The Footy Jumper Book, by Tim Rath and Andrew Gigacz, has been published by Sporting Nation.
The hardback book features 320 vintage Australian Rules jumpers, from the 1890s to the early 2000s.
I was lucky enough to have a jumper of mine selected for inclusion. It appears in a section called Tricks of the Trade, about how footy clubs would cut corners to maintain the longevity of a jumper. In my case, the jumper had two numbers: 31 and, underneath it, 4.
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The Maryborough-Castlemaine Football and Netball League is the only one of five central Victorian leagues to embrace Easter footy and netball this year. A Good Friday clash on 7 April between Maldon and Dunolly, brought forward from round two, will be the MCDFL’s stand-alone season opener for 2023. The 14-club league was the first in north-central Victoria to formally announce its 2023 fixture.
In 1993, when I was researching for my book Gravel Rash, Boulder Football Club identity Max Viskovich took me to visit Pom Holland. The story didn’t make it into the book. Probably should have. Here it is.
Arthur ” Pom ” Holland sat at the kitchen table in his humble little Boulder house. The late afternoon sun shining through a window lit up the right side of his face. He’d been a handsome bloke in his younger days, you could see that. Now he was approaching 90-years-of-age and a bit unsteady on his feet.
He used to like a beer but he refused the one we offered him. “Haven’t had a beer in 12 months,” he told us, “don’t even feel like it any more.”
Arthur was born in Yorkshire, he was 13 when his family moved to Australia in 1916. He spent a short time at the Boulder Primary School and there picked up the nickname that was to stick. “Don’t write about Arthur,” he said, “or half the people who know me wouldn’t know who you were talking about.”
Pom was not a great footballer but he can lay claim to a proud and possibly unique record; he was captain of the Kurrawang football club’s first premiership team, he captained the first Moonta Turks premiership team in 1925 and when Boulder City B grade won the premiership in 1931 he was again captain. He is a life member of the Boulder City Football Club and in 1963 was awarded life membership of the GNFL.
The thumpings of Claremont in recent weeks by East Fremantle had a similar look. Full-on pressure from the first bounce, winning the clearances, getting the ball forward and if it did go Claremont’s side of the centre it would be whisked out at speed, usually by Cam Eardley.
But the preliminary final looked different.
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Dockers had hopes and dreams for a change in 2022 experiencing finals for the first time since 2015.
The club has survived a bewildering list building mantra that combined ignoring local youngsters and the WAFL with a “bringing them all back whatever the cost” approach to WA players at other clubs. From afar it seemed there was some meddling going on when it came to recruiting – cobblers were not being left to do the cobbling.
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WAFL finals: first week
East Fremantle began their first finals campaign since 2014 with an emphatic win over Claremont. Following a similar pressure-packed formula to the last meeting between the teams the Sharks scored four goals to two in the first quarter into a slight breeze to set the scene.
WAFL round 19
The WAFL finals will come a week early after Swan Districts upset the top team to keep their hopes alive coming into the final round of qualifying fixtures. Swans will play Peel next Sunday with the winner grabbing fifth spot. It couldn’t have worked out better.
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WAFL round 18
Strong wins by the top four teams has ensured finals involvement but there’s still the prospect of some shuffling.
Continue readingWhy rent a lawyer when you can buy a judge
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