Beaumaris Probus Footy Tipping Competition - 2024

Our Footy Tipping Competition is on again - now in its third year - Thank you Leon Laragy.

Round 18

Greetings All

Congratulations to John Green for achieving the round high of 8 correct!  Well done to John Carson, Wendy Kelly, Thomas Glass, Malcolm Sawle, David Rushworth, Vivienne Fry, Leon & Michele Laragy for managing the next highest of 7 correct! (refer both tables below for all standings).

The winners of our Third Prize Pool Block are: Sharing ‘First Place’ with a total of 33 correct tips are John Carson and Martyn Pickersgill: Sharing ‘Second Place’ with a total of 32 correct tips are Wendy Kelly, Thomas Glass and John Green. All dividends are paid at the end of the season; for the Third prize pool each player in first place will receive $65.14, and each player in second place will receive $32.57 – [Payout Rule: Each in First gets Twice as much as each in Second]. The total prize pool is $228, which is one fifth of the total of all fees (38 X $30 = $1140).  Congratulations to all our winners!

Block 4, our final prize block, starts with Round 19 and the excellent news is we are all starting from scratch!

With just 6 rounds remaining I remind you all of our “Boot on a Stick” perpetual Trophy; the contenders on current standing are… Jim Duggan & Chris Renwick as they both are in Fourth Last position on the overall leaderboard – but only one can have the honour!

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

This week Lloyd shares his holiday induced reverie:

At long last I have found the perfect job. Easy workload, good pay, and plenty of Perks. Things are underway for my move to Darwin. There I shall be a Senator for The Northern Territory in Federal Parliament. Here are my reasons for this dramatic decision:

The Federal Senate has 76 members. Twelve from each of the six States plus two from each of the ” Territories “. Compare some figures. A senator for NSW represents, in effect, 458,000 Voters.  A Senator for The Northern Territory represents 75,000 Voters. Same pay, same Perks. Yes, there is a bit of travel but there’s no queue at my office of people needing my services. They are out there somewhere.

In the NT the word remote means REMOTE. Media scrutiny is mild.  Have a drink at the Pub and arrange something together over a dollar or two.  No need to rock the boat. Yes, I have nutted it out. The next thing now is to get elected. Which party?  Doesn’t matter very much does it. Sit back quietly, leave the hurley burley stuff  to the show ponies, take the benefits, secure for six years. Good thinking eh !     L  J

Many thanks Lloyd!  You have given me an idea for next week’s update!

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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

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

Round 17

Greetings All

Congratulations to Malcolm Sawle, Errol Stubblety, John Green and John Schmoll for achieving the round high of 7 correct!  Well done to John Carson, Simon Appel, Ian Marchment, Alan Stevens, David Rushworth and Thorolf & Tina Thoresen for managing the next highest of 6 correct! (refer both tables below for all standings).

Just one round remains in the third prize block…. currently Martyn Pickersgill is in outright first with John Carson in outright second… However, 16 are not more than 2 tips out of the money!

Please note that Round 18 commences on Friday July 12.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

This week’s contribution is from not so new member Lloyd Jenkins:

Don Bradman played in 52 Test matches. His Test batting average is one of the best known statistics in sport, at 99.94. His career was interrupted by World War Two. Like so many others he lost 8 years from Test cricket. The war lasted for 6 years but the break in Test matches was 8 years. 

Fifteen of his 52 Test matches were played after the War. He resumed at age 37 in 1946 at Brisbane, versus England. He made 187, batting once only. In the second test at Sydney, when again he was only required to bat just once, he made 234. 

His batting average for the 15 matches after the War was 105, a figure not often quoted for some strange reason. He retired after his famous Duck in his final innings in 1948 in England. He turned 40 two weeks later. To repeat, 15 Tests after the War, batting average 105 when his age was 37,38,39. Yes, we ask – ” Without the eight years break, what monumental figures might we have had to ponder?” 

It is like asking – “If Mozart and George Gershwin had lived beyond their thirties, how much more great music would have resulted?”

Many thanks 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 quite short, but not too long.

ALERT:  Please be wary of scammers!  I am aware that a fellow Probian recently became a scam victim – I understand a sizable amount was involved. I believe scammers credibly posed as Microsoft employees… Take care!!

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

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

Round 16

Greetings All

Congratulations to Martyn Pickersgill for achieving the round high of 7 correct!  Well done to Geoff & Merry Bransbury, John Smyth and Thorolf & Tina Thoresen for managing the next highest of 6 correct! (refer both tables below for all standings).

Just two rounds remain in the third prize block; Martyn with his stellar performance this round is the clear leader at the moment, however there is a mighty gaggle in second spot and over a dozen sitting not more than two tips behind them… Will the topsy-turvy nature of this season continue its merry way and cause havoc in the tables???

Please note that Round 17 commences on Friday July 5.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

This week’s contribution is from new member Greg Every:

As a new member, invited by Leon to post some words for his Footy Tipping newsletter, a good place to begin was how I started barracking for Geelong.

My introduction to Aussie Rules was in the early 1950s. My father barracked for South Melbourne. He would take me to games at the Lake Oval which is within what is now the Grand Prix Circuit. When sitting on his shoulders I had a grand view of the game.

I don’t recall any lightbulb moment that defined why I decided to support Geelong, but the early 1950s were a high-water mark in Geelong’s history. Geelong won the premiership in 1951 (I was five then) and again in 1952. It was the only time Geelong won the premiership two years in a row.

There were many notable Geelong players in those premiership years including Neil Trezise and Bob Davis, but two names stuck in my mind, probably because of the alliteration. One was star rover Peter Pianto and the other was captain Fred Flanagan. I recall collector cards of the AFL teams depicting players in action. So, a combination of back-to-back Premiership wins, catchy names of two players, and a collector’s card depicting Peter Pianto, the bold hooped club jumper are probably why I took a shine to Geelong.

This year The Cats got off to a flying start but then fell into a hole and a collection of injuries has hampered our ability and somewhat dampened my spirit after such a great start to the season. Hopefully, Chris Scott will manage the team through the year and get the must-have players in the best condition possible while he helps the younger players develop as the season progresses.

Many thanks Greg! [It seems some Cats supporters in our tipping comp have dropped off the Cats, no doubt Greg would have stood by them… well, I’ll pick them next round… ] 

Like Greg, 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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

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

Round 15

Greetings All

Congratulations to John Carson, Martyn Pickersgill, Thomas Glass, Simon Appel, Barry Amond, Vivienne Fry, Peter McGregor, Derek & Deb Skues, Richard Phillips, John Schmoll, and Guy Pianella for achieving the maximum possible round high of 6 correct!  Well done to the 21 (too many to list) who managed the next highest of 5 correct! (refer both tables below for all standings).

Please note that Round 16 commences on Friday June 28.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

This week’s contribution is from Lloyd Jenkins:

Stan was a returned soldier from World War II. He served in the Greece campaign. He joined up at age 19 in a country town. The depression era meant that he had never had a regular paid job. There were many others like him.  His modest Army pay was the first steady payment he had known. The Greece campaign was a disaster for the Australian contingent.

Stan returned home with what was called at the time shell shock. Today, the term is post-traumatic stress disorder. He was highly strung but held down a good job at a milk factory as a reliable machine operator. Stan was reserved in manner with limited conversational skills but he enjoyed company.  At church working bees he was a stalwart.  

He played on the half forward line in the local footy team. One day he took a mark about 55 yards out on a slight angle. The captain said- “have a shot mate.”  Stan slotted a glorious drop kick straight through the big sticks then with nil emotion or display he trotted back to his position ready to go again. After any game Stan would mount his bike and ride home to split the firewood ready for the coming week in the kitchen fuel stove and the open fire in the lounge room.  

On the footy field Stan had all the courage any coach would delight in but if the siren went off at the fire station down the road, Stan would hide under the bed shaking. He was back in Greece with the German Stuka aircraft strafing and dive bombing the truck convoys loaded with Australian soldiers as they hurtled down the narrow mountain, roads to escape to the sea and the rescue ships. Stukas had sirens fitted to the wings to scream their terror in the dive. That is why Stan hid under the bed.

Many thanks Lloyd – a very poignant story. 

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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

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

Round 14

Greetings All

Congratulations to John Carson, Wendy Kelly, Garry Sebo, Martyn Pickersgill, Bob & Tina Wigg, John Hewison, Thomas Glass, Alan Stevens, Tim Harding, Rod Kelly, Geoff Cupples, and Dorothy Jenkins for achieving the maximum possible round high of 6 correct!  Well done to the 17 (too many to list) who managed the next highest of 5 correct! (refer both tables below for all standings).

Please note that Round 15 commences on Friday June 21.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

At a function last Friday in St Kilda (VFL legend Neil Roberts’ Art Exhibition which was opened by our very own Paul Crompton) I heard a very interesting anecdote about two ‘Saints tragics’… I couldn’t wait to share it with you before I forgot the detail:

Around 20 years ago, the St Kilda Football Club played some of their games at Aurora Stadium in Launceston. At that time, a First Officer who worked with a pilot for the AFL’s contracted carrier was, like the pilot, a long-suffering Saints supporter. The First Officer knew many people at the club, particularly trainers and physios.

The First Officer was told that the physios did not like the Launceston fly-ins and fly-outs because the players’ post-game recovery was inhibited by the aircraft pressurization system’s inability to maintain sea level pressure at normal cruising altitudes. Apparently this resulted in a lower oxygen level in their muscle tissue. The pilot and the First Officer calculated that if the players flew home at around 17,000 feet instead of 35,000 feet, the cabin would be at sea level. They decided to help the Saints by doing as many of the return flights as they could. In doing so, they got to go along to several Launceston games (one of those I imagine might have been the infamous game where the umpires failed to hear the final siren and the Saints got pipped by a point!). 

After takeoff, the pilot and the First Officer would request the much lower altitude, which usually resulted in air traffic control asking if they had a problem. They hoped that the bean counters would not become aware of the extra fuel they burned. Unfortunately the pilot and the First Officer are still long-suffering Saints supporters…

It’s just as well the physios didn’t say flying upside-down would help post-game recovery!!

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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

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

Round 13

Greetings All

Congratulations to Keith Ross, Bill Cruthers, Paul Crompton and Chris Renwick for achieving the round high of 5 correct!  Well done to the 10 who managed the next highest of 4 correct! (refer both tables below for all standings).

Please note that Round 14 commences on Friday June 14 (NB no more Thursday night games).  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Lloyd J, in his wonderful contribution last round referenced opera (… “Rather like the Puccini Aria from Tosca – ‘Strange Harmony Of Contrasts’.”)  My exposure to opera is very limited indeed, but I am familiar with a sportscasting term “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings”: I understand it is inspired by opera – composer Richard Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” and its last part, “Götterdämmerung” – the “fat lady” in this context refers to the valkyrie Brünnhilde.

For many years I mistakenly attributed the expression “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings” to Yogi Berra, a legendary US baseball player & coach turned sportscaster – however Mr Berra denied ever saying those words. In AFL radio calls I recall Rex Hunt’s interpretation of a warbling female opera singer to signify the game was all but over. 

Calling football on the radio may have moved on a bit in recent times, but who were the great Australian football radio callers in the early days? 

Norman Banks was a legend of Australian radio and a pioneer of football radio broadcasts; he may not have been the first in Melbourne (3AR was broadcasting descriptions of play at least as early as 1927) but Banks was active in 1931 – however the working conditions were not flash!  

Princes Park did not offer any amenity for the radio caller – Banks had to stand on a ladder at the end of the dressing room; on another occasion, again at Princes Park, he did his broadcasting from a hardwood plank protruding from a ladies’ toilet, with no protection from the weather. At Lakeside Oval he broadcast from an 18-meter steel tower. Perhaps Norman Banks should have joined the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance!

[Note: AI made the image; however it demurred every time I requested an image of a “fat” valkyrie Brünnhilde opera singer on an Australian rules football field…]

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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

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

Round 12

Greetings All

Congratulations to Vivienne Fry for achieving the round high of 5 correct!  Well done to Paul Stephens, Malcolm Sawle, John Hewison, Colin Neave, David Rushworth, Bill Cruthers, Jim Duggan, John Smyth and Thorolf & Tina Thoresen for managing the next highest of 4 correct! (refer both tables below for all standings).

The winners of our Second Prize Pool Block are: Sharing ‘First Place’ with a total of 37 correct tips are Simon Appel and John Hewison: Sharing ‘Second Place’ with a total of 36 correct tips are Paul Stephens, Malcolm Sawle and Ian Marchment. All dividends are paid at the end of the season; for the second prize pool each player in first place will receive $65.14, and each player in second place will receive $32.57 – [Payout Rule: Each in First gets Twice as much as each in Second]. The total prize pool is $228, which is one fifth of the total of all fees (38 X $30 = $1140).  Congratulations to all our winners!

Block 3 starts with Round 13 and the very good news is we are all starting from scratch!

Please note that Round 13 commences on Thursday June 6.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

This week’s contribution is from Lloyd Jenkins: 

It was always the same. About 16 kids lined up in the school yard for team selection. Lunch time match. Footy or cricket. Not really enough for a footy match, but there it is. A bit better for cricket. 

Always the two best players are captains. Automatic. They toss for first choice. I’ll have Nudger. I’ll have Smithy. On it goes. We all know our own rating. After a while it doesn’t matter much. All the good ones are gone. Always it is Ginger left to last. Footy or cricket. He is hopeless, but so keen. 

For footy, the captains issue instructions. Stay on your man. Stay in position. No chasing for kicks. The two captains do the umpiring. That is tradition. It is pack football. Everybody kick chasing despite the captains instructions. 

For cricket, make 10 then retire. Not enough time for more. Two overs maximum to bowl. Eight ball overs in that era. Ginger was always last to be given a go. Who knew then that he would become a top flight Australian Surgeon. Or that one of the captains would play for the BIG V in the era of interstate football. Or that the other captain would in due course spend some stretches in Gaol. Rather like the Puccini Aria from Tosca – ‘Strange Harmony Of Contrasts”.

Many thanks 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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

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

Round 11

One round remains in Block 2…Simon Appel is one in front of Ian Marchment and John Hewison… however 15 are not more than 2 out of money contention! … & by the way… Round 12 is the first of the midseason bye rounds so there are only 7 games available…

Please note that Round 12 commences on Thursday May 30.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

As Club Secretary I routinely check our Club’s post box (no. 57) at the Black Rock Post Office.  On 26 April I was told a membership application had been posted that day to our post box … two weeks later it turned up!!! (Yes, it was postmarked 26 April!)

How things have changed – once the Postmaster General’s Department (PMG) was the engine room of Australia – virtually all communications were handled by that behemoth.  Young people today would be staggered at what the postal arm of the PMG achieved.

I found the following reminisce online: … “the postman came twice a day. You could post a letter in the morning and if you were lucky have it delivered across town by the afternoon. It was the only way to send messages (apart from telegrams, which were expensive).” 

The halcyon time of mail delivery was twice daily Monday to Friday and once on Saturday – relatively inexpensive stamps bought a fantastic service!  As of April this year a stamp costs $1.50, up from $1.20.  (in researching this item I became aware of concession stamps which are a lot cheaper if you qualify, might be worth a look:

https://auspost.com.au/sending/stamps/concession-stamps )

I can’t find information on when delivery frequencies changed from twice daily to once a day (and when Saturday delivery stopped) – the postie’s whistle disappeared in the early eighties.  A postie’s life these days can be relatively sedentary – sitting comfortably on a three wheeled electric vehicle as they do their rounds.

Now we all get mail delivery every second day … (I suspect it’s less frequent than that) … but as I don’t know when it will come I still check the home letter box each day Monday to Friday!! … Perhaps my phone’s ‘AusPost’ app could emit a ‘whistle’ sound to let me know the postie has been !!!!

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

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

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

Round 10

Greetings All

Congratulations to Paul Stephens and Guy Pianella for achieving the round high of 7 correct!  Well done to the 16 (too many to mention) who managed the next highest of 6 correct! (refer both tables below for all standings).

Two rounds remain in Block 2… Simon Appel is in outright first and Malcolm Sawle is in outright second… Will there be big changes? Sixteen hopefuls are only two tips out from the money… and 16 games remain in the Block…

Please note that Round 11 commences on Thursday May 23.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

This week’s contribution is from Lloyd Jenkins:

The current Members Pavilion at the MCG was opened in time for the 2006 Commonwealth games. Prior to that, the 1928 Pavilion gave sterling service. The seating arrangement then was first in best served. The rule was ‘No seat saving for persons arriving later.’ Ha Ha. All sorts of tricks were tried. Hats or coats on seats. Rugs stretched across. [They always fell off ‘by accident’.] 

One regular veteran lady member had them all bluffed. Two wicker shopping baskets were her weapons of defence. Placed to each side and taking up two precious seats of course, they were loaded with her supplies for the day. Who could challenge that strong self-satisfied countenance and formidable body language?

“Clear off mate” was the silent message. At the end of the game the three seats in prime position had done their job. The mythical husband and daughter never did arrive, season by season.

Many thanks Lloyd.  I wonder how many of our tipping fraternity have a story or two about this sort of caper in the Members? If you have a tale, first hand or second hand, please share it with us!

Or if you have any other lighthearted/ interesting story to share please do so – it need not be football related, it can be on any issue, and quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

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

Round 9

Greetings All

Congratulations to Simon Appel, Keith Ross, John Hewison and Bill Cruthers for achieving the round high of 7 correct!  Well done to Geoff Taffs, Malcolm Sawle, Colin Neave, Ian Marchment, Tim Harding, Leon & Michele Laragy, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Paul Crompton, Peter McGregor, Jim Duggan, John Smyth and Guy Pianella for managing the next highest of 6 correct! (refer both tables below for all standings).

Please note that Round 10 commences on Thursday May 16.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

In recent times it seems the AFL has been experiencing a touch of bother over its medical policy on illicit substances – a very serious issue: abuse, addiction are a blight and drug issues must be handled with sensitivity.

Fortunately I have no insights into what place drugs occupy in the worlds of coaches, players, or administrators, however I am aware that drugs have been with us a long time and attitudes are ever changing.

A little over 100 years ago cocaine was a legal substance – I understand it was one of the original key ingredients of Coca-Cola. The fictional character Sherlock Holmes was a cocaine user. Apparently the drug was all the rage in the Victorian era with one of the most famous late-nineteenth-century cocaine enthusiasts being the young Austrian doctor Sigmund Freud.

So, cocaine was in common use when Coca-Cola was first on the scene, which is underscored by the attached advertisement that suggests it was even promoted as family friendly!

 … Is it just human nature? Drugs are but one challenging issue – do you dare imagine what scandals clubs have covered up over the years … 

‘White-Line fever’ I have always associated with football hotheads… but perhaps these days it denotes something else…

I wonder how the Essendon folks feel about all this?

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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

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

 

Round 8

Congratulations to Chris Renwick for achieving the round high of 8 correct!  Well done to Bob & Tina Wigg for managing the next highest of 7 correct! (refer both tables below for all standings).

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

This week’s contribution is from Lloyd Jenkins:

BANDY EDDIE

Bandy Eddie was a veteran country footy umpire. Players moved from the Juniors to Retirement during Eddie’s long career with the whistle. He knew all of them.  Eddie was short and a bit bandy legged. At full sprint his knees seemed to fly off sideways, like a bird in flight. Elaborate gestures were made to back up his decisions. ‘Ya pushed him Smithy’, and his arms would shoot forward like pistons. 

On a memorable occasion Eddie demonstrated a Trip decision with a foot action of his own, as he ran, and did a splendid somersault to much cheering from an adoring crowd. 

Eddie also helped out as umpire in the under fourteens when required. There he took on a sort of dual role. He umpired and he coached as the game went along. “Now listen to me, get back to your positions like your Coach told ya and I won’t bounce the ball until you do “. That decree was good for about one minute before 36 small bodies scrambled around the ball again chasing kicks. 

On a rather warm day in the seniors, Eddie was battling his bandy 

way back to the centre after a goal. An over-keen young boundary umpire sprinted past him and waited at the circle with the ball for Eddie to arrive, only to cop a ticking off from Eddie. “Now listen here you. Don’t you ever do that again. I arrive first, ALWAYS, not you. Got that? You won’t get another Firsts match this year if it happens again.

Eddie talked to the players. “Keep yer elbows down Barney or I’ll free ya “. “No mark Andy, ya gotta hold on to em”.  Oh, very nice turn Chooka.” “No language you blokes, no need for it. Cut it out or I’ll free ya.” Keep tryin old Tugga. They nilly got yer name right. Ha ha. I oughta give you a free”. “Look you blokes. Grabbin a jumper when he hasn’t got the ball is a free. I’ve got eyes in me noggin.” “Now Cassa, none of that. Leave that to the squirrels. ” 

Where would footy be without people like Bandy Eddie.

Many thanks Lloyd – & where would the footy tipping updates be without Lloyd’s contributions!!

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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

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

 

Round 7

Congratulations to John Carson, Wendy Kelly, Martyn Pickersgill, Thomas Glass, Simon Appel, Tim Harding and Errol Stubblety for achieving the round high of a ‘Claytons Nine’ correct!  Well done to the 15 (too many to list) for managing the next highest of 8 correct! (refer both tables below for all standings). (Re ‘Claytons’, a correct tip was awarded to everyone for the draw)

Please note that Round 8 commences on Thursday May 2.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Last week’s musings on ‘stuffed foot balls’ turned my mind to the Darwinian evolution of the divergent range of games claiming the word ‘football’.

Globally, football, as many would appreciate, typically refers to ‘Association football’ which in this country is widely known as soccer (as it is in the USA and Canada).

Other international games called ‘football’ include: American football, Canadian football, Gaelic football, Rugby league football and Rugby union football.

 

In the early days, when soccer was known as “association football” and rugby as “rugby football” newspapers looking for a shorter term for association football began to refer to it as “assoc,” which eventually became “soccer”. Rugby, apparently, started as a kicking game hence the moniker football was also applied; the kicking aspect significantly diluted when a chap named William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it, developing the game of rugby in a very different direction.

American football, as was the case in Australia, evolved from pre-codified association football and rugby football; however the word football never disappeared and has remained even though in American football the ball is rarely kicked. (You may have noticed the latest AFL expat just recruited into the NFL as a punter is Tory Taylor)

As the various football codes transformed from their nineteenth century counterparts the background of many terms used in those games was lost.  Take rugby; why is a ‘try’ called a try?  I’m pleased you asked… Originally, when a player grounded the ball over the try line, it did not score points by itself; instead, it gave the attacking team the opportunity to “try” to score with a kick at goal.

I expect the American football equivalent of rugby’s grounding the ball is a ‘Touchdown’ – the Americans however did away with the requirement to put the ball on the ground way back in the 19th century!

In Australian football the term ‘mark’ is rooted in the primordial mix that spawned modern ‘football’ codes. Geoffrey Blainey wrote: “When a player caught the ball and called out, ‘Mark!’, he actually drew a line on the ground with his boot.”. Guess what, Wikipedia says: “In rugby and the early days of soccer, a player would shout ‘mark’ and mark the ground with their foot.” – I wonder, did Charles Darwin follow a code of football?

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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

Round 6

Greetings All

Congratulations to Paul Stephens, Leon & Michele Laragy, Wendy Kelly, Martyn Pickersgill, Ian Marchment, Derek & Deb Skues, John Schmoll and Paul Crompton for achieving the round high of 5 correct!  Well done to the 14 (too many to mention) for managing the next highest of 4 correct! (refer table below for all standings).

… “many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip” … the winners of our First Prize Pool Block are: Sharing ‘First Place’ with a total of 39 correct tips are Paul Stephens and John Carson: Sharing ‘Second Place’ with a total of 38 correct tips are Geoff Taffs, Garry Sebo, and team Leon & Michele Laragy.  ‘How much was won?’ they all chorused – at the end of the season for this prize pool each player in first place will receive $65.14, and each player in second place will receive $32.57 – [Payout Rule: Each in First gets Twice as much as each in Second]. The total prize pool is $228, which is one fifth of the total of all fees (38 X $30 = $1140).  Congratulations to all our winners!

For those of us who didn’t quite make it or were well off the pace, the great news is the Second Prize Pool Block of 6 rounds starts now and we all start from scratch!   Good luck to all!

Please note that Round 7 commences on Wednesday April 24.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Lloyd Jenkins continues his reflections of wartime tribulations:

GRASS FOOTBALLS. 

Only punts, no stabs or drop-kicks. A football stuffed firmly with grass is not ideal but there is no choice. There’s a war on you know and the school football has a perished bladder. Impossible to replace. And the leather case is stretched a bit oversize but we are ingenious at our school, just like all schools. We have a grass stuffing roster. Take the footy home, stuff it hard with grass by pushing a stick through the lace slot. That hurts your hand but you don’t want to be the victim of scorn tomorrow if the footy is not properly tight. A good result? Not really. Half distance kicks at best and as we said, only punts will work. At the end of lunch time the zip has gone from the grass stuffing, but there goes the bell anyway. Smithy takes it home tonight. He always does a good job but we think his father helps him out. He is a bricklayer with tough hands.

Many thanks Lloyd. Lloyd’s tale set my mind to the history of early ‘foot balls’.  Many would know of ‘marn grook’, the traditional Indigenous Australian football game and similar games played by other tribes throughout Australia. Many past and continuing cultures have played with a ‘stuffed ball’ of some sort. Cuju was played in China thousands of years ago. More recently, games were played in medieval Europe.  

Some of these archaic forms of European football were examples of ‘mob football’ – it appears, in some contests, any means could be used to move the ball towards the goal, as long as it did not lead to ‘manslaughter or murder’!! … Well, I dare say some of our modern Aussie Rules umps would even struggle with that one rule – particularly the chaps officiating the Crows v Essendon game last Friday evening!!

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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

 

 

Round 5

Greetings fellow feather dusters… and others…

One stands tall – congratulations to Malcolm Sawle for achieving the round high of 6 correct!  Well done to John Carson, Jim Duggan, Martyn Pickersgill, Bill Cruthers, John Schmoll, and Thorolf & Tina Thoresen for managing the next highest of 5 correct! (refer table below for all standings).

Just one round remains in our first prize pool block… Two now share first spot with three in second and a few not too far from the front runners… no pressure on the leaders!! Will there be any movement in the standings? 

Please note that Round 6 commences on Thursday April 18.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Many of you would know that some of our tipsters have just returned from the Rich River golf trip up Echuca way.  Now, golf is not my strong suit – I don’t hold any trump cards there… but… do you ever wonder what sort of golfer Donald Trump is/was?

Apparently golf is a subject Mr Trump knows something about; I won’t comment on his politics but I will ponder his golfing prowess.  

Some say he’s a good player, and say, even without adjusting for his age, he’s probably the best of the many golfers who have been President of the United States. 

I recently became aware of a book by US sports journalist/author Rick Reilly on Mr Trump’s golfing claims – “Commander In Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump”.  The book it seems explores examples of alleged cheating Donald Trump, it is claimed, committed on the golf course. Some examples from the book follow:

It is stated Trump once won a senior club championship from 87 miles away. He’d declared that one of his clubs should start having senior club championships for those 50 and up, but realising he would not win a head to head with a gun member who had recently turned 50, went up to his Trump Philadelphia course on the day of the tournament and played with a friend there. Afterward, he called the Bedminster pro shop and announced he’d shot 73 and should be declared the winner. The pro, valuing his livelihood, agreed – the plaque had Trump’s name on it. Subsequently “somebody talked to the caddy up in Philly and asked him what Trump shot that day. … ‘Maybe 82. And that might be generous.’ …

 

At a golf club, where Mr Trump is a member, Reilly writes “The caddies got so used to seeing him kick his ball back onto the fairway they came up with a nickname for him: ‘Pelé’.”  [The irony of the name of the golf club was seemingly lost on the author, the name of the links was “Winged Foot”!!]

 

In another example the author cites an incident involving Lee Trevino; Mr Trump ran into Trevino after he had shot 72 on one of his courses. “Trump is delighted and wants to start introducing the legend around his clubhouse,” writes Reilly. “This is the great Lee Trevino. He just shot a 70!” For the next person it was: You know who this is? Lee Trevino. He just shot a 68!” Then it became a 66. Trevino himself recalls: “I had to get out of there before I broke the course record.” !! …

 

I understand Mr Trump denies all the foregoing.  But I also understand Mr Trump claims he has ‘Aced’ a total of seven holes… must be easy… I wonder how many Aces our fellow golfing Probians have amassed between them??

 

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 quite short, but not too long.

 

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

 

 

Round 4

Greetings All – did anyone travel to Adelaide for the football?

Congratulations to … too many!! Twenty one ‘gathered’ the maximum of 9 correct tips for the round!  And a further Eleven managed 8 correct – Well done those folks as well! 32 of our 38 players managed to finish in the highest echelons!  Thorolf & Tina Thoresen missed getting their tips in & received away teams – 5 winners this round [although six ‘away teams’ won their games, the maximum possible for not getting tips in is capped at 5]. (refer table below for all standings).

Please note that Round 5 commences on Thursday April 11.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Two rounds remain in our First Prize Pool Block… plenty of opportunity for movement on the leaderboard!

This week’s contribution is from Lloyd Jenkins:

NO FOOTY BOOTS

It was an ongoing problem in 1942. Proper footy boots were very scarce in the shops and they required ration coupons anyway. School shoes also required precious coupons and the wartime quality was poor. Cardboard for internal linings. But, without footy boots, you needed temporary studs in the school shoes for footy. So, hammer them in on Friday night, remove them after the match. But that action left little holes. Moisture penetrated to damage the whole shoe. Big trouble. “No more of that thank you young man. And do a repair with the Kromhyde Kit to waterproof those holes.” That was a rubber sole applied with adhesive and trimmed to size. We were good at that. Kromhyde was a product of the wartime era, but from then on it was slip and slide like an ice skater on the footy field. No studs you see. The repaired sole was okay until it got really wet. The adhesive would let go a bit and your brilliant sprint around the wing might be accompanied by a rapid flap flap flap. But you were not the only one. The sound of flapping was part of the game. There’s a War on don’t you know.

Many thanks Lloyd! I vaguely recall hammering studs (stops) onto old ‘high-cut’ football boots – I used an old cast-iron last to support the boot.  The umpire, just before the game, would visit each team and run his hand over each player’s boot studs to ensure no nails were raised – safety was paramount!!

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 quite short, but not too long.

Tipping Comp Fee

Many thanks to all those who have paid their $30 tipping competition fee – almost three quarters have done so!  It’s easy to forget, so if you have not yet paid could you please do so soon – this will reduce the number of reminder emails I will need to send.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

Round 3

Greetings All – I trust the Easter Bunny was bountiful!

Congratulations to Richard Phillips and Malcolm Sawle for achieving the round high of 6 correct!  Well done Geoff Taffs, Garry Sebo, Peter Fitzgerald, Barry Amond, Geoff Cupples, John Hewison, & Vivienne Fry for garnering the next highest of 5 correct!  Two missed getting their tips in – Wendy Kelly and Thorolf & Tina Thoresen received away teams – 4 winners this round. (refer table below for all standings).

We are at the halfway point of our first prize pool – three more rounds to go and plenty in the hunt. If at the end of round 6 current relativities are maintained Geoff Taffs and Paul Stephens would share the pool between them as they occupy first and second respectively all by themselves… No Pressure!  (Those with the highest tally share 2 thirds of the pool, those with the second highest tally share 1 third of the pool.)

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

Old Habits Can’t Cope with Change…

Many years ago I knew of a fellow who I was told had had a long standing habit of paying for everything with one pound notes – I guess he formed that habit when a pound had some significant purchasing power and he earned a very good quid in the 1930’s.  His life long practice hit slight turbulence with decimalization in 1966 however the $2 note assured the continuity of his ways.  I can’t recall the precise time of his passing… I think it was around the late 1980’s … perhaps not long after the introduction of the $2 coin… change too great perhaps… but, by then, small change for most others…

Old Dog – New Trick

It is very frustrating when one of our modern gadgets breaks due to wear and tear or accident – some seemingly minor issue but frustratingly impossible to repair – super glue just doesn’t quite do it!  … How about adding some baking soda to the super glue?   Using baking soda with super glue increases the surface area of a bond while helping it dry faster, and can strengthen the bond between the cyanoacrylate (super glue) and base material.  But wait, there’s more… adding graphite to the baking soda mix (50-50) & super glue makes an even more durable substance, or so I have read. Sounds too easy doesn’t it?… I think there’s an art to it… Youtube or Google search if you are interested in further information. 

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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

Cheers, Leon 

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

 

Round 2

Greetings All

Congratulations to Bob and Tina Wigg for achieving the maximum possible round high of 8 correct!  Well done Paul Stephens, David Rushworth, Alan Stevens, Simon Appel, Thomas Glass, Ian Marchment, Geoff & Merry Bransbury, Peter McGregor and Chris Renwick for managing the next highest of 7 correct!  Unfortunately Thorolf & Tina Thoresen did not get their tips in for the round however they scored 5 as a result of the unusually good return for away teams’ wins.  (refer table below for all standings).

Please note that Round 3 commences on Thursday March 28.  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 the following contribution from Lloyd Jenkins:

Long Jim

Long Jim The Bellringer was devoted to his local football club. Every match, every training session, every social event, Long Jim was there in his khaki army disposals overcoat with a broad smile for everybody and everything. He lived with his mother. They looked after each other. Mother did not venture out very much, “not since me OP dear, you know.” Long Jim did the shopping, money and note pinned in a coat pocket. If Long Jim lost track of which shop in the small town was next, somebody would check the note and sort things out. No youngster would dare to trouble Long Jim in any manner. A knock on the door at home by the local policeman would follow swiftly. The local grapevine was infallible in such things. Anyway, Long Jim as a volunteer cuts the lawn at the Police Station, using his own Qualcast hand mower. Neat edges too. That has a bearing on things. Ask Long Jim what was the score in any footy match of recent years. The answer comes in a flash. At local matches a tray truck is positioned in the right spot for the timekeepers. Three chairs are up there. Two for the timekeepers and one for Long Jim, the bell ringer. At a nod from one of the two, Jim rings the bell. Boy, does he ring it. Nobody, nobody, is allowed near that shining bell. It came from an old fire truck. Jim’s Mother shines it with Brasso. Even the smart alecs who might otherwise try to play tricks half way through a quarter don’t go near that bell. That foolishness would earn a chilly unwanted fully clothed dip in a nearby dam, assisted there by a couple of burly ruckmen after the match. Nobody gives Long Jim trouble, nobody.

Many thanks Lloyd… At some time I guess many of us have known of a person with aspects of ‘Long Jim’.

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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please remember to get your tips in and avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

Cheers, Leon 

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

Round 1

Greetings All

Congratulations to newcomers Geoff Taffs & Malcolm Sawle for garnering the maximum 9 correct tips! (BTW, our comp DOES NOT award extra points for getting the rounds maximum number correct).  Well done Paul Stephens, John Carson, Martyn Pickersgill, John Schmoll & Tim Harding for managing the next highest of 8 correct! (refer table below for all standings).

By the way, Paul Crompton’s retro exhibition over the weekend was a resounding success! However Paul was understandably distracted and missed getting his first game tip in – consequently the system awarded him the away team (Richmond, the losing team). Two others also missed the first game.  A lesson to get tips in earlier than later!

Please note that Round 2 commences on Thursday March 21.  If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet, enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home

Now, back to Paul’s exhibition… I was privileged to help with the setting up which at one point involved me tiptoeing on an inadequate ladder. Fortunately Simon Appel and another brave chap held me steady. This unstable endeavour put me in mind of a contribution I received from Tom Glass – here it is:

Dynamic Moments

While driving towards the city on Nepean Highway, approaching Elsternwick on caryard straight, you may have noticed an orange and white banded lattice steel tower projecting into the northern skyline.

This 150 ft (45.7m) high tower straddles the original main TV studio at the old ABC Ripponlea television studios.  Built in 1956, the tower supported the link antenna that beamed the signals up to the ABC’s main TV transmitter site on Mt Dandenong.

Early in my engineering career I was engaged to analyse this tower structure to the current standards for the proposed addition of a new antenna array.  To ascertain its current condition, a nice calm sunny day was chosen to climb the tower to inspect its structural components.

Having reached the platform immediately below the top, I decided to check the flexibility of the structure by moving my body weight side to side.  It responded beautifully in harmony to my movements, producing quite a waggle.   Unfortunately, I had not forewarned my colleague of my intended actions.   He was directly above me on the top platform and immediately emitted a loud frantic shriek – “Jeeezz! … Did you feel that!!”

Many thanks Tom … I think I’ll consult Tom about a better ladder!

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 quite short, but not too long.

Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!

Cheers, Leon