The View from Shepparton: Round 18 and other things, or was it other things and Round 18?

John Harms and Jon Faine on ABC 774 this morning  stole my thunder but I too wanted to make a point about life and that is this, when does confidence become cockiness?  You could apply this as much to those who thought that Black Caviar only had to stand on the track to win that race at Royal Ascot as to James Magnussen and every sports commentator in the land who thought that the Australian men’s 4 x 100 metres relay only had to turn up to collect their gold medals.

The 4 x 100 metres women did turn up and just as well for the country that they did. Four Queenslanders who as I understand it had never previously swum together. I just loved the interviews that they gave, 4 unassuming people who seemingly could not believe the space that they had just got themselves into.

On the footy front, someone could write a play of Shakespearean proportions to describe the pathos, the drama, the unrelenting unfolding of seasons, and never ending nightmares   endured by supporters of the Richmond Football Club as each year their fortunes rise and fall with this year being probably being  the  worst. I have deliberately not yet looked at Cheryl Critchley’s contribution (which is on the footyalmanac.com site) written during both “the best of times, … the worst of times” (thanks Charles Dickens) in yesterday’s game.

Still, Richmond supporters have something to talk about even though it pains them. There have already been essays written about the fact that the Tiges are just hopeless and that half of the team should be shipped out, preferably to say Siberia where they could sit in the snow and ice and think about their many sins and lack of footy smarts. Has it occurred to anyone that they they are just dead stiff? Ratten reckons that it was “one of the most courageous in recent seasons”. Come on Brett, it was a sheer fluke that goal of Brock’s, admit it. This was spin of political proportions.

The point that I really wanted to make was that whilst poor old Richmond has something to talk about I didn’t. The team that I touted to be at best a nuisance in the finals has turned out to be a paper tiger, sorry, won’t go there again, I meant “paper lion” or as “The Goons” would say, ” a cardboard replica”. Go away from the Gabba and they are hopeless. Having talked Brisbane up at various times this year, last year, any year since 2003, I have to sadly concede that  they have been wandering about in a Fevola induced coma at least in the latter years since then and I have no idea when this unconsciousness will lift. Well OK, the Eagles are a damned god side and they were always going to win anyway. If I could persuade the Minister for Home Affairs to subscribe to Foxtel I might have seen some of Naitanui’s heroics and who wouldn’t want to see these? Well, members of the Brisbane Lions Football club for one, it could be assumed.

I looked at the St Kilda Western Bulldogs game for a while yesterday and saw a Dogs side completely bereft of any direction and/or ideas and having endured this for 30 minutes looked at the Olympics’ instead, certainly rather a good fall back line in these straitened times. I suppose that St Kilda did play well, I say that for any St Kilda supporters reading this, couldn’t care less really, I don’t like them at any price.

The Sprawlers were belted of course and did no one any favours by letting Cloke play himself back into form with those 6 goals. Gees I am so happy that Collingwood had a thumping win, not.

Hawthorn continued their fantastic form I must say that there is nothing not to like about them at the moment, Jeff Kennett used to be a reason. The poor old Bombers have been completely done over with injuries but even so, giving a side an eight goals to one start in the first quarter is hardly going to win them many new admirers. Which team is going to get near the Hawk’s, possibly Geelong?  Come on Cat’s you were too good for my second team, go and clean Hawthorn as well, I am sure that your attitude has improved since Jeff’s jibes to the extent that you might be able to occasionally get over them!

Can’t make up my mind about Adelaide though, I suppose that they weren’t really disgraced yet once again they lost a match away when it really counted.

Like the Sprawlers the Suns were pretty hopeless as well, good percentage of course for the Swans.

North Melbourne are still hanging around as well but it is difficult to see them going much further than the first round of the finals. Petrie though has been a revelation well to me at least this year, so perhaps I shouldn’t jus write them off. Melbourne of course have had it but the reality is that like Brisbane this has been so for years and there is no hope of any resurrection at any time soon.

Freo are still in there as well with yet another insipid performance by the Powerless but would think that their final’s hopes will be stopped when they play the Perth Eagles next weekend.

Highlights: The women’s 4 x 100 metres relay team of course. Lo lights: Well apart from the misfiring “Weapons of Mass Destruction”, Essendon, Gold Coast Suns, GWS Sprawlers, Brisbane and Western Bulldogs, oh and also the Powerless, that is all of the teams which weren’t remotely competitive  and who could not include the one which was, Richmond.

About Peter Schumacher

Wannabe footy commentator and writer, used to be a wannabe footballer

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