Why I hate Essendon

Some people hate Hawthorn and their robotic success. Most people hate Collingwood and their rabble army of boguns. I hate Essendon and all that they stand for.

Memo to NMFC board: be bold

Nearly four years ago at Dallas Brooks Hall, James Brayshaw made the boldest statement in North Melbourne’s history. He rejected the Gold Coast and stated in no uncertain terms that we are the North Melbourne Football Club. A club of history and culture, from Arden St. The era of the ‘Kangaroos’, marred with quick fix solutions to cash-flow problems, was over.

It’s now time Brayshaw made another bold statement. And it needs to happen soon.

Is North relevant?

I return to Melbourne after a year away, and all my footy friends echo the same sentiments: North are in trouble. According to them a cloud of doom and gloom, more threatening than ever before, is descending on Arden St. It’s only a matter of time.

I laugh it off with brazen confidence. I’ve seen it all before, in 1996 and 2007. I’ve read it throughout North’s history, I’ve heard all the arguments. North will survive, they always have.

But then I sense something new. Their tone is different – there’s an honest fear in their voice, in their eyes. They actually believe that North are gone.

The thought troubles me. Good football people are losing the faith. Has the AFL won the war of propaganda?

JB: My Man

The forthcoming North Melbourne Football Club board elections continue to be played out in the media. It’s fair to say that James Brayshaw has handled it poorly. But he deserves our support.

When Peter de Rauch entered the election mix, James Brayshaw choose to publicly fight him. It was the wrong option.

Slide Show: Old Arden St

Take a close up and personal tour of the old Arden St headquarters of North Melbourne Football Club, due for demolition this week. Even for the most ardent fan, it was an eye-opening experience!

North vs St Kilda, Rd 21

It’s 10.45 on a Sunday morning and I’m on holiday in Exmouth, a prawning and tourist town next to the Ningaloo Reef in WA. There seem to be more emus than people in town today – it’s probably because the Exmouth Eagles won the local grand final the day before. I walk into the Potshot Hotel.

Potshots, as the locals call it, looks the goods: plenty of screens, TAB and no grey nomads (just some grey punters). I ask the bartender if they’re showing the game.

“It’s on Fox. We don’t have Fox … as much as I’d like to see St Kilda fucking flog North.”  The pained tone tells me he’s a North supporter. He suggests the Novotel.

North’s Heartland

First, brunch with Lady Shinboner (Grigons & Orr – good choice). Then, footy at the Limerick Castle.

The Limerick is vintage North Melbourne. Just a few minutes walk from the gentrified island of Errol St, it takes me to an era before my time. A bustling TAB dominates the atmosphere of the front bar – the new smoking laws would’ve hit extra hard here. It also seems like one of the few places where workers, deros and latté drinkers all seem to get on. Just around the corner is a simple dining room with big screen. A group of about 15 people, mostly middle-aged women,  finish off lunch. I’ve seen these people before – they know their footy, and they know their suburb. This is the heartland.