Weekend open thread: It’s one giant footy fest

TChong says:

08:08am | 29/09/12

Swans triumphant today Bill.
Hope you and family / friends have a great day, despite the inevitable Hawks loss.

Tim says:

09:19am | 29/09/12

Hawks?

Pfft. Swans will be bringing the cup back to the nations sporting capital - Sydney.

Aitch B says:

10:06am | 29/09/12

@Bill

Yes…. life would be better if it was the Cats against the Swans!!

the cynic says:

05:41pm | 29/09/12

Can life get any better you say ?  Well yes it can. There is the NRL final tomorrow and the V8 Bathurst speed fest still to come. Can Life get any better?

Tim says:

05:46pm | 29/09/12

As usual Bill completely wrong.

Go Swans.

Tim says:

09:28am | 29/09/12

I think the day will go a little bit like this:

Newtown win 28-16
Raiders dominate 40-22
Storm clearly the best 24-12

Aitch B says:

10:04am | 29/09/12

@TimB

And I make equal claim on behalf of the Storm, Tim. You may have got in earlier but there are two sides to every story and two teams in every Grand Final. And just think how boring it would be if the only discussion permitted was Bulldogs oriented….... blech!!

None of this ‘prostrate’ BS, either, my man. I bow and scrape to nobody!

May the best team on the day win and may the refs not f**k it up again!

Go Storm!

LaDiva says:

10:11am | 29/09/12

GO THE MIGHTY BULLDOGS!!!!!

TimB says:

11:52am | 29/09/12

Oh silly Aitch. Now you have simply angered the football gods with your defiance .

The game should be a cracker though. Assuming Slater hasn’t spread his flu to the entire team

Jack says:

07:03pm | 29/09/12

Huh? Shouldn’t that be red white and blue? Are you the full quid? Finishing one place above Melbourne at 15th is hardly worth bragging about. Melbourne has way more upside than the dogs at the moment.

Alfie says:

09:13am | 29/09/12

Wow…what’s second prize Scotchy? An enema ..

Scotchfinger says:

12:55pm | 29/09/12

ha ha Alfie!
The loser has to sit in a darkened room a la Clockwork Orange, with his eyes pinned open in front of a screen showing replays of Grand Finals from the past thirty years. *shudder* The last fellow to be put through that went mad, poor wretch…

Mouse says:

01:23pm | 29/09/12

Hey Scotchie, sounds like a fun day to be had, enjoy yourself and lotsa luck for first prize. 
Give my commiserations to Mrs Scotchie for having to endure partner loves this weekend! lol ;o)

S.L says:

09:15am | 29/09/12

Well Justin I better crawl out from under that rock as I didn’t know of Roy and HGs return!

Waz says:

10:03am | 30/09/12

After the Jets game, get down to the Octoberfest at the Tempe German Club (Concordia Club), it’s beer, Rugby League, Pork Hock and freshly baked Pretzels, just the way the Germans always intended.

Go the might Bluebags.

TimB says:

12:02pm | 29/09/12

Yeah I saw that. What a tosser. And a fascinating insight into the mentality of the ALP.

I think Parliament should make a standing order stating that Conroy is forced to attend each session wearing red underpants on his head.

Shane says:

01:32pm | 29/09/12

Its times like this that I really, really wish we had Citizen’s Initiated Referendums. I reckon one forcing Conroy to wear red underpants on his head permanently would get up with at least 75% support.

Mouse says:

01:30pm | 29/09/12

....or a red wig, no difference really!  LOL :oD

Aitch B says:

01:52pm | 29/09/12

Agree 100%. What a wanker and what a ridiculous comment to make.

And his statements about his power as a minister are so typical of your run of the mill power hungry ALP megalomaniac. He’s up there with Roxon, Rudd and Plibersek.

Probably a bloody Collinwood supporter, too. A loser in more ways than one!!

PsychoHyena says:

04:44pm | 01/10/12

It’s hilarious really, the guy can sputter all he want about having “total legal control” over the telcos, provided that any orders he makes are approved by both the Lower and Upper Houses and provided that he is actually in a position to make the orders in the first place.

Conroy and Roxon are the biggest concerns and Gillard should slap them down, if Rudd was still PM Conroy and Roxon probably wouldn’t have the guts.

nihonin says:

05:43pm | 29/09/12

GFL?  Is that the Gillard Flogging League?

Anubis says:

09:54am | 01/10/12

“a GF with no malice or spite in it” - that would be because the thug team Collingwood weren’t playing

Gregg says:

08:09am | 01/10/12

Just so you know, I reckon there would be many liberal supporters a bit staggered by Jones’ comments and even his lame reasoning on it being a closed supposedly comedy hour stick it to them event.

And then not every person who sides with Jones is always I suspect a Liberal supporter and nor is Jones necessarily representative of Liberal supporters, members or the party view.

jaki says:

09:11am | 01/10/12

Maybe Labor sycophants will be demanding an apology from LABOR man Bob Ellis about his blog entry titled ” The Real Julia, Stripped Bare”.
Equally disgusting comments, but swept under the carpet, not newsworthy because it wasn’t a Lib who said it.
Hypocrites.

TChong says:

09:42am | 01/10/12

jaki
stay long enough at Punch, read enough political reporting, and all types of inconsistancies appear from all parties, along with their syncophantic,hypocritical , short term memory challenged supporters.
From ALL sides.

Bear says:

10:49am | 30/09/12

Abbott couldn’t criticis him because the hard core right have “we"re never wrong syndrome”. It’s so wrong that anyone criticize their kookiness because they never make a mistake and are never wrong. Jones will tell you. And come on you Spurs! 3-2 at man scum.

nihonin says:

12:02pm | 30/09/12

Bear, the hard core left also suffer from “we"re never wrong syndrome”.  The remainder of your comment would be the shoe on the other foot.  But make it Marr instead of Jones, just as one eyed and spiteful as each other and the the parties they support.

Gregg says:

08:28am | 01/10/12

Yep, KimL
Certainly bad words spoken whatever their intent and even with the intent being to show up Julia as Juliar, the use is still not excusable.

Politics does it seem these days drag things into the gutter somewhat and Julia herself does not help regardless of her being Australia’s first femal PM which I doubt any of us could not know now nor will ever forget as long as we live.

Jones may well be a liberal and apparently was not successful in a preselection attempt in the past and has likely not done his future chances any good.
But….... ” These nasty signs and nasty comments are all coming from Liberals “
As for that gutter, you might just want to have a look at how often Labor get their smear tactics going on Tony Abbott.
. Not fit to be PM
. Dr. No
. Anti women
etc. etc. etc. and if that is something you want to be associated with, that is fine and dandy and Labor people ought to get a lot smarter and realise it does not really work for the public are not fools.

Gregg says:

08:05am | 01/10/12

You’ve been having a hard time of it of late have you Rob?

On the brighter side of things, there’re probably no end of people who would dearly love to have a quarterly electricity bill under $300 or even $500 for that matter.
One of the Puncher journos even had a quarterly bill which was near 150% of what you would pay in a year.

Getting brighter still, wasn’t it great to see the Swans get up in Melbourne and the Storm do the deed in Sydney.

Robert S McCormick says:

11:30am | 01/10/12

Actually Greg, I haven’t been having a ‘hard time of it of late’! Life’s pretty good. My point is that no matter what spin Swan puts on it now that the bills are starting to come in the effect of the CO2 Tax is only now starting to show up.
I do wonder though, Greg, how people manage to run up such huge power bills. Here in Adelaide over the years (pre-CO2 tax & the massive price hikes of the past few we have been treated to the following:
75-year-old pensioner, living alone in a small, two bedroom unit, Cooking & Hot Water done using Gas. Goes to the media with her/his Electricity Bill. Sad-faced she/he is photgraphed holding the bill so we can see that she/he has a bill for $585 for three months. Of course someone always comes out & offers to pay this “poor, unfortunate’s” bill!
How do people build up such bills? Do they leave their lights on all day & night? Do they run their Airconditioners 24/7 even when they are not at home? Do they leave their radio, TV etc. running 24/7.
I simply can’t work it out. I now live alone with a gas-electric house & I am damned if I can get my Electricity bill above $290 - and that is during the three winter months when I have my Heatbank on. The back of my house is built into rock so it is always cool-to-cold. I also pay an extra 35cents per KWH for having Green Energy!
I can understand a family (Mum, Dad & a few trophy kids having a bigger Electrcity Bill or,like my sister an all-electric house, but how the hell does a single person manage to run up such huge power bills?

TChong says:

09:00am | 01/10/12

Dogs didnt deserve to win.
Storm heaps better.
Just hope young TimB hasnt gone to the drawing room with a whsikey and a pistol.

TChong says:

10:25am | 01/10/12

Joel B1
WTF?
What an angry , inane post.
She mourns for a deceased family, and you consider that unacceptable. ?
Bizarre.
“Playing Hookey”- yes peolpe in mourning are “playing hookey”

No doubt the current PM is not as tough as a soldier, but then again neither was Howard, so whats you point?
Are you implying that Gillard, as PM, now personally decides who gets compassionate leave, and she personally has refused such leave.?
You know this ?.heard about it? or just making it up?
Give yourself a rest with the tough man routine, you ‘ll get more blisters.

jaki says:

10:33am | 01/10/12

@TChong

The angry, inane rantings in Joel B1’s post were the words of LABOR man Bob Ellis.
I’m sure you’ll go straight over to Bob’s blog and give him the same serve as you gave to Joel B1.
Unless, of course, your just another ” syncophantic,hypocritical , short term memory challenged supporter” of Labor.
Watch out Bob, here comes Chongy !

narley says:

10:48am | 01/10/12

@TChong - Joel is quoting from an article by Bob Ellis, sometime speech writer for the ALP and for Carr, Rann and Shorten amongst others. I think the point is, while Jones is (deservedly) getting lambasted for his unfeeling and idiotic comments, Ellis certainly deserves to be slammed as well. And if Abbott needs to disown Jones, surely the ALP needs to disown Ellis as the misogynistic hater that he is.

Tim says:

01:30pm | 01/10/12

Or the two comments are not even close to being on the same level?

Honestly anyone trying to defend Alan Jones or comparing his comments to Ellis’ are dead set kidding themselves.

And I see Jones has had another crack in the Telegraph today with an extremely empty apology. Disgraceful.

marley says:

01:56pm | 01/10/12

@Tim - I’m not apologising for Jones, who I agree is despicable, but I can’t see that the comments made by Ellis are one whit less so.  I mean, “girly tears?”  The man has a real issue with women in general and Gillard in particular, which is no doubt one of the reasons his column on The Drum was dumped.  The ABC showed some common sense there;  maybe the ALP should do the same.

Bear says:

01:47pm | 01/10/12

Nobody knows who bob Ellis is. Thats the difference. Way to compare apples and oranges. Bit like comparing a speech by gillard to the president of the Sydney uni liberal wankers club. I’m sure gillard would be the one taking bullets.

AdamC says:

02:05pm | 01/10/12

I think the problem for our Alan is that most prople probably don’t even know who Bob Ellis is, let alone care what he says. Meanwhile, the lefties in the Sydney media, and even many journos in Melbourne, are basically obsessed with Alan Jones. Everything the man says is harped upon ad nauseum by the likes of David Marr and Jonathan Holmes of Media Watch.

He should therefore be more careful about what he says, even when he thinks he has a friendly audience. Personally, I would like to think his despicable comments went down like a lead balloon with those young Liberals. Remarks like those go far beyond bad taste.

Also, Jones should really stop following the Yumi Stynes ‘How to apologise badly’ instruction manual. That is really what does the damage in these cases.

marley says:

02:35pm | 01/10/12

@Bear - no doubt, more people have heard of Jones than Ellis.  But Ellis is certainly well known within literary and theatrical circles;  he had a regular column on the Drum for several years (and one which garnered hundreds of comments each time it popped up); and he has been a speech writer for rather a lot of prominent ALP types.  He’s every bit as closely associated with the ALP as Jones is with the Libs, and certainly as well known within the inner circles of the party.

That he’s less well known to the public than Jones really isn’t the point.  The point is the tastelessness, the cruelty, the on-going misogyny, of the two of them.  There’s not a hairsbreadth to choose between them morally.  They should both be cut loose by their parties.

Tim says:

03:28pm | 01/10/12

Marley,
Overall there may not be much between them but there’s a difference between ‘girly tears’ and ‘shamed him to death’.

Did you read his article in the Telegraph today? He apologised, tried to blame everyone else (even the reporter for accurately reporting the comments) and then went back on the offensive. He should know when to quit when he’s behind.

marley says:

04:00pm | 01/10/12

@Tim - oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m not making excuses for Jones.  I think he’s appalling (and I thought that before this latest outburst) and I think his “apology” spoke to his rank hypocrisy.  I just think Ellis is as bad, and I’d like to see him get some of the blowback that Jones is getting, because they both deserve it.

Aitch B says:

09:35am | 01/10/12

Yep…... well done Swannies and the Storm and commiserations to the Hawks and Bulldogs supporters.

It will be interesting to see how (if?) the judiciary deal with James Graham….. it certainly looked bad. No place in the game for that and if he’s found guilty he shoud get plenty.

Tim says:

11:00am | 01/10/12

Looks like the Dog’s Bark was worse than their Bite.

pa_kelvin says:

05:29pm | 01/10/12

He’s being sent to a dentist to have impressions of his teeth made for forensic comparison…...Meanwhile they sent Billy of for a rabies injection after being bitten by the rabid dog…

Gregg says:

02:16pm | 01/10/12

The style of play has changed so so much since Skiltons day when you had basically a ruckman,  a mid sized guy as a ruckrover as they were also called and the smaller guys as the rovers and they would be the three guys following the ball around so to speak and interchanging with forward or back pockets for their rests.
Skilton, one of the best if not all time greatest was a not so tiny five foot nine inches if I rember correctly and one of the smallest of all time and also a Brownlow Medallist was Tony Liberatore of Footscray at about five six, blokes like Lou Richards, Kevin Bartlett and John Birt of about similar size, Leigh Matthews being a bit of a solid monster of a ” little ” man.

Just a little aside and I bumped into him outside of the G on his presentation day, he asking where the JJJ caravan was as he had an interview scheduled.
It happened to be right over the other side of the railway lines original footbridge and here he was limping along with an end of year knee surgery to come or he may have already had it and carrying his clobber bag - no hero worship or aids to help back then

But with the way the game has changed with onballers and multiple interchangers, just about every player can at some stage be on the ball and it’s not unusual to see an entire half of a ground devoid of any players, reason why Jetta did his 100m run to goal against Collingwood and on Saturday you even had the Swans all in defence at some stages, Josh Gibson and another looking decidedly lonely a kick back on their own defensive side.
That’s the way the Swans play, more so than any other side, crowding the opposition when the ball is in their forward area and then having runners run the ball out rather than just kick down the field to a waiting opposition guy though it does not always work out for the best.

With the more on ball activity it pays to have the players as robust as possible whilst maintaining a few more nimble and fleet of foot, Sam Mitchell being a smaller onballer and nimble though not so fast over longer distances and you’ll still find a couple of rover size guys in most teams and then you’ll even have ruckmen being pretty nimble at times.
Certainly the more static position playing is a thing of the past.

pa_kelvin says:

04:39pm | 01/10/12

Bill will have you for saying that….. It’s the truth, but watch out for one-eyed Bill…......