Posted by tombally on 7th September 2010
by Tom Bally
Stormy unnerving winds greeted us on Sunday morning. Was this some kind of omen? Were we in for a tempestuous struggle at the notoriously tricky ANZ? With Tony ‘$450 flight’ Reed unable to join his fellow Enemy commoners at the ground I resorted to phone abuse. He didn’t agree with my prophecy of a round sixteen repeat. The thought of his beloved team being beaten like a cheap drum kit filled him with so much horror his mind simply switched off.
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Posted in 2010, AFL Finals Week 1 (2010), SYD v CARL | No Comments »
Posted by tombally on 23rd August 2010
The crowd are up for it at the SCG tonight. It’s not just a cold wind greeting The Enemy as they take to the field. Barry Hall, in his first appearance at his old stomping ground since defecting, is a clear target for our displeasure as he lopes around like a freakish white werewolf. Meanwhile our hopes are with Brett Kirk and Paul Roos. Can the boys pull off a fairytale ending for their final home game? This could be either a long drawn out grind or a genuine blockbuster. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Sydney Swans, Western Bulldogs
Posted in Round 21 (21/2010), SYD v WB (21/2010) | No Comments »
Posted by tombally on 15th August 2010
There’s a disturbing kink in my footy universe. Simply put every time I don’t drink beer the Swans win. Starting life as a ‘no time we’re late’ excuse some weeks ago it’s now morphed into a fully blown case for sobriety at every game. But what about all the beer you had earlier in the season my girlfriend, Julia, counters? I respond with a ‘doesn’t count, that was then, this is now’ argument and let it go. Logic has left the building.
Tensions are running high for this afternoon’s TV viewing. Even Julia, who typically only likes the live spectacle, cements herself on the living room floor. The contrast of styles was intriguing and with Subiaco’s expanse seemingly favouring The Enemy’s running game Sydney’s talk was all about shutting that down. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Fremantle, Sydney Swans
Posted in FRE v SYD (20/2010) | No Comments »
Posted by tombally on 11th August 2010
by Tom Bally
Flicking through the new AFL photography book ‘Our Great Game’ I’ve been thinking a lot about actually being there at historical points in time. The tome, a 300 page hardback slab of glossy pics, serves both as a fantastic archive and as a tool to bludgeon Thugby League supporters with. However it got me reflecting that although I’ve seen a fair few memorable things since getting into this cult of a sport when would I witness something truly historic in the flesh? Yesterday it finally happened.
Sydney burst out of the gate on Saturday afternoon with a performance reminiscent of their attitude in the Carlton game a few weeks prior. I’d had a good feeling about this game going in. The sun was out and we were back at the SCG; a venue that despite the staggeringly large percentage of punters who a) are unable to turn up on time, b) match ticket to seat numbers and c) cannot sit still for even one frigging quarter, remains a great place to watch footy. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Hawthorn, Sydney Swans
Posted in 2010, Round 19 (19/2010), SYD v HAW (19/2010) | No Comments »
Posted by tombally on 2nd August 2010
“Put the whole team on Ablett!”
The throaty plea in the third did not emanate from Paul Roos in his Zen garden calm of the managers bench but from some bloke behind me. He’d been screaming at the top of his lungs all game raising questions on a wide range of topics. From The Enemy’s recreational drug of choice to the umpire’s ability to rule on anything more taxing than tennis, nothing seemed to evade his baleful eye. Then this golden nugget of coaching strategy was uttered that made eminent sense to me. Gang up on the freak, take him out. Cop the three week suspension but put the fear into their players. Anything to stop what was amounting to a wholesale slaughter.
I’d been nervous but hopeful going out to Homebush. It’s never been either mine or the Swans favourite venue but the talk all week had been about redemption. We’re here to play tough, contested football and blast away the memory of last week’s capitulation at the MCG. I also had what I figured to be a secret talisman. My mate reckoned he’d never seen the Swans loose. Turns out that was a lie along with his tales of fighting giant squid in the South China seas.
The game started well enough for us. Early pressure saw Richards take a great mark and a boundary saving catch from Goodes eventually saw the ball in White’s hands. He missed the shot but the signs were there, we were taking the game to them. The Enemy responded and drew first blood. That seemed to rattle us, The Enemy enjoying too much of the field, then we began to get the measure of them. A superb passage of play resulted in another attempt by Jack which he converted. Then two more goals to The Enemy; Ablett was slicing through our defence. Goodes responded with a goal. Thank God I thought he’s back on form. Everyone seemed to having a crack, Kennedy in particular with a memorable long range boot through the sticks. When the siren went we were only 6 points down.
Looking back that first quarter was about it really. The Enemy either kicked it up a gear or we lost intensity. Pike missed a sitting duck of a mark, the ball bouncing off his chest. Mad fumbling around in the forward 50 only resulted in a behind. Ablett hobbled off a couple of times, much to the delight of the backseat manager behind me. His minor absence didn’t seem to make a whole lot of difference to The Enemy though. With the Swans 25 points down at half time it wasn’t looking great.
There are several phrases in big capital letters repeated throughout my hastily scribbled notes. TOO MUCH SPACE is one. LIKE A GREASY EEL is another. Despite practically playing man on man The Enemy seemed to find a loose player at every critical moment. Slipping out of tackles and coming up with the ball with numbers in support. The Swans meanwhile were severely lacking. Jetta took off up town to find no-one there. Poor decisions resulted in frustrating turnovers. Keystone Cops defence blunders. Goal chances squandered; Goodes most definitely not back on form spraying an easy shot. Kirk ran into the post, the post coming off worse. Eight goals to The Enemy in the third left us tailing by 65 points going into the break.
I gave up any attempt at serious note taking and simply willed the boys on. We clawed a few back but ultimately our kicking killed us. The Enemy on the other hand could not miss. Straight out in front, dribbling turf-cutters or curling in from some impossible angle deep in the pocket, they kept slotting them home. It was a relief when the final siren blew. There seemed to be more Enemy supporters at ANZ stadium than Swans fans. I trudged back to the pub settling in for a long session of Bourbon and conjecture. The general sentiment was that this is why The Enemy were at number two on the table and we weren’t.
Paul Roos feels we don’t have enough the depth of overall talent or enough aggression up front. Have we reached crisis point? Is our only option now to draft the biggest, meanest players we can and pay them top dollar to stomp on The Enemy at random? Beat them so bloody they’ll wake up screaming at the memory fifty years from now.
Ugly thoughts on a Sunday morning but I’m in a vengeful mood today. Let’s hope the boys are too on Saturday against the Hawks. We’re hanging on with our finger tips and it would be a shame to let go now.
Cheers
Tom Bally
Tags: Geelong, Sydney Swans
Posted in Round 18 (18/2010), SYD v GEEL (18/2010) | 2 Comments »
Posted by tombally on 27th July 2010
by Tom Bally
Turning on the TV at the start of the third quarter on Sunday was like coming home to find my girlfriend gone and apartment on fire.
I’d ducked out to satisfy a Sushi craving secure in the knowledge the game was being recorded. The plan of consuming raw fish then reviewing the footage over a few ales appealed. An afternoon of serious analysis as the Swans notched up another comfortable win over The Enemy.
The box flared to life then the blood drained from my face as I caught the score. 76-28 to The Enemy. Can’t be right. Turn the set top box off and back on again. Same figure. Damn machine. $600 worth of electronic black wizardry telling me the wrong info. Channel 7 must have buggered the scoreboard in a typical free to air mangling of the coverage. Off and on again. Dear God it’s still the same.
I stood frozen, beer forgotten, assessing the damage. Sydney must have missed the first siren and simply failed to run out of the rooms. Eight goals against them, one within seconds of the first bounce. Another four in the second quarter. Jude Bolton’s 250th game celebration turning into an absolute nightmare. Malceski’s searching runs into a wasteland of no support. Bruce McAveny gloating about The Enemy’s superiority. Something was terribly amiss here. A dose of last week’s medicine being forced down our throats. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Melbourne, Sydney Swans
Posted in 2010, MELB v SYD (17/2010), Round 17 (17/2010) | 4 Comments »
Posted by tombally on 21st July 2010
by Tom
Being turfed out of a Fitzroy pub early Sunday morning for ‘excessive celebrations’ over a pool game win did not bode well for the long awaited matchup between Sydney and The Enemy that afternoon. How would Etihad’s ground staff respond to my antics when the Swans won? Would I be tarred and feathered and run out of town? It was a risk that had to be run.
I’d been keen to get to an away game and experience what the others get at the SCG for some time now. Luckily Tony ‘$100 dinner’ Reed, proud supporter of The Enemy, had simply not been able to hack it in Sin City and had moved back to Melbourne. I had an in. Flights purchased and liver fortified I made the trip south.
Tony gibbered all the way to the game about The Enemy’s superiority and for about two or three minutes there after the first bounce it looked dicey. Goodes booted an easy shot towards the heavens and an early goal from McGlynn was shortly matched. Then the Swans kicked it up a gear. The Enemy were simply a rudderless rabble as the Swans shot through five unanswered goals creating a 33 point lead by the end of the first. Goodes was outstanding, looking more comfortable in the mid field then his earlier season stints up front. Seeing Shaw up in the 50 was weird but it paid off in the form of three goals. White booted in a long bomb. Mumford was his usual solid self and Pyke tackled well. Our defence was not really troubled as the Swans flooded The Enemy all through the second.
By half time the Swans were clearly looking like winning. I was cautiously optimistic; the other Enemy (Richmond) beating fresh in my mind. Curiously the stats showed about equal in the forward fifties but the scoreboard thankfully did not. Tony shambled off, face in hands, mumbling something about how The Enemy should score a few just for respectability’s sake. His kids were trying to talk it up but their enthusiasm was not catching.
The Enemy showed resurgence in the tail end of the third and fourth quarters putting pressure on the Swans going forward. Sydney’s hesitance and indecision cost them a few goals but it was too little, too late, and all over bar the shouting. But there was still plenty of that from fans. They were baying for the umpire’s blood over perceived incorrect rulings. The temperature outside sunk to 10 degrees, inside it was nearer minus 8. Great swathes of the crowd had walked out, the rest were simply willing the siren to sound. When it did the crowd showed their displeasure, booing off The Enemy.
Outside the rain was coming down in fitting closure for The Enemy. Tony drove me to the airport where I left him slumped over his steering wheel, weeping uncontrollably, at the far end of the long term parking lot. I flew back to Sydney, optimistic that our season was getting back on track. We may not be considered true contenders for the premiership but wins like that give me that little bit of hope we’ll be there in September.
Tags: Carlton, Sydney Swans
Posted in 2010, Round 16 (16/2010) | No Comments »
