Hawthorn had been brave (they had) and picked wisely (they had) and were to be given a free pass on any mistakes that might follow (they shouldn't).
So the Hawks entered the early part of the millennium with a fan base who would slowly forgive the Croad Trade and amazingly be prepared to show patience as they watched this young team grow together. There would be more pain to come in the next few years but it was all part of the plan and it all lead to a great day in September 2008. However, as we will see in the following columns there were serious missteps along the way that may mean that 2008 will remain an isolated island of joy in an ocean of missed opportunities.
END OF PART ONE.
COMING UP - PART 2 - The Purge of the heroes of 2001 continues and Buddy and Roughie arrive on the scene.
Showing posts with label AFL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AFL. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The Hawthorn Confusion
Are the 2008 Hawks back?
This is the question that has moved from the back of the brain to the tip of the lips of the Football public over the last few weeks. There are many good reasons for optimism, however if you look closely big concerns remain evident.
The major concern is an inability to close the deal, yes its an obvious flaw after 2 close losses to Geelong and now the agonizing 'interchange infringement' draw with the Saints. What is concerning though is that too many people are happy to make excuses for the Hawks and praise them for their guts, and extol their virtues for getting so close, but all this conveniently forgets that this team won the Premiership just 40 games ago.
Nor should we forget that this was no end of an era premiership, Hawthorn had the youngest list in the competition on that magical September afternoon. Croad and Crawford are the only losses from the Premiership 22, and with Rioli, Franklin, Roughhead, Mitchell, Hodge, Sewell and Lewis all with their best football in front of them it so much looked like the eighties were coming back for Hawthorn fans you nearly expected the team to run out with permed mullets.
Now just 18 months later the media, plus more worryingly the coach are seeing the 'positives' in close losses, giving them credit for gutsy efforts the same way I talk about my nephews under 12's football team. So what happened?
Firstly, although I may have brushed over it before, the loss of Croad was bigger than any of us could reasonably have foreseen, the big weakness in that Hawthorn team was lack of depth in the tall defenders, and not just depth but quality. Losing Croad robbed us of both, with no-one there to take his place and the other injuries we sustained in 2009 last years letdown was understandable, though not acceptable. Now though the concerns in defense have been somewhat solved with the fantastic late round pick Stratton giving us a quality defender who uses the ball well while neutralizing an opposition key forward. With the ever dependable Gilham alongside him the Hawks now have 2 tall defenders who might not be dominant in the Lake/Scarlett mold but are genuine AFL standard players in a key position for any premiership contender. To go alongside these two, we have the underrated Clinton Young and his amazing foot skills and the ever dependable Guerra filling the rebounding role admirably.
Secondly, the midfield is back to its 2008 best, in many ways even better. In 2008 Rioli was a rookie who gave us moments of inspiration but could not run 4 quarters through the midfield, now he is a genuine blue chip talent with the ability to dominate games in full, rather than have moments of impact. Hodge is a true superstar, in many observers opinion, including my own, he is the best player in the competition. Ablett and Judd are great at stoppages and providing burst on the edges, but Hodge not only matches them on the edges with his precise and penetrating disposal by foot providing the same impact as the bursting runs of Judd/Ablett, it may not look as spectacular but is just as effective. Where Hodge surpasses them both however is with his work inside. Mitchell continues to be the Greg Williams of his era and the recent reminder to Sewell that he is a hard working blue collar midfielder seems to have got him back to his roots and is producing his best football again. Hodge and Rioli remain the key, my friend Matty recently said how happy he is that for the first time since Darren Jarman his favourite player to watch is a Hawk, and many people agree with the sentiment. Hodge and Rioli give the Hawks a potentially dominating tandem in the midfield, both players who can dominate stoppages or open play. All this without mentioning the silk of Burgoyne, the toughness of Lewis or the pleasant surprise that is the ruckwork of Wade Skipper to finally have someone to help Renouf. Tell me again why people praise close losses for this team, that should be a midfield that backs itself to not just compete but potentially dominate any midfield in the competition, then when they get it into the forward 50 we have what should be the Hawks trump card.
The one-two punch of Roughhead/Franklin.
Buddy is a player of freakish ability who is playing well if not back to his dominant 2008 form. However Buddy has won games for the Hawks this year and terrifies opposition match committees like no other current day footballer. Also, he has the trouble of having to beat his opponent and the umpires every week, the most frustrating thing for him and the fans is the way he is crucified by the Umpires, is it racism that he gets so hard done by, whilst the blond haired blue eyed Riewoldt gets decisions Buddy can only dream of. Roughie is the issue, every time he gets the ball 30 metres out, you basically chalk down the behind before he even staggers in nervously to poke the ball wide. Yes he gives a contest and he is probably a better overhead mark than Franklin, but it appears that he is just missing, I dunno, something. That's the frustration with Roughhead, its so hard to put into words what the issue is, but is clear to anyone that he is not playing to anywhere near his potential. Saying that though, the fact remains he is an asset and alongside Franklin provides the Hawks the two pronged attack that is the envy of the competition.
Which is what makes the last 4 weeks so frustrating. I will admit going into this stretch of games I would have been content with a 2 and 2 record, so I should be happy with 2-1-1 but after beating the Bulldogs, and getting so close against Geelong, 4-0 feels like it should be recorded history, come finals time, close enough is never good enough, add to that the frustration that other results went our way and that closing the deal in those games means we had a realistic shot at a top 4 berth then the acceptance of the losses frustrates fans even more.
Many of this team were around for the infamous 'line in the sand game', a game which we lost. Now it is time for another line in the sand to be drawn, yet this line needs to be drawn not in a center square brawl, but instead on the scoreboard, the process is important, but from now on, for these Hawks, the result is all that matters.
This is the question that has moved from the back of the brain to the tip of the lips of the Football public over the last few weeks. There are many good reasons for optimism, however if you look closely big concerns remain evident.
The major concern is an inability to close the deal, yes its an obvious flaw after 2 close losses to Geelong and now the agonizing 'interchange infringement' draw with the Saints. What is concerning though is that too many people are happy to make excuses for the Hawks and praise them for their guts, and extol their virtues for getting so close, but all this conveniently forgets that this team won the Premiership just 40 games ago.
Nor should we forget that this was no end of an era premiership, Hawthorn had the youngest list in the competition on that magical September afternoon. Croad and Crawford are the only losses from the Premiership 22, and with Rioli, Franklin, Roughhead, Mitchell, Hodge, Sewell and Lewis all with their best football in front of them it so much looked like the eighties were coming back for Hawthorn fans you nearly expected the team to run out with permed mullets.
Now just 18 months later the media, plus more worryingly the coach are seeing the 'positives' in close losses, giving them credit for gutsy efforts the same way I talk about my nephews under 12's football team. So what happened?
Firstly, although I may have brushed over it before, the loss of Croad was bigger than any of us could reasonably have foreseen, the big weakness in that Hawthorn team was lack of depth in the tall defenders, and not just depth but quality. Losing Croad robbed us of both, with no-one there to take his place and the other injuries we sustained in 2009 last years letdown was understandable, though not acceptable. Now though the concerns in defense have been somewhat solved with the fantastic late round pick Stratton giving us a quality defender who uses the ball well while neutralizing an opposition key forward. With the ever dependable Gilham alongside him the Hawks now have 2 tall defenders who might not be dominant in the Lake/Scarlett mold but are genuine AFL standard players in a key position for any premiership contender. To go alongside these two, we have the underrated Clinton Young and his amazing foot skills and the ever dependable Guerra filling the rebounding role admirably.
Secondly, the midfield is back to its 2008 best, in many ways even better. In 2008 Rioli was a rookie who gave us moments of inspiration but could not run 4 quarters through the midfield, now he is a genuine blue chip talent with the ability to dominate games in full, rather than have moments of impact. Hodge is a true superstar, in many observers opinion, including my own, he is the best player in the competition. Ablett and Judd are great at stoppages and providing burst on the edges, but Hodge not only matches them on the edges with his precise and penetrating disposal by foot providing the same impact as the bursting runs of Judd/Ablett, it may not look as spectacular but is just as effective. Where Hodge surpasses them both however is with his work inside. Mitchell continues to be the Greg Williams of his era and the recent reminder to Sewell that he is a hard working blue collar midfielder seems to have got him back to his roots and is producing his best football again. Hodge and Rioli remain the key, my friend Matty recently said how happy he is that for the first time since Darren Jarman his favourite player to watch is a Hawk, and many people agree with the sentiment. Hodge and Rioli give the Hawks a potentially dominating tandem in the midfield, both players who can dominate stoppages or open play. All this without mentioning the silk of Burgoyne, the toughness of Lewis or the pleasant surprise that is the ruckwork of Wade Skipper to finally have someone to help Renouf. Tell me again why people praise close losses for this team, that should be a midfield that backs itself to not just compete but potentially dominate any midfield in the competition, then when they get it into the forward 50 we have what should be the Hawks trump card.
The one-two punch of Roughhead/Franklin.
Buddy is a player of freakish ability who is playing well if not back to his dominant 2008 form. However Buddy has won games for the Hawks this year and terrifies opposition match committees like no other current day footballer. Also, he has the trouble of having to beat his opponent and the umpires every week, the most frustrating thing for him and the fans is the way he is crucified by the Umpires, is it racism that he gets so hard done by, whilst the blond haired blue eyed Riewoldt gets decisions Buddy can only dream of. Roughie is the issue, every time he gets the ball 30 metres out, you basically chalk down the behind before he even staggers in nervously to poke the ball wide. Yes he gives a contest and he is probably a better overhead mark than Franklin, but it appears that he is just missing, I dunno, something. That's the frustration with Roughhead, its so hard to put into words what the issue is, but is clear to anyone that he is not playing to anywhere near his potential. Saying that though, the fact remains he is an asset and alongside Franklin provides the Hawks the two pronged attack that is the envy of the competition.
Which is what makes the last 4 weeks so frustrating. I will admit going into this stretch of games I would have been content with a 2 and 2 record, so I should be happy with 2-1-1 but after beating the Bulldogs, and getting so close against Geelong, 4-0 feels like it should be recorded history, come finals time, close enough is never good enough, add to that the frustration that other results went our way and that closing the deal in those games means we had a realistic shot at a top 4 berth then the acceptance of the losses frustrates fans even more.
Many of this team were around for the infamous 'line in the sand game', a game which we lost. Now it is time for another line in the sand to be drawn, yet this line needs to be drawn not in a center square brawl, but instead on the scoreboard, the process is important, but from now on, for these Hawks, the result is all that matters.
Friday, July 24, 2009
4th Quarter Diary, Hawthorn vs Geelong
15:18 GEELONG GOAL
No NO NO NO NO... That is lazy by the Hawthorn Defence, DONT YOU DARE DO THIS TOO ME HAWTHORN
14:59 GEELONG GOAL
NO NO NO NO NO NO..... YOu just cannot give the cats a sniff, bit of mucking around in defence Geelong kick 2 in a row then centre clearance and its three, this is dangerous, in the ensuing commentary Kel bravely agrees with TIm again, serisouly Kel just once tell us what you think Just so I can see if Tim is too PC to disagree with you, c'mon just give it a try, wait for TIm to say something, then disagree and see how quickly Tim decides he was in fact wrong..
12:46
WHat the hell was that Ellis, yeah instead of having a shot from 50 do a 7 metre pass to Lewis when hes under pressure, u have been in the system long enough now Ellis ur not a young up and comer take some responsibility.
11:14
Great work Buddy, OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ROUGHHEAD, Roughhead drops an absolute sitter 20 metres out, mind you the way he has kicked today may have only cost us a point. Hawthorn lead by 11 after being 28 up after we kicked the first goal of the last quarter.
8:49 GEELONG GOAL
After buddy snaps and kicks a point Geelong come back the length of the field and kick a goal, this is ridiculous seriously.
7:52
Varcoe doesnt make the distance from 20 metres out slight angle THANK GOD!!!!
6:48
Buddy attacked 23 minutes after taking a mark, but of course its Buddy so no 50 metre penalty, attack from the wing and Kennedy has a shot for a point, which dissapoints Kelly immensly as she was about to prove her footy credentials by letting loose with her ...'if you dont mind' catchphrase that she stole off every single AFL commetator from the 1970's
FIVE MINUTE WARNING
all time checks will now be changed to 23:39 etc etc because Channel 10 continue with this pointelss gimmick
24:31 GEELONG GOAL
Rooke places his hand smack in the middle of the Hawthorn players back, pushes then plays on and kicks the goal, no free kick, Hawks by a point...
26:56
Hawthorn manage to turn a 2 on 1 on centre wing into a boundary thrwo in and now a Geelong Free kick because Ellis lacks composure and the umpire has the courage to pay a free kcik on centre wing after lacking the courage 80 seconds earlier
28:21
Bartell POINT ALL SQUARE
28:50
Kennedy I now hate you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHY OH WHY OH WHY when you are wide open would you handball to Buddy with 3 men on him rather than shoot from 40 metres, Buddy tackled ball swings to the other end
SIREN SOUNDS BARTELL NEEDS A POINT TO WIN THIS IS RIDICULOUS
HE KICKS THE POINT NOW ROUGHHEADS DROPPED MARK AT 11:14 DOES MATTER
Season over
This is absolutely gutting, not only the loss but sitting through 2 hours of CHannel 10 commentary and getting nothing out of it, I dont just mean Kel, I mean Andy (how much saliva can I create in my mouth while I speak) Maher. Macolm (did I remember to drop acid before coming on air) BLight and Tim (I wont sign a contract with a media company unless my daughter gets a job there too) Lane
Mind you I speak too soon, very uncomfortable moment when tim cant help himself and refers to Gender in the post game, (kel calling the shot, female goal umpire signalling) Blighty cant help himself puts in his two cents and very very uncomfortable chuckle from Kel, they all know its a gimmick, we all know its a gimmick., but I suppose it is Channel 10 the channel that employs all them idiots to present sports tonight, I mean seriously since Ryan Phelan has Sports TOnight had one single presenter who even approaches an average level of media performance
Cameron Ling I hate you, why are you allowed on TV
THis is gutting, flicking to Triple M commentary on the net cant handle this any more
No NO NO NO NO... That is lazy by the Hawthorn Defence, DONT YOU DARE DO THIS TOO ME HAWTHORN
14:59 GEELONG GOAL
NO NO NO NO NO NO..... YOu just cannot give the cats a sniff, bit of mucking around in defence Geelong kick 2 in a row then centre clearance and its three, this is dangerous, in the ensuing commentary Kel bravely agrees with TIm again, serisouly Kel just once tell us what you think Just so I can see if Tim is too PC to disagree with you, c'mon just give it a try, wait for TIm to say something, then disagree and see how quickly Tim decides he was in fact wrong..
12:46
WHat the hell was that Ellis, yeah instead of having a shot from 50 do a 7 metre pass to Lewis when hes under pressure, u have been in the system long enough now Ellis ur not a young up and comer take some responsibility.
11:14
Great work Buddy, OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ROUGHHEAD, Roughhead drops an absolute sitter 20 metres out, mind you the way he has kicked today may have only cost us a point. Hawthorn lead by 11 after being 28 up after we kicked the first goal of the last quarter.
8:49 GEELONG GOAL
After buddy snaps and kicks a point Geelong come back the length of the field and kick a goal, this is ridiculous seriously.
7:52
Varcoe doesnt make the distance from 20 metres out slight angle THANK GOD!!!!
6:48
Buddy attacked 23 minutes after taking a mark, but of course its Buddy so no 50 metre penalty, attack from the wing and Kennedy has a shot for a point, which dissapoints Kelly immensly as she was about to prove her footy credentials by letting loose with her ...'if you dont mind' catchphrase that she stole off every single AFL commetator from the 1970's
FIVE MINUTE WARNING
all time checks will now be changed to 23:39 etc etc because Channel 10 continue with this pointelss gimmick
24:31 GEELONG GOAL
Rooke places his hand smack in the middle of the Hawthorn players back, pushes then plays on and kicks the goal, no free kick, Hawks by a point...
26:56
Hawthorn manage to turn a 2 on 1 on centre wing into a boundary thrwo in and now a Geelong Free kick because Ellis lacks composure and the umpire has the courage to pay a free kcik on centre wing after lacking the courage 80 seconds earlier
28:21
Bartell POINT ALL SQUARE
28:50
Kennedy I now hate you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHY OH WHY OH WHY when you are wide open would you handball to Buddy with 3 men on him rather than shoot from 40 metres, Buddy tackled ball swings to the other end
SIREN SOUNDS BARTELL NEEDS A POINT TO WIN THIS IS RIDICULOUS
HE KICKS THE POINT NOW ROUGHHEADS DROPPED MARK AT 11:14 DOES MATTER
Season over
This is absolutely gutting, not only the loss but sitting through 2 hours of CHannel 10 commentary and getting nothing out of it, I dont just mean Kel, I mean Andy (how much saliva can I create in my mouth while I speak) Maher. Macolm (did I remember to drop acid before coming on air) BLight and Tim (I wont sign a contract with a media company unless my daughter gets a job there too) Lane
Mind you I speak too soon, very uncomfortable moment when tim cant help himself and refers to Gender in the post game, (kel calling the shot, female goal umpire signalling) Blighty cant help himself puts in his two cents and very very uncomfortable chuckle from Kel, they all know its a gimmick, we all know its a gimmick., but I suppose it is Channel 10 the channel that employs all them idiots to present sports tonight, I mean seriously since Ryan Phelan has Sports TOnight had one single presenter who even approaches an average level of media performance
Cameron Ling I hate you, why are you allowed on TV
THis is gutting, flicking to Triple M commentary on the net cant handle this any more
Watching the Hawks
Half Time
Well Buddys BACK!!!!!
There are so few things more enjoyable than watching Geelong get beaten, well maybe watching St Kilda lose, what with all their Blonde Locked Nancy Boys but beating Geelong is right up there [wheres ur Salad Roll now Bomber haha] Lets hope to god that Matthews (Hawthorn Legend) was right linking Geelong with 2001 Essendon during the week.....
Even though most of his "Look at me Look at Me, I'm the star" decisions have been in Hawthorns favour today If Ray Chamberlain ever gets to Umpire a Grand Final it will prove my theory that Andrew Demetriou is on a one man mission to prove that the AFL is so domiant in the media and the culture that it does not matter how many complete stuff ups the commisioner makes it will endure as the number 1 sport in the country, seriously any claims he makes to being good at his job based on TV ratings and Attendance Figures is sort of like the Mahmoud Achmedinijad trying to say he is doing a good job as LEader of Iran because of all those 'votes' that he got in the last election.
Third Quarter
Worring signs for the Hawks but a good sign for viewers as it appears that Kelly has been relegated to 20 second bursts of commentary and they are letting Tim do most of the play by play stuff this quarter, PLEASE OH PLEASE LET CHANEL NINE GET THE RIGHTS NEXT TIME, as there ever been a bigger gimmick that the female play by play commentator, realistically only one question needs to be asked, were her skills and background so overwhelming that if she were a man she would have got the job, well of course not, so therefore it is more sexist to give her the gig than it was to stick her down as a boundary rider.
Seriously it is Round 17 now and she is yet to feel the need to disagree with her fellow commentators once, GREAT INPUT KELLY
Well Buddys BACK!!!!!
There are so few things more enjoyable than watching Geelong get beaten, well maybe watching St Kilda lose, what with all their Blonde Locked Nancy Boys but beating Geelong is right up there [wheres ur Salad Roll now Bomber haha] Lets hope to god that Matthews (Hawthorn Legend) was right linking Geelong with 2001 Essendon during the week.....
Even though most of his "Look at me Look at Me, I'm the star" decisions have been in Hawthorns favour today If Ray Chamberlain ever gets to Umpire a Grand Final it will prove my theory that Andrew Demetriou is on a one man mission to prove that the AFL is so domiant in the media and the culture that it does not matter how many complete stuff ups the commisioner makes it will endure as the number 1 sport in the country, seriously any claims he makes to being good at his job based on TV ratings and Attendance Figures is sort of like the Mahmoud Achmedinijad trying to say he is doing a good job as LEader of Iran because of all those 'votes' that he got in the last election.
Third Quarter
Worring signs for the Hawks but a good sign for viewers as it appears that Kelly has been relegated to 20 second bursts of commentary and they are letting Tim do most of the play by play stuff this quarter, PLEASE OH PLEASE LET CHANEL NINE GET THE RIGHTS NEXT TIME, as there ever been a bigger gimmick that the female play by play commentator, realistically only one question needs to be asked, were her skills and background so overwhelming that if she were a man she would have got the job, well of course not, so therefore it is more sexist to give her the gig than it was to stick her down as a boundary rider.
Seriously it is Round 17 now and she is yet to feel the need to disagree with her fellow commentators once, GREAT INPUT KELLY
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