Oh we're from Tigerland!

As I indicated at some point through the season - when you cant make the 8 a premiership year for Richmond is beating Collingwood, Carlton and Essendon.  We beat Carlton (once - put us on top of the ladder for two days). Essendon (twice) but Collingwood - not once!  

Not a bad year actually - a good franchise to follow is the Tigerland team. After 40 years I'm quite happy with 5 premierships - matches up quite well with Collingwood - one in 50 years!

Bring on 2009.  

Engineer sighted at track - TOTE in trouble.

On my afternoon at the track who should I run into but the Architect of the Taroona success - none other than Geoff (used to be Jeff - on my blog anyway) Guus The Engineer (Farook - for those who remember) Atkinson.  His name is so long now one can see him from a fair way off.

Well imagine my lack of surprise to find Geoff (for short) is an ACE punter.  He dissected the Race Book with a precision known only by Key Hole surgeons and Swiss watch makers.  He knew all the details - who had won where, in what conditions, their bloodlines, form, propensities etc etc.

Given his crafty stewardship of the Taroona team this came as no surprise.

At the track he also played the longer game - passing up obvious choices in the here and now to engineer a massive collect some time in the future.   This is no simple case of delayed gratification - but a clever, painstaking creative process of building a chance into an inevitability. Much like his coaching.

Geoff (for short) revealed his past as a filmaker and punter of note around the nation to the select few.  As always, the unpredictable Geoff (for short) left before all others - one suspects it was so none others saw the limo that is the only suitable transport for this sporting and punting Giant.

Devils Extinct! Ho Hum

In the end I think it was the sheer artificiality of it all that killed them.  Playing in the Victorian League - bearing almost no resemblance to the proud VFA.  The Northern Bullants? Yeah sure. Trying to create a club based on the ambitions of a few administrators. I think the Mariners were a better idea.

The move from North Hobart to Bellerive was another nail.  At least when the Taters played at League Headquarters with Jason the Heater up forward there was something to cheer about.

Playing at an empty Aurora stadium didn't generate much atmosphere either.

Coaching appointments were wide of the mark. The Guernsey was appalling from the start.

Bring on the Statewide League - I look forward to the club versus AFL Tasmania fights over promises made and broken already.

I also look forward to the Hobart Lions Premiership. Is The Heater still going around?

No David Minchin? No Giant Hamsters!

Seriously David Minchin is the Giant Hamsters - sure Greg Cracknell's an important part of the band but the rest are essentially support personnel.

No doubt we wont hear the Porpoise Song again.

A sad day for Hobart baby boomers.

I think the Little Hamsters would be more appropriate now.

Your ABC - not mine!

Why must the ABC local radio coverage of the Olympics replay all those medalist commentaries over and over again?  Who ever was it who decided radio replays were interesting, entertaining or exciting - they are not. A bit like the Grandstand coverage of AFL replaying commentary - we can do without it please.

One good thing is there is less Statewide mornings- that only lasts until 10.

I'm not paying my license fee next year!

6 Eagles - not bad for one round!

Driving today we saw 6 eagles - 4 wedge tailed and 2 sea eagles.  I don't think I've ever seen more than one on one day before.  Must be the time of the year?

Anyway, back to the bunker!

"It's been a journey..."

No it hasn't!

This is one of the phrases I promise not to use - except in quotation marks.

Engineer engineers last piece of the jigsaw

In a stunning realization of Coach Atkinson's prediction Beachside Green have triumphed over the mighty Glenorchy Knights - which means Taroona is second.  

How does this man do it?

Can the Bartlett Government be re-elected?

The Bartlett Government is performing well so far.  The Premier's approach is a breath of fresh air - he puts due process and ethical conduct above political convenience.  The new team at the top is acknowledged to have performed well through the first days of the Wriedt matter.

But what happens in 2010 when the current parliament is up for election?  Can the candidates whose names have featured in the media for all the wrong reasons carry the Labor Party back to the Treasury benches?  

Or is it time for some new blood?

It would be great to see some fresh new candidates with some runs on the board (outside of the party).

Taroona 1 Nelson Nil - season over.

It's clear that Supercoach Geoff Guus Hiddink Atkinson plays the long game.  All season he has had his eye on second place - (and if other results go as planned) - that will be the result.  A summer of thinking "we finished second" is all about motivation for next year - a slow simmer ready to be brought to the boil when the Under 15s run on next year.  

Whatever the outcome of those other games though Taroona will finish with the best defensive record of the league - led by the Imposing Joey Taylor - whose clean sheet today was never in danger. (At the other end the goalie tried to match the Imposing Joey with his voice)

Liam O'Donovan put home one more net - since game 3 he has scored every week.

A great team effort again in a tension laden match - Ben Wisby, Joey Atkinson, the above mentioned, Chris and Mat Etherington,  Jack O'Sullivan, Will Hunt and Angus all made significant contributions.  One Joseph Haddon tackle in particular exemplified concentration, resilience and pluck and turned Nelson attack into Taroona thrust. James Doyle and Tom have careers in logistics - making sure deliveries arrive in style and on time - if they want them! James Tathum deployed courage and a deft foot when needed.

The almost beheaded Zac Osborne peppered the goals with shots that but for his nearly headless  Nick status would have gone in.

Behind it all the puppet master - Supercoach Geoff Guus Hiddink Atkinson - also known as the Engineer (or Farook to those who remember) pulled the strings with substitutions and moves designed to heat the pressure cooker - almost to steam whistling point.  When the said receptacle was opened there was Nelson - cooked to perfection.

Looking back on a year of moves, foreign jaunts, shock inclusions, culling numbers to increase team concentration and pre-game preparations on a plastic chair while the "Sweet" air of Kelvedon dealt with Friday night leftovers , is a fine picture indeed.  A Monet I think.

A hastily convened meeting after the game heard the Engineer crowned Coach for Life and the decent question posed "why arent you in Beijing Geoff?"

A League free to air

When will the A League make free to air television? I look forward to quiet Sunday nights in front of the telly watching the Mariners towel those toffs from Sydney FC!

Kevin Keegan - the new (old) Messiah?

We are very close to the start of the EPL season - just need to get the first week of the Olympics out of the way.  When Kevin Keegan returned to Newcastle United in January I predicted a European future for the Toon Army.  Unfortunately it was some time before a point was bagged and the year didn't quite end the way I predicted - a not unusual event (having tipped Richmond to win 22 AFL games per year for the past 7 or 8 seasons!)

This season must be the one that determines whether or not Kevin is really worthy now of all that adulation he has received.  A full pre-season, a chance to shape the list, a chance to plan which games to win, which to draw and to practice lines to feed the media in any eventuality. 

Being a magpie team we must already point out "the draw is against us!"  Match 1 is a game against Manchester United - who seem to be fairly decent.

And of course the Refs are clearly against us...

Still, we can remember the Kevin of old if we cant match the old to the present we want.  

EPL or FFT U14 Div 3?

Which is the better comp?  Yes in the EPl there is the big four - in the FFT U14Div 3 there is the big four as well.  Watching the EPL is impossible unless pay television is installed. At  least the FFT U14Div 3 is accessible.  However, in the EPL the competition provides referees.  When will FFT do the same?

Coach Atkinson triumphs with unusual ploy!

Ever more inventive Coach - Engineer Guus Geoff Atkinson (fast becoming the longest name in football) delved deeply into the psyche of his Taroona charges this morning and devised a cunning plan to challenge them to step up again.  Deciding that 11 players are a luxury he sent his men onto the field with 10 players.

The Huon Valley side was notable for two reasons - one their magnificent goal keeper Trent Weir who saved countless attacks and secondly a player who  came to the attention of  Super Ref Tim O'Sullivan.

The Taroona side is fast becoming a team without stars as everyone plays their role.  Contributions are made selflessly - personal games are sacrificed for the good of the team. Schemes are hatched that lead to glorious results - Liam O'Donovan's second half goal was a good example today - many contributed to winning and placing the ball where the original goal sneak danced to perfect time and netted another beauty.

Ben Wisby opened the scoring with an Exocet that not only beat the teeth polishing wind but also the wall that is Tent Weir.  

All played well today. We await the return of the Japanese expeditioners for the final game of the season - who knows what Samurai wisdom will be brought through customs on Monday morning.  

Under the Ranelagh rainbow a team fewer in number prepared for the final outing with a disciplined thoughtful approach. Coach Atkinson (the shorter version) - that enemy of complacency - will no doubt twist the tale again!