The Terrace

After dining on a split-round subiaco sandwich it was time for something home cooked. And what a meal of teal it was!

Each quarter in four words or less (in rhyme)…
1st: Number 5 is alive!
2nd: Shannon Byrnes opposition concerns
3rd: 6.1, game won
4th: firing gazza polls chazza

This week the football world salivates in anticipation of an
unprecedented recipe: two undefeated teams after 13 home and away rounds. Bon appetit! For those who are struggling through their Wednesday, here’s an appetiser for good measure: a photo of Nick Riewoldt in tears.

At least Gary was robbed of the Norm Smith and lost the premiership when he cried.

Have a great day,

The Terrace

Today is Friday. Friday is a good day for few words. Enjoy our smorgasboard of video goodness!

1. A Terrace exclusive: the club theme song – with a lemon twist!

2. Trav Varcoe coast-to-coast vs Freo

3. 2009 Cats highlights – so far!

‘Ave a great weekend…

The Terrace

We couldn’t resist using that headline. I mean, let’s face it, Shannon rarely gets in the headlines, so it was just too good an opportunity to refuse. Here at The Terrace we’ve been one of the many supporters eager to diss the little man from Shepparton.  Shannon has been a much maligned player for many years now (if you’re looking for proof read this forum post), not only because he shares his first name with a female, but also because of his ability to run very fast and dispose of the ball in a poorly way. Did someone mention David Clarke? That being the case, it’s fair to say his performances over the course of 2009 (average of 10 kicks, 11 handballs and almost 2 goals per game) have been very good. So much so that his future Byrnes bright – ooops, there we go again – and Bomber is regretting his decision to drop him in last year’s GF. The benefit of hindsight shall we say?

Shannon: man, not girl.

It’s worth noting that, with our win in Freo, we have another record to add to the list: the most consecutive interstate wins by any club in the AFL. Great effort!

Anyway, as tradition has it, each quarter in four words or less:

Q1: one goal, poor return
Q2: five goals to two
Q3: nice jab Lingy – lucky!
Q4: Shannon, Stevie run hot!

Struggling through your Wednesday? Read this story from the Hobart Mercury. Tim Orchard, the Terrace salutes you and your brazen stupidity!

Today is Tuesday, so it’s time for another red-headed tribute. This time we salute the Geelong boy who done good and ended up residing in the prestigious City of Stonnington. Barry is now referred to as ‘Stonners’ by close friends and associates owing to his ubiquitous presence on the high streets of Prahran.

The rhubarb-bouffant

Seriously, apparently Barry’s real nickname is ‘Rhubarb’. At least that’s what his playing card suggests. Rhubarb – who played in an era of unprecedented red-headedness at the cats (think Bourke, McGrath, Hickmott and Bruns) – was a Geelong boy who was recruited from St Joseph’s college. He enjoyed a very successful career – albeit cut short by a chronic leg injury – at the Cats by playing 241 V/AFL games and kicking 223 goals. He won the 1990 ‘Carji’ Greeves medal and was an all-Australian player two years later. Amongst other, things Baz will be remembered for the day of the ’95 Grand Final where, as injured captain, he got into a brawl with a group of Carlton players at half time. It made no difference and we eventually got flogged (again), but it gave us all some dignity on an otherwise undignified day.

We think the portrait above is a fine one by which we can remember him fondly. His full-bodied hair has been trimmed, in a very 1990’s sort of way, at the sides and back to reveal a unique rhubarb-bouffant effect. Nice, Rhubarb. We salute you.

Well, the break certainly has been enjoyable, hasn’t it? Feeling refreshed?

Here at The Terrace we’ve been working morning, night and day to bring you another blast from the past: one of our favourite son’s  father, John Scarlett.  We all love Scarlo Jnr, so what about his old cheese? Was he as anywhere near as good as the portait below would suggest?

It really is one of the weirdest portraits yet.

Well, it would appear so. Big John boasted a fierce reputation for being a hard man of the backline during the 60′s and 70′s. Wearing number 30, he played 183 games for the blue and white before heading across to the bloods at the lakeside for 29 games. Our research indicates big John was “Equally capable of taking a big mark or spoiling forcefully…Scarlett was not averse to taking a run on the ball or spending some time in the forward lines…frequently eye-catching in the extreme”. Sound familiar? Here’s an interesting article about Scarlo senior (published on that fateful day in September 2007) that is definitely worth a read.

Looking at his hair and mo’ combo in the card , we can’t help but thinking of the D-generation’s olden days. It’s a nice way to bring in the weekend (bring on the dockers)…

Happy Friday,

The Terrace

It wasn’t the most beautiful game of football to watch, but on the late afternoon of a long-weekend Sunday, it was just great to be watching your team live and winning – again.

Considering the past two margins (135 and 99) against the Weagles there was an air of expectation. However, at the end of the day it’s about the four points…and Gazza accumulating more votes…and seeing the Tomahawk pull down a big grab (not to mention bag 3 goals) and…well, you get the gist.

Each quarter in four words or less:

1st: Looks like a cakewalk

2nd: Cox is a gun

3rd: Poor fella, wrong way!

4th: It wasn’t pretty but…

It’s the halfway point of the season and we are definitely on track with 11 wins from 11 games. So, with the split round in mind, we thought it was time to take a brief break from the cats to enjoy some random Grand Final entertainment from the glory days of 1991.

Have a great weekend – and here’s to a lossless 2nd half of the season.

The Terrace

Here at The Terrace we’re not quite sure if Ricky T. Browne was a distinguished player or not. In fact, it’s fair to say we have our doubts. Our archivist found it hard to find a mention of Ricky anywhere on the interweb, but the things we do know are this:

- Ricky played 25 senior games between 74-75 and slotted 14 goals.

- Ricky’s middle name starts with T.

- Ricky played in Geelong’s ’75 reserves premiership victory over the Tigers (Geelong 16.18 (114) dft. Richmond 11. 17 (83)).

- his card portrait is slightly awkward and disturbing, yet at the same time most entertaining. We think it’ll make you and your Tuesday all the better for seeing it.

Does anyone out there remember Ricky?

‘Ave a great Tuesday,

The Terrace

Here at The Terrace we’re unadulterated fans of players who share surnames with nouns. We’ve already enjoyed the fun and frivolity of debating whether David Mensch was indeed a mensch at heart. Now get this: the word Malarkey in the Compact Oxford English Dictionary is simply defined as “Nonsense”. Others describe it as “empty rhetoric or exaggerated talk.” This time there is no debate. Clearly the etymology of this word has no association with the tight-lipped, barrel-chested, no-nonsense former Geelong full back…one Gary Malarkey.

Malarkey, not looking very lark like...

Gary was yet another fine Geelong player who happened to be called Gary and wear the famous number 5. He was known for many things: he had a solid frame, a reliable fist and a Blightesque (or perhaps more appropriately Grahamesque) ability to use the torpedo to great effect. We question if he was ever called ‘the lark’, which would have been a humorous play on words given his stern disposition and ‘one percenter’ style of play. We think not, but will run with it nonetheless.

Hailing from East Perth (we could try a segue into this weekend’s game against the Weagles but will resist), ‘the lark’ had the capacity to beat bigger and faster players with his ability to read the game and extraordinary strength. He played 173 games, was an All Australian in 1979, represented Victoria and WA and was the premier full back of the VFL in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

'The lark' had a big barrel chest with a big barrel kick to match...

‘Lark’, wherever you may be, we at The Terrace salute you and your streeeeength!

‘Ave a good weekend, and here’s to another Subiaco flogging!

The Terrace

U2, Robbie Williams, Andre Rieu, Steve Johnson: the biggest names in entertainment to have graced Etihad Stadium. With distinctive flair, unpredictable brilliance and a masterful skill set, Stevie J had outscored Essendon from his own boot at ¾ time. If the Johnson (of pickled-banana fame) of last week had your heart skip a beat, this week’s Johnson made your heart sing to an upbeat.

On arrival at the game, the sighting of former players Paul Brown, Tim Darcy and Rangtheon member Neville Bruns was definitely a good omen. From the first bounce it was clear that Geelong were primed and Essendon were in for a long afternoon. The late withdrawal of Joel Corey gave Shannon Byrnes a lifeline and first gamer Nathan Djekkura was impressive with relentless tackling (game high 9) and pressure.

Each quarter in four words or less;

1st: We are switched on
2nd: The Bombers are done
3rd: We are lucky supporters
4th: The game’s over anyway

The Terrace Soap Box

There are certain players (many, in fact) that are irritating for a number of reasons. For us, Adam McPhee is one such player. He has talent; however, here at The Terrace we find it hard to reconcile that on one level he puts himself forward as a hard man and yet, on the other manicured hand, spends a major % of his wage on hair and beauty products. To be fair he’s not the only modern-day player to share this regrettable metrosexual trait, but he also owns and runs a fashion boutique called Sekushi (sexy in Japanese) with wife Bree. I suspect he was worrying more about his winter range rather than his man on Sunday afternoon. Here at the The Terrace our nickname for Adam is “Skeletor” (of He Man fame). We think you’ll agree there’s a fair resemblance.

Lucky for us the boys at KP play hard and don’t wax their backs!

Yours faithfully,

The Terrace