I didn't think I could feel any worse last night than I did Friday night - but I did.
Watching the first three quarters of the Slime's game and I knew the fix was on again. North started all over the top of WC - keeping them goaless in the first term, at home. Then Shuey ducks into a tackle, DOESN'T get taken high even then, but get's a free at the top of the goal square - momentum shifts from North to WC.
Third quarter when North are still in it up to their eyeballs and Darling gets a free kick for ...... (everyone is still trying to work out what for) , 20m out right in front - North break.
To indulge slightly, if we are to look outside of footy (hard to do at the moment) then I need look no further than my daughter's performance at her State PCYC Gymnastics Comp yesterday. After suffering a run of back, knee and ankle injuries for the past twelve months, she has persevered through and won a Bronze on Bars and equal third all-round. But of course, we didn't find out about the third all-round until 3 hours after we left as there had been a marking mistake!! About sums up my weekend - even the good news comes with disappointment.
But seriously, I am considering whether I renew me and kids memberships next year. Not because I have fallen out of love with the Dockers (the players at least) but because I am sick to death of paying good money to prop up what is a hopelessly compromised 'National' competition, run by crooks and cheats. Maybe if I felt the Club understood the level of frustration and despair so many of us feel after yet another flogging at the hands of the umpires and ACTUALLY took the AFL to task over it, I might feel that they value me more than just the money I spend on memberships, merchandise, etc.
But as it stands, I feel the club doesn't give a rats a*se for how we feel. It's all about corporate KPI's, placating the AFL whenever something goes amiss and focussing on how much money they make, bums they get on seats and study tours the Executive get 'offered' by the AFL.
If, as I suspect, Fyfe gets robbed of his deserved Brownlow tomorrow night by those cheating maggots, the set will be complete.
C'mon Freo board, is there not one of you who can see what is so obvious to those even outside of the club - we are fighting with one arm tied behind our backs?
I've said it before and I'll say it again here - the AFL will NEVER allow Freo to win a flag. I don't understand it, but it's plain as day to me. Whether it's bullsh#t fixturing that means we never get more than 2 games at the MCG in a season - no matter how many consecutive years we make the top four and play finals, or that we consistently get 'rostered' umpires who have a statistically verifiable bias against us.
If I was king for a day at Docker's HQ, I'd withdraw our licence, stuff up their new Broadcasting rights deal and tell them we'll rejoin when they can provide some guarantees that we will get a FAIR run at a flag.
