Footy Tipping 2026
Our Footy Tipping Competition is back – now in its Fourth year Thank you
Leon Laragy
Round 18
Greetings all
Congratulations to John Green, Jim Duggan, Barry Amond, David Hone, John Schmoll and Jim O’Brien for achieving the maximum possible round high of 9 out of 9. Well done to the 31 who managed the next highest tally of 8. For player standings please refer to the tables below.
Please note that Round 19 commences on Thursday July 16. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
Our third Block Prize Pool winners have been determined: Hearty congratulations to John Green and David Hone for achieving the highest tally. And well done to Jim (“I never win”) Duggan and Leon & Michele Laragy for securing the second highest tally.
The third Block Prize Pool payouts are:
- Highest Tally: $98.00 each.
- Second Highest Tally: $49.00 each.
(Total prize pool: $294; all payments are made at the end of the season)
Our fourth Block Prize Pool now commences and will finish at the conclusion of the Home and Away season i.e. Round 24. The very good news is we all start from zero at the commencement of Round 19!
Boot on a Stick Perpetual Trophy: It’s appropriate at this juncture to examine who is notionally up for the coveted Boot on a Stick perpetual trophy – this prestigious award can only be claimed by a player who finished Fourth Last* in the overall tally count. At the conclusion of Round 18, Malcolm Sawle is the contender currently in fourth-last position. However if at the end of the season there is more than one in the fourth last position, and as only one player can be awarded, there would be a draw to decide the ‘winner’!
Tipping Comp & Grand Final Pub Lunch – Open to ALL our Probus Club members and their guests, not just those of us in the competition!! …
Get your diaries out and circle Wednesday September 23 for our Annual end of season celebration! $40pp gets you: a Drink on arrival; a Choice from Seven Mains; and an After Lunch Coffee or Tea. … and if you wish, wear those footy scarves and beanies … more to come!
And by the way, 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. (And it can be anonymous!)
Good luck everyone for the next round and please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!
Cheers, Leon
(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 327 587)
* In determining Fourth Last, the positions of ‘Home Teams’ and ‘Away Teams’ are not included in the count if no player shares their total tips for the season.
Round 17
Greetings all
Congratulations to Vivienne Fry for managing the round high of 8 out of 9. Well done to Guy Pianella, Leon & Michele Laragy, Richard Phillips, David Hone, Garry Bradd and Thorolf & Tina Thoresen for managing the next highest tally of 7. For player standings please refer to the tables below.
Please note that Round 18 commences on Thursday July 9. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
One round remains in the third prize pool block… and what do we find… the ranks of the leaderboard have swollen! Five players share the highest tally and 8 share the second highest tally… will there be thirteen or more in the money? or fewer?
This update’s contribution is from Lloyd Jenkins: Barney
Country footy throws up Characters. Like Barney. He drives a Council Grader. HIS grader, nobody else’s. Careful driving and strict maintenance by Barney himself. In Barney’s hands a grease gun is an instrument of affection. No lubrication point is missed. He knows of some always missed by others. Stay away from Barney’s grader. That goes for the Foreman as well. He knows his place. Barney and his grader offer high value to the District roads. Tricky terrain is not a problem, it is a challenge to be defeated with skill. And he is completely reliable, as reliable as when he plays Back Pocket on Saturday afternoons. We are speaking of the old days of course. Sturdy build, fast enough to go with the resting Rover, fit as a trout. He runs during his lunch break out yonder, always keeping the grader in sight. Barney is sometimes late for mid-week training sessions if a job is out in the Mulga. His lunch time runs make up for that. Such things are understood in the Country. L J
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
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Round 16
Greetings all
Congratulations to John Schmoll for achieving the maximum tally of 7 out of 7. Well done to the 18 who managed the next highest tally of 6. For player standings please refer to the tables below.
Please note that Round 17 commences on Thursday July 2. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
Two rounds remain in the third prize pool block… who will prevail? Currently 15 players are within two tips of the highest tally… 18 games to be played over the next 2 rounds…
Technology…. What’s your attitude to new Tech? Which group of the following five distinct groups of technology adopters do you belong to?: Innovators (Tech enthusiasts and risk-takers), Early Adopters (Opinion leaders, visionaries, and trendsetters), Early Majority (Pragmatists and risk-averse buyers who require proof that a technology works), Late Majority (Skeptics and conservative consumers), or Laggards (Traditionalists and those highly resistant to change).
I’ve been using computer spreadsheets for 40 years, but I imagine a number of readers have never used an electronic spreadsheet (does anyone recall the spreadsheet software “Lotus 1-2-3”?). … And I love AI, doesn’t everyone?!
We’re all different of course. But even ‘laggards’ move with the times … due to necessity I imagine. Many years ago while driving home from the city after work I listened to Hamish & Andy on FoxFM. One of them spoke fondly of their grandmother (an avid Video Ezy video renter) using her brand new DVD player for the first time because VHS tapes were no longer available. Apparently, Gran loved her new DVD player saying it was the Bee’s Knees. Her only lament was that when she finished watching a movie it took a very long time to rewind the rented DVD back to the start before she could return it!!!
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
Round 15
Greetings all
Congratulations to the 17 who managed the top tally of 6 out of 7. Well done to the 21 who managed the next highest tally of 5. For player standings please refer to the tables below.
Please note that Round 16 commences on Thursday June 25. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
For this update we have another contribution from Lloyd Jenkins:
ANDY
Which batsman holds the record for “Highest batting average in Test matches?” Is it the great Don Bradman with a Test Match batting average of 99.94? No mate. Not him, in a way. The record holder, in a way, is Andy Ganteame. WHO? It is Andy Ganteame with a Test Match average of 112. Now don’t shout at me. It is not my fault. Andy of the West Indies team played only one Test match. That was against England in 1948. He made 112. There was no second innings. So, his career Test average is 112. He was surrounded by too many great batsmen to be chosen more often. Imagine trying to break into a team that had players like Weeks, Kanhai, Walcott, Worrell, and a few others like that. That is why he played only one Test innings.
You will go to Mr Google to check this out of course. He and I know everything but be careful. Mr Google names Bradman as the record holder on the basis that he played the number of games required in the RULES for such things. Andy did not. One game is not enough. So 99-94 beats 112. I don’t quite understand that, but rules are rules. At Test level the minimum number of innings to qualify for an “average” is sometimes quoted at twenty. What do our Actuaries think about this weighty matter? Aside from all of that, we all know don’t we that if Bradman had scored just four runs in his final innings his Test batting average would be 100, not 99.94. But like you and me too often, he made a Duck. Out second ball. A fortnight later he had his 40th birthday. L J
Many thanks Lloyd – another “good knock” by our regular contributor!
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
Round 14
Greetings all
Congratulations to the 19 who managed the top tally of 6 out of 7. Well done to the 22 who managed the next highest tally of 5. For player standings please refer to the tables below.
Please note that Round 15 commences on Thursday June 18. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
I recently had a conversation with one of our fine comrades in tipping that focused on the influence home crowds have on umpires’ decisions; we agreed there had been significant research into this phenomenon. As you appreciate, the phenomenon is called home advantage or home-ground advantage.
You may have noticed that each round I enter tips for Home Teams and Away Teams, something I have done for many seasons; at the end of each season poor old Away Teams always comes last.
Google tells me home-ground advantage usually shows up as a higher win rate, more points scored, or fewer mistakes by the home side. Google’s bigbrother Ai told me the following: “Research into home-ground advantage highlights several interconnected factors that collectively tip the scales in favor of the hosting team. Chief among these is crowd support; the energy of a loud home crowd doesn’t just lift the players’ spirits but can also subconsciously influence the officials, potentially swaying crucial umpiring decisions. Beyond the atmosphere, the logistical toll of travel and disruption plays a role, as visiting teams must contend with the fatigue of transit and shifting time zones. Finally, a team’s inherent familiarity with local conditions—ranging from the specific play of the surface to the nuances of local weather patterns—provides a subtle but significant edge over their opponents.”
This headline following Friday night’s game confirms things: “Hardwick claims umpires influenced by Geelong crowd” … ‘… umpires paid crucial free kicks due to the Geelong crowd behaving like a “Roman Colosseum”…’. Perhaps Mr Hardwick misses the genteel ambiance the MCG provides when crammed with Richmond supporters…
Awareness of this phenomenon, however, does not necessarily help one’s tipping – in round 13 Away Teams accounted for 6 wins out of 8 of the games! And things aren’t helped by the likes of North Melbourne playing ‘home games’ at Optus Stadium in Perth!
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
Round 13
Greetings all
Congratulations to John Green, Derek Russell, Geoff Cupples and Bill Cruthers who managed the top tally of 6 out of 8. Well done to the 14 who managed the next highest tally of 5. For player standings please refer to the tables below.
Please note that Round 14 commences on Thursday June 11. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
This week’s update contribution is from Lloyd Jenkins:
This is not original. We found this item a while back in a magazine. Here is the quote — “The Lord high Chancellor of England, who sits on the woolsack in the House of Lords, presiding over not only that august body but the entire British [and Australian] legal system, is a formidable figure. Formerly plain Quentin Hogg, now Lord Hailshom, he was wandering down a corridor in the Houses of Parliament recently when he spotted an old friend, the Conservative MP Neil Marten, emerging from a doorway. ‘NEIL’ he boomed out. Just then a party of American tourists stopped to give way as the full-wigged, elaborately gowned and obviously important apparition cruised past, trying to attract Marten’s attention. ‘NEIL’ shouted Hailshom, even louder. So the Americans duly obeyed falling to their knees before the astonished, but amused, Lord Chancellor.” L J
Many thanks Lloyd – a suitably amusing tale I am sure King Charles III would have enjoyed! FYI, the ceremonial garb of the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain was mandatory for everyday sittings in the House of Lords until the requirement was relaxed in the late 1990s. Lord Hailshom was Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1970 to 1974.
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
Round 12
Greetings all
Congratulations to Paul Nicholson who managed the top tally of 6 out of 7. Well done to the 28 who managed the next highest tally of 5. For player standings please refer to the tables below.
We have our second Block Prize Pool winners: Hearty congratulations to Kathy Every in outright first and John Schmoll (who managed to cling on), John Smyth, and Geoff Abbott who share second place with the next highest tally.
The second Block Prize Pool payouts are:
In First Place: Kathy Every – $117.60
In Second Place: John Schmoll, John Smyth and Geoff Abbott – $58.80 each.
(Total prize pool: $294; all payments are made at the end of the season)
Our third Block Prize Pool now commences and will finish at the conclusion of Round 18. The very good news is we all start from zero at the commencement of Round 13!
Please note that Round 13 commences on Thursday June 4. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
This week’s update contribution is from David Rushworth:
A Small Boy’s Encounter
In 1955, a small boy staying at the grand Marybrooke guest house with his family, on the edge of Sherbrooke forest was exploring, when he came upon a lady sitting on a table in the middle of the forest wearing trousers (unusual for 1955) with a strange accent. Together they listened to bird song, she asked the boy if that was a Lyrebird singing. He was a city lad and not sure but thought it might be, as it sounded different from the others. Together they set off to find the source. As luck would have it the boy found the Lyrebird and they spent some hours watching, mesmerised as it danced and sang on a mound. The same thing happened the next day. It was then time for the boy to leave and return to school.
Some days later an invitation came from Katherine Hepburn the Hollywood star (for she was the lady in the forest) for the family to attend two of the OLD VIC productions she was starring in at Her Majesty’s Theatre, The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice.
On arriving at the theatre the boy was presented with a dedicated copy of “The Lore of the Lyrebird” plus signed and dedicated copy of the OLD VIC program and invitation to visit backstage after the show which the family did. The boy has a memory of playing with the co-star Robert Helpmann’s stage sword.
Katherine Hepburn returned to Sherbrooke many times to see the Lyrebirds, sometimes with Robert Helpmann who was so amazed by the Lyrebird’s display that he wrote and choreographed a new Australian ballet “The Display” which is still produced today.
A moment in time never forgotten by a small boy
Many thanks David for sharing that small boy’s wonderful encounter.
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
Round 11
Greetings all
A curious round… one with many unexpected results and a few ‘almost upsets’; and one where, of all the games, Carlton was the least likely to surrender its lead!!
Congratulations to Paul Nicholson for managing the top tally of 7 out of 9. Well done to Keith Ross, Malcolm Sawle, and Jim Duggan who managed the next highest tally of 6. For player standings please refer to the tables below.
Please note that Round 12 commences on Thursday May 28. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
Just One round remains to complete the second Block Prize Pool… and it only has seven games because it’s the first of the midyear bye rounds – who will make it to the top two highest tallies?
This week’s update contribution is from Derek Skues:
Premiership
In the mid 1960s I competed in the interclub athletics competition for the Power House Athletic Club, firstly as a half-miler then as a 100 and 220 yard sprinter.
To keep fit in the winter I trained and played football for the Power House Football Club.
In 2003 I was invited to attend a dinner to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the football club’s VAFA C Grade Premiership win in 1973, of which I knew very little. The coach and many of the players in that team attended the dinner and gave very detailed accounts of the intensive training that took place prior to the game and the special arrangements made to ensure all players arrived well in advance of the starting time.
On arrival, they observed that no members of the opposing team, Fairfield, had arrived, nor their supporters. However, many Power House supporters were now at the boundary fence eagerly awaiting the commencement of the game.
About 30 minutes before the game was scheduled to commence a car arrived with an official from the VAFA who advised that as Fairfield had played an unregistered player that season they were disqualified. As a result, Power House won the premiership without a ball having been kicked.
So everyone then retired to the local pub to celebrate the victory.
Many thanks Derek. It’s hard to imagine that sort of communication problem in this digital age!
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
Round 10
Greetings all
Congratulations to Kathy Every and John Schmoll for managing the top tally of 7 out of 9. Well done to the 10 players who managed the next highest tally of 6. For player standings please refer to the tables below.
Please note that Round 11 commences on Thursday May 21. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
This week’s update features another contribution from Lloyd Jenkins:
New Posts
New goal posts are needed at the footy oval. The Council can’t find the money. It is up to the Club. Various solutions are looked at, all voluntary in one way or another. Modern building regulations don’t allow the old method of “cut some straight bush timber poles and paint them white”.
A club in the next town is looking at metal posts for their oval but the cost is scary. That won’t work for us either. The Shire Engineer, on the quiet, has a chat to a local sawmiller. At the back of the Council yard are some timbers from a bridge renovation long ago. Those timbers have legs and walk their way to the sawmill. The sawmill boys in their own time create eight beautiful posts buzzed smooth. The elegant parcel is somehow shifted to the footy oval in the dark of night. The post holes are ready, bored in mystery. The paint job is completed at ground level in one rapid working bee. Equipment appears from somewhere to stand the posts, precision work too.
Now listen. The least said about all of this the better. The new posts look terrific and should last for donkey’s years. White line marking for street parking will have to wait for a while because the paint ordered for that never seemed to arrive at the Council depot. L J
Many thanks Lloyd – pure fiction… of course!
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
Good luck everyone for the next round and please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!
Cheers, Leon
(As always, please contact me if you have any questions – 0410 327 587)
Round 9
Greetings all
Congratulations to Graham Gilpin, Geoff Abbott, Kathy Every, Paul Crompton and Bill Cruthers for managing the top tally of 9 out of 9. Well done to the 26 players who managed the next highest tally of 8. For player standings please refer to the tables below. One player did not submit tips and was awarded Away Teams (3 wins). Remember, if you miss the first game (or even the first few) you can still enter your tips for the remaining games; any game not started can be tipped or subsequently changed.
Please note that Round 10 commences on Thursday May 14. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
Fake News
Until recently I did not know who ruled Portugal during the 1930s through to the 1970s. However I now know that from 1932 to 1968 Portugal had a dictator in Antonio de Oliveira Salazar.
Unfortunately for Salazar he had a fall at his home and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in early August 1968. It seems Salazar did not suffer any serious symptoms in the immediate aftermath but 16 days later he was admitted to hospital. Two days after admission, he went into a coma.
Salazar’s prognosis was not good, doctors expected him to die soon; President Américo Tomás, who was essentially a powerless figurehead when Salazar was in charge, made the decision to replace him. He was replaced by Marcelo Caetano.
But after a month in a coma, Salazar woke up and was immediately lucid…. Hmmmm, a dilemma for the new leadership!
Rather than tell Salazar he had been replaced as the country’s leader, he was told he was still in charge. For 23 months Salazar believed he was running Portugal!
Every morning aides would give Salazar a fake version of the newspaper, which contained articles referencing Salazar as still being in charge. During this time, he believed Marcelo Caetano (the actual dictator) was not in government but was working as an academic.
Salazar was allowed to “rule” until his death on 27 July 1970 – he never knew that he had been removed from power. (I wonder how many football coaches / administrators have been covertly usurped?)
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
Round 8
Greetings all
Congratulations to Ian Marchment for managing the top tally of 9 out of 9 ( 8 winners in reality; ESPN shows 9 because a point is awarded for a draw). Well done to the 28 players who managed the next highest tally of 8 (7 winners + point for draw). For player standings please refer to the tables below.
Please note that Round 9 commences on Thursday May 7. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
We have another contribution from Barry Amond:
“More about Norwich City the English soccer team! In the 60 years we’ve been in Australia I often check on how the Canaries are doing but this year has been especially interesting. They’re now in the Championship league, the old 2nd division, and in the first few months of the season they did so badly that it seemed that they would face relegation after many years in the top two divisions. They lost 11 out of 16 games.
However, they then appointed a new coach, a Belgian, and for the remainder of the season which has just ended they have lost only 8 out of 30 games and have moved from third last, 22nd out of 24, to 9th. Perhaps there’s a moral there for some of our struggling AFL teams!
A final word on the Canaries! As a Third Division club they reached the semi-final of the FA Cup in 1959, a remarkable achievement when taking into account the 40 plus teams in the two higher divisions. Margaret and I drove to London for the 1-1 drawn game against Luton but didn’t see the losing replay. Compared to Aussie Rules many soccer games seem boring with hardly a goal in sight but it is said that the excitement is in the anticipation! It remains the world game but I much prefer ours. Go Dees!”
Many thanks Barry.
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
Round 7
Greetings all
Congratulations to the 28 who managed the top tally of 8 out of 9. Well done to the 15 players who managed the next highest tally of 7. For player standings please refer to the tables below.
Please note that Round 8 commences on Thursday April 30. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
This update has a very special ANZAC recollection from Lloyd Jenkins:
ANZAC MARCH, 1951
In the year 1951 at age nineteen I went on a great adventure from Ballarat. It was early in the era of ANSETT packaged holidays. Ansett Airways had Douglas DC3 aircraft, refurbished from the Second World War where in Military format they were called DAKOTAS. The DC3 first flew in 1935. That Ansett package was two weeks in Tasmania. Flights, Bus Travel, Accommodation and Meals. On return to the old Essendon Airport there was time to fill in before boarding the train home to Ballarat.
I stood in Swanston St viewing the 1951 Anzac Day March to the Shrine. It was a new experience for a lad from the country. The crowds were so very large. Leading the March were the Veterans from the Boer War of fifty years earlier. Their age group was say 80 years and above. Some were marching, others in push chairs. Better still, a few were mounted. Were feathered hats worn by that group ? Memory fails on that one. The next really large group comprised Veterans from World War One. Age group say early fifties and up from there. Many wore the badge of the Limbless Soldiers Association. We saw that badge around the streets back home, and the crutches.
The Navy was there in good numbers. A small contingent comprised the Air Force pilots of the ‘canvas and string’ aircraft that flew above the trenches on the Western Front. Nurses were there in their old uniforms. The First War age group was about early fifties and upwards. Backs were as straight as could be managed and shoes shone like glass. The Light Horsemen were there too. Remember, the last Military Cavalry Charge in World History was performed by Australian Soldiers at Beersheba in a sensational charge in 1917. The First War columns that day stretched back for blocks as they crossed Princes Bridge to march past the Wirths Circus site and Skating Rink where the Concert hall now stands. Then came the very long columns of men and women from World War two. I hesitate to call them Veterans. Some in the March were as young as 25.
That 1951 March featured an ample supply of brass bands. Their numbers dwindled just a few years later when Television made dramatic changes in Society. As I stood in Swanston Street that day how could I know that in later years I would record interviews in a Government funded programme with some veterans from both World Wars. That was 1982. They always tuned up sharp on time, shoes parade ground shiny for the occasion. On record now is valuable material from men and women who had never before been taken seriously for such work. The value of that material is beyond measure. They have all gone now. All of them. L J
Many thanks Lloyd – a wonderful ANZAC tribute, thank you for sharing it.
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
Round 6
Greetings all
Congratulations to Vivienne Fry, David Hone, Kathy Every and Malcolm Sawle for managing the top tally of 9 out of 9. Well done to the 28 players who managed the next highest tally of 8. For player standings please refer to the table below.
We have our first prize pool block winners; sharing the pool amount of $294* are:
- In First Place is Dorothy Jenkins – $196
- In Second Place is Howard Hoskins – $98
Hearty congratulations to Dorothy and Howard!
* Please note the amounts above are provisional as more than half a dozen players are yet to pay the $30 fee – I’ll be sending a reminder to them this week.
Our second prize pool now commences and will finish at the conclusion of Round 12. The very good news is we all start from zero at the commencement of Round 7!!!
Please note that Round 7 commences on Thursday April 23. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
Lloyd Jenkins has provided the following contribution:
Steak Night
Margaret and husband Wally always do the washing up at steak night at the footy club. A great team. Margaret at the sink likes the water to be hot. Old Barney in his overalls keeps the outside water boiler stoked up and carries in fresh buckets as the evening goes along. Wally works the drying with an amount of flair.
The Thursday night events are a good fund raiser. The blackboard is never changed. “T-bone special”. The locals flock in. Most nights there is a singer. Perhaps an old guy preforming Bing Crosby numbers. Galway Bay and the rest. Tonight a young lass starting out is doing her best. Her guitar chords are pretty good. The voice pitch is patchy but there is strong applause for every number. Support a local girl, of course. This is country footy.
The players are there, showered after training. They stand around, can in hand on best behaviour. They know the rules. “No language you blokes or out you go”. That’s Margaret from the sink. Nobody challenges Margaret, built like the basketballer that she was, with a voice that does not enquire, it directs. Wally grabs a fresh tea-towel from the stack. Cost of supplies is becoming a problem. They don’t want to increase prices but what can you do. The committee is looking into it. Well, there will be full discussion, but Margaret will make any decisions anyway. She will speak with the butcher “but he has to make a living, you know”. The steak night is a key social event as well as being a money raiser. Here comes Barney with a fresh bucket of hot water. The players have placed their orders. The cooks are busy again, talking to each other in loud voice. Any steaks left over will be auctioned so bid up big.
Many thanks Lloyd! Perhaps Dorothy can shout Lloyd a steak night out.
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
Round 5
Greetings all
Congratulations to the Nine who managed the top tally of 8 out of 9 correct. Well done to the Eleven players who managed the next highest tally of 7. For player standings please refer to the table below.
Please note that Round 6 commences on Thursday April 16. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
Just one round remains in the first prize pool block. Can Dorothy Jenkins, alone in first place, hold off a challenge from Howard Hoskins, who is alone in second place? Will other nearby players mount challenges?? Only those with the top two highest tallies at the end of Round 6 share the prize pool.
For this update we thank Barry Amond for the following contribution:
“I’ve been asked why I’ve changed my display name to Old Norvicensian (ON). It’s because I’m a former student of Norwich School. Norwich is in the English county of Norfolk, 150km north east of London, the bulge sticking out into the North Sea. More about the ancient school another time, but I want to tell you about Norwich City, a soccer team, nicknamed the Canaries.
If you Google ‘on the ball city’ you may get a surprise! Just those few simple words and you’ll immediately get a description of the team’s ‘chant’, the famous rousing song sung by its supporters. It’s described as the oldest sporting song still in use.
After the war I regularly went with my father to watch the Canaries who were in the Third Division South. Despite their lowly position they often had noisy crowds of 25,000 with the majority standing, in days before safety regulations required seating. I also remember going with my father to the nearest newsagent every Saturday evening to buy the ‘PinkUn’, a pink paper with all the results and descriptions. Even now, I marvel that it was printed so soon after the matches finished. In those days before TV coverage they were all played on Saturdays.
The Canaries have had some memorable times over the years and I’ll tell you more later.” BA
Many thanks once again Barry!
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!
Cheers, Leon
Round 4
Greetings all
Congratulations to the Seven who achieved the top tally of 7 out of 8 correct. Well done to the 18 players who managed the next highest tally of 6. For player standings please refer to the table below.
Please note that Round 5 commences on Thursday April 9 (two sleeps away). If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
Two rounds remain in the first prize pool block which concludes with round 6. Dorothy J is in the lead but will any of the six currently with the second highest tally challenge, or will some fall or others move up?
Here is another contribution from Lloyd Jenkins: JAMES AND ERNIE
Australian money notes issued from 1916 to 1926 carried the signature of the Secretary to the Australian Treasury. The name was James Collins. Those notes were still well in use when I was at the Redan State School at Ballarat. James and I sat at the same desk but he was 60 years ahead of me. Of course we all claimed that our desk had been his desk because he was famous. The Collins family home was in our street block. James’ brother Ernie had a second hand timber yard there. If you needed some off-cuts to build a billycart, or a sled for sliding down the mullock heaps left by the gold mines of not much earlier, you went to see Ernie at his yard. Sixpence was enough. ” Help yourself but don’t take more than you need “. If it was a billycart, a visit to the Tip would yield a set of wheels and axles from an old Pram. An hour later you are flying down the slopes, hanging on to the piece of rope that kept you aboard, like a Charioteer. No brakes, so at the Mullock heaps you simply fell off to stop before the blackberries. At a steep street hill on the billycart you simply took your chances. Angry old Mr Williams in his hooded buggy did not like kids on billy carts. “You frighten me ‘orse”. L J
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
[ An aside… A week or two ago a headline in the New York Times caught my eye, it screamed “Gas Hits $4 a Gallon” … that’s $1.06 a litre… USD of course! We would pay $8.70 for a gallon at $2.30 a litre, $9.84 for a gallon at $2.60 a litre, of course that’s AUD]
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 327 587)
Round 3
Greetings all
Congratulations to the Eleven who achieved the top tally of 6 out of 7 correct. Well done to the 25 players who managed the next highest tally of 5. For player standings please refer to the table below.
Two players missed submitting their tips and were awarded the system default of 4 which is based on the number of ‘Away’ team wins (NB – the maximum number of Away team wins awarded as a default for missing tips in any given round is capped at 5). A point of clarification: If you miss the first game you can still enter tips for the remaining games in the round. The system allows all players to change their tips provided the game in question has not commenced.
Please note that Round 4 commences on Thursday April 2. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
BTW, you can always see results info on our club’s website, just click the ‘Footy Tipping Results 2026’ link on the home page.
REMINDER: If you have not yet paid your $30 fee for this Tipping Competition, please do so soon.
DELIVERIES…
Football teams are not the only entities that don’t deliver! I imagine most of us have had one or more challenging experiences with courier deliveries (or non-deliveries), including those by Australia Post and Bunnings.
A recent poor experience with a courier (that will not be named) prompted me to research courier performances (my ‘poor experience’ had my parcel left at a collection point 20 kilometres away). I was therefore not surprised to see the courier in question rated near the bottom of the performance table alongside the recently folded Sendle courier outfit.
I fear I’m a bit obsessed with wayward deliveries. A year or so ago, perhaps unwisely, I decided to provide Australia Post with some politely worded feedback regarding an errant delivery (it had gone to a neighbouring house). I adamantly averred that the photographic evidence provided by AP was not of my property. After their investigation, no doubt forensic & exhaustive, AP informed me that their delivery person had delivered to the correct address. I cut my losses; I envisaged the futility of further remonstration. I must have learnt my lesson; I’ve decided not to point out to Bunnings their shortcomings after my recent unfortunate delivery experience! I dare say some reading this can provide far worse examples of courier dealings!! …
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
Round 2
Greetings all
Two managed a top tally of 6 correct – congratulations to Alan Stevens and Graham Gilpin. Well done to the twelve players who managed the next highest tally of 5. For player standings please refer to the table below.
Please note that Round 3 commences on Thursday March 26. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
BTW, you can always see the latest info on our club’s website, just click the ‘Footy Tipping Results 2026’ link on the home page.
I am pleased to say we have another contribution from Lloyd Jenkins for this update: “NIL BACK”
What are you supposed to do ? You are stationed at your regular holiday spot at the River Esplanade, seated with your book. Locals and visitors are streaming past. Locals with their dogs on lead. Visitors eating ice-creams. Here comes a bunch of young ladies decked out, more or less, in the latest swim costumes with no back to them. Repeat that. Nil back. Do you look somewhere else, knowing what is coming? Do you keep your head down, as in Prayer?
True, the new fashion has the advantage in that you can readily see if they are coming or going. For the right shape the outfit is perhaps okay but what about the other shapes? They are locked in the past, in the direction of what were called Neck To Knees. It does not seem fair but nature does what nature does. It is all part of “The intricacies of this mortal life”. Luck or the lack of it. For nature, one shape does not fit all.
All of this is a reminder to old persons of a fashion that arrived as a result of the Atom Bomb tests in the Pacific in 1946. The tiny island of Bikini was the test site. A bit later on a new swim suit arrived. It was tiny by the standards of the era and took on the name Bikini, being tiny. We end this review of fashion with an ode that we hope does not offend anybody. “How fine you look in idle stance, in Jeans, my darling sweeting. You take my glance as you advance. Have you seen yourself retreating?” L J
Many thanks Lloyd! (I wonder how much reading Lloyd actually accomplished ??)
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
Round 1
Greetings all
Six players managed the top tally of 7 correct: congratulations to Jim Duggan, David Hone, Paul Stephens, Peter McGregor, John Carson and Paul Nicholson. Well done to the 24 players who managed the next highest tally of 6. For player standings please refer to the table below.
Please note that Round 2 commences on Thursday March 19. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
In season 2023 there were a number of tipping updates that referred to maritime incidents. One cited the infamous behaviour of the Captain of the Costa Concordia who claimed he “fell onto a lifeboat” thereby abandoning his ship and its passengers to their fates. Well, I’ve found an example that eclipses that episode.
Some may recollect that in 1991 the cruise ship Oceanos sank off the coast of South Africa during a giant storm.
The ship’s Captain and most of the crew took to the lifeboats when they realised the vessel was sinking. I dare say the ship’s 400 passengers were less than impressed.
Fortunately the Oceanos’ Entertainment Director and a group of singers stepped up!
They sent out a mayday call using the ship’s radio and alerted South African authorities. In addition to organising the rescue effort they distributed life jackets.
Five rescue helicopters successfully winched all 571 passengers and remaining crew to safety from the badly listing Oceanos in a ‘miraculous’ rescue.
The Captain stated that he left the ship first to arrange a rescue effort… He was quoted soon after the sinking as saying, “When I order abandon the ship, it doesn’t matter what time I leave. Abandon is for everybody. If some people like to stay, they can stay.” … hmmmm… I hope anyone out on the biny at the moment has full confidence in their vessel, its crew and the entertainment ensemble as well! 🙂
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
Good luck everyone for the next round & please avoid getting your tips in at the last gasp!!
Cheers, Leon
Round 0
Greetings all
Congratulations to all 49 of us for getting our tips in!
Amazingly, NO participants had the maximum return for the round! However 5 managed a tally of 4 correct – congratulations to John Green, Thorolf & Tina Thoresen, Paul Crompton, Paul Nicholson, and Wendy Kelly! Well done to the 20 players who managed the next highest tally of 3. For player standings please refer to the table below.
As mentioned, this season our Participants’ list has reached 49 – a net gain of 8 allowing for 2 departures from the comp. Welcome to all our new players! In case you are wondering what you’ve got yourselves into, the “Rules of Our Competition” are at the very end of this necessarily long email.
Please note that Round 1 commences on Thursday March 12. If you don’t have the ESPN app on your phone/tablet (recommended), enter tips at: https://www.footytips.com.au/home
Former longtime member of our Probus Club Lloyd Jenkins has been at it again. I am delighted to announce that, as Lloyd has done in past seasons and although he left the club at the end of 2024 after 29 years as a member, Lloyd has once more generously penned a number of contributions for this season. For those unfamiliar with the legend that is Lloyd J, apart from being a great clubman, he has been a great contributor to the Footy Tipping weekly updates by providing his entertaining and creative ‘cameos’. I thought I’d start with this one:
ICER
As a little bloke starting Sunday School I listened to the other kids singing songs to make us good. There was one about ICER. I liked his name, ICER. His surname in the song, as I heard it, was RENDER. I joined in full throttle when his name came up plenty of times. Icer Render. I suppose I eventually worked it out. Icer Render > I surrender… ” All to Jesus I surrender “. My cousin Elsie still has a piece of paper with some words spoken to her in a learning session and written down by her seven years old fingers. Each Sunday we kids were required to speak from memory a verse from the Bible at Church in front of a congregation of stern old Presbyterians. We dreaded the weekly event. To us it was a form of child cruelty. It still seems like that. Elsie’s note says- ” Blest are the pouring hard ” . Yes, you have worked it out- ” Blest are the pure in heart “. L J
Many thanks Lloyd… Icer Pose… 😛
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. (And it can be anonymous!)
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 327 587)
