Boré’s view.

We are back in lockdown.  The whole social fabric of our society has been placed in jeopardy by a Carlton-Geelong game at the MCG.  Actually, now that I think about it, I suppose that outcome from a was inevitable eventually.  The only sensible thing left to do is to expel both teams from the competition.  I would also suggest socially isolating Carlton and Geelong fans from the rest of the community but, you know, that kind of happens anyway to Carlton supporters.

All we can do cope with the situation we find ourselves in as best we can, knowing that as people get vaccinated a path out of this will open up.  Boré has prepared this report on how the club can best adapt in these difficult times.

We thank Boré for another fantastic cartoon.

Minutes.

Attendance: Garry reported 28 members, although one turned up and then left before the meeting even started.  We had no guests and failed to attract any visiting Rotarians.

Meal: A mini-quiche was complimented by a salad and the always excellent chips.

Paul bounced the ball to get the meeting under way before introducing yours truly and then calling for reports.

·       Garry advised members the membership fees are once again unchanged for 2021-22, and are now due.

·       Garry reported that the Wine, Food and Music festival is scheduled for January 16^th 2021 at the Racecourse.

·       Garry also advised that Matt will be organising another summer crayfish raffle.

·       Matt spoke to members about some of the proposed community serevice projects; building some bird nesting boxes, planting trees at the Merri School, planting some trees at WCC public land, and doing a fundraising walk for the Myeloma Project.

·       Hayessey asked members to consider volunteering to assist in high school student vocational placements at workplaces.  Stay tuned.

·       Boré spoke about the International Committee’s plans for the year ahead.  This will include our traditional support for RAWCS and ROMAC as well as looking at some other international projects.  A fundraising rotating dinner is planned as part of this effort.  Please consider helping with this by offering to host a course when Boré asks.

·       Garry updated us on the footy tipping.  Sam is in the lead on 95 except for the fact that Glendon is on 98.  Robbo, Bill, Les and KY are all in hot pursuit. 

·       Ronnie offered members copies of our recent annual report, signed if requested.  Penno jumped at the opportunity and secured for himself a signed copy of Gerard’s magnum opus. 

·       Tim offered to assist with club fundraising efforts, specifically he offered to drive the getaway car.  If he drives a car the way he drives a boat then nothing is more likely to attract the attention of police.

·       Ian B. reported that Bruce has been through a very tough experience, but is now feeling better and back at home.  We continue to think of Bruce and wish him well.

·       Ian also reported that he recently had a coronary artery stent placed after tests revealed a blockage.  We are pleased that Ian is doing well and on the mend.

·       Tony D informed member that, after a casual conversation with a member of the RC of Darwin, the Darwin club had passed a motion to partner with us on a joint project.  As yet no one has any idea what this project might be, but it is food for thought about the possibilities. 

The meeting continued with a fascinating interview of Shane Keogh by Tony Grace.  Tony uncovered that Shane had done a pre-season with Richmond before injury cruelly intervened.  I would give them a call now Shane, under the current circumstances they could probably use your help.  Shane also recalled that he used to caddie for Robert Allenby.  Now, Robert Allenby is a very fine golfer but he is notorious for being hard on his caddies.  He famously once fired his caddie midway through a professional tournament and picked a spectator out of the gallery to carry his bags for the remainder of the tournament.  Shane didn’t mention how his caddying role with Allenby finally came to an end.  Shane also discussed some interesting and distressing aspects of his policing career.  He also spoke about his children and their past involvement in Rotary youth programs.  We thank both Gracey and Shane for a fascinating insight into some aspects of Shane’s life.

Paul blew the whistle on the final siren, Matt drew Glendon’s number out of the barrel and we were done for another day.  Glendon left seemingly very impressed by the quality of the wine he had just won.  No doubt Glendon reflected that there could have been worse ways to spend a lunch hour.

Shane entertains members with stories of his life in the police force.

Hats off to our farmers.

Trev takes a moment in the middle of the pandemic to acknowledge our hardworking farmers.

Titus.

Ronnie brings us this update from Titus.

Richmond (106) v Brisbane (86)

Going into this, the signs weren’t good for Richmond, coming off four losses to ordinary opposition, the game moved from the MCG to the Gold Coast, and then traffic to preventing the game from starting on time.

You know something is deeply wrong with our country when footy games can’t start on time.

But for Jack Riewoldt’s 300^th game, the Tigers found that energy of old, with Riewoldt turning back the clock and booting five.

Yet the positive return of Richmond’s high-pressure came at a cost, Dustin Martin will miss the rest of the season with a kidney injury.

Many Australians know how he feels, all these lockdowns have done similar damage to our livers.

For the Lions, after last week’s performance against St Kilda, a top-four finish is now looking about as likely as Sydney getting out of lockdown this year.

Melbourne (79) v Hawthorn (79)

What the hell Melbourne.

In a season where they’re top of the ladder and we fans should be joyously happy; the Dees still find ways to torture us.

Hawthorn made this game messy, and the Dees seemed not that keen on getting messy.

Non-stop pressure can narrow the gap between the best teams and the worst.

Time and again, the Hawks just outworked the Dees at the contest, and this created their own luck, every bounce seemed to go their way, which happens when you are just putting in more effort.

A lot has been made of the Dees losing to the lower teams, but that distracts from the real problem, which is their last six weeks have been poor, especially when it comes to winning the ball at stoppages.

For Hawthorn, it showed what a great coach they have. They’re such a rare commodity, and when you’ve got when you should never let them go.

As for the draw, people say we should get rid of them and replace them with a penalty shoot out equivalent.

I hate that idea. A goal-kicking contest would be like deciding the final of MasterChef by seeing who can order from a Maccas drive-thru the fastest.

North Melbourne (74) v Essendon (92)

This was another game shifted to the Gold Coast due to Covid. If only the AFL had listened to Jaidyn ‘Professor Science’ Stephenson, they could have stayed in Melbourne.

According to the good doctor, if the media reported on Covid less, it wouldn’t be ‘such a big thing’.

It’s right out of Trump’s ‘if we tested less, we’d have fewer cases’ theory.

It’s a reminder that listening to footballers, ex-footballers, their partners and reality TV stars when it comes to Covid, is like listening to your mate’s theories on footy. It’s amusing but you don’t take them seriously.

Essendon got the win in this despite spending the first half casually strolling around the field.

It occurred to them in the second half that this wouldn’t get the job done, especially against a North side that is improving every week.

Jake Stringer and Darcy Parish were key to turning things around, and their example of breaking out of a light jog inspired their teammates.

It wasn’t a convincing victory, but when the other teams contesting for the top eight keep falling over, it’s just enough to stay on your feet.

Collingwood (62) v Carlton (91)

Sam Walsh is so good, it’s hard to believe he plays for Carlton.

In this game, it was like a Ferrari had been dropped into a go-kart race.

A go-kart race where all the go-karts are painted the same colour so you can’t tell them apart.

Collingwood’s refusal to have an alternate strip made this look terrible but to their credit, as the game went on, their general play was what made it look terrible.

The Pies had the upper hand early, and the Blues fans were already calling for blood on Twitter before the Pies just stopped.

It’s like any time Collingwood get around 60 to 70 points, they slam on the breaks like there’s a speed limit or something.

The Blues, seeming to realise this, just kept getting better and better, and with the passing of Sergio Silvagni, and his grandson Jack playing a very good game in an emotional week, I felt happy for the Blues when they won.

I know. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me. I guess the pressure of lockdown V is getting to me. Not as much as Lockdown IV did, but more than Lockdown III.

Man, I wish I couldn’t rank lockdowns by the impact on my psychological health, but here we all are.

Greater Western Sydney (72) v Sydney (98)

What a chaotic end to the round. First off, we learnt AFL players went to a Rugby Union game. Where’s the loyalty?

If you’re going to go to a tier-one or two sites, make it AFL.

I think that’s why the AFL had no sympathy that eight players were unavailable for the game.   

Plus, it wasn’t Victorian teams, so no biggie.

It’s the biggest threat Rugby Union has presented to the AFL since the early 2000s.

With so many players missing, it was hard to know what was going to happen and early on it seemed the Swans have 20 players not able to play.

But at halftime, I think more Giants players got told they’d been at tier two sites, because they didn’t participate in the game any further as the Swans came from 35 points back to smash them.

It was all one-way traffic in the second half, with the Swans kicking 12 of the last 14 goals as the Giants defence became as effective as Sydney’s lockdown.

The game was a reminder of just how fragile the footy season is. You get the feeling we’ll be lucky to get to the end. 

The emotion was on full display when John Longmire wiped tears away from his eyes after the game.

You know times are tough when even football coaches are crying.