DAVE: G’day boys, feeling a bit of pressure this week with Tyler producing a cracker Let’s Talk Sport last week. I even had some positive feedback from one of the five or six readers of this column (boys laugh).
TYLER: Positive feedback, that’s unusual.
GREAT SPORTING EVENTS
DAVE: Alright, my favourite event in the world kicks off on Friday morning our time, The Masters, at Augusta. Apart from having a healthy family and friends, the biggest dream in my life is to get there one day. It’s my 30th anniversary next year, at this time of year, and the ground work is being laid. The look and feel of the place, the history, not a blade of grass out of place, it’s got to be one of the greatest places on earth…the Holy Grail for golfers.
I’ll start with you Lachie, is there a sporting event that you have set your sights on getting too.
LACHIE: I’d like to go to a World Cup final, that would be the ultimate, you would have the eyes of the world focussed in on the event and that would be incredible. And also one of those UFC events, you know, like Conor McGregor versus Floyd Mayweather, that would be pretty intense and it would be great to be there for the build-up, that type of thing. The hype would be great around a city like Vegas in the lead up to something like that. They’re my two.
DAVE: And you Tyler?
TYLER: I’ve never been to an AFL grand final. I said to my old man this year, I have to go to the grand final this year, regardless of who’s in it, and if anyone has a spare ticket I am prepared to pay a lot of money to get to that event this year.
And Dave, talking about your trip to Augusta, have you seen the Carlton Mid add, where they all lob at the same place and one of them says “Michael Jameson, is that you…as I live and breathe,”…I think that will be you with your mates at the US Masters next year. “What are the chances?”
And Dave, speaking about golf, c’mon, bring it up, the club championship win on the weekend.
DAVE: Boys, nah, nah, this is what we get in trouble for, for talking about ourselves on this page. Look, I did have the honour of winning the…
LACHIE: You just said we get in trouble for doing it, and now you’re talking about it (both boys laugh)
DAVE: This is a stitch up from you and Tyler, but I did win the Men’s Club Championship at Deep Creek Golf Club on Saturday. It wasn’t done with the precision of a Rolls-Royce engine or anything like that, there were some serious heart-murmurs going on, and I thought I was cooked at times, but we got across the line. I seriously don’t know how professional sports people do it, I was playing for a country golf club championship and was nervous, but imagine being Ash Barty at Wimbledon, you walk on centre court and there’s nowhere to hide, no teammates to rely on…it’s just all you.
LACHIE: I think Deep Creek would love being compared to Wimbledon (Boys laugh again).
DAVE: You two are comedians today aren’t you?
TYLER: I just hope they spell Nagel right on the trophy. I’ve seen several spellings of it over the years and you don’t enjoy people getting it wrong.
DAVE: If I wanted it spelt wrong I’d just get one of you two to write it. Just kidding boys…a bit of payback there (laughs).
LACHIE: Can Cam Smith win the Masters Dave?
DAVE: 100 percent he can. He’s one of the in-form golfers in the world right now and I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t finish top 10. He was in contention last year if I remember, right. And boys, before we get off events, I would also love to go to Wrestlemania.
LACHIE: Yes, I agree, imagine being at the first Wrestlemania, with Liberace, Muhammad Ali, Mr T, Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant….Wowee…
DAVE: Lachie, have a look at Tyler, his eyes have glazed over, we’ve lost him.
TYLER: I just can’t believe you like that stuff…I hate it. You may as well be talking Egyptian to me right now, I just don’t get it.
LACHIE: I think he’s a Mario Milano man (laughs).
OUR GREATEST TEAM?
DAVE: Alright boys, let’s move on. The Australian Women’s cricket team won the World Cup final on the weekend. What I want to know is where does this team sit in the pantheon of Australian sport?
TYLER: What about world sport? I don’t think there is a team in its own pool that is better than them. They’re just too good, especially in ODI cricket. They picked (Ellyse) Perry on the weekend and she has clearly been unfit, but they picked her so she didn’t miss out on another win. There’s the Melbourne Storm, who continuously win, and the Patriots, under Tom Brady, but I think this team is in a league of its own when it comes to dominating their opposition. And I can’t see the dynasty ending soon.
DAVE: So what is it that makes them so special Tyler?
TYLER: I’m glad you asked me this, it’s just fun for them, there’s never a time where they don’t have a smile on their face. They interact with the media really well and take the mickey out of themselves all the time, they just have fun.
LACHIE: I reference the New Zealand All-Blacks, who completely dominated teams but had trouble getting it done in World Cups. Right throughout they dominated, they’ve won the last so many Bledisloe Cups in a row, but the Women’s team continually pass that test, on the biggest stage, and for that reason alone they have to be in the conversation. They get it done, Meg Lanning, Alyssa Healy….champions.
DAVE: I love watching them play too, they’ve got the quickest bowlers in the women’s game, they hit the ball hard, they field well, and they’re a very good team to watch. My other team, not in the category of world cup winners or anything like that, but as a Collingwood supporter I really admired the Hawthorn teams of the early 80’s. They were the first team that I saw just run the ball out of defence with handball, they ran in waves and had players like Peter Knights and Leigh Matthews running around too. But they never won world cups like these girls continue to do.
LACHIE: Chicago Bulls…great team as well.
TYLER: But take Michael Jordan out and they don’t win. Take Alyssa Healy out and this team still wins. They’re right up there as far as I’m concerned.
DAVE: Warnie, Gilchrist, McGrath, Hayden, Ponting…what a team that was as well.
LACHIE: Stuart McGill, Phil Jacques, Michael Klinger, Stuart Law, Jamie Siddons, the players that have missed out over the years is amazing.
TYLER: That could be a top-10 topic, players like James Pattinson, Michael Neser, they would have played 100 tests if they played anywhere else in the world.
DAVE: Bridesmaids hey, Hay List was probably the biggest bridesmaid I ever saw, running second to Black Caviar so many times. If Black Caviar wasn’t around, Hay List would probably be up there with Vain and Manikato as one of the best sprinters we’ve ever seen.
WEEKEND DELIGHTS
Alright boys, let’s move on again. Tyler tell us about the change of seasons, from cricket to football for you, how did your weekend look?
TYLER: It was a long weekend for me. I went to The Albert to watch Casey South Melbourne play in the grand final against Carlton. I was there for the toss, saw the pitch with my own eyes, and stayed until it was clear that the Swannies weren’t likely to win. Then it was off to Narre Warren, to watch Narre and Pakenham at night. There were a lot of cars lined up at Narre Warren, it was fantastic to see. The beanies and stubby holders were out; it was fantastic to be back at the footy.
LACHIE: I was at the game between Springvale and Cranbourne, which was good. Cranbourne just looked like they needed a kick up the backside, and they certainly got that with a massive spray from Steve O’Brien at half time, he really revved them up.
It was incredible to be there, and then it was off too Doveton and Hampton Park and watch Michael Cardamone tear it up in the forward line. It was good to watch good footy, but some of the umpiring decisions were confusing…especially deliberate out of bounds…they’re paying that more often now.
DAVE: Hey, hey Lachie, leave the umpires alone mate.
LACHIE: No, they were good…most of the time…just a couple of decisions that’s all.
DAVE: Obviously I had golf on Saturday (boys laugh again) so I couldn’t get to the footy, but I went to Cora Lynn and Phillip Island on Sunday and saw a nasty injury to Cora Lynn player Hayden Spierings. He received a dislocated hip, which I have since learnt was from a previous injury, but it just makes you think about the impact that a long-term injury can have on local sportspeople. I don’t know what Hayden does, but if he’s a chippie or something like that he could be out of work for weeks or months.
You saw something similar on the weekend didn’t you Tyler?
TYLER: No, I was talking to one of our photographers, Rob, at Narre Warren on Saturday night, and he saw a player from the Doveton Eagles suffer a horrific lower-leg injury on Saturday. We’ve had two years of on-and-off footy, and to come back and receive injuries like that doesn’t help people to stay in love with the game. A mate of mine did three ACL’s in three consecutive seasons and he doesn’t play anymore. It’s a pretty brutal game sometimes, both physically and mentally.
LACHIE: I was standing on the boundary at Springvale, and there were some big collisions, they hit pretty hard don’t they, you can see and hear the collisions and they’re very brave the players.
DAVE: Tyler, give us a quick summary of what you saw at Narre Warren on Saturday night?
TYLER: Pakenham looked quick, they looked quicker at times, and it was an exciting start with a few early melees and things like that. Ash Green called for a head count at one stage and it was all happening. Pakenham got on the spread, very un-Pakky like, usually they’re contest based and win it on the inside, and trust that process, but the first 10 minutes they spread it quickly and looked very hard to catch. They’ll be the two best teams in it I think.
DAVE: And Cranbourne Lachie?
LACHIE: Cranbourne’s defensive structures looked a bit off. They had six players jump for the ball at one stage and it went over the back for an easy goal. Marc Holt kicked five, and celebrated his first like it was his first career goal; it was great to see the passion from the great man. They lifted after half time and got the job done. What about you Dave?
DAVE: I was impressed with Cora Lynn on Sunday. They lost by five points, pushed Phillip Island all the way, but showed great resilience with a couple of injuries during the match. Phillip Island just had some really good players step up to the plate when they needed it most. It was just great to be back at the footy and netball again…I really enjoyed watching both games.
Let’s do it all again this week boys.
