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View Full Version : Next stop: hit by injury, sitting on the sidelines



Ghost Dog
12-07-2012, 08:15 AM
Great article. Wonderful when he writes about football. :D



ONCE realising we weren't quite ready for the peace and tranquillity of suburbia, I must admit I miss my morning train ride to the Kennel.

There's something romantic about nursing your cup of coffee and your book as you gently sway back and forth, snaking your way through town.

There's also something irresistibly childish about arriving at Dennis station on the Hurstbridge line and smiling as the announcer calls, ''Next stop, Dennis.'' I could never resist looking at my fellow commuters, trying to pick if there was an actual Dennis among us.

The Hurstbridge line was my Mississippi River, and allowed me to indulge my inner Huck Finn. Like I said, I miss my train trips. These days I have to settle for the odd tram ride into the city; it's not the same, but it'll have to do for the time being.
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Last Friday night, I headed to the MCG with a few other cripples (Gia, Cooney and Addison). We play Carlton in a couple of weeks, so I guess you could call it a business trip. I hadn't been to a non-Bulldogs game all year, and I like to get to at least a couple. It's good for a different perspective, but mostly I find it's good to occasionally just enjoy the game for the spectacle, even lose yourself in it.

My tram only took me about halfway there, but I didn't mind as I reckon the walk to the MCG is as meaningful as anything you might see at the ground. I enjoyed watching all the different people the game draws, especially the young family who walked a few yards in front of me. Two little girls weaving in and around mum's ankles and swinging from dad's arms, all decked out in their Carlton navy blue.

It took me back to when I was a little boy and we'd park the car at our friends' place just off Swan Street and join the march to the MCG. We were decked out in our tribal colours of the time, and the build-up of excitement as the Great Southern Stand came into view is something that has never left me.

You just don't get blase about playing AFL footy if you made that walk to the 'G as a kid, I reckon. I thought about my family, my dad, and made a mental note to go to a game with him soon.

Arriving at gate seven I almost bowled over Gia, who had the tickets. Adam and Dylan showed up, and we were moving towards the turnstiles when a Collingwood supporter sidled up to me and said hello, before asking a question that took a minute to sink in. ''Not playing tonight?'' It was a strange moment, but not the strangest for the night as it turned out.

We took our seats and only then did I start to ponder the big question: ''Who am I barracking for?'' Opposition research aside, one does not simply go to the football as a neutral observer. Carlton or Collingwood … it was almost perverse. I figured I'd just let the game start and let my heart decide - best to keep logic out of it.

As a somewhat neutral supporter it's the characters that draw me in, and both sides had a few. Daisy Thomas plays the way a schoolboy attacks the game in the first minutes after the lunchtime bell rings - flat out and without a care in the world. Travis Cloke is like a student teacher let loose in the same playground, bigger and stronger than everyone else. It's not until he walks back for a set shot that he becomes everyman and 75,000 supporters feel the anxiety of lining up for goal through him.

I watched Matthew Kreuzer for Carlton. I've been a fan of his for a while; could he be more humble? His game this night is heroic. And then there's Mitch Robinson, now he's a character. Mad probably, good fun to watch, and he's turned himself into a bloody good player.

The game was a beauty and I found myself willing for an upset by the Blues. The crowd's roars dipped and lifted like an old fishing boat, then the world stopped. Sharrod Wellingham smashed into Kade Simpson, and like a vacuum, the air was sucked out of the lungs of the entire stadium. Then one Collingwood supporter two rows behind me let rip with, ''Weak as piss Simpson!''

The comment was so outrageously false that it drew a few awkward laughs. Simpson was brave, and is now badly hurt. You don't have to be a footballer to feel his plight, but me and my three injured teammates sat in silence and watched it all unfold.

After a week of extraordinary pressure on them, and with an injured mate in their thoughts perhaps, the Blues skipped to a lead that wouldn't be clawed back, not with Chris Yarran carrying the ball like that anyway. Halfway into the last we decided to leave early; you can't do that as a fair dinkum supporter, but you can as a neutral.

It was bitterly cold, and as I headed for my tram I lifted my head for the briefest moment and saw the hot jam doughnut van. I thought about dad again. That was his thing too - after a cold day at Waverley Park watching Peter Daicos, we'd have a doughnut each. I grabbed two, one for me and one for dad.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/next-stop-hit-by-injury-sitting-on-the-sidelines-20120711-21w9l.html#ixzz20M3n33zx

LostDoggy
12-07-2012, 10:06 AM
You notice that he writes about other footballers and is not afraid to smile, to see character, or to open his heart and see talent in a person. He is not blinkered by tribal loyalty yet celebrates it in all of us.

He is the antithesis of the narrow minded, bigoted and aggressive supporter. In my opinion that is so refreshing.

The Underdog
12-07-2012, 10:20 AM
You notice that he writes about other footballers and is not afraid to smile, to see character, or to open his heart and see talent in a person. He is not blinkered by tribal loyalty yet celebrates it in all of us.

He is the antithesis of the narrow minded, bigoted and aggressive supporter. In my opinion that is so refreshing.

Agree, he has a way of taking you back to reasons to love the game despite all of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary in the media and the humourlessness (or Brayshaw boys club style humour) that has pervaded. Occasionally it gets a little twee but when he hits the right note, it can sparkle. Hoepfully his writing continues after the career ends. I can certainly see him as an AFL version of Dirk Hayhurst (a long term minor league baseball player who has written 2 successful books about his experiences) although Bob has had a far more elite career in his chosen sport.

Axe Man
12-07-2012, 10:40 AM
Great read. I actually went to the game as well with a couple of Collingwood mates and also found myself hoping for a Blues upset.

Bob is actually going to be the guest speaker at my footy club's sponsors & life members day on Saturday. Great to see him coming back to his home town and sharing some of his knowledge and experience. Unfortunately I'm going to miss out on seeing him as I will running around the ground trying to get a kick.

LostDoggy
12-07-2012, 01:09 PM
"a Collingwood supporter sidled up to me and said hello, before asking a question that took a minute to sink in. ''Not playing tonight?'' It was a strange moment, but not the strangest for the night as it turned out".

This makes me laugh. Did the Collingwood supporter think Murph was a Carlton (or Collingwood) player or did he think the Bulldogs were also playing on Friday night?? :D

AndrewP6
12-07-2012, 01:54 PM
I'm really glad that the article itself wasn't headlined by the word 'cripples', but really surprised the editor let that word go to print. I know he didn't mean anything by it, but it's not PC, Bob.

LostDoggy
12-07-2012, 05:16 PM
I'm really glad that the article itself wasn't headlined by the word 'cripples', but really surprised the editor let that word go to print. I know he didn't mean anything by it, but it's not PC, Bob.

True, he could have picked a better word. I don't think he meant any offense by it, but it was a bit insensitive.

Maddog37
12-07-2012, 05:33 PM
Political correctness gone mad.

GVGjr
12-07-2012, 06:22 PM
I'm really glad that the article itself wasn't headlined by the word 'cripples', but really surprised the editor let that word go to print. I know he didn't mean anything by it, but it's not PC, Bob.

I've changed the thread title because I don't think its a good reflection of the article. FWIW, Bob should have used a better phrase in my opinion.

AndrewP6
12-07-2012, 06:55 PM
Political correctness gone mad.

Try and live your life with people staring at you, asking "What's wrong with you" all the time, being called cripple, *!*!*!*!*!*!*! and so on, before you say that. It's just as wrong as racial vilification.

Scraggers
12-07-2012, 07:00 PM
Try and live your life with people staring at you, asking "What's wrong with you" all the time, being called cripple, *!*!*!*!*!*!*! and so on, before you say that. It's just as wrong as racial vilification.

Well said !!

LostDoggy
12-07-2012, 07:28 PM
Try and live your life with people staring at you, asking "What's wrong with you" all the time, being called cripple, *!*!*!*!*!*!*! and so on, before you say that. It's just as wrong as racial vilification.

That's far fetched. He was calling himself a cripple.

jeemak
12-07-2012, 09:10 PM
Dunno Chops. Might be one of those situations where you just have to take some folks word for it, ya know.

GVGjr
12-07-2012, 09:18 PM
All, lets have no further discussion on the phrase that Murphy used. We can keep discussing the article itself but lets not make that one phrase the main point.

jeemak
12-07-2012, 09:22 PM
I know it's hard for Murphy to do in any great detail due to him still playing, but it would have been great to read some critical analysis on the game.

It's a shame you have to wait until players retire before you can hear/read their real thoughts about how a game plays out.

GVGjr
12-07-2012, 09:38 PM
I know it's hard for Murphy to do in any great detail due to him still playing, but it would have been great to read some critical analysis on the game.

It's a shame you have to wait until players retire before you can hear/read their real thoughts about how a game plays out.


I've never fully appreciated Murphy's wit and vision until I've started to read his articles and seen him on TV. I certainly enjoy him now a lot more than I did a few season back.

The Underdog
12-07-2012, 09:47 PM
I've never fully appreciated Murphy's wit and vision until I've started to read his articles and seen him on TV. I certainly enjoy him now a lot more than I did a few season back.

His genuine feeling for the club is certainly very warming in the age of the professional footballer.

jeemak
12-07-2012, 10:11 PM
I've never fully appreciated Murphy's wit and vision until I've started to read his articles and seen him on TV. I certainly enjoy him now a lot more than I did a few season back.

For a while there his articles were a bit over the top with rock references, which is hard for someone with my taste in music to relate to. I just don't care enough about the genre, but he certainly does!

His style hasn't changed a lot though, and considering he's been at it for three or four years now it's a credit to him that he's able to keep writing interesting articles most weeks.

I have on occasion gotten a little peeved about his complimentary nature when it comes to his opponents (a particular article leading up to a Melbourne vs Bulldogs game in 2010 in the wet where he talked up Scully and Trengove as being seedlings from his garden springs to mind), but that's just him and I probably need to chill out. :D

AndrewP6
12-07-2012, 11:23 PM
He's spot on about student teachers in the playground - sadly some qualified staff are the same! :)

Ghost Dog
13-07-2012, 02:32 PM
For a while there his articles were a bit over the top with rock references, which is hard for someone with my taste in music to relate to. I just don't care enough about the genre, but he certainly does!

His style hasn't changed a lot though, and considering he's been at it for three or four years now it's a credit to him that he's able to keep writing interesting articles most weeks.

I have on occasion gotten a little peeved about his complimentary nature when it comes to his opponents (a particular article leading up to a Melbourne vs Bulldogs game in 2010 in the wet where he talked up Scully and Trengove as being seedlings from his garden springs to mind), but that's just him and I probably need to chill out. :D

No not just you. I found his stuff to be much a do about nothing and a bit airy fairy in the past. When he writes about footy, he is at his best.

Ghost Dog
13-07-2012, 02:34 PM
Try and live your life with people staring at you, asking "What's wrong with you" all the time, being called cripple, *!*!*!*!*!*!*! and so on, before you say that. It's just as wrong as racial vilification.

Apologies Andrew. I copied the word from the article into the thread. My bad. I should have thought about it. Sorry about that and thanks for changing the thread title GVG.

bornadog
13-07-2012, 03:34 PM
I've never fully appreciated Murphy's wit and vision until I've started to read his articles and seen him on TV. I certainly enjoy him now a lot more than I did a few season back.

I have always loved his humour and his writing is refreshing. There are enough journos to analyse the game.

I guess I got use to know a bit in 2004 when I played 18 holes of golf with him in a Bulldogs Golf Day and with Fox Footy following us around. we played badly but laughed alot.

Bulldog4life
13-07-2012, 06:12 PM
I remember in his first season I was at The Whitten Oval for a practice match. Bob wasn't playing but in the last quarter he started commentating on the match via a loud speaker. I remember thinking at the time that he was a unique individual.

azabob
13-07-2012, 07:42 PM
I remember in his first season I was at The Whitten Oval for a practice match. Bob wasn't playing but in the last quarter he started commentating on the match via a loud speaker. I remember thinking at the time that he was a unique individual.

Is it true Darcy belted Murphy which nearly knocked him out during his first per season?

AndrewP6
13-07-2012, 09:08 PM
Apologies Andrew. I copied the word from the article into the thread. My bad. I should have thought about it. Sorry about that and thanks for changing the thread title GVG.

No worries.

Bumper Bulldogs
14-07-2012, 07:16 PM
No not just you. I found his stuff to be much a do about nothing and a bit airy fairy in the past. When he writes about footy, he is at his best.

Spot on, I didn't read his early stuff as it was IMO just not worth reading

Bulldog4life
15-07-2012, 12:38 PM
Is it true Darcy belted Murphy which nearly knocked him out during his first per season?

Don't remember that one.