Tom Wills – Book Review

"Tom Wills: The Spectacular Rise and Tragic Fall" by Greg de Moore

Admittedly this book is very niche. It’s the story of the sporting hero in Melbourne during the 1800’s. Tom Wills was the superstar cricket player of the colony. Also a great story of early colonial living.

My interest in this story stemmed from the fact that Tom Wills, along with three others, formed a committee to write the first rules for the game now known as Australian Rules Football over 150 years ago.

Educated at the famous Rugby School in England, Wills returned home with high expectations from his father to join the law profession. However, all Wills wanted to do was play cricket. He was the best by far in cricket mad Melbourne. His services were in demand as he made a name for himself as a batter, bowler and a leader.

Greg de Moore has done a brilliant job in gathering the historical remains to put the pieces of Tom Will’s life together

Letters to Jim Main #6

I was so impressed with my blog post on Barry Hall that i sent it to Jim Main and it was published last week.

Hallmarks of Persecution (17/6/09)

Dear Jim
The Sydney Swans' Barry Hall is in a tough situation. He has a reputation for being a bad boy and it seems impossible for umpires to view him neutrally. This is unfair and opposition players take full advantage by coaxing him into random acts of frustration. He is the most picked player in the AFL. He is able to be wrestled like WWE Smackdown and gets very few free kicks. Yet the glamour forwards like Lance Franklin and Matthew Lloyd only need a finger nail to grace their shoulder to get a free kick. Hall now is giving away free kicks and 50m penalties on the suspicion that he has done somthing wrong. In the Jarryd Roughead incident when it appeared Roughead ran into Hall's outstretched arm, no less than six Hawthorn players got into Hall's face. Of course he is going to push and shove. I know Hall does himself no favours with his remonstrations, but I feel sorry for him even though he created his own problems and now has to live with them.

Jim Main says:
It sometimes reminds me of bear-baiting in Russia, with people poking sticks into the beast to get a reaction. Yes he is his own worst enemy, but I always thought umpires had to treat all players equally.

And then there was this one written on the same topic in the same edition of Inside Football

In a League of His Own (17/6/09)

Dear Jim,
After watching the Swans lose to Hawthorn, I firmly believe as I have for years that there is a different set of rules for Barry Hall. Yes, he plays close to the edge, but he still should be treated according to the rules. I cringe at the way he gets manhandled every week and the umpires seems to sweat on him. He gets a free kick every now and then but most of the time defenders can just grab him, hold him and nothing is done about it. I get confused when I see the way Nick Riewoldt is adjudicated. Is it Hall's lack of hair and tattoo? He is good enough and fit enough to play on next year but it seems the AFL and the umpires are pushing him into a boxing career. Has the AFL become that soft?

Tim Brett
Concord West, NSW

Jim Main says:
The umpires will deny it but Hall is treated differently. However I do not believe in conspiracy theories.

Health Abuse

In Australia we have a public health system that has an endless demand yet limited resources. People generally ignore this fact and have unlimited expectations on what the health system can achieve for them. Fact is that good health costs money. We feel that it is free just because there are no direct costs to the consumer. We do pay a levy in our taxes. However this covers little if you are actually hospitalised. Perhaps an overnight stay not including any actual treatment. I feel as if Medicare was designed to take care of our basic health by looking after our visits to our local GP.

Our expectations are high, yet what is the individual doing to improve their own health? There are lots of stories of people expecting help from the health system when it is their own lifestyle choices that are leading them into a cycle of ill health. Here’s just three:

• Morbidly obese people consuming fatty foods in the hospital cafeteria
• Smokers outside of hospital having a cigarette while still in the gown and connected to IV fluids
• Smokers having a cigarette while on home oxygen resulting in explosion and burns to face, yes a true story

Are we really a healthier nation or a nation that takes its health for granted? There are a lot of abuses of the health system, a lack of personal responsibility and an expectation that the public health system to pick up the slack for poor choices. In fact it is a brazen disregard for the good lifestyle choices. Everyone should know better by now.

People seem unwilling to change lifestyle habits yet demand the health system to cure their ailments. Once cured go back to their same habits.

A Free Kick Against You, For Being Barry Hall

Sydney Swans player, Barry Hall, is in a tough situation. He has a reputation of being the bad boy that precedes him into games. It seems impossible for umpires to view him in even a neutral way. This is unfair, and opposition players take full advantage by coxing him into random acts of frustration.

Hall is the most picked on player in the AFL. He is able to be wrestled like WWE Smackdown and receive no free kicks yet the glamour full forwards like Lance Franklin and Matthew Lloyd only need a finger nail to grace their shoulder for a free kick to be awarded.

He is now giving away free kicks and 50 metre penalties on the suspicion that he has done something wrong. Such as the momentum shifting incident with Jarryd Roughead, when it appeared Roughead ran into Hall’s outstretched arms for a second 50-metre penalty to be awarded and a certain goal the result. Also, once giving away the first 50-metre penalty no less than six Hawks players got into his face egging him on. Of course he is going to push and shove.

Barry is hard done by, although he does himself no favours in his remonstrations no matter how justified he may be. Umpires tend to not change their minds and go on to adjudicate more harshly on the remonstrators.

I feel for Barry. But to a large degree he created this and now he has to live with it.

Letters to Jim Main #5

I still have a 'bee in my bonnet' about alternate jumpers after a Carlton Vs Collingwood match.

Another Logic Blackout (18/4/07)

Dear Jim
We recently had a match in which one team (Collingwood) wore a basically black jumper and another (Carlton) a dark blue one. why would it be so difficult for the AFL to tell Collingwood to wear a predominantly white jumper? Most clubs are dong the right thing and have come up with god alternative designs, but Collingwood is reluctant to change. The Magpies should wear one of their training outfits. is this so difficult?

Jim Main Says:

I have just about given up on the issue as Collingwood refuses to listen to logic and keeps screaming about tradition.