Geelong
In the world of professional cycling, the rainbow jersey represents the pinnacle of achievement. It is awarded to the winner of the World Championship each year. For ever after, the victors are entitled to wear the rainbow colours on the collar and armbands of their racing jersey, a lasting reminder of having been the best cyclist on the globe in each event.
This week’s World Championships in Geelong are special for Australians. Not only is it the first time that the event has been held down under, but the Australian, Cadel Evans, is the defending champion in the blue riband event, the elite men’s road race.
The championships have drawn the best field of cyclists to Australia since the Sydney Olympics, and none more so than the three-time winner, Oscar Freire. The diminutive Spanish sprinter burst onto the world stage when he finished second in the under 23 road race championship in 1997. Two years later, he claimed the elite event at Verona. He repeated the feat in 2001 and 2004. Since then he has won a series of events, including the Milan-San Remo classic thrice and the green jersey for the leading sprinter in the 2008 Tour de France.
Continue reading "Forget France, the cycling world is watching Le Geelong" »
He’s gone. Over the course of the season the inevitability of it has been crushing. Now it has happened.
In recent times, each day as I have held my two poodles “Gary” and “Ablett” I have wondered what I will do if and when the day comes. If you can’t teach an old dog new tricks then how on earth can you change his name?
Gary, the older of the pair, has maintained a calm demeanour born of the knowledge that he is named after Gary Snr: an Ablett who will be always only associated with one club.
Continue reading "Gary is just fine but Ablett is chasing his tail" »
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Stuart Robert says:
Mate, we welcome the Ablett Junior with open arms to the greatest place on earth, the Gold Coast. I don’t know what you’ll do about your poodles, I’ll leave that one up to you. See you at the MCG next year when the GC Suns come marching home! Stu Robert… Read more »
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Andy says:
The Colbert analogy is partly apt - as would be Buckley leaving Brisbane for the Pies for the same reason, only to be deprived of a premiership by the very same team. But Ablett has left under circumstances that guarantee that he has played in his last premiership, if not… Read more »
It’s the day Cats fans have been dreading all year: their favorite son, Gary Ablett, will sign a deal to become a Sun. A Gold Goast Sun.
If you were offered $9.5 million over five years, would you take it? Would you leave the club that has made you what you are today?
If you were offered a once-in-a-lifetime deal that would shape a life of luxury, security and comfort for your family, would you take it?
Continue reading "Gary Ablett and the end of club loyalty" »
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Peter says:
Since when have clubs been loyal to players? The clubs want it both ways.. Read more »
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Lorraine says:
He has just changed employers. Many of us do that. And as for the club making something of him…. he brought a lot of inate talent into the club and they received maximum benefit. He owes the club nothing. Read more »
After months of uncertainty last week had about it a sense of clarity.
With all the incessant talk about the rise of Collingwood, Geelong was finally going to set this season right. The undisputed heavyweight champions were going to teach the Pies a lesson about finals footy.
We all knew Travis Cloke couldn’t kick. Didak hangs up his boots at the end of August. Not even Dane Swan could carry a team by himself in the heat of a Prelim. Stacked up against 14 All-Australians in a team which had reached the mountain top twice in the last three years, Collingwood had no hope.
Continue reading "A Cats fan concedes it’s the changing of the guard" »
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Graham S says:
Good teenage memories Greg, reminds me at a similar age scalping tickets at the footbridge in ‘67, taking my 1st date out to the ‘68 GF and the piece de resistance: Climbing up over the bowling green hedge at the MCG member’s entrance, scampering unseen across the green, into an… Read more »
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Puss Inbootz says:
There,s a saying in football,,,a good young side will beat the good old side,,,the weary legs and punished bodies do take their toll,however Geelong,s 2 out of 3 flags are the measure of a great side,maybe Ling,Ottens and Scarlett will fade,but underneath that is a side with the talent to… Read more »
Magpie fans ... get ready for the time of your lives. The Collingwood football machine is on the verge of breaking its 20-year premiership drought and we’re going to witness one giant party in good ‘ol Melbourne town.
After ruling the MCG’s hallowed turf on Friday night against Geelong, the Magpies are red hot and on their way to winning the AFL’s biggest prize this Saturday.
The Magpies have just two hurdles to overcome in their bid to secure their first flag since 1990.
Continue reading "The year to banish the Colliwobbles forever" »
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Tails says:
Well you know what they say, “If you can’t beat ‘em, hate ‘em. Read more »
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GreenGoblin says:
The average Australian doesn’t care about mining taxes or climate change. What they care about is sport. The nation stops for grand finals, and Victoria has a day off so it can organise and run a horse race that stops a nation. Yet the political elite ignores sport. Sport gets… Read more »
It’s going to be a ferocious war zone on the MCG’s hallowed turf this Friday night.
The Magpies are fired up to punch nails in the Cats’ coffin in their preliminary final blockbuster.
But the Magpies must achieve three targets – beating midfielders Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel and co. in the central war zone, shaking off their goal-kicking yips to win on the scoreboard and destroying the demons that have haunted them for decades, the Colliwobbles.
Continue reading "Magpies and Cats ready for war on the hallowed turf" »
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Luke says:
I’m sorry Paul but i am not a league fan… infact I attended 4 Sydney Swans games this year. The television ratings speak for themselves, there is no need to try and discredit them. Perhaps you’d like to read this artcile on how well the swans are doing financially: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/afl/sydney-swans-dive-to-big-cash-loss/story-e6frexwr-1225820982027.… Read more »
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Paul says:
Not sure if you know Luke that the swans average attendance for the 11 home games in 2010 was 30675 which I am guessing would be a touch larger than any of the Sydney League teams. I always find it funny that the League people in this town always cling… Read more »
It’s the wild day of the AFL calendar – Mad Monday – and there’s a BEN-DER alert on those party animals, the Tigers.
After Richmond farewelled Ben Cousins yesterday, the players will pump up the celebrations on Mad Monday.
It was a brave last AFL game for Cousins, who racked up 21 touches while playing with a bung hamstring.
Continue reading "Cousins’ toughest task will be Mad Monday" »
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Nicole says:
Never mind T.Chong. Did you cry much when the mighty Hawks beat you on Saturday? How was that miss in the dying minutes? Priceless…... And I would never, ever hurt an animal and I dis the Collywobbles all the time. Read more »
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hot tub political machine says:
Ah T-Chong, I normally love your ability to wind up the right but your support of Collingwood strains the affection. And of course Collingwood don’t get as much praise as other clubs for topping the ladder. If my club only had to play away from home 4 times a year… Read more »
Collingwood were on top of the world before Friday, seemingly unstoppable and had the feeling of an AFL premiership coming their way.
The Magpies ruled the AFL last week. But they were brought back to earth with a thud after copping a nasty wake-up call during Friday night’s blockbuster against Geelong.
Described as pretenders after their 36-point loss to the Cats, Collingwood simply didn’t have the goal-scoring power to match Geelong.
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Jabso says:
I loved the footage of….COLLINGWOOD WINNING THE PREMIERSHIP. Looks like you were wrong Tullberg. Better luck next time. Read more »
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John says:
well isn’t collingwood in a grand final now after beating geelong? and FYI collingwood in the last ten years has never choked under Malthouse, they have just been comprehensively beaten by a better side, losing by 73 points in a prelim against one of the best teams of the decade… Read more »
It’s known as the game of hard knocks and the Cats dished them out in big doses against the Hawks at the MCG yesterday.
The heavy-handed tactics served the reigning premiers well. The Cats won a thriller in a rough-and-tumble match, eventually wearing down the Hawks by nine points in the AFL’s Round 2.
It’s a ruthless game and it can often come down to the survival of the fittest. The Cats know that.
Continue reading "Raining cats and knocks as Geelong still leads the pack" »
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Troy Ugle says:
agree - i don;t julie has ever been north of the murray or west of the border. it’s like the perth teams don’t exist. Read more »
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Totally national says:
It’s a national game and just because the Cats are from Victoria doesn’t mean it’s all Melbourne, Melbourne. It was the match of the round for gods sake dude. Read more »
Never underestimate the power of camaraderie. It’s the making of a champion team.
Mateship is the very thing that attracts players to sporting teams. The social fabric of a team – and club – is just as powerful as the skill and endeavour of its players.
A champion team will always beat a team of champions. The Cats put this case to rest on Saturday afternoon, after surviving an epic battle against St Kilda in the AFL Grand Final.
Continue reading "The Cats: a champion team, a team of mates" »
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Julie Tullberg says:
Hi Dan, It’s hard to know what’s going to happen next season. I am tipping the top four sides - Saints, Cats, Dogs and Pies - to continue being a force. However, good coaches can bring in new blood and help to rejuvenate the team. The revised club lists will… Read more »
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David Thomson says:
I couldn’t agree more ... your article about mateship and camaraderie actually moved me to tears Julie, as I remembered the flag I won playing for the Patchewollock under 12 and a halfs in 1987. We were a close-knit unit ... Hope you keep your columns coming during the football… Read more »
COLLINGWOOD’S stinging loss to Geelong on Saturday night wasn’t a classic case of Colliwobbles.
The Cats were at their destructive best, as they are hell bent on avenging last year’s heartbreaking Grand Final loss to Hawthorn.
When you have as someone as passionate as Gary Ablett driving Geelong’s midfield, it is tough to stop their charter to win the 2009 AFL Grand Final against St Kilda.
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Darren Parkin says:
My comments never get posted Julie. Just coz i diagree that’s poor form. Read more »
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Darren Parkin says:
Julie,you should note that St Kilda’s set a 40-year defensive record for least scores concede. You need to reevaluate your incorrect assertion that Geelong has the best defence in the AFL. Read more »
The death of Ted Kenna has reminded us again of the breathtaking bravery exhibited by him and all winners of the Victoria Cross.
Mr Kenna, who with his wife spent the final years of his life in Geelong in order to be near their daughter, is the fifth VC winner to have a connection with the Geelong region.
To survey the stories of these five winners of the VC is to touch a special part of Australia’s regional history. They tell of a haulage contractor and an apple packer, an accountant and council worker, along with a professional soldier who displayed a rare bravery at a moment of extreme pressure.
Continue reading "What we learn from our Victoria Cross winners" »
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Peter says:
RT - you totally miss my point: Marles, a Labor MP, attempts to appropraite the heroic figures of Australian military history, while deliberately ignoring the role his own party played in oppositiong to the soldiers and the causes that they fought for. Sure, I accept you fit into the Leftist… Read more »
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stephen says:
We’d better. Read more »
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