Congratulations to the Brooklyn Dodgers of Aussie Rules, the South Melbourne Swans, on their first flag since 1933. They beat the Weagles in a four-point thriller today.

I’m a little surprised, but the official Swannies website hasn’t caught up with events, 25 minutes after the final siren. They’ll catch up.

Anyway, more important matters await tonight, the Tiges play the Dragons. And in the Premier League semi-final tomorrow the Jets play the Eels. And a special mention to the Sydney Bulls in the Jim Beam grand final tomorrow as well.

“The players broke the club’s disciplinary code and have also been found guilty of unauthorised use of a fire extinguisher and a bicycle.”
- Newcastle Knights chairman Mick Hill, 21.2.05

(Please refer to the source and background to this deathless prose.)

The Jets beat North Sydney 28-4 at Henson Park tonight in their Premier League trial match which doubled up as the first leg of the Frank Hyde Trophy.

Newtown scored seven tries to one, with kicks at goal not being taken in this game. Newtown are a feeder team for Cronulla this year, while Norths have become a feeder for the Melbourne Storm.

It wasn’t a bad crowd at Henson Park for a mid-February trial game, probably 500 or so.

For those unaware, the Frank Hyde Trophy is awarded to the team that comes out on top in head-to-head meetings between Netwown and Norths each year, Frank having played for both clubs in his day. Matches taken into account are the preseason game plus both home and away matches in the Premier League. It was inaugurated in 2003 when the trophy was shared after the third match ended in a draw. Newtown were winners in 2004. Frank, who wasn’t at the game this evening, turned 89 on Monday.

In the early game, the North Sydney Jersey Flegg team easily beat the Newtown Jim Beam side… I didn’t catch the score unfortunately. This was the Bluebags’ last appearance at Henson Park before the competition season begins. They have another trial up at Parkes next weekend.

The playing surface at Henson Park is looking quite good at this time of year, there having been no soccer in the summer months (and no I’m not taking sides over that spat between the Jets and Canterbury-Marrickville FC). I must say that it does look funny, if not sacriligeous, to see aussie rules posts at each end of the ground.

February 1 is the tenth anniversary of the aus.sport.rugby-league newsgroup, the first newsgroup on Usenet to specialise in the discussion of the sport of rugby league. I know this because I was its creator

The RFD for aus.sport.rugby-league and discussion which led to its creation on 1 February 1995 can be found on Google Groups (and no I don’t endorse Google’s attempts to privatise Usenet). The old question of why I created aus.sport.rugby-league instead of putting it into the rec.* heirarchy is explained there. rec.sport.rugby.league was created about six months later.

In the days when the world wide web was still one of the less-used internet applications, and home internet accounts were almost unheard of, the creation of asrl marks, in my opinion, quite a milestone in the social history of the rugby league supporter.

Having said that, I’ll try and get back in and write there more often!

I’m happy that Canterbury-Bankstown won the NRL grand final last night. Not so much for the club as for the fans. Most of the fans. The Doggies came from 13-6 down at half-time to lead 16-13 and hold off a late Roosters surge to win. Kicking a field goal in the first half and then losing by less than a try, yes wasn’t that smart?

Willie Mason won the Clive, and good luck to him after a pretty rough year. It would have been nice to have seen Steve Mortimer and George Peponis, two legends of the club who got chewed up in the Coffs Harbour debacle, joining in the celebrations, but not to be.

Anyway, pre-game entertainment. Chris Isaak seems to have avoided the Curse that befell entertainment at past grand finals. If only Grinspoon had fallen victim. Katie Noonan performed the national anthem (goodness me, the george website is done in PostNuke. I’m impressed), but her fragile acoustic approach seemed a bit lost in the bowels of the cavernous Stadium Australia.

I’ll leave the discussion of the game to others, and just make two other comments about pre and post-game events.
Cultural cringe moments. Chris Isaak’s very presence in the grand final pre-game show is one. Why do we need the Chris Isaaks, the Billy Idols, the Tom Joneses, the Meat Loaves of the world at these events? Cultural cringe moment number two, after the game when the Canterbury players dumped a vat of Gatorade over coach Steve Folkes. Another Super Bowl tradition that we don’t need.

At the very least, let’s have some Australian content to replace these foreign influences. It would be great to have, say, Frenzal Rhomb on stage performing “Thirteen Boys All Dressed In Blue” for a live worldwide audience. Or maybe the surviving members of the chorus from the 1972 ALP “It’s Time” ads doing a medley of political jingles over the years, with a guest appearance by Renee Geyer singing “Turn on the Lights, Australia” (Liberal Party, 1975).

Speaking of elections, Australians are ready. Mark Latham is ready. He told us so during every bloody commercial break. Goodness knows how much of the Labor Party’s campaign funds got burned up on advertising time during one of the major television events of the year.

And who presented the Telstra Cup (which is really a statue) to first-time Bulldogs captain Andrew Ryan? Not who you’d expect, thanks primarily to the protocols of electioneering. It was the Governor-General of Australia. Remember him? Go to this item if you can’t remember his name. It seems he only comes out of mothballs when the President of the Australian Monarchy, John Winston Howard, is either unavailable or uninterested in attending.

Finally, farewell to Brad (Freddy (Adolf)) Fittler, who hands over the mantle of greatness to Sonny Bill Williams, or as Roy & HG called him in their brilliant-as-usual call of the game, Billy Ray Cyrus Vaughan Williams.

Reports on the game from:
Roy Masters, SMH 4.10.04
Brad Walter, SMH 4.10.04
Jacqueline Magnay, SMH 4.10.04

This year we all start equal.
Kids paint signs.
And I am seven again.
I know I will see my heroes soon.
I feel the excitement.
I have hope in March,
and I might share the glory in September.

Blow that whistle ref!
Send that ball soaring!
Blow that whistle ref!

-Thomas Keneally, NRL TV ad campaign, 1999

Less than an hour till the kickoff in the Festival of the Boot Part Two. Good to see yet another all-Sydney NRL grand final for once, but please, not another nighttime grand final, and why does it have to be on the long weekend?

As is well documented, I haven’t been following the NRL closely this year, preferring the grassroots entertainment of the Newtown Jets in the Premier League, which was taken out this afternoon by Eastern Suburbs.

The Roosters are looking to a clean sweep of grand final day. They beat Cronulla 14-13 in the Jersey Flegg with a field goal in sudden death extra-time, then flogged St George 30-8.

For a preview of the big game, there’s only one person to go to - Tom Keneally in Friday’s Sydney Morning Herald.

For the Roosters, it’s the farewell appearance of Brad “Adolf” Fittler, with a lot resting on the shoulders of chick magnets Anthony Minichello and Craig Wing. Chick Magnet Emeritus Luke Ricketson is suspended and, it seems, doing expert commentary for Channel Nein.

The Bulldogs have overcome another horrific year off the field. Willie Mason will be there, so will Hazem el-Masri, the only player to score 300 points in a NRL/ARL/NSWRL season, and a role model for the Mission of Hope, run by the Islamic community in Bulldogs country. And on the bench is Sonny Bill Williams. How many baby boys will be named Sonny Bill in July 2005?

For all my misgivings about their off-field travails, I am going for the Doggies tonight by seven points. Current prices at SportingBet.com.au at 6.27pm: Canterbury 1.62, Easts 2.35.

Footy Fans Against Sexual Assault (FFASA) is a highly commendable cause. Founded earlier this year after a serious of scandals surrounding allegations of sexual assaults by NRL and AFL footballers, and the evidence of a culture that has been around for years. The FFASA is advocating, among many other things, that sporting teams hold a “purple armband” day, where they wear purple armbands demonstrating a committment to a united stance against sexual violence. Several NRL clubs have already taken part as have sporting teams from other codes. Some Australian Rules teams have done so, but none in the Australian Football League, who consider it “just another cause we are asked to support”.

Purple armband days will be conducted by the NSW Aboriginal Rugby League and the AFL Northern Territory this weekend. A press release from the FFASA gives details and I reproduce it in full:

Hi Footy Fans and Friends

The FFASA purple armband campaign is taking on a life of it’s own.

This weekend sees purple armbands on the arms of:

* over 1700 rugby league players from across NSW during games at the NSW Aboriginal Knockout at Henson Park and Redfern Oval in Sydney; and
* over 400 AFL players from throughout the Northern Territory during games at the 2004 Perkins Shipping Umpires Carnival at Marrara Stadium in Darwin.

Both these stands follow directly from the original action by the Australian Women’s Rugby League, Brisbane Broncos and Manly Sea Eagles at Suncorp Stadium earlier this year.

The NSW Aboriginal Knockout has extended the meaning of the purple armbands to include other forms of violence. They are also taking the campaign to a new level.

Besides the purple armbands, they have organised:

* educational material to be distributed over the weekend;
* Koori community support workers at the games and on a Hotline number; and
* a giant banner where players and supporters can make handprints signifying their opposition to family violence and sexual assault.

FFASA congratulates the NSW Aboriginal Rugby League community for making the campaign their own, as part of their “Blackout Violence” campaign, and taking the lead shown at the elite level of their sport so much further.

We also commend the AFL NT for continuing the stance of other Territory sporting teams from the AFL, Rugby League, Rugby Union and Netball earlier this year.

With GF fever ebbing to a close this weekend, we encourage Sydney-siders and Darwinites to get along to these events and take in some footy with a conscience.

Knockout teams will also include footy greats, past and present, such as David Peachy, Nathan Blacklock, Cliff Lyons, Nathan Merritt and Ronald Price. See program details for both competitions below.

For a listing of FFASA Purple Armbands Teams see Purple Armband Teams.
(NB: Knockout and Umpires teams will be listed next week)

AFL Up-date

FFASA received a response from the AFL re: their strategy for dealing with sexual assault and harassment.

Unfortunately, their response raises more questions than answers.

For example, although the AFL is talking to representatives from the State-wide Committee for the Reduction of Sexual Assault, it remains unclear whether they are talking directly to representatives from the Committee with expertise in working with victim/survivors.

They also advised FFASA to take its concerns re: the Saints Get Real program directly to the Saint Kilda Football Club.

FFASA will follow-up both matters and bring you an up-date soon.

FFASA Petition
50 signatures to go …

Yours in football
Kath Haines
www.ffasa.org

2004 NSW ABORIGINAL RUGBY LEAGUE KNOCKOUT

Friday 1st October 2004 Redfern Oval

10:00 am – 12:00 pm: “TJ Hickey Memorial Junior Rugby League Competition

U6’s, U10’s, U12’s, U13’s, U15’s NSW Selection Trials

1:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Women’s Knockout Competition

ADULTS ENTRY FEE $6:00
SCHOOL STUDENTS OVER 12 $2:00
CHILDREN UNDER 12 AND AGED PENSIONERS FREE

Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd October 2004 Redfern Oval & Henson Park

Saturday 8:30am: Official Opening and Welcome (Redfern Oval)

Games commence at 9:30 am on both days at both venues.

ADULTS ENTRY FEE $8:00
SCHOOL STUDENTS OVER 12 $2:00
CHILDREN UNDER 12 AND AGED PENSIONERS FREE

Monday 4th October 2004 Redfern Oval

Games commence at 9:00am: 2 Semi Finals, Under 16’s Final, Women’s Final, Grand Final

ADULTS ENTRY FEE $7:00
SCHOOL STUDENTS OVER 12 $2:00
CHILDREN UNDER 12 AND AGED PENSIONERS FREE

2004 PERKINS SHIPPING NTFL UMPIRES PRE-SEASON CARNIVAL

Marrara Oval, Darwin NT
Saturday 2nd October – Sunday 3rd October

Saturday 2nd October 2004

11.30am GATES OPEN
12.30pm Sthn Districts vs Western Aranda
1.10pm Palmerston vs Mutujulu (Docker River)
1.50pm Nightcliff vs Wanderers
Darwin vs Belyuen
2.30pm Waratahs vs Maningrida
Tiwi Islands vs Loser Game 2
3.10pm St Marys vs Loser Game 1
3.50pm Winner Game 2 vs Winner Game 1
Loser Game 4 vs Loser Game 6
4.30pm Winner Game 4 vs Loser Game 5
Winner Game 8 vs Loser Game 7
5.10pm Winner Game 5 vs Loser Game 8
5.50pm Winner Game 7 vs Winner Game 6

Sunday 3rd October 2004

9.30am GATES OPEN
10.30am Winners – Winner Game 10 vs Loser Game 12
11.10am Winners - Winner Game 11 vs Loser Game 13
Winners - Winner Game 12 vs Loser Game 10
11.50am Winners - Winner Game 15 vs Winner Game 13
12.30pm Winners - Winner Game 14 vs Loser Game 11
Winners – Loser Game 14 vs Loser Game 15
1.10pm Winners ¼ Final – Winner Game 17 vs Loser Game 18
Consolation Semi-Final - Loser Game 16 vs Loser Game 17
11.50pm Winners ¼ Final - Winner Game 16 vs Winner Game 19
Consolation Semi-Final – Loser Game 20 vs Loser Game 21
2.30pm Winners ¼ Final - Loser Game 19 vs Winner Game 20
Winners ¼ Final - Winner Game 18 vs Winner Game 21
3.10pm Winners Semi-Final - Winner Game 22 vs Winner Game 24
3.50pm Winners Semi-Final - Winner Game 26 vs Winner Game 27
4.30pm Annual Footballers 100 metre Gift
4.45pm Consolation Grand Final - Winner G23 vs Winner G25
5.30pm Winners Grand Final - Winner G28 vs Winner G29
6.20pm Announcement of Percy Ellis Medal Winner & Presentations

NB: AFL NT teams will purple armbands on Sunday 3rd October

My first season as a born-again Jets fan is over. Newtown missed the eight in the VB Premier League, finishing in tenth spot on 23 points. Conceding 696 points in 24 games is not a good way to do things, but rather better than the club I used to follow in its NRL days, North Sydney, who allowed 1024 points in 24 matches, almost 43 per game.

I got to see Newtown play at Henson Park four times this year: March 27, when they lost 26-14 to St George reserve grade in round three; May 8, when they beat North Sydney 42(right on average)-20 in round nine; June 5, when they beat Balmain 20-12 in round thirteen; and July 31, when they beat the Roosters reserves 22-20 in a thrilling round twenty-one clash.

The North Sydney clash was the second leg of the three-match Frank Hyde Trophy series. (Alas, Norths won the trophy 2-1 by winning the third game.) That particular provided a real highlight for me, when Frank Hyde himself, now about 88 years old, spoke to the crowd at half-time and even attempted to croon a few bars of “Danny Boy”, his hit single from the early 1970s. Frank first played for Newtown back in 1934, before joining Balmain and North Sydney, and for one season Waratah-Mayfield in the Newcastle comp. Ironically, the Tahs folded in the week before Frank made that Henson Park appearance.

There’s one thing that Frank Hyde said that day that drew a big round of applause from the crowd, when he said that he believed rugby league players should go back to being part-time professionals and have a full-time job outside of the game. A comment on the spoiled brats of today.

The Newtown rugby league club has come back virtually from the dead in recent years. They’ll never be an NRL side again - and frankly, I don’t think they should. For all the adventure and romance of the South Sydney victory against Big Business, their three years back in the NRL fold have had all of the feel of “Hey we won! Now what do we do?” Consequently, the Rabbitohs are wooden spooners for 2004, losing their last premiership game of the year 62-22 to Canberra.

The Newtown Jets fill a niche that the NRL behemoths cannot. An unpretentious suburban club pursuing a local community following, studded with competent part-time players and not an easybeat side. I hope that their affiliation with Cronulla next year, when they effectively become the Sharks’ reserve grade side, doesn’t undermine that charm.

Newtown RLFC have been promoting themselves in ads and flyers with the line “Come see Rugby League the way it used to be.” Certainly, whenever they play at Henson Park it feels like it is 1983 again and the crowd is always 8972.

Some Newtown match facts:

• This year was the fiftieth anniversary of their penultimate first grade grand final (their last being in 1981).
• The number 8972 was the official attendance at the Jets’ last first grade home game before they were kicked out of the premiership in 1983 (they went broke), and at every Henson Park home game these days, the ground announcer always says “today’s official attendance is eight thousand, nine hundred and seventy-two”. They were even selling T-shirts with that crowd figure on them this year. (A normal home game attendance would be in the realm of 500-1000).
• Newtown’s second XIII also finished in tenth place in the Jim Beam Cup, which these days is a cross between the Metropolitan Cup and the old Group 12 Central Coast comp.

Newtown’s official website is at www.newtownjets.com, but be warned that there is annoying ad that loads up on the home page without warning which features the sound of a telephone ringing. Not a good campaign for the telco responsible, in my opinion.

As if winning Euro 2004 and hosting the Olympics isn’t enough, the Greek national rugby league team beat the VRL 24-18 on Sunday. That’s the Victorian Rugby League. It was the early game to the Melbourne-Canterbury NRL fixture. For Greece, the game was a warmup for their big international clash with Italy on October 2 at Marconi Stadium, Fairfield. Which, I presume, is an Italian home game.

Newtown went down to Canterbury reserve grade 28-38 in the Premier League at Henson Park on Saturday. I would have been there except for the fact that I was recovering from a virus and had no voice (still don’t, actually). The Jets are now in ninth place with two away games (Cronulla and Manly) to play. Touch and go whether they will make the eight.

In the Jim Beam, Newtown lost to Ryde-Eastwood 20-22. They’re 10th in an eleven-team competition.

In England, National League Division Two: Gateshead Thunder 8, Workington 80 in front of 958 people. Ouch.

Cricket: Surrey drew with Kent. They can just about forget the Championship this year.

Rugby Union: Wobblies lost to South Africa 19-23. SA’s first tri-nations crown since 1998. Petersham lost to Campbelltown 12-53 in the Sydney Suburban RU Division 2 1st Grade. That’s their season finished.

Soccer: Crystal Palace 1 Everton 3. The Palace are 20th in the Premiership after two games. My fiver on them to take the title at 5000-1 is looking shaky. Still a week till La Liga begins.

Second last weekend of the NSW Winter Super League. Fraser Park Dragons beat the Hurstville City Minotaurs 2-1, Stanmore Hawks beat Ryde City 4-2. Manly have secured the minor premiership, Stanmore will be second. The Dragons are hovering around fourth and finish the league season at home to Macarthur next Sunday. (One day I’ll get to a game.) Womens SuperLeague grand final, Marconi Stallions beat Macarthur Rams 3-2 with an extra time golden goal. (How can two women’s teams be called Stallions and Rams?)

Australian Rules: Essendon lost to Sydney in the Marn Grook at Stadium Australia on Saturday night. This fixture used to be an annual gig for Di and I, but we haven’t been since Adara has been born. Maybe next year. In the Sydney AFL, the North Shore Bombers beat the East Coast Eagles and are runaway minor premiers (16-2). They meet Uni of NSW at Henson Park (!) next Saturday in the major semi. St George play Pennant Hills in the minor semi at the same ground on Sunday (sacrilege!). SWAFL: Wests beat Sydney Uni 5-16 to 4-2 in the preliminary final. Grand final next Saturday, Newtown v Wests at Wagener Oval at midday. Guess we won’t be going to that one.

Hurling: Nothing to report till the All-Ireland Final at Croke Park on September 12 between Cork and Kilkenny.

Camogie: All-Ireland semi-finals on Saturday: Cork 3-9 beat Galway 1-4 and Tipperary 1-10 beat Wexford 2-5. Final at Croke Park on September 19.

Baseball: Holroyd beat Petersham 8-2 in the Sydney Winter Baseball League preliminary final and will play Cronulla in the grand final at Petersham Oval next Sunday. The Little League World Series has begun in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with the championship game on August 29. I’m cheering for the Caribbean representatives, the Pabao Little League of Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles, who have already won their first game against Guadalupe Linda Vista Little League from Mexico.

Lacrosse: The Philadelphia Barrage are the 2004 Major League Lacrosse champions after defeating the Boston Cannons in the Championship game in Boston on Sunday.