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At the end of January, I completed a read of a rather fascinating book [to my mind anyway ] entitled ‘Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia” written by Billy Griffiths, published in 2018, 376 pages.   A rather special book, presenting a really interesting insight into the deep history of this nation’s Indigenous people, yet also combined with some rather disturbing elements, following the arrival of Europeans in Australia.

From the book cover –  soon after Billy Griffiths joins his first archaeological dig as camp manager and cook, he is hooked. Equipped with a historian’s inquiring mind, he embarks on a journey through time, seeking to understand the extraordinary deep history of the Australian continent.  Deep Time Dreaming is the passionate product of that journey. It investigates a twin revolution: the reassertion of Aboriginal identity in the second half of the twentieth century, and the uncovering of the traces of ancient Australia. It explores what it means to live in a place of great antiquity, with its complex questions of ownership and belonging. It is about a slow shift in national consciousness: the deep time dreaming that has changed the way many of us relate to this continent and its enduring, dynamic human history.

When John Mulvaney began his fieldwork in January 1956, it was widely believed that the first Australians had arrived on this continent only a few thousand years earlier. In the decades since, Australian history has been pushed back into the dizzying expanse of deep time. The human presence here has been revealed to be more ancient than that of Europe, and the Australian landscape, far from being terra nullius, is now recognised to be cultural as much as natural, imprinted with stories and law and shaped by the hands and firesticks of thousands of generations of Indigenous men and women. The New World has become the Old

There were a couple of subject areas in the book to which I attached a touch of personal connection.

The section on Lake Mungo in south western NSW and the discovery of Mungo Man and Mungo Woman resonated with the writer, at I had visited that area ‘as part of a tour’  from Mildura, in July, 1980, and was at the time, quite intrigued by the stories of those relatively recent finds. Lake Mungo is a dry lake located in south-eastern Australia, in the south-western portion of New South Wales. It is about 760 km due west of Sydney and 90 km north-east of Mildura. The lake is the central feature of Mungo National Park, and is one of seventeen lakes in the World Heritage listed Willandra Lakes Region. The Lake Mungo remains were three prominent sets of Aboriginal Australian human remains: Lake Mungo 1 (also called Mungo Woman, LM1, and ANU-618), Lake Mungo 3 (also called Mungo Man, Lake Mungo III, and LM3), and Lake Mungo 2 (LM2).   Mungo woman (LM1) was discovered in 1969 and is one of the world’s oldest known cremations. The remains designated Mungo man (LM3) were discovered in 1974, and are dated to around 42,000 years old, the Pleistocene epoch, and are the oldest Homo sapiens (human) remains found on the Australian continent.

The Mungo National Park itself, can be visited by tourists and is accessed by an unsealed road. Boardwalks have been installed throughout the sand dunes and visitors are forbidden from stepping off the boardwalks unless accompanied by an Aboriginal guide [I don’t recall that set-up in existence when I was there in 1980]. In 2014, fake bones were buried throughout the area as part of an experiment for La Trobe University. Within two weeks, nearly all of the artificial bones had disappeared.  Always has been a problem with archaeological sites – trophy hunters, tomb raiders, and so-called ‘cowboy’ archaeologists.

From Griffith’s book we read:  “The fortuitous nature of her preservation [Mungo 1] and the influence of her discovery on the Australian public, has led traditional owners such as Dorothy Lawson to declare that, ‘She surfaced for a reason,’. As Mutthi Mutthi elder…Mary Paqppin wrote, ‘I believe that the Mungo Lady came to walk with our people to help us with our struggle and to tell the rest of the world about our cultural identity with that land’.The resurrection of Mungo Lady changed the face of Australian archaeology. As Bowler reflected in 2015, ‘I stumbled across these bones and blundered into an archaeological and cultural minefield’.”  [pps. 123-124].

Bowler was not an archaeologist, and found his discoveries by accident, as described in the following paragraph, the source of which I have mislaid!………………..In the 1960s a young geologist began to take an interest in the Willandra area. Jim Bowler was looking for somewhere he could extend his studies into what happened to Australia’s landscape and climate in the Pleistocene epoch (between 1.8 million and 10,000 years ago). From aerial photographs he recognised a large complex of fossil lakes in the now semi-arid plains of south-western New South Wales. Bowler was particularly drawn to Lake Mungo because erosion of the lunette offered a chance to look into ancient layers of sediment.

In 1967 Bowler investigated layers of windblown sand and clay piled up in the lunette. He found freshwater mussel shells and what looked like stone tools deep down in ancient deposits. Returning in 1968 he saw what looked like burnt bones and decided to bring in some archaeologists. A year later John Mulvaney and Rhys Jones probed the bones and turned over an unmistakable human jaw.

Bowler described how they were confronted with “the very presence of humanity itself”. Caught by surprise, the archaeologists collected the bones in a leather suitcase that Mulvaney had with him and took both back to the Australian National University. The remains were labelled Lake Mungo I and later determined to be of an adult female. She became known as Mungo Woman, or Mungo Lady.

One of the many academic research characters mentioned in the book is Professor Geoffrey Blainey. Born in 1930, he is one of Australia’s most successful historians and a prolific writer of books about all aspects of Australian and World history. He was once described by Professor Graeme Davison as the “most prolific, wide-ranging, inventive, and, in the 1980s and 1990s, most controversial of Australia’s living historians”.

I was privileged in the early 1970s to have been a student in Professor Blainey’s Economic History course at the University of Melbourne, and one part of that year’s syllabus was an excursion to an archaeological site. I can’t recall the site details except that it was down towards Ballarat, here in Victoria, perhaps on the road between Ballan and Daylesford from memory,  on a private property in that area.. I’ve remained a strong admirer of Blainey’s writings and views on Aboriginal and Australian history in general, though his views were occasionally controversial, as indicated previously.  One of his most famous books was ‘Triumph of the Nomads [1966] – the book’s most enduring insight was his rendering of the rising seas at the end of the last ice age. He wrote: “Nothing in the short history of white men in Australia…can be compared with the ancient rising of the seas, the shaping of thousands of new harbours, the swamping of scores of tribal territories and the wiping out of the evidence of the aboriginal life once lived on those drowned lands”.[Triumph of the Nomads, p.10-14].

In the second half of this article, I’ve selected three separate reviews, aimed at giving different aspects of the way the book can be looked at, and also to provide what is obviously a selection of more professional appraisals of Griffith’s work and what it means, then I could ever do justice to myself, and of course, to provide readers with a synopsis of the book itself..

From the Sydney Morning Herald Reviewer, Rebe Taylor [8/3/2018]

A young Indigenous man recently tweeted: “been sitting at my desk all day, but I don’t know that until an archaeologist tells me.” I had to laugh. It was a clever swipe at the “whitesplaining” Indigenous people must have to endure from academics. But then I found myself thinking: the discovery of deep time within scientific ways of knowing has changed how Australians relate to the Indigenous past. Especially as it was made when Indigenous people were reasserting their rights to land and culture. So, it has been with real interest and satisfaction that I found that these ideas are the heart of a new and wonderful book by Billy Griffiths: Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia.

Griffiths is a young historian who yearned to get beyond the few centuries of written Australian historical records and to understand how it is that archaeologists explore the deeper past. His research took him to archaeological sites in every Australian state and territory – sometimes as camp manager and cook. Digging holes and lab-based dating methods were, Griffiths learned, only part of the process. Archaeologists also formed complex and intimate relationships with the places they researched, including with their traditional owners.

His approach has been integral to the 60 years of collective research that has uncovered 65,000 years of Australian Indigenous continuity and change. So it is that personalities, politics and culture have shaped how archaeologists have read Australia’s ancient past. And as Griffiths ably shows us, the reverse is also true: the revelation of deep time has indeed meant a profound shift in how Australians relate to their country. Archaeology, as Griffiths put it, has made deep time dreamers of us all.

Each of Griffiths’ chapters follows an individual archaeologist’s relationship with a region or site across Australia. From Tasmania to the Top End, we are swept up in their passionate endeavours, achievements and occasional failures.

The journey begins in 1956 with John Mulvaney, then Australia’s only trained archaeologist, struggling to form a team and even to fund a vehicle to get them into the field. I gasped in disbelief when Mulvaney calls the ABC to report that his northern Queensland dig had had a date of more than 14,000 years, only to be told it was of “no interest” to the public! As Griffiths shows us, nothing could be further from the truth. Uncovering Australia’s deep past has influenced national politics, policies and identities.

Jim Bowler’s almost-accidental 1969 discovery in the Willandra Lakes district of the 40,000 year-old remains of Mungo Lady was a watershed for international science, the Australian public and Indigenous people. “You have been here 200 years, we for 40,000,” read placards protesting the Australian Day celebrations in 1988. The successful campaign to save Tasmania’s Franklin River, which swung the 1983 Federal election in Bob Hawke’s favour, depended upon the work of archaeologists dating local sites back to the last Ice Age.

And in 2017, the team at the Madjedbebe rock shelter near Kakadu confirmed that the first Australians arrived 65,000 years ago. The implications of this freshest finding cannot be underestimated, Griffiths explains, for it means reconsidering the global story of human migration.

But Griffiths warns us not to be “dazzled” by Australian archaeology’s big numbers. More important is that Australians gain an inclusive and humanist approach to understanding their country’s past. This is perhaps the most important message in this beautifully written book.

Griffiths quotes Indigenous activist Charlie Perkins: “My expectation of a good Australia is when White people would be proud … when they realise that Aboriginal culture … is all there waiting for us all. White people can inherit … 60,000 years of culture, and all have they to do is reach out and ask for it.”

What is so powerful about Perkins’ offer is not only its generosity, Griffiths explains, but the obligations it carries. The offer to share culture means committing to care for what has been retained as well acknowledging all that has been lost in the past 200 years since colonisation. If the deep past has bequeathed a living, complex Indigenous culture, it requires a collective recognition and respect for ensure its endurance into the future.

Meantime, from the Australian Book Review –[Kim Mahood] [part of]

In Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering ancient Australia, Billy Griffiths describes the process of imagining the past through the traces and sediments of archaeology as ‘an act of wonder – a dilation of the commonplace – that challenges us to infer meaning from the cryptic residue of former worlds’.

In his endeavour to infer meaning from this cryptic residue, Griffiths begins his wondering by sifting through the evidence, insights, enthusiasms, and mistakes of an articulate band of Cambridge-trained archaeologists who, from the 1960s, professionalised what had been the province of amateurs. Led by John Mulvaney, they halted the indiscriminate gathering of artefacts and human remains, brought rigorous techniques to the excavation of sites, and began to strip back the layers of time, aeon by aeon, to reveal the astonishing antiquity of human presence on the Australian continent.

By writing a history of the evolving discipline of Australian archaeology, Griffiths invites us to imagine a history of ancient Australia. The structure he has chosen serves his project well – to tell the stories of the significant players; the famous, the infamous, and the invisible; their personalities, methodologies, and discoveries – and, in so doing, to create a narrative that is accessible and compelling. It is a tale of the characters who dug the trenches, of the Indigenous people who objected to the cavalier approach of the early ‘cowboy’ archaeologists, of the political reverberations of archaeological finds within environmentally contested regions, of conflict and discovery and the shifting relations between white and Indigenous Australia.

And finally, this comment, taken from a review of two books on the subject, by Tom Clark [from Sydney’s Review of Books], 5/11/2018.

Viewed another way, Australia – both the Commonwealth of Australia and the living community of Australia – is constituted on fundamental mistruths about the history of this continent’s human inhabitation.

Truths easy enough to find out remain unpublished. Truths widely known before 1850 were removed from public knowledge over the next 100 years. Truths about the history of colonial expropriation and violence are spuriously contested, when even the perpetrators were once explicit about them.

We do no injustice to the Uluru view if we note that it offers a strong measure of idealism about this truth. ‘No one has ever doubted that truth and politics are on rather bad terms with each other,’ as Hannah Arendt began one of her most quotable sentences.

When the erstwhile [former] Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull quashed the policy agenda arising from Uluru, he stamped his agreement to its other half: ‘and no one, as far as I know, has ever counted truthfulness among the political virtues.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a copy of an article I wrote in February 2010, from memory, on my then Yahoo blog site, some 12 months after Black Saturday of the previous year, here in Victoria.   As with then, there are presently no  doubt  plenty of current media references to that weekend, ten years ago.  It is a lengthy article based on media and other reports of the time.  I don’t apologise for the length  –   those who wish to read on are welcome to do so, you have that choice, I merely submit it again, for the record…………………. aptly republished on a day here in Victoria where the same kind of threat is a real danger

[5^th February 2010]…………………..This weekend sees twelve months since the tragic ‘Black Saturday’ bushfires here in Victoria – 7th February 2009 – and if you are reading, listening to, or watching the media over these few days [particularly here in Victoria], you could not possibly be unaware of the fact. Whilst in the car earlier this morning, I was listening to a broadcast on Radio National consisting of a series of interviews with current and former residents of the small town of Marysville interviews that took place in the mobile library that just happened to be visiting the town this week. Having spent two or three weekends at an annual church camp some years not too distant past, I was familiar with many of the buildings that were destroyed that day – one was the ‘Marysville Lolly Shop’ as it was affectionally known , and I recalled the odd Saturday morning visit to that establishment as part of our weekend ‘wander’ into the town each year. Twelve months later, it was interesting to hear of some of the plans and hopes of former residents as they looked ahead to rebuilding, etc, and remaining in the town – despite the fact in some cases where all of their former neighbours had died during the inferno of that day.

As ‘my’ acknowledgement and recalling of Black Saturday, I’ve reproduced below my thoughts, and those of others plus news reports, which I recorded at the time in my daily ‘blog’ entries. These thoughts commence the day prior to the fires, where there is already a premonition of major concerns, yet never in the wildest imaginations of anybody, could we have predicted what actually occurred. On that afternoon and evening, some 173 persons were killed, up to 414 injured, and thousands of homes, businesses, properties and equipment, and livestock] destroyed in a few short hours of terror and unbelievable destruction. Most of this occurred within an hour’s drive of Melbourne’s CBD. It is estimated that up to 400 individual fires were burning that day.

Friday, February 6th, 2009 – unwelcome weekend promises!!
Well as Victoria prepares to face a weekend, in which we are promised what many are describing, as potential weather conditions for tomorrow, as far worse than those that led to the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia, one has to feel a mood of apprehension for those people who live in the likely fire danger areas, of which there are many. While no rural area could be classified as without some danger, I would think that where I am is relatively safe. But even a few kilometres north of here, there would be quite a few families living in the mountainous bush areas who would be hopefully thinking ‘evacuation procedures and plans’ overnight, as another day of 44 degrees and hot northerly winds approaches. Meanwhile, scenes like the bushfire photos I’m presently looking at, are an extra worry personally, as I’m aware [though can’t contact him] that my brother and one of his sons, who live to the east of Melbourne, will most likely be amongst the hundreds of volunteer fire fighters likely to be trying to control those kind of infernos should they occur. We will keep you informed >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Saturday, February 07, 2009 – the State of Victoria on fire!!
It’s late Saturday afternoon in Melbourne [and Sunbury], and emergency services around the State are issuing various warnings of this nature – ‘Authorities have issued urgent fire warnings to towns near a bushfire burning out of control an hour east of Melbourne’, and that warning applies to many towns and rural areas around Victoria. Experienced fire crews are describing the conditions for potential disaster as the worst they can recall – there are fire bans across much of the nation’s southeast with conditions said to be the worst since the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983, which killed 75 people and razed two and a half thousand houses. – a short while ago, in Melbourne, accompanied by ferocious winds, the temperature was sitting on 46.4 degrees [Centigrade] Melbourne’s hottest day since records began 150 years ago. peaking at 46.4 degrees which, when converted to Fahrenheit means 116 degrees!! Conditions outside are grim, and throughout Australia today, varied – Today was a day of wild weather extremes across Australia as floodwaters rose in northern Queensland while more than 100 thousand fire fighters remained on standby in the three south eastern states. More than 40 blazes are burning in Victoria and New South Wales as a heatwave pushed the mercury as high as 47 degrees accompanied by strong winds and South Australia faces its 13th straight day of searing heat.

Saturday, February 07, 2009 – Saturday update 2
It’s coming up to 5.40 pm. The weather is changing – well, cooling a little, as the winds change direction, but that’s not good for the fires, as it usually turns them off in a different direction, and with no rain predicted with the change [apart from electrical storms which start more fires], many areas of the state will continue to have a dramatic night ahead of them.
Now I just stepped out my front door – wind still swirly and uncontrollable, but the temperature does seem to have dropped a little. There are bushfires burning about 40-50 kilometres northeast of here, and I could tell that immediately I stepped out of the house, you can smell the fires in the air! I’m glad that I am here!!

Saturday, February 7th, 2009 – Victorian bushfire update!
Further to my earlier reports on this seemingly tragic day in Victoria’s summer, because very sadly, it is fast becoming a day of tragedy, as the terror of horrendous bushfires throughout the day, become even more terrifying [if that is possible] as night falls. It’s now about 10.15pm, and a number of major fires are still out of control in various parts of the state. A few minutes ago, the shocking news came through that the initial report from the ABC and Nine News, is that “Fourteen people have been killed in the savage bushfires which set Victoria ablaze on Saturday. Victoria police confirmed the deaths on Saturday night and said they fear the figure may be more than 40. At least 100 homes have been destroyed as nine major blazes burnt out of control across Victoria in the worst fire conditions in the state’s history.” And the fear is that those numbers, in terms of the losses of homes and lives, will grow further, as emergency services get into the worst affected areas. The worst appears now to be north of Melbourne, around the little town of Kinglake, where fire swept down the main street at one stage, and perhaps even now, there are no ways in or out of the town, as it is surrounded by fires on all the access roads. Now I’m not personally affected, as far as I’m aware [though I am left wondering where my brother is, and what area of the fires, he is helping to fight], by any of this, but at this moment, I feel quite distressed and upset, at the regular updates that are coming through our national broadcaster [the ABC] which has virtually suspended all of it’s regular programs to provide a non-stop radio coverage of what is happening – an emergency radio service for the benefit of people who may be in the affected areas. This has included many recent reports from the Kinglake area, and direct contact with residents in the town. As this report which follows explains the situation from Kinglake:
Fifty houses were reportedly lost in the Bendigo area in the Redesdale blaze and up to 30 houses went up in the Kilmore fire which pushed across Whittlesea and into the town of Kinglake, northwest of Melbourne, which one resident said had gone up in flames. “The whole township is pretty much on fire,” Peter Mitchell told ABC Radio. “There was no time to do anything … it came through in minutes. “There’ll be a massive loss of houses … There’ll be a lot of us homeless. “All those who have made it into town will be fine. The others will be sheltering and working on their fire plans, God help them.” Mr Mitchell said he was with around 200 residents holed up in the local pub and that no fire trucks could get into the town. Thousands more residents in the region were sheltering wherever they could find cover as they were warned the worst was to come overnight. A cool change early Saturday evening did not bring any respite but, in fact, was expected to create more volatile conditions. “It hasn’t helped the fire fighters, only presented them with new fronts,” the Country Fire Authority (CFA) spokeswoman said.”
I fear that the news is going to get worse as the night wears on, but I hope I don’t have to relate anything worse than I already have………………..not optimistic, under the current circumstances.

Sunday, February 8th, 2009 – in the cruel light of day
It’s coming up to 6am on a Sunday morning. I drifted off to sleep in the early hours of this morning, with ABC radio on in the background, continuing with their ongoing ‘emergency’ broadcasting service, and woke again at about 4.30am.
The stories coming from the radio continue to depress and sadden your ‘personal essayist’. There is a little ‘holiday’ township up in the hills and forests, a couple of hours to the north east of Melbourne. Our local church has a weekend camp there every year on a site just out of the town, opposite the golf course, deep in the bushland – Marysville, a weekend that I have been a part of on two occasions, though not for some years. I remember our Saturday morning walks down to a great little bakery in the town, for a morning tea of coffee and freshly baked scones with cream. The first report I heard this morning was that the bakery was the only building left standing in the town! Miraculously, unlike other areas, all of the population of Marysville were reportedly evacuated to safer areas, they had time to do so, before the fires swept into their town.
Not so lucky were areas like Kinglake, and the west of Bendigo. Now Bendigo, located about an hour north of here, is probably Victoria’s 4th largest city, yet at one stage yesterday, the city itself was under threat of a massive fire sweeping into it’s built up areas. As it was, some 50 homes were destroyed in that fire alone, one of over 400 fires which were apparently burning at different stages during the day.
I’m going off to my regular Sunday morning radio program shortly – two hours of classical music. Not sure if I’m really in the mood for it this morning, though if anything can have a calming affect, it’s the music I play on a Sunday.
Meanwhile, from the Sydney Morning Herald post this morning, I include this news quote for those interested.
“Fourteen people are confirmed dead but as many as 40 are feared to have died as bushfires swept across Victoria yesterday and continued to burn through the night. Police, who last night could only begin going into the blackened ruins of towns and communities, said six people were killed in a single vehicle in Kinglake. But they acknowledged they had little idea of how many could be buried inside their ruined homes, or burned as they tried to escape, and that the death toll could go much higher. Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said official predictions that 40 people had lost their lives was only an estimate. “I hope that we are wrong but it is a reasonable belief to hold,” Mr Walshe said. “This has been an absolute tragedy and we believe this situation may get far worse. It is our understanding that there could be up to 40 deaths as a result of the fire. “At this stage, it’s difficult to confirm the situation. We have a number of police personnel out in the fire areas as well as many other emergency service workers and we are trying our best to confirm the number of other deceased. “We are still in a very difficult situation as the fires are still burning. At this stage we are only now being able to get into the regions and areas where the fires were at their worst. “It is reasonable to assume that there could be many more people who have lost their lives. We want to let the community know what is going on.” Police suspect some fires were deliberately lit.
The fires were driven by hot winds of more than 100 kmh, and temperatures higher than ever recorded in the state, peaking in Melbourne at 46.4 degrees, hotter even than Black Friday in 1939. The horror came just a week short of the 26th anniversary of the Ash Wednesday fires that claimed 47 lives in Victoria, destroyed 2800 homes and caused damage worth $200 million. Victorian Premier John Brumby described it as a “a deeply sad and shocking tragedy, an incredible and terrible loss”. “My heart and, I am sure, the hearts of all Victorians go to the families and to the firefighters and volunteers who continue to battle the fires,” Mr Brumby said. He spent yesterday at his farm in Harcourt in Bendigo activating his fire plan to protect the property. More than 3000 firefighters battled blazes that spread in a thick band across the entire state. A squally change in the afternoon simply changed the direction of many fires, opening up new fronts, and new threats.”

Sunday, February 8th, 2009 – a Savage Saturday.
‘A savage Saturday, when nature gave Victoria a beating’, and 24 hours after it all started, there continue this afternoon [Sunday] to be many towns and communities and farmlands under direct threat from existing and/or new fires, many still burning out of control. In the areas of the fires, the temperatures and wind conditions are much more moderate than yesterday’s horrific conditions, but because of the dryness of the countryside generally, the dangers and threats are just as serious. Our State Premier, John Brumby has described yesterday as the ‘worst day in our history’ [certainly since European settlement in the early 1800s], and this is a big statement [but reality] if we think back to the Black Friday tragedy which struck on the 13th of January 1939 when a firestorm swept across Victoria……71 people died, or the one I remember, 16th February, 1983 [Ash Wednesday] when over 100 fires started, as they swept across Victoria and South Australia, at a cost 75 lives.

Victoria has experienced its worst bushfires since the deadly Ash Wednesday infernos 26 years ago.
Yesterday, there were at different stages, almost 400 fires throughout the state, and as officially reported a couple of hours ago, the death toll from this weekend’s bushfires is now 35 [and likely to get higher, updated at end of blog], while at least one town has “virtually ceased to exist”. There are unconfirmed reports of further bodies being found in cars overtaken by the fires as occupants tried to escape at the last minute from the infernos. One car, found near Kinglake yesterday, contained six people!! The number of destroyed homes is expected to end up in the hundreds [up to 640 was a recent count]. One of the regular warnings of the CFA [Country Fire Authority], is not to leave it until the last minute before deciding to flee a fire. I have just been listening to reports of some new threats – where the CFA are telling residents that it is now too late to leave your home, [the fire will outrun you], better to stay and sit out the fire in your home [or go to a neighbour] but do not try and flee now in cars – it seems the majority of deaths have so far involved people been trapped in their cars. I recall a tragic localised fire at a place called Lara, many years ago, on the highway between Melbourne and Geelong [Victoria’s 2nd biggest city] when I think nearly all of the deaths that day were of motorist trapped in their cars on the freeway when fires swept across the road.

I mentioned earlier this morning, a favourite little historical town of mine, called Marysville, located two hours north east of Melbourne up in the hills as part of Victoria’s Great Dividing Range [where further north this afternoon, small towns and settlements are under direct threat from approaching fires]. The town is located in a very peaceful and scenic location, and has long been a popular holiday retreat for visitors, especially during the spectacular springtime blooming season and the colourful autumn period. Its history dates back to the mid-1800s when gold was discovered in the area, however it wasn’t long before guest houses were established and the town became a favourite for honeymooners due to its tranquil setting amongst native bush and waterfalls. The town centre of Marysville is situated along the shady avenue of Murchison Street which has been landscaped to reflect the town’s natural environment. Street gutters along one side of the road have been replaced by a meandering rocky stream lined with native grasses featuring bridges leading to shop doorways.
Sadly, this beautiful spot, has been all but wiped off the map. From the ABC… . “Aerial pictures taken by the ABC show street after street of completely destroyed homes in Marysville. Most are just piles of rubble. Some still have walls standing and a handful appear to be mostly intact. ABC reporter Jane Cowan visited Marysville this morning and says the township has “virtually ceased to exist”. “We were in the main street and it’s like a warzone, like a bomb has been dropped on the entire township,” she said. “People there are in an absolute state of shock. Most people had already left, but the people, I’d say about 30 people that are still left and had spent the night sheltering on the Football Oval there, are just completely dazed. “[They are] walking around the streets with rugs around their shoulders because it’s actually getting cold here now if you can believe it. “And they tell stories of how fast everything turned bad there yesterday, about five or six o’clock in the evening. “They say they actually thought the fire was going to go around the town of Marysville and then in a matter of minutes the sky went black and they knew they were in big trouble. “People are talking about sheltering in their homes seeing every single house in their street go up in flames in a row, one by one … of narrow escapes … houses that managed to survive. “There’s a handful of houses that miraculously are still standing in Marysville”’

I have also mentioned Kinglake, situated 65kms north of Melbourne, and includes a forest area, farmland, a national park and a township, also a part of the Great Dividing Range but further to the west, than Marysville. There are a number of little townships and rural settlements in that area [all have been in danger and/or still are], and the whole of the ‘Kinglake Ranges are a popular tourist and bush walking area, in which I spent much time in my younger years. It’s not been confirmed yet, but much of the township of Kinglake has also been destroyed.

Meanwhile, an emotional Victorian Premier John Brumby says the state has been devastated by the bushfires that raced across the state in severe weather conditions yesterday. This is not over yet. Tragically I think there will be more bad news. “It’s a tragic day, a tragic weekend in our history. The impacts on families are just devastating – I feel devastated.”

On a more personal note, I eventually heard from my CFA brother – he in fact, was not fighting the fires, but was on the highway with his wife returning from a trip to Queensland. I’m not sure where he would have preferred to have been – knowing Colin, would probably have wanted to have been down here, doing what he has been trained to do. I was glad myself to realise he was safe, though probably he will join other fire fighters tomorrow. Apparently his son was out yesterday assisting with a fire that actually hit their outer Melbourne suburb in one area. I think that was the closest these fires came to metropolitan Melbourne, although the Kinglake fires certainly had the potential, had yesterday’s weather conditions continued, to reach right down into some of the leafy northern suburbs of our city.
I have other friends and associates living in other of the fire areas. Up in the Bendigo, there are a number of public tenants who are a part of my employment organization in live in the area most devastated in Bendigo. Will be unable to follow up there circumstances until tomorrow. Similarly, friends down in South Gippsland, in an area which faced fires and lost 30 homes, have gone through it all this weekend, in even more devastating fashion, including lives.

Meanwhile, I must thank those readers who have added comments or made remarks on my blogs over the last couple of days – your thoughts, and comments have been much appreciated. Obviously, I’m not facing any direct affect of any sort, although as our Prime Minister said this afternoon – “Hell, in all it’s fury visited Victoria – an appalling tragedy for Victoria, and because of that, an appalling tragedy for Australia”. It’s ironic that there are two conflicting disasters in Australia at present – up in far North Queensland, massive floods have cut off whole communities through constant rains, while down here, the lack of rain, has added to the disaster we are currently experiencing. Unfortunately, it is not over yet, for as a second night approaches, many communities and towns are still severely threatened by fires still burning basically out of control, while those areas that have already suffered, people are unable to return to their homes [or the ashes of what were their homes], and face another night, perhaps one of many, sheltering in community halls and other facilities, many knowing they have lost everything, including family members, others not knowing whether they still have a home, or a husband, etc. In many cases, houses which provided a lifetime of shelter, exploded and were gone in five minutes as the massive walls of flame engulfed them from surrounding forests and grasslands. There are stories of the roads around Kinglake littered with crashed and burnt out cars – crashed into other vehicles, or into fallen trees, as they attempted the impossible task of fleeing flames through thick black smoke.

I realize this disaster does not compare in size and volume with something like the 2004 tsunami, yet it is significant enough for us Victorians, as natural disasters of this magnitude are few and far between, with just looking at fires alone, the figures quoted above and the span of years – 1939 [71 deaths], 1983 [75 deaths in Victoria & South Australia] – and now, as of 7pm tonight, 66 people have died in the last 24 hours as ‘Victoria burned’, and they tell to expect more, included a number of burns victims in Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital Burns Unit who are not expected to survive.

I have cried while I watched the news reports tonight – should I be ashamed of that – I don’t think I am alone, our Premier did the same thing on national television as he spoke of the weekend’s events – which ironically, involved concern over his parent’s home, which was just saved from destruction, so there was a very real personal aspect of John Brumby’s public display of grief.

Perhaps I’ve said enough, but in summary, as of 7.30 pm tonight, over 700 homes have already been lost since this time yesterday, the death toll from Victoria’s bushfires has risen to 66 [which surpasses the 47 Victorians killed on Ash Wednesday 1983], and dozens of communities have been destroyed, in particular the townships of Marysville and Kinglake, and all this amid grave fears for towns in the state’s northeast as fires continue to rage out of control there, and other areas. Most of the fire victims have come from areas just north of Melbourne My heart aches for all the suffering and trauma that so many people are going through tonight. And I think of little things. Last week, children went back to school for 2009, many of them for the first time – at least four schools were destroyed last night, including the Marysville Primary School – after a few days of a new life, they have lost their school. Meanwhile hundreds, perhaps thousands of livestock, and pets have been lost – there are many horse studs, etc in the affected areas, and it is painful to think of the potential losses there. At least 200,000 hectares of land has been burnt out in more than 400 fires in every part of the state over the weekend. Meanwhile, work is slowly getting underway in treacherous conditions to restore power to about 14,000 properties in fire-ravaged areas of northeastern and eastern Victoria, the national electricity company says. Victoria Police Deputy Chief Commissioner Kieran Walshe has said some of the fires are believed to have been deliberately lit, but would not say which ones.

Monday, February 9th, 2009 – the morning after, as the crisis continues.
I woke around 5am this morning with what felt like a heavy cloud shadowing over my person – the feeling you have, the morning after the death of a close relative or friend, and that cloud remained around me, as I drove into the city later on, listening to the news reports, and ongoing fire crisis, which even now, 12 hours later, is still very real, with at least 50 fires still burning, some quite dangerous and threatening more small towns and rural communities. There have been some harrowing stories coming out today, of bravery, miracles, close escapes, but so many, of pure tragedy, that it is difficult not to become emotional as you listen and watch the events and stories unfolding.

While messages and support come from around the world, on what is turning out to be my country’s worst ever peace time disaster……………..
INTERNATIONAL friends have rallied to help and sympathise with Australia in the wake of the nation’s deadliest bushfire disaster. The Victorian bushfires, which have exacted the biggest peacetime toll on the country, made headlines around the world, prompting messages of support from people thousands of miles away. Governor-General Quentin Bryce passed on a message from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II to the nation, expressing her shock and dismay at the tragedy. “I was shocked and saddened to learn of the terrible toll being exacted by the fires this weekend,” the Queen’s message read. “I send my heartfelt condolences to the families of all those who have died and my deep sympathy to the many that have lost their homes in this disaster.”

And I have had support from friends on here and through the Yahoo network, though I personally have done nothing, suffered nothing, to deserve such words – I saw a man on the TV tonight, break down – his home had been the only unburnt in his street, and he felt guilty because everyone around him had lost everything, and he had survived. I felt guilty today, that I could just go about my normal life, while so much suffering was happening just a few miles away!

Sadly the death toll continues to rise as emergency workers and police are finally able to get to the worst hit areas where they are searching the ruins of homes, cars and other buildings. As of tonight, the count is 131 of our people died on Saturday in Victoria. However, the final death toll of the devastating “Hell on Earth” bushfires could be well above 200, according to reports of government crisis meetings. With the official toll standing at 131, the fires are already the worst natural disaster to ever befall Australians. The Victorian government has been briefed to expect a final death toll close to 230, according to a report in The Australian Newspaper. Meanwhile, at least 750 homes were destroyed in the fires and more than 330,000ha burnt out, and authorities say some fires could take weeks to contain…………..

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 – it continues.
Just a brief note this morning. Perhaps my readers are tiring of this subject. However, I have had a night of sleep, and then awoke to find that overnight, the number of fire victims has moved from 131 to 173. Such an unpleasant task, for those concerned, searching through the remains of burnt out homes for people who could not get out in time, or had stayed on the advice of authorities. Not a job I could not cope with. I think the advice of the future will be ‘get out early’ – this time, the speed of the attack, prevented even that possibility. I hear many concerns being expressed about lack of warning on Saturday, and how so many of those who have lost everything, and undertaken all of the necessary precautions and preparations to protect their homes in the case of a ‘normal’ bushfire. But it has become so obvious, all of that, in most cases, went to nought, because of the speed and ferosity of the firestorm, this was not a normal bushfire.

Meanwhile, fires continued to burn overnight, and I feel for the stress and apprehension of people living in those areas facing new threats and potential disaster. I commented to my fellow radio presenter last night, as I went on air – one almost feels guilty ‘having fun’ playing music while so much suffering and loss is occurring – but like so much in life, in times of disaster. life must still go on, where it can, and I guess I need to remember that also.

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 – the story of a beautiful mountain village!
This is the story of one of the communities that virtually ceased to exist last Saturday evening, and it involves the little town of Marysville, which I think I referred to in one of Sunday’s blog. At that time, whilst saddened to hear that the town I’d spent a few weekends in a few years ago, had almost been destroyed, I was gladdened to hear that most of it’s residents had been evacuated to safety. Tragically, as the following story indicates, that was a false hope. It appeared in today’s ‘Australian Newspaper’ and was headed ‘Ground Zero: town feared lost [‘The whole town died around us as we bunkered down on the outside of the oval ringed by funeral pyres’].

“VICTORIAN Premier John Brumby has confirmed the worst fears for the township of Marysville, describing it as “like a bomb” hit it and warning that the fatality rate “will be very high”.
“The Australian revealed this morning that fire authorities fear that up to 100 of its 519 residents may have perished in the blaze that left only a dozen homes standing in the town, northeast of Melbourne. Mr Brumby, speaking on ABC Radio National’s Breakfast program, said that he had visited Marysville since the fires and saw first hand that “there is nothing left”. “I went there (to Marysville) as a kid, I can remember that, I think three million Australians have been to Marysville and done Stevenson’s Falls, there’s just nothing left of the town,” he said. “It’s so eerie – there’s no sound, there’s nothing,” he said. “There’s no activity, there’s no people, there’s no buildings, there’s no birds, there’s no animals, everything’s just gone. So the fatality rate will be very high.” Asked if he expected more bad news on the death toll from the fires, which stands at 181, Mr Brumby said: “The number will continue to increase. Yesterday we had two emergency meetings of cabinet…and were briefed on all of these issues by the relevant authorities, so the number tragically will continue to increase.”

CFA firefighter John Munday, who was in one of the fire trucks that entered Marysville about 10 minutes before the firefront swept through the town just before 6pm on Saturday, described in horrific detail how little hope so many residents had of escaping, let alone surviving. “The toll is going to be massive,” Mr Munday said. He described how he and his crew had to make the heartbreaking decision to save themselves knowing they were leaving people to die.

“We had people banging on the sides of our tanker begging us to go back to houses where they knew there were people trapped, but we couldn’t because if we had, we’d all be dead too,” Mr Munday told The Australian. “There were children running down the streets with flames behind them. It was hell. I never want to go back to that place, never. “As we drove down to the Gallipoli Park, where people were assembling, we knew there were people in homes that were on fire and they had no hope. “The whole town died around us as we bunkered down on the outside of the oval ringed by funeral pyres while all around us we had the screaming noise of gas cylinders exploding in homes. “The only way we could have saved them was to put ourselves on the altar and put a sword to our own hearts.”

The official death toll from the Black Saturday fires had risen to 181 last night, with 15 confirmed dead in Marysville. Since Sunday, The Australian has interviewed more than 30 of about 80 Marysville residents taking refuge in Alexandra. Almost every one of them relayed a story about a fellow resident who they had not been able to establish contact with and whom they feared had perished.

Kevin Rudd, who saw the devastation of Marysville first-hand on Monday as accompanying reporters were ordered to remain in their vehicles, yesterday told parliament of the “trauma of scars and blackened vehicles along the road”.

Facing a public backlash over delays, the Victorian Government opened roads into Kinglake, another destroyed town north of Melbourne, to allow residents to return. Residents who escaped the fires in Marysville were distraught when told by officials at a tearful, and at times angry, public meeting in Alexandra yesterday that they could not predict how long it would take police to complete the task of identifying the dead.

Already more than 50 unidentified bodies lie in Melbourne’s morgue, and amid the ruins around the state. Victoria’s topforensic expert has warned that some victims may never be identified. Sergeant David Rowles from Victoria Police said Marysville had been declared “one huge crime scene”. “It is horrific down there, the devastation is extensive and the DVI (disaster victim identification) officers are searching the place house by house,” he said. “We cannot predict when anyone can go back in. It is possibly weeks.”

Resident Marie O’Sullivan drew thunderous applause when she stood up and called for calm and compassion for the emergency services workers charged with finding bodies after some members of the audience began expressing their frustration at not being able to return to Marysville immediately.

“We have all lost a lot,” Ms O’Sullivan said tearfully. “If that town is full of bodies, and my home is there too, then we can’t be angry, we can only be sad.” Later, she told The Australian she feared the worst. “Every car, every house and every tank could have a body in it. I know that one of my friends has died and her two sons, too. Everyone knows someone who is missing.” Those missing include Liz Leesfield and her boys, Mathew and James. Ms O’Sullivan said she had learned that the three had died in their spa when the fire swept through their new home. “Liz was part of a little sewing group we have in town and she and her husband and boys had only just moved into their new home a week before the fires,” she said. “Liz and her husband, Rod, who survived and is in hospital, had saved for five years to get the deposit to buy this property which they were going to run as an accommodation complex. She was just an absolutely energetic, bubbly, wonderful woman who had worked so hard to achieve this dream and I can’t believe she’s gone but it appears to be the case,” Mrs O’Sullivan said.

Another Marysvile resident who lived near the Leesfield family, Steve Guilfoyle told the same story. “Liz was an extremely religious person, the whole family was. They were always good for a laugh, mountain hillbillies who’d lived in the area for years and had settled back in town just days before this tragedy.” Mr Guilfoyle, who narrowly escaped with his wife and two children last Saturday stood in tears at the community meeting trying to pick out faces in the crowd in the vain hope he might find some of his missing friends. They weren’t there. He paid tribute to some of them later.

They included Errol and Harley Morgan. Mr Guilfoyle said Harley Morgan worked in the Narbathong mill but was always talking about retirement. “He was a chain saw sculpter and made a lot of art that many of us had in our homes. He was a bloke who loved a yap; Harley would chew your ear off.” He described Kirsty Nilsson who ran the Christmas Shop in town and her husband Issac who worked in Melbourne as an arts distributer and who are also missing, feared dead as good mountain people. “Kirsty was into everything. The kinder, brownies, the school. They were just beaut people.” “And then there’s Lizzy Fisk and her beautiful boy Dalton who’s only 12 years old or thereabouts. They died together I understand. Her husband Glen is a CFA fighter. Everyone in town loved Lizzy, especially the children, they adored her. If there was something going on around town, then you can bet your bottom dollar Lizzy Fisk would turn up. She was one of the most community spirited people you could ever meet. “The list goes on. The fire has changed us from a town of residents to family. But for now we’re waiting for names and coming to meetings like this hoping we might spot one of them. But they’re not here.”

I imagine that I feel most distraught about Marysville, because I had spent time there, and probably met some of the people now missing, or enjoyed their hospitality in their shops, bakery etc, and were a part of the Sunday morning church service on a couple of occasions. And while I have not been up in the Kinglake area for many years [one of the other devastated towns], I spent a lot of time there in my younger years. These areas are typical examples of the beautiful Australian bush and hill country, the reason so many people are attracted to go and make their homes in such places, within reasonable distance of the city [Melbourne] but still retaining their own sense of a paradise. But sadly, our beautiful Australian bush, is also one of the three most dangerous places in the world for bush fires [or brush fires as called elsewhere] – I think the other two areas are California, and a part of France.
Of course, as well as the human side of the story, there are the animals, as yet another story demonstrates: “MORE than a million native animals may have been killed in the Victorian bushfires, a wildlife expert says.

The massive effort to rescue animals caught in the fire has begun with triage centres set up to assess injured wildlife at staging posts at Kilmore, Whittlesea and Redesdale near Bendigo. The animals are then being treated and assessed by vets at nearby shelters, who make the agonising decision about which ones need to be euthanased. Those animals still able to may wait several weeks before walking out of fire-affected forest, said Gayle Chappell from the Hepburn Wildlife Shelter. Ms Chappell is among those working to rescue the animals and says the extent of the devastation may never be known.
“It (the animal death toll) will be in the hundreds of thousands, possibly millions,” Ms Chappell said. “We are not just talking the animals we are familiar with, there are gliders and all sorts of possums, antechinus (a mouse-like marsupial), bandicoots, birds – there is so much wildlife. “It is devastating, the actual size of the destruction is devastating to a number of wildlife populations.” It is feared endangered populations of gliders, owls and lizards may be among the dead. For those that have survived, the recovery process will be long and slow. “They have lost their homes too and they are not going to be rebuilt in a year or two years, it is a much longer-term picture,” Ms Chappell said. “You can’t reconstruct a forest.”

The fires also destroyed four wildlife shelters including Stella Reid’s Wildhaven shelter at Kinglake. Ms Chappell said Ms Reid escaped with her life, but the animals were not so lucky. “It has been a real blow for everybody I think. That is what has really brought it home for everybody, hearing that Stella Reid’s place was totalled and all her animals … they weren’t able to get any animals out at all.”
Meanwhile, like disasters if this kind around the world, the response of countless community aid organisations, relief agencies and thousands of individual volunteers, rushing to help those in need has been massive. Which brings me to pay special personal tribute to our own volunteers – I don’t think any of them were directly involved [thank God] in the worst fire areas on Saturday, but they have all played a part in various areas of fire affected regions since – thank you to Colin [my brother], Craig [my nephew, and Colin’s son] and Ross [my brother-in-law] for potentially risking your own lives and the security of a normal safe livelihood [like I consider mine to be] as members of the CFA [Country Fire Authority – our volunteer fire fighters]. From the coverage of recent days, I’ve got the impression from some CFA people that they felt they had failed to protect the community that they volunteer day by day to protect. But I think by now, after hearing the stories and outcomes of the horrific firestorms that struck on Saturday, that nobody could have done anymore than was done, there was no time or warning in many cases. I have been a volunteer here in Sunbury for 25 years, and still am, but those roles pale into insignificance I feel, when compared to what people like Colin, Craig and Ross put themselves up for in times like this. Well done guys, I’m proud to be a part of a family with potential life savers like you! And in the words of an internet community group here in rural Victoria “There are no words we can offer that are sufficient to express our sadness for the pain and loss of all involved. As Victorians ourselves we know indirectly of many people who were victims of this terrible disaster. We are blessed that no one close to us was involved but we feel the pain as if it was our own. It is heart warming to see the kindness and generosity our fellow Australians are extending to the people who have lost so much. We have never been more proud to be Aussies.”
[from a friend in the USA – “This tears my heart out. The loss I so well know. My step-Dad, Son and Grandson, Bryin all firefighters, all volonteers. Kylle, my son, was on the Biscuitt Fire, that took homes and lives, one of the largest fires in Oregon and they moved my friends furniture and things in to one of my green houses so she would have something but they couldn’t save the house when the wind changed and came down the river with a steady wall of fire over three miles across. First I’d seen Kylle cry in years, areas we had camped when he was but a child when we visited from Colorado and Alaska…I had deer, Black bear and every kind of bird and animal in my orchard and yard…I put out salt licks and they had the river for their water, to say the least I didn’t have many apples, pears or other fruit that year. The grapes were eaten leaves and vine.
Its a terrible feeling you are so helpless…I had 7 ft of water in the house from flooding another story, but also a dreadfully helpless feeling.”]

Friday, February 13, 2009 – Slowing down on a traumatic week.
The ‘raw’ statistics from last weekend [and Saturday in particular] reveal that at least 181 people lost their lives [and there is still a 5th of the population of the once lovely little village of Marysville unaccounted for]. A total of 1,330 homes approximately were lost, and many
businesses, public buildings, schools, etc, while an estimated 5,000 were left homeless.

I received some lovely thoughts, verses and things from friends over the past week, and I of course accepted those on behalf of the thousands who have suffered and lost from this tragedy – I myself of course lost nothing from all this, but I certainly feel the grief and sadness that it has created, while at the same time, marvelled at the community rallying to help and support the victims. I have myself put my name down on a list of thousands of potential volunteers, and if those who are responsible for organising the overall relief efforts, feel my assistance would be of any value in any direction, well, I will help where I can.

I don’t think any of my family read my blogs, so I sent them all an email containing a few of my thoughts and feelings about it all. Here’s a couple of comments that came back.

[from Brisbane] “Thanks for your very newsy email. We have been keeping up to date with all the devastating news down in Victoria. It is very hard to comprehend. Everyone seems to have the same story about how fast the fire spread. We were talking to a friend who has a very close friend from Kinglake, this morning. Apparently this gentleman from Kinglake is the drummer for the ‘Painters and Dockers’ Band. His wife, little baby and himself became trapped in the fire, 5 min. warning was all they had. By the time he retrieved his hard drive [which had all his business on it] and some baby nappies, it was too late. They wet a big blanket, ran down to a gully, which was at the bottom of their property, lay down in it covering themselves with the wet blanket, and said goodbye to one another. While under the blanket, 2 Birds of Paradise crawled under with them, including their dog. Amazingly, they all survived, although the blanket was badly burnt. They were one of the lucky families, even though they lost everything. The survival stories you hear are incredible. The amount of money that has been raised already is remarkable. We had a phone call from one of Rob’s sisters in Canada a couple of nights ago. They have all been following the story over there. She cannot understand that a person could even think about lighting a fire. Mary was not sure if we were near the floods up north [North Queensland] or near the fires – we have had a lot of heavy rain last night. You guys down there could certainly do with it – but it looks like you have to do the fighting the hard way”.

[also from Brisbane] “Many thanks for bringing us up to date on the terrible tragedy that has hit your state. We have, of course, been following it up on TV but yours is a much more personal account. We of course, can’t do anything except pray for the safety of our families, and we have
made a donation to the appeal”.

That appeal [for support fund raising] has already raised over $100 million from the Australian public!!
Sunday, February 15, 2009 . In conclusion …..

In conclusion, a very apt quotation from yesterday’s paper, and then a copy of the item to which it applied – “In so many cases, memories are all we have left”. Written by Simon Plant in the ‘Herald Sun Weekend’ we recall as follows. Admittedly, it’s a bit jingoistic in style and journalistic presentation – eg, ‘the fearless firefighters’ – let me assure you, they have fear of
death like all of us, But in broad terms, what is depicted in general, probably reflects all our feelings over this past week.

“They woke last Saturday, wondering how they would beat the heat. Because they lived in the country, they also wondered if they were properly protected against fire. So through the morning of February 7, they talked to neighbours, consulted action plans and primed their pumps. Just in case the worst should happen. The worst did. As the rest of us found escape from the hottest day Victoria has ever endured, howling winds gusted through our tinder-dry countryside and turned sparkling spot-fires into a full-blown inferno. By early evening, the people of Kinglake and Marysvlle, of Strathewen and Churchill, of Wandong and Flowerdale were engulfed by a firestorm like no other. An apocalyptic blaze without precedent in Australian history. This morning, one week after Black Saturday, the terrible toll creeps upwards. The figures, we are warned, will only get worse. Premier John Brumby is right to call this ‘the most tragic week in Victoria’s history. The destruction is truly biblical in scale. Whole towns have been razed by fire and reduced to smoking rubble. The statistics are daunting – more than 450,000 hectares burnt, more than 1,033 homes destroyed, hundreds of lives lost…..the figures go on. But numbers and aerial views tell only part of the story. This is an enormous human tragedy and to fully appreciate that we need to tell individual stories and put faces to the names of the fallen. Some we know: newsreader Brian Naylor and his wife, Moiree, who died at Kinglake. Actor Reg Evans, who died trying to save his home at St. Andrews. But there are many others we never knew….until now. This morning our thoughts turn to square dancers Adrian and Mirrabelle Brown who perished with their three young children at Kinglake. To Fay and Bill Walker and their wheelchair-bound son Geoff, who never escaped Narbethong. To students Melanee Hermocilla, her brother Jaeson, and Greg Llloyd, who disappeared in the fires at Yarra Glen. These Victorians – and dozens of others – look back at us now in photographs and, from family and friends, we learn something about all of them. Their achievements, their dreams, their bravery. There have been miracles too. How Bill and Sherrill Carta, separated in the Kinglake fires, reunited at the Alfred Hospital. How father-of-two Jason Lynn survived the same inferno lying on the muddy banks of his dam. These are right to celebrate these escapes. In times of crisis, they lift our hearts the way acts of bravery do. Just think of those
gallant firemen who herded 19 people into the Murrindindi River. And the couple who rescued a family of five when they saw them trapped in their crashed car. And the tradesman who doused the roof of a country hotel to save women and children inside. Equally, we need to remember the people who did not make it. Because, in so many cases, memories are all we have left. Everything else – photos, diaries, heirlooms – is gone, consumed by flames. Some of the week’s most poignant images have been amongst the smallest. I’m thinking of yellow post-it notes on a community noticeboard at Whittlesea, listing phone numbers for people still missing, and a sign at the Yea Relief Centre that read in part ‘We will not forget about you. You will rebuild and we will all help. Attention is already turning to reconstruction. To rebuilt homes and underground bunkers, to early-warning systems and Royal Commissions. This is as it should be. Lessons must be learnt so a tragedy of this kind is never, ever repeated. But today, let’s not think about politics and policy. Let’s think about people. About the fearless firefighters still battling blazes. About the stoic volunteers still dispensing hope. Most of all, about the men, women and children who lost their lives on Black Saturday. Their loss is so hard to bear because seven days ago these people had everything to live for. Just like us.”
Some of my contributions, from February 2009, written and contributed as the days unfolded………………………

 

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup is the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men’s football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is being held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 February 2019.

Australia’s Socceroos entered this tournament as the reigning Champions after their triumph in 2015. From a Wikipedia summary, we read that   The AFC Asian Cup is an international association football tournament run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia…………The Asian Cup was held once every four years from the 1956 edition in Hong Kong until the 2004 tournament in China. However, since the Summer Olympic Games and the European Football Championship were also scheduled in the same year as the Asian Cup, the AFC decided to move their championship to a less crowded cycle. After 2004, the tournament was next held in 2007 when it was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Thereafter, it has been held every four years.

 The Asian Cup has generally been dominated by a small number of top teams. Initially successful teams included South Korea (twice) and Iran (three times). Since 1984, Japan (four times) and Saudi Arabia (three times) have been the most successful teams, together winning 7 of the last 9 finals. The other teams which have achieved success are Australia (2015, current champions), Iraq(2007) and Kuwait (1980). Israel won in 1964 but were later expelled and have since joined UEFA.

Australia joined the Asian confederation in 2007 and hosted the Asian Cup finals in 2015.   The 2019 tournament will be expanded from 16 teams to 24 teams, with the qualifying process doubling as part of the qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The tournament will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates. Unlike other confederation tournaments, the Asian Cup has often been rescheduled to another time of year to better suit the climate of the host nation, for example in 2007 it was played in July but the following three tournaments were played in January.

After qualifying rounds, the final tournament is played in two stages: the group stage and the knockout stage. In the group stage each team plays three games in a group of four, with the winners and runners-up from each group advancing to the knockout stage along with the four best third-placed teams. In the knockout stage the sixteen teams compete in a single-elimination tournament, beginning with the round of 16 and ending with the final match of the tournament.

For the 2019 tournament, we have 24 teams competing – initially competing at the Group stage, where there are four teams per group, with the top two teams in each group proceeding to the next stage. Australia was allocated to Group B against Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Group matches results

Group A

UAE drew with Bahrain  1-1

India defeated Thailand 4-1

Thailand   defeated Bahrain 1-0

UAE defeated India 2-0

UAE drew with Thailand 1-1

Bahrain defeated India 1-0

Group B

Jordan defeated AUSTRALIA 1-0

• [at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium (Al Ain)

Syria drew Palestine 0-0

Jordan defeated Syria 2-0

AUSTRALIA defeated Palestine 3-0

• [at the Rashid Stadium (Dubai)

AUSTRALIA defeated  Syria 3-2

• [at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium (Al Ain)

Palestine drew with Jordan 0-0

Group  C

China defeated Kyrgyzstan 2-1

South Korea defeated Philippines 1-0

China defeated Philippines 3-0

South Korea defeated Kyrgyzstan 1-0

South Korea defeated China 2-0

Kyrgyzstan defeated Philippines  3-1

Group D

Iran defeated Yemen 5-0

Iraq defeated Vietnam 3-2

Iran defeated Vietnam 2-0

Iraq defeated Yemen 3-0

Vietnam defeated Yemen 2-0

Iran drew with Iraq  0-0

Group E

Saudi Arabia defeated North Korea 4-0

Qatar defeated Lebanon 2-0

Saudi Arabia defeated Lebanon 2-0

Qatar defeated North Korea 6-0

Qatar defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0

Lebanon defeated North Korea 4-1

Group F

Japan defeated Turkmenistan  3-2

Uzbekistan defeated Oman  2-1

Japan defeated Oman 1-0

Uzbekistan defeated Turkmenistan 4-0

Oman defeated Turkmenistan 3-0

Japan defeated Uzbekistan 2-1

Round of 16 Results

From the Sydney Morning Herald, 21/1/2019  –  Iran and China will face off in the Asian Cup quarter-finals after they both won their last-16 games on Sunday, while Vietnam scraped through after a thrilling penalty shootout. Three-times champions Iran came through an early scare before sealing a routine 2-0 victory over a spirited Oman. Goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand saved an Oman penalty in the opening minute but a goal from Brighton winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh and a penalty from captain Ashkan Dejagah gave Carlos Queiroz’s side victory.  “We created more opportunities and there’s no doubt we deserved to move to the next step,” Queiroz said.

 Sunday, 20 January

Vietnam and Jordan 1-1 at Full Time, Vietnam won the Penalty Shoot Out 4-2

China defeated Thailand 2-1

Iran defeated Oman 2-0

Australia and Uzbekistan meet in an Asian Cup knockout clash on Monday but the two teams have been bumping into each other all week. The Socceroos and their opponents are staying at the same hotel in Al Ain in the build-up to their round-of-16 showdown. It’s made for a few days of awkward elevator rides and stilted lobby conversations for both teams.  “It’s probably the first time I’ve ever seen it in my times in international football,” Socceroos coach Graham Arnold said.  “We get to say hello to them every morning and good night every night. It’s nice.” Uzbekistan coach Hector Cuper simply smiled and said “no problema” in Spanish when asked about the accommodation arrangements for the two rivals.

 Monday, 21^st January

Japan defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0

AUSTRALIA defeated  Uzbekistan 0-0 [won 4-2 in Penalty Shoot Out]

[Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium (Al Ain) 6pm local time]

• From ninenews.com –  A controversial refereeing call that was labelled an “absolute joke” has left Australia without its best player for the Asian Cup quarter-finals. Coach Graham Arnold was disappointed to lose Rogic but believes he has the options to cope with the absence of the 26-year-old.“The yellow card was a bit harsh because Tommy had no intent,” Arnold said.“These things happen. We have the options and I can change the system if we need to.“We’ll look at how UAE play, we’ll analyse them tomorrow and, like I said, we’ve got plenty of options with different systems with these players that we can use.”The most likely option would be to start Massimo Luongo in place of Rogic as the key attacking midfielder but Arnold ever one for the mind games hinted at larger changes to the team structure.“I could change the system and play with two strikers, two number nines, we could play with a diamond midfield,” Arnold said. “We’ve got plenty of options.” Whatever the options the Socceroos would want to put UAE away without the need for another match to go to extra time or penalties with the need for Brighton No. 1 Mat Ryan to be the hero. Ryan starred in the penalty shootout to secure the Socceroos an Asian Cup quarter-final berth against hosts UAE. Ryan made two saves in his first penalty shootout in a national team shirt while substitute Leckie stroked home the winning spot kick after a frustrating 0-0 draw in Al Ain. Ryan denied Uzbek pair Islom Tukhtakhujaev and Marat Bikmaev with saves in the shootout.

UAE defeated Kyrgyzstan 3-2

Tuesday, 22^nd January

 Qatar beat Iraq 1-0 in a full-blooded contest to reach the Asian Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday as title-chasing South Korea dodged a bullet to secure their progress.

The Koreans were taken to extra time by tiny Bahrain where a thumping header from substitute Kim Jin-su dragged the tournament co-favourites through to face the 2022 World Cup hosts in the last eight.

South Korea defeated  Bahrain 2-1

Qatar defeated  Iraq  1-0

 Quarter Final Results

Thursday 24^th January

Three-time tournament winners Iran proved way too strong for Lippi’s side in Abu Dhabi as a comfortable 3-0 victory set up an last-four meeting with Japan.  Mehdi Taremi and Sardar Azmoun capitalised on defensive errors to put Carlos Queiroz’s Iran ahead.  China attempted to rally after the break but were unable to undo the damage with Karim Ansarifard capping the win in injury-time.  World Cup winner Marcello Lippi confirmed that his two-year tenure as coach of China was over on Thursday following his team’s exit from the Asian Cup quarter-finals at the hands of Iran.  The Italian had already said that he would not sign another contract but some in China had hoped he might reconsider if his team managed to land a maiden continental title in the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s fairytale run in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 came to an end as they fell to four-time champions Japan by a solitary goal in a tightly-contested quarterfinal at the Rashid Al-Maktoum Stadium in Dubai on Thursday.  Vietnam began the game well and looked worthy opponents for the Asian giants in the first half, but a Ritsu Doan penalty early on in the second half, awarded after a VAR interception, was the difference between the two sides and sent Japan through to the semifinals of the continental championship.

Today’s results.

Japan defeated Vietnam  1-0

Iran defeated China 3-0

Friday 25^th January

• South Korea suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Qatar in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup on Friday.A superb strike from Abdelaziz Hatim 12 minutes from time was enough to send Felix Sanchez’s side into the last four. The loss was only South Korea’s second in 21 Asian Cup matches and their first to Qatar, ranked 40 places below them in FIFA’s official standings, since 1984
• Where did it all go wrong for the Socceroos? The defending champions were bundled out of the Asian Cup by hosts the UAE at the quarter-final stage after Milos Degenek’s costly blunder.  The result will lead to a post-morten as Graham Arnold comes to terms with his team’s early exit. But the same problem persists — the Socceroos just could not find the back of the net. Chances were created, more than enough to win the game in the first half alone, but you can’t win if you don’t score.

Today’s results.

South Korea versus Qatar defeated South Korea 1-0. \

UAE defeated AUSTRALIA 1-0 –   [at 8pm local time at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium (Al Ain) [3am Saturday, Melbourne time] – almost wished I’d not bothered to get up and watch this one, disappointing effort by Australia, who controlled much of the ball, especially in the first half but had nothing to show for it – as the commentary above notes, you generally can’t win if you don’t score, they got away with it against Uzbekistan [through a penalty kick-of]  but not this time One slip up in defence, and the defending champions head home, as did the runners-up in the last Asian Cup, South Korea.

Semi Final Results

Monday, 28^th January

Japan defeated Iran 3-0

By Ryan Benson [Football News]:  Japan are into the 2019 Asian Cup final thanks to a 3-0 win over Iran, though there was more than a hint of controversy about their victory.  Yuya Osako’s brace helped Japan beat pre-tournament favourites Iran 3-0 and book a place in the 2019 Asian Cup final, as they go for an unprecedented fifth title.  Monday’s semi-final was billed as being a contest between the competition’s two best teams and, although Carlos Queiroz’s men had their chances, refereeing decisions did not go their way and Japan ultimately cruised

 Tuesday, 29^th January

Preview: Interesting pre-match comments from Fox News [Alex Broun]:   Milos Degenek is a very popular man in the UAE right now. Indeed many are hailing him as a national hero.  The unlucky Socceroos defender was devastated after his stray back pass sent Australia spinning out of the Asian Cup, but for the UAE, and the tournament organisers, Degenek’s error saved them both from major embarrassments. For the Asian Cup organisers, without the UAE’s presence, a semi-final between Qatar and Australia would have been lucky to draw four figures to the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.  And for the UAE government, the Whites 1-0 victory, achieved due to Degenek’s unfortunate error, meant escaping becoming the laughing stock of the Middle East — and the world.

The reason is diplomatic relations between the UAE and Qatar are at an all-time low, following on the UAE severing ties in June 2017, after the Qataris were branded supporters of terrorism.  Local media and tournament organisers have watched with mounting horror as The Maroons have made their way impressively through the tournament, scoring 12 goals and conceding none.  Qatar breezed through the pool stages defeating Lebanon 2-0, North Korea 6-0 and a surprisingly easy 2-0 triumph over highly rated Saudi Arabia  The red faces were growing and if the Socceroos had sent the UAE packing while Qatar reached the final four, it would have led to a national day of mourning for the fiercely proud Emiratis.  Qatar’s progress has also made covering the tournament very difficult for the local media as they desperately try to avoid even mentioning the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts.  Indeed since the semi-final match-up has been announced many media outlets have been previewing the game without even mentioning who the UAE will be playing.  According to a local journalist covering the tournament for one of the three daily English language papers there has been no official instruction not to refer to Qatar, but coverage requires “careful management.”  Unbelievable – so much for sport generating friendship, doesn’t appear to be the case here  –  match due to be played at 6pm local time [about 1am in eastern Australia], might be worth getting up [or staying up] to watch!!!

And the result:

Qatar defeated the UAE  4-0…………Qatar defied sandal-throwing local fans to storm into the Asian Cup final for the first time with a 4-0 win over hosts United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, setting up a decider against Japan in Abu Dhabi on Friday.  Boualem Khoukhi’s early strike and an eighth goal of the tournament from striker Almoez Ali gave Qatar a 2-0 half-time lead and captain Hassan al-Haydos and Hamid Ismail completed the rout in the last 10 minutes.  The UAE had been hoping to reach the Asian Cup final for the second time, but instead look likely to face sanctions after Ali was pelted with footwear as he celebrated his goal with Haydos and Ismail, who were also the target of footwear-throwing spectators.

ASIAN CUP FINAL:  Friday, 1^st February 2019

Qatar  versus Japan .
In the Asian Cup Final this morning  – the outsiders [and hosts in 2022] Qatar defeated Japan 3-1 [that against goal was the first one scored against Qatar in the tournament].

From ninenews.com…….‘Students became the masters in Abu Dhabi as a clinical performance from Qatar brought a first Asian Cup triumph in a 3-1 final victory over record champions Japan.  Almoez Ali broke the deadlock with an overhead kick, his record ninth goal of the tournament, and Abdelaziz Hatim’s long-range curler doubled the advantage before halftime.  Felix Sanchez’s Qatar, hosts of the World Cup in 2022, lifted the trophy having conceded only Takumi Minamino’s second-half strike during their campaign. They have netted a remarkable 19 times in winning all seven matches in the United Arab Emirates. Japan could not find an equaliser and Akram Afif’s late penalty ended coach Hajime Moriyasu’s bid to become the first to win the tournament as player and boss.  The defeat was the Samurai Blue’s first in a final after four previous victories.

Qatar have largely been without fans in the UAE due to an ongoing political dispute in the region but nonetheless had thousands of backers in the Zayed Sports City Stadium.  They made plenty of noise throughout and at full-time could celebrate the sweetest of victories with the players’

 On to 2022, with Qatar as the hosts for the next tournament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.  The following history of the development of the Open was taken from a current Wikepedia article, and is copied here for the information of readers.

The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open,Wimbledon and the US Open. It features men’s and women’s singles; men’s, women’s and mixed doubles and junior’s championships; as well as wheelchair, legends and exhibition events. Prior to 1988 it was played on grass courts, but since then two types of hardcourt surfaces have been used at Melbourne Park – green coloured Rebound Ace up to 2007 and, afterwards, blue Plexicushion.

First held in 1905, the Australian Open is now the largest annual sporting event in the Southern Hemisphere. The tournament holds the record for the highest attendance at a Grand Slam event, with 743,667 people attending the 2018 Australian Open. It was also the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat with its three primary courts, the Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Arena and the refurbished Margaret Court Arena equipped with retractable roofs.

he Australian Open is managed by Tennis Australia, formerly the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia (LTAA), and was first played at the Warehouseman’s Cricket Ground in Melbourne in November 1905. This facility is now known as the Albert Reserve Tennis Centre.

The tournament was first known as the Australasian Championships and then became the Australian Championships in 1927 and the Australian Open in 1969.  Since 1905, the Australian Open has been staged in five Australian and two New Zealand cities: Melbourne (55 times), Sydney (17 times),Adelaide (14 times), Brisbane (7 times), Perth (3 times), Christchurch (1906) and Hastings (1912).  Though started in 1905, the tournament was not designated as being a major championship until 1924, by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) at a 1923 meeting. The tournament committee changed the structure of the tournament to include seeding at that time.  In 1972, it was decided to stage the tournament in Melbourne each year because it attracted the biggest patronage of any Australian city.  The tournament was played at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club from 1972 until the move to the new Melbourne Park complex in 1988.

The new facilities at Melbourne Park (formerly Flinders Park) were envisaged to meet the demands of a tournament that had outgrown Kooyong’s capacity. The move to Melbourne Park was an immediate success, with a 90 per cent increase in attendance in 1988 (266,436) on the previous year at Kooyong (140,000).

Because of Australia’s geographic remoteness, very few foreign players entered this tournament in the early 20th century. In the 1920s, the trip by ship from Europe to Australia took about 45 days. The first tennis players who came by boats were the US Davis Cup players in November 1946.  Even inside the country, many players could not travel easily. When the tournament was held in Perth, no one from Victoria or New South Wales crossed by train, a distance of about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) between the east and west coasts. In Christchurch in 1906, of a small field of 10 players, only two Australians attended and the tournament was won by a New Zealander.

The first tournaments of the Australasian Championships suffered from the competition of the other Australasian tournaments. Before 1905, all Australian states and New Zealand had their own championships, the first organised in 1880 in Melbourne and called the Championship of the Colony of Victoria (later the Championship of Victoria).   In those years, the best two players – Australian Norman Brookes (whose name is now written on the men’s singles cup) and New Zealander Anthony Wilding – almost did not play this tournament. Brookes came once and won in 1911, and Wilding entered and won the competition twice (1906 and 1909). Their meetings in the Victorian Championships (or at Wimbledon) helped to determine the best Australasian players. Even when the Australasian Championships were held in Hastings, New Zealand, in 1912, Wilding, though three times Wimbledon champion, did not come back to his home country. It was a recurring problem for all players of the era. Brookes went to Europe only three times, where he reached the Wimbledon Challenge Round once and then won Wimbledon twice. Thus, many players had never played the Austral(as)ian amateur or open championships: the Doherty brothers, William Larned, Maurice McLoughlin, Beals Wright,  Bill Johnston,  Bill Tilden,Rene Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Bobby Riggs, Jack Kramer, Ted Schroeder, Pancho Gonzales, Budge Patty, and others, while Brookes, Ellsworth Vines, Jaroslav Drobný, came just once. Even in the 1960s and 1970s, when travel was less difficult, leading players such as Manuel Santana, Jan Kodeš, Manuel Orantes, Ilie Năstase (who only came once, when 35 years old) and Björn Borg came rarely or not at all.

Beginning in 1969, when the first Australian Open was held on the Milton Courts at Brisbane, the tournament was open to all players, including professionals who were not allowed to play the traditional circuit.  Nevertheless, except for the 1969 and 1971 tournaments, many of the best players missed this championship until 1982, because of the remoteness, the inconvenient dates (around Christmas and New Year’s Day) and the low prize money. In 1970, George MacCalls National Tennis League, which employed Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Andrés Gimeno, Pancho Gonzales, Roy Emerson and Fred Stolle, prevented its players from entering the tournament because the guarantees were insufficient. The tournament was won by Arthur Ashe

In 1983, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe and Mats Wilander entered the tournament. Wilander won the singles title and both his Davis Cup singles rubbers in the Swedish loss to Australia at Kooyong shortly after.  Following the 1983 Australian Open, the International Tennis Federation prompted the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia to change the site of the tournament, because the Kooyong stadium was then inappropriate to serve such a big event. In 1988 the tournament was first held at Flinders Park (later renamed Melbourne Park).  The change of the venue also led to a change of the court surface from grass to a hard court surface known as Rebound Ace.^.   Mats Wilander was the only player to win the tournament on both grass and hard courts. In 2008, after being used for 20 years, the Rebound Ace was replaced by a cushioned, medium-paced acrylic surface known as Plexicushion Prestige. Roger Federer and Serena Williams are the only players to win the Australian Open on both Rebound Ace and Plexicushion Prestige. The main benefits of the new surface are better consistency and less retention of heat because of a thinner top layer.   This change was accompanied by changes in the surfaces of all lead-up tournaments to the Australian Open. The change was controversial because of the new surface’s similarity to DecoTurf, the surface used by the US Open.

Before the Melbourne Park stadium era, tournament dates fluctuated as well, in particular in the early years because of the climate of each site or exceptional events. For example, the 1919 tournament was held in January 1920 (the 1920 tournament was played in March) and the 1923 tournament in Brisbane took place in August when the weather was not too hot and wet. After a first 1977 tournament was held in December 1976 – January 1977, the organisers chose to move the next tournament forward a few days, then a second 1977 tournament was played (ended on 31 December), but this failed to attract the best players. From 1982 to 1985, the tournament was played in mid-December. Then it was decided to move the next tournament to mid-January (January 1987), which meant there was no tournament in 1986. Since 1987, the Australian Open date has not changed. However, some top players, including Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, have said that the tournament is held too soon after the Christmas and New Year holidays, thus preventing players from reaching their best form, and expressed a desire to shift it to February.  Such a change, however, would move the tournament outside the summer school holiday period, potentially impacting attendance figures.

In 2008 New South Wales authorities made clear their desire to bid for hosting rights to the tournament once Melbourne’s contract expired in 2016.  The proposal met a scathing response from Wayne Kayler-Thomson, the head of the Victorian Events Industry Council, who labelled it “disappointing that NSW cannot be original and seek their own events instead of trying to cannibalise other Australian cities”.   The prospect of moving the tournament is unlikely as over the following years the precinct was upgraded with enhanced facilities for players and spectators. Notably a retractable roof was placed over Margaret Court Arena, making the Open the first of the four Grand Slams to have retractable roofs available on three of their show courts.^[19] The player and administrative facilities, as well as access points for spectators, were improved and the tournament site expanded its footprint out of Melbourne Park into nearby Birrarung Marr.   A fourth major show court, seating 5,000 people is expected to be completed in the coming years.

In December 2018, tournament organisers announced the Australian Open would follow the examples set by Wimbledon and the US Open and introduce tie-breaks in the final sets of men’s and women’s singles matches. Unlike Wimbledon and the US Open, which initiate conventional tie-breaks at 12-12 games and 6-6 games respectively, the Australian Open utilises a first to 10 points breaker at 6 games all.

The Australian Open is played at Melbourne Park, which is located in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct; the event moved to this site in 1988. Currently 3 of the courts used have retractable roofs, allowing play to continue during rain and extreme heat. As of 2017 spectators can also observe play at show courts 2 and 3, which have capacities of 3,000 each,as well as at Courts 7–15, 19 and 20 from small accessible viewing positions. Construction of a new 5,000 seat capacity stadium will start in 2019 as part of a $271 million redevelopment of the precinct.  Since 2008, all of the courts used during the Australian Open are hard courts with Plexicushion acrylic surfaces (though Melbourne Park does have 8 clay courts not used for the tournament). This replaced the Rebound Ace surface used from the opening of Melbourne Park. The ITF rates the surface’s speed as medium.

The 2019 Tournament  –  14^th to the 27^th January – the results

 The most recent Australian winners of the Australian Open were:

• Men: 1976: Mark Edmondson;
• Women: 1978: Chris O’Neill

The 2019 tournament has hopeful [for Australia] entries in the Singles competition of 128 Men and 128 Women, and is played as an Elimination process over 7 rounds, the 7^th Round representing the respective Finals in each case, which are played over the final weekend of the two week event.

As this document is prepared from an Australian perspective, I have only included the respective Australian competitors results up until the Quarter Final, at which point, all results will be indicated.

Round of 128

Men

Rafael Nadal [Spain] defeated John Duckworth [Australia] 6-4,6-3, 7-5

Thomas Fabbiano [Italy] defeated Jason Kubler [Australia] 6-4,7-6,2-6,6-3

Rafael Nadal [Spain] defeated John Duckworth [Australia] 6-4,6-3, 7-5

Alex de Minaur [Australia] defeated  Pedro Sousa [Portugal] 6-4,7-5,6-4.

Marin Cilic [Croatia] defeated Bernard Tomic [Australia]  6-2,6-4,7-6

John Millman [Australia] defeated Frederico Delbonis [Argentine] 6-3,3-6,7-6,6-2.

Jordan Thompson [Australia] defeated Feliciano Lopeza [Spain] 6-1,7-6,6-3

Denis Kudia [USA] defeated Marc Polmans [Australia]  5-7,1-6,6-2,6-3,6-2

Matthew Ebden [Australia] defeated Jan-Lennard Struff [Germany]  1-6,6-4,6-3,6-4.

Taro Daniel [Japan] defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis [Australia] [retired injured] 5-7,4-2

Alex Bolt [Australia] defeated Jack Sock [USA} 4-6,6-3,6-2,6-2.

Milos Raonic [Canada] defeated Nick Kyrgios [Australia] 6-4,7-6,6-4.

Alexei Popyrin [Australia] defeated Mischa Zverev [Germany] 7-5,7-6,6-4.

Women

Astra Sharma [Australia] defeated Priscilla Hon [Australia] 7-5,4-6,6-1.

Zoe Hives [Australia] defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands [USA] 6-1,6-2.

Ashleigh Barty [Australia] defeated Luksika Kumkhum [Thailand] 6-2,6-2.

Yafan Wang [China] defeated Ellen Perez [Australia 6-4,6-0.

Kimberly Birrell [Australia] defeated Paula Badosa Gilbert [Spain] 6-4,6-2.

Dayana Yastremska [Ukraine] defeated Samantha Stosur [Australia]  7-5,6-2

Johanna Konta [Great Britain] defeated Alja Tomljanovic [Australia] 7-6,2-6,7-6.

Madison Keys [USA] defeated Destanee Alava [Australia]  6-2,6-2.

Tamara Zidansek [Slovania] defeated  Daria Gavrilova [Australia]  7-5,6-3.

 

Australian Open – Round of 64  [Day 3] [the Aussies]

Men

Andreas Seppi [Italy] defeated Jordan Thompson [Australia]  6-3,6-4,6-4

Roberto Bautista Agut [Spain] defeated John Millman [Australia] 6-3,61,3-6,6-7, 6-4

Alex de Minaur [Australia] defeated Henri Laaksonen {Switzerland] 6-4,6-2,6-7,4-6,6-3.

Rafael Nadal [Spain] defeated Matthew Ebden [Australia] 6-3,6-2,6-2.

Alex Bolt [Australia]  defeated Gilles Simon [France]  2-6,6-4,4-6,7-6,6-4

Alexei Popyrin [Australia]  defeated Dominic Thiem [Austria]  7-5,6-4,2-0 [Thiem retired]

Women

Caroline Garcia [France] defeated Zoe Hives [Australia] 6-3,6-3

Ashleigh Barty [Australia]  defeated Yafan Wang [China]  6-2,6-3.

Maria Sakkari [Greece] defeated Astra Sharma [Australia]  6-1,6-4.

Kimberly Birrell [Australia]  defeated Donna Vekic [Croatia] 6-4,4-6,6-1

• Highlight of the day –  Kimberley Birrell [World ranking of 240] and her wonderful win over her more fancied Croation opponent [ranked 29 in the World]
• Brave effort by Zoe, the young farm girl from down Ballarat way, she might have lost the match, but I’m sure the $100,000 Round 2 earnings won’t go astray!!
• Highlight of the night – massive five set battles for two of the Aussies, for one winner, and a loser who got close;
• Quote of the day [nothing negative about this one] – “I’m enjoying my game – but if I lose, the sun still comes up tomorrow, it’s all good” [Ash Barty]

 

Australian Open – Round of 32  [Day 5 and 6] [the Aussies]

Men

Rafael Nadal [Spain] defeated Alex de Minaur [Australia  6-1,6-2,6-4.

[Alex is only one of two teenagers currently in the top 100 male players in the World].

Men

Alexander Zverev [Germany] defeated Alex Bolt [Australia] 6-3,6-3,6-2.

Lucas Pouille [France] defeated Alexie Popyrin [Australia]  7-6,6-3,6-7,4-6,6-3.

Women

Ashleigh Barty [Australia] defeated Maria Sakkari [Greece] 7-5,6-1.

Angelique Kerber [Germany] defeated Kimberly Birrell  [Australia]  6-1,6-0.

 

 Australian Open – Round of 16  [Day 7 – the Aussies]

From a starting list of 22 players, the Aussies have just Ash Barty left in the Singles competition –  she will play her 4^th round match early this afternoon against the ‘screamer’ –  Maria Sharapova –  who has won this tournament on two occasions a decade ago.

Ashleigh Barty [Australia] defeated Maria Sharapova [Russia]  4-6,6-1,6-4

From ABC News:  Ashleigh Barty has made the quarter-finals of a major for the first time in her promising career after coming from a set down to beat former champion Maria Sharapova in a gripping encounter at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

Key points:

• Ashleigh Barty is the first Australian in the women’s quarter-finals since 2009
• She will play Petra Kvitova in the last eight
• Sharapova was booed by the Rod Laver Arena crowd after taking a lengthy bathroom break

Barty, who went into the match under an injury cloud due to an abdominal strain, dropped the first set but fought back in convincing fashion to defeat the 2008 winner Sharapova 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena.

She had four match points before sealing victory and becomes the first Australian through to the last eight of the women’s draw since Jelena Dokic’s run at Melbourne Park 10 years ago.

The match had the potential to spill over into controversy when Sharapova took a seven-minute bathroom break after the second set, which drew a chorus of boos from the crowd once she returned to the court.

If it was designed to put Barty off her game it did not work, as Barty broke the five-time major winner immediately and then added a second service break.

Sharapova grabbed a break back and almost another when Barty was serving at 4-3, but the Queenslander held and then pushed through to claim the three-set triumph in two hours and 22 minutes.

 

The Quarter Final Matches – 2019 Australian Open

Stefanos Tsitsipas returns to action on day nine of the Australian Ope on Tuesday.  After eliminating defending champion Roger Federer, the Greek prodigy takes on Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut with a possible semi-final against Rafael Nadal on the horizon.   Nadal must first overcome American youngster Frances Tiafoe, who he takes on his last eight match.

Petra Kvitova meanwhile is in action against Australia’s own Ashleigh Barty.

The Quarter Finals line up

Men:

Tuesday

Stefanos Tsitsipas [Greece] defeated Roberto Bautista Agut [Spain] 7-5,4-6,6-4,7-6

Rafael Nadal [Spain] defeated Frances Tiafoe [USA} 6-3,6-4,6-2.

Women:

Tuesday

Danielle Rose Collins [USA] defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova [Russia] 2-6,7-5,6-1.

• My Face Book note this evening – Good luck to Ash Barty tonight vs Petra Kvitova, in her quarterfinal game, thankfully her expectations are not over the top, in comparison to the media, commentators and ‘experts’ who already have her playing next Saturday night!! Talk about adding extra pressure on the girl. Win or lose, Ash is our first woman to get this far in 10 years (last one was current Open  commentator Jelena Dokic, whose recent book revealed much of what she had to go through, at the hands of her father) and if Ash wins tonight,  she will be the first Australian women into the semi-finals since Wendy Turnbull in 1984!!.

Petra Kvitova [Czech Republic] defeated Ashleigh Barty [Australia]  6-1,6-4.

• Well the Barty party is over, for the time being, our girl went down to a powerful player 6-1, 6-4 – Kvitora could go on and win this event!!
• No more Aussies remaining in this year’s Australian Open, not an unusual situation for many years now, sadly.
• From Fox Sports – After a day session featuring two surprise semi-finalists, it was a night for the favourites at the Australian Open.  Rafael Nadal powered into the final four with a straight sets win over young American Frances Tiafoe, 6-3 6-4 6-2.  While the unseeded Tiafoe did challenge the Spaniard at times, including saving three set points in the second set, he was ultimately no match for the 17-time slam champion.  Nadal now sits just two wins away from being the first man to achieve a career double grand slam in the Open era………….Earlier, Ash Barty ran into a freight train named Petra Kvitova in her Australian Open quarter-final, as the Aussie was knocked out in straight sets. After a dominant first set by Kvitova, Barty looked much better in the second, but was still unable to overcome the powerful dual Wimbledon champion in a 1-6 4-6 loss.  It took just 27 minutes for Kvitova to claim the opening set against Barty, with the Czech eighth seed hitting 12 winners to her opponent’s two. That took the partisan crowd out of the match early.  In the second set, the Aussie battled back, earning a break point up 1-0 but being unable to convert it. Still, she held serve in her first four service games, before Kvitova finally broke through. Barty can hold her head high after making a grand slam quarter-final for the first time, becoming the first Aussie woman to do it at the Australian Open in a decade.  Kvitova will now be a hot favourite to make the Australian Open final, as she will face unheralded American Danielle Collins in her semi-final.  In a battle of unseeded players, Collins – who had never won a main draw grand slam match before this tournament – came back from a set down to defeat Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2-6 7-5 6-1.

Wednesday

Women

Naomi Osaka [Japan] defeated Elina Svitolina [Ukraine] 6-4,6-1

Karolina Pliskova [Czech Republic] defeated Serena Williams [USA} 6-4,4-6,7-5

Men

Novak Djokovic [Serbia] defeated Kei Nishikori [Japan] 6-1,4-1 [retired injured]

Lucas Pouille [France] defeated Milos Raonic [Canada] 7-6,6-3,6-7,6-4

 

The Semi Finals on Thursday, 24 January; Friday 25th January

Men

Rafael Nadal [Spain] defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas [Greece] 6-2,6-4,6-0.

Novak Djokovic [Serbia] defeated Lucas Pouille [France] 6-0,6-2,6-2

Women

Petra Kvitova [Czech Republic] defeated Danielle Rose Collins [USA] 7-6,6-0

Naomi Osaka [Japan] defeated Karolina Pliskova [Czech Republic] 6-2,4-6,6-4

Earlier, Australia’s Samantha Stosur finally, after a decade, won another tournament in Australia [her first home title in 8 years, and just her second on home soil] – partnering with China’s Shuai Zhang, the pair defeated the defending champions in the Women’s Doubles Final – Timea Babos [Hungary] and Kristina Mladenovic [France]  6-3,6-4. This was Stosur’s 3^rd win in this Grand Slam event, the others being  at the 2005 US Open, and the 2006 French Open. She has won seven Grand Slam titles including the US Open Singles Title in 2011, and three Mixed Doubles titles {Australia 2005, and Wimbledon, 2008 and 2014].

Additional Finals were played over the last weekend of January

Saturday:

Women’s Final:  Naomi Osaka [Japan] defeated Petra Kvitova [Czech Republic] 7-6,5-7,6-4

From Fox Sports –  Naomi Osaka has overcome a mid-match meltdown to claim the 2019 Australian Open title.

The 21-year-old blew three championship points when she was up a set and a break in the second set, with Petra Kvitova stunning Rod Laver Arena with an enormous comeback to force a decider.

But instead of shrinking in the spotlight, Osaka showed great maturity to gather her thoughts and swing the momentum back in her favour. Osaka took out the title, 7-6(7-2), 5-7,6-4 in just under two and a half hours. It was the fourth seed’s second Grand Slam victory, after Osaka took out the 2018 US Open at Flushing Meadows in somewhat acrimonious circumstances.

Kvitova can console herself with a career-best performance at Melbourne Park, where she did not drop a set on her way to the final.  It was her first Grand Slam decider since a burglar slashed her racquet hand in a 2016 knife attack and the Czech has shown she is again a contender at the majors.  “Thank you for sticking with me even when we didn’t know if I would able to hold a racquet again,” Kvitova told her team, with her voice cracking.  “It’s crazy. I can hardly believe that I just played in a Grand Slam final again.”

Mixed Doubles Final:  Barbara Krejcikova [Czech Republic] &  Rajeev Ram [USA] defeated John-Patrick Smith & Astra Sharma [Australia]  7-6,6-1

From ninenews.com  –  The fairytale run of Australian wildcard pair Astra Sharma and John-Patrick Smith has come to an end in the Australian Open mixed doubles final. The wildcard entries have enjoyed a stellar fortnight at Melbourne Park but were outplayed in the decider on Saturday night, losing 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 to third seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Rajeev Ram.

Sunday,

Men’s Doubles Final:  Nicholas Mahut & Pierre-Hugeus Herbert [France] defeated John Peers [Australia] & Henri Continen [Finland] 6-4,7-6

From the Brisbane Times:    French duo Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert have defeated Australian John Peers and his Finnish partner Henri Kontinen in the men’s doubles final, emerging 6-4, 7-6 victors in a tightly-fought affair. Peers and Kontinen, the 2017 Australian Open champions who had reached this final as twelfth seeds without losing a set, were left to rue lapses in crucial moments. Speaking after the match, Herbert, 10 years the junior to his 37-year-old partner, enjoyed the sentimental win that nets the pair $750,000. “We started here in 2015 with our first tournament together – we went all the way to the final but missed out by one match. Now we’ve won all the grand slams together, and I don’t know what to say.”

In doing so the fifth-seeded Frenchmen, who played their first tournament together here in Melbourne in 2015, completed their career doubles Grand Slam

 Men’s Final:  Rafael Nadal [Spain] versus Novak Djokovic [Serbia]

From BBC Sport:  Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will renew their long-standing rivalry in an Australian Open final where both can create new records.  Djokovic is aiming for a record seventh men’s Melbourne title, while Nadal can become the first man in the Open era to win all the Grand Slams at least twice.  Sunday’s match will be an ATP record-extending 53rd meeting between them.  “It is the biggest rivalry we’ve seen in tennis history,” Australian former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said.  The top two seeds meet at Melbourne Park for the first time since their epic five-set final in 2012, which Djokovic won with almost six hours on the clock.

Djokovic, 31, leads their head-to-head 27-25, with eight victories in their past 10 matches – including their memorable 2018 Wimbledon semi-final five-setter which stretched over two days.  “I’ve played so many matches against him, epic matches on this court,” said the Serb.  “I’m sure we’re going to have a good final.”

Spaniard Nadal, 32, said he was happy to have shared “very special moments” on court with Djokovic.

Final Result. Men’s Singles Final:  Novak Djokovic [Serbia] defeated Rafael Nadal [Spain]  6-3,6-2,6-3

From BBC Sport:

Novak Djokovic won a record seventh Australian Open title and a third successive Grand Slam as he swept aside Rafael Nadal in Melbourne. The Serb, rarely troubled on his serve, won 6-3 6-2 6-3 for his biggest victory in a major final over his great rival.Spanish second seed Nadal, 32, looked rattled by the world number one’s intensity and made 28 unforced errors.Djokovic, 31, won in two hours and four minutes to move clear of six-time men’s winners Roy Emerson and Roger Federer.A forehand winner down the line brought up two championship points, Djokovic taking the second when Nadal clubbed a backhand long. Djokovic, who was the top seed, fell to his knees after sealing another triumph on Rod Laver Arena, smacking the court with both hands and screaming towards the sky.

The reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion claimed his 15th Grand Slam title, moving him outright third ahead of American Pete Sampras in the all-time list, closing in on Switzerland’s Federer (20) and Nadal (17).

Djokovic has now won 13 of his past 16 meetings with Nadal, who has not beaten the Serb on a hard court since the US Open final in 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The National Australia Day Council announced the 2019 Australian of the Year Awards. Australia Day is celebrated on the 26^th January each year, and the awards were presented by the Prime Minister in Canberra on the evening of Friday, January 25, 2019.

There were 33 people vying for the four award titles:

• 2019 Australian of the Year

Since 1960 our nation has celebrated the achievement and contribution of eminent citizens through the Australian of the Year Awards. These leading citizens shape our nation, inspire us, and are role models for us all.

• 2019 Senior Australian of the Year

The Senior Australian of the Year Award recognises those Australians aged 65 and over who continue to achieve and contribute. The award commenced in the International Year of Older Persons in 1999.

• 2019 Young Australian of the Year

The Young Australian of the Year Award recognises those aged 16 to 30 who are outstanding and exceptional young Australians. The Young Australian of the Year has been awarded since 1979.

• 2019 Australia’s Local Hero

The Local Hero Award was introduced into the Australian of the Year Awards in 2003. It acknowledges extraordinary contributions made by Australians in their local community.

National Australia Day Council chief executive Karlie Brand said the national finalists had all reflected the many heart-warming and inspirational stories in our nation. “The Australian of the Year awards allow us to showcase ordinary Australians doing extraordinary things to make a difference in their communities, achieving recognition on a national scale and influencing change for the better,” Ms Brand said. “This year, we had some truly amazing people among our national finalists – some who are household names, some who quietly go about helping others and some who have overcome great challenges.  “They were all so very worthy of our admiration and our recognition – they are all great Australians.” The Awards honour an exceptional group of highly-respected Australians who ignite discussion and change on issues of national importance. The nominations from all categories included a large number of Indigenous Australians recognised by their respective states and territories.

The state by state winners, and nominees for Australian of the Year [each state or territory also announced winners in the other three categories] were::

Victoria – The founder of a global health company that ensures millions of disadvantaged people get the medicines they need has been named 2019 Victorian Australian of the Year. Mark Sullivan, of Camberwell, in creating the not-for-profit Medicines Development of Global Health, established a highly effective business model for developing much-needed new medicines.

Western Australia – A cave-diver and retired vet who helped rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand has been named the 2019 Western Australia Australian of the Year. Dr Craig Challen, of Wangara, was about to go on a caving holiday on the Nullarbor Plains in July 2018 when he was called to join the international rescue mission at Chiang Rai in Thailand.

Queensland – Detective and children’s champion, 55-year-old Jon Rouse of Ashgrove, has been named as Queensland’s Australian of the Year. Detective Inspector Rouse has 34 years’ service with Queensland Police.

Australian Capital Territory:   Journalist and women’s advocate Virginia Haussegger is the 2019 Australian of the Year for the ACT. For more than 25 years, Ms Haussegger has built a career as a television journalist, writer and commentator. She is also recognised as a leading advocate for women and is a sought-after speaker on women’s rights, gender equality and the media.

South Australia – The 2019 South Australia Australian of the Year is specialist anaesthetist and cave diver, Dr Richard Harris, of Toorak Gardens.  In July 2018, Adelaide anaesthetist Dr Richard Harris made worldwide headlines when he joined an international team to rescue a group of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

Tasmania – An advocate for teenage parents has been named the 2019 Tasmania Australian of the Year. Bernadette Black, of Blackmans Bay, herself a mother at 16, went on to found the BRAVE Foundation, which supports and represents 8300 expectant and parenting teens each year.

New South Wales –  Three-time Paralympic gold medallist Kurt Fearnley has been named the 2019 NSW Australian of the Year.  Fearnley, 37, retired from international wheelchair racing this year after a remarkable 20-year career, having proved time and again that disability is no barrier to an indomitable spirit.

Northern Territory – Former Essendon Indigenous footballer Michael Long was named the NT’s Australian of the Year.

The National winners announced were awarded as follows.

There was a theme of community care and involvement is modern issues of Australian society which each of the winners this year, with the more academic and sporting categories, although included in the nominations, taking a back seat to those chosen for the principal roles.  Notes were as compiled from the relevant web site.

2019 Australian of the Year

This was a joint award this year – going to the two men who were part of the massive rescue operation carried out in the caves of Thailand last year.                  Dr Richard Harris OAM from South Australia and Dr Craig Challen SC OAM from Western Australia are the 2019 Australians of the Year for their heroic efforts as part of an international rescue mission to save 12 boys from flooded caves in Thailand.  In July 2018, anaesthetist Dr Richard Harris and retired vet Dr Craig Challen made worldwide headlines when they joined an international team to rescue a group of boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Richard is a diver with 30 years’ experience and a specialist in aeromedical retrieval. He has previously participated in complex diving recoveries, appeared in National Geographic documentaries and, in 2015, was recognised for his outstanding contribution to cave exploration. In 2017 he was awarded The Australasian Technical Diver of the Year.  Craig has dived some of Australia’s deepest wrecks and has set depth records in diving, including diving to 194m in the Pearse Resurgence, New Zealand in 2011. He was awarded Technical Diver of the Year 2009 at the Australian technical diving conference Oztek.  Both Craig and Richard were awarded the Star of Courage for unwavering and selfless bravery following the successful rescue of the trapped soccer team……in accepting the awards, both men acknowledged that they were just a part of a much larger team of rescuers on that rescue mission.

2019 Senior Australian of the Year

Since starting her career as a paediatrician in 1972, Dr Sue Packer AM has worked tirelessly to advocate for the rights of children. Sue has been a leader in child abuse prevention and treatment and a champion of the importance of early childhood environments for the developing brain.  Since starting her career as a paediatrician in 1972, Dr Sue Packer AM has worked tirelessly to advocate for the rights of children. Sue has been a leader in child abuse prevention through the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect since its very early days,  and has treated babies and children suffering terrible  trauma from child abuse and neglect.
In addition, Sue has championed the importance of early childhood environments for the developing brain, leading to recognition by education and government agencies. Sue was one of the driving forces behind the acknowledgement of the importance of creating child-friendly spaces in hospitals and the value of play in recovery.
Presenting papers at conferences internationally and still volunteering on a number of boards to improve health and well-being of children.  She maintains an interest in the adult lives of children she has seen. Sue stands up for the rights of children at every opportunity and encourages others to do the same.

While all winners received standing ovations following their presentations, Dr Sue Packer AM received a wonderful tribute of acknowledgement from all present.

 2019 Young Australian of the Year

Working across rap, dance, acting and graffiti, Danzal Baker is a multi-talented, multi-lingual, Indigenous artist. He achieved mainstream success rapping in the Yolngu Matha language, coming 17th in Triple J’s Hottest 100 2017. He uses his talent to inspire Indigenous youth to embrace their culture and take up leadership positions.

Working across rap, dance, acting and graffiti, Danzal Baker is a multi-talented, multi-lingual, Indigenous artist. Danzal, otherwise known as Baker Boy, is the first Indigenous artist to achieve mainstream success rapping in the Yolngu Matha language.

Raised in Milingimbi and Maningrida, Danzal rapped his way to national prominence when his single Marryuna was voted into 17th place in Triple J’s Hottest 100 for 2017; a notable follow-up from his debut single Cloud 9, which won Triple J’s Unearthed competition.  Danzal is also an award winner at the National Indigenous Music Awards. He has signed a record deal with Select Music and was handpicked by English rapper Dizzee Rascal to be his Australian support act. In 2018, Danzal won the prestigious Charles Darwin University Art Award at the Northern Territory Young Achievers Awards.

Touring Australia extensively, Danzal is using his talent to inspire young people in remote Indigenous communities and encourage them to embrace their culture and take up leadership positions.

 2019 Australia’s Local Hero

This was one of the more emotionally received awards of recent years.

Following the tragic death of their teenage daughter, Amy ‘Dolly’ Everett in January 2018, following extensive bullying, Kate and Tick Everett founded Dolly’s Dream to create positive change and a legacy to their daughter. Their advocacy has resulted in governments taking childhood bullying and its devastating impacts more seriously.

Dolly’s Dream aims to raise awareness about bullying and its potentially devastating effects on children and families. It delivers community education on bullying issues and strategies for preventing and mitigating bullying, through cultural change and victim support.  Over 250 communities have held fundraisers and events to support Dolly’s Dream, with a particular focus on regional and rural Australia. Kate and Tick’s non-stop advocacy, meeting with the Prime Minister and Education and Health Ministers across the country, has resulted in governments taking childhood bullying and its devastating impacts more seriously.  Kate and Tick advocate tenaciously on a voluntary basis while continuing to muster cattle, train horses and care for their other daughter, Megan, from their home in Katherine, Northern Territory.

 

 

 

At this stage of the tournament, we have 16 teams remaining in the World Cup [the elimination round to determine this year’s Quarter Finalists], eight games in total, with Extra Time, and Penalty shots to be utilised as required, should scores be level at the end of the normal 90 minutes.

• Argentina;
• Belgium;
• Brazil;
• Colombia;
• Croatia;
• Denmark;
• England;
• France;
• Japan;
• Mexico;
• Portugal;
• Russia;
• Spain;
• Sweden;
• Switzerland;
• Uruguay

Day One occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, 1 July [AEST]

• France vs Argentina was played at Kaxzan [from 12 am], and proved to be a real goal-scoring spree, in sharp contrast to some of the final group matches, with 7 goals scored between the two teams. In fact, the reporters for news.comn.au described the game as “one of the greatest games ever seen in World Cup history” and “a World Cup classic”. Well I can’t judge the accuracy of that, however, but it certainly provided a much entertaining and exciting 90 minutes of football, which eventually saw the Argentina team eliminated from the competition. At the end, the Argentina champion Messi stood in utter disbelief that another World Cup campaign had come to an end without the ultimate glory.  The final  score was France 4; Argentina 3.
• The second game featured Uruguay and Portugal [played at 4 am at Sochi]. Another football hero, Portugal’s Christiano Ronaldo exited the competition, when Uruguay defeated the European team. ABC News reported that  “Portugal, who won Euro 2016 in France, dominated possession but their attack did not have enough bite to break through the Uruguay defence twice, leaving captain Cristiano Ronaldo a frustrated figure during the entire match. The Real Madrid forward could not add to his four goals in the first two matches, failing to improve his record of failing to score in all six World Cup knockout matches he has played. Ronaldo had an opportunity in the first half to score from a free kick about 30 metres out but could only hit the wall”.
• Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani scored a stunning brace to lead the South Americans to victory over the European champions to set up a quarter-final match against France. Final score was Uruguay 2, France 1.

Day Two occurred in the early hours of Monday morning, 2 July [AEST]

• The early match [12 am, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, was between Russia and Spain, and it prove [eventually] to be a good day for the hosts. Again reporting for the ABC here in Australia, we learn that
• Host team, “Russia has shocked Spain 4-3 on penalties to advance to the World Cup quarter-finals where it will face Croatia. Russia keeper Igor Akinfeev saved Koke’s and Iago Aspas’s spot kicks in their first ever penalty shootout to send the hosts through following a turgid 1-1 draw over 120 minutes.  Spain, which has never beaten a host at World Cups or Euros, went ahead after 12 minutes when 38-year-old Sergei Ignashevich bundled into Spain captain Sergio Ramos at the far post, knocking a free kick in with his heel for the 10th own goal of the tournament’.  The final score, after the teams could not be separated at 1-1 after extra time, saw Russia win with a superior penalty score of 4-3.

• The second match featured Croatia and Denmark, played at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. This match scored by both teams within the first four minutes, however by the normal 90 minutes, plus extra time, no addition had being made to either score, and a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner was again required. That almost wasn’t necessary! Croatia could have wrapped up the result five minutes from the end of extra-time, with a penalty kick taken by Croatia’s Luka Modric, which was saved by Danish keeper, Kasper Schmeichel. The subsequent penalties saw five shots for goal saved by the respective keepers, before Croatia eventually came out on top, as However, the Croatia captain [Modric] returned to bravely take one of the post-match kicks as goalkeeper Danijel Subasic save three of Denmark’s efforts to set up a quarter-final meeting with Russia.
• The final score [after being level at 1-1] saw Croatia defeat Denmark win 3-2 on penalties.

 Day Three of the Round of 16,  occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning, 3 July [AEST, with again, two matches being featured.

• Match 1 was Brazil vs Mexico, held at Samara, at 12 am. With some of it’s main competitors out of the running, this was Brazil’s big opportunity to make a statement, and that they did. Brazil charged into the World Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory over Mexico as Neymar shone with a goal and an assist that dumped the central Americans out at the last 16 stage for the seventh straight occasion, after their World Cup began with such promise with a victory over champions Germany, but ended in familiar fashion in the first knockout round. For Brazil, it was the seventh World Cup running they had reached the last eight. Meanwhile the Brazilian superstar had his critics – Neymar’s sparkling performance was tarnished by yet another example of his tendency to overreact to seemingly innocuous challenges. The latest chapter in a bulging catalogue of histrionic behaviour came in the second half, when Mexico  midfielder Miguel Layun appeared to step on his ankle as he lay prone.  Neymar writhed around and convulsed as if he had received an electric shock.  The final  score in the game  –  Brazil 2, Mexico 0.

• Match 2 was Belgium vs Japan, at 4 am, played at Rostov-on-Don. This game saw a magnificent comeback by the Belgium team, after being down 0-2, about 7 minutes into the second half. But the Japanese hearts were broken when Belgium came back to win an extraordinary match, and a place in the quarter-finals, with just a few seconds of stoppage time left to be played.  Despite4 the outcome, the 61st-ranked Japanese who were given little chance of making an impact at the tournament, produced a gritty group stage display and last-16 match versus Belgium which won over the fans. Yet despite the heartache and the sadness at their World Cup elimination, the fans remained true to the morals and cleared up the stands before leaving – as they have done at each of their four games in Russia. That goodwill nature of the Japanese contingent in Russia even spread to the team, who despite being eliminated from the World Cup in the most dramatic of circumstances ensured they cleaned the changing room to perfection and left a note that read “Спасибо” – Russian for thank you.    The final score  –  Belgium  3, Japan 0

Day Four of the Round of 16,  occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning, 4 July [AEST, with the final four teams of the last 16 involved.

Match 1 was Sweden vs Switzerland, played at 12 am, at St. Petersburg. In a win described as ‘scrappy’, it was enough to put the Swedes into the quarter-finals  for the first time in 24 years. Reporting from St. Petersburg, Simon Jennings wrote  “Both teams were wasteful in possession and guilty of the sort of poor finishing and unimaginative mid-field play that had boos and whistles ringing around the ….stadium from as early as the 25^th minutes..” On the basis of that performance, Jennings suggests that “the English [who play Sweden in their quarter-final match] will not lose any sleep over the prospect of facing the limited Swedish attack”.  English fans will no doubt hope that their team does not under-estimate the Swedes however.    Final score in the match:  Sweden 1, Switzerland  0.

 Match 2, and the final game of the round of 16, involved England and Colombia.  For the English, this was a game which finally saw the lifting of a hoodoo which suggested that England never win penalty shoot-outs.  Writing from Moscow, Steven Goff, in commenting on the match which would eventually be won, on penalties, by England, said “For all the history and lore surrounding English soccer, the national team has not raised a major trophy since the 1966 World Cup”. To many fans, an almost unbelievable statistic.  And it could have continued  –  with the score at the end of full and extra time sitting at 1-1, England again had to face a ‘dreaded’ penalty situation. This time, they managed to pull off a heart-stopping win over Colombia in a penalty shootout. Mateus Uribe hit the crossbar and England keeper Jordan Pickford saved Carlos Bacca’s effort, while the Three Lions scored four of their five penalties to progress to the quarter-finals.  The final score revealing  England 1 [4] defeating Colombia  1 [3].

So there we have it – at the end of the round of 16, the 32 teams which began this tournament, are now reduced to 8 teams who will compete in the quarter final matches, beginning in the early hours of the 7^th July [AEST].

 The four Quarter Final matches were as follows.

• Uruguay vs France; played at Mizhny Novgorod, at 12 am on Saturday 7 July. The key match-ups here were Diego Godin [Uruguay] and Antonie Griezmann [France], by coincidence, the former being godfather to the French player’s daughter [though that fact was no doubt forgotten during the match]. Uruguayand France play in the first quarter-final tomorrow. Uruguay and France  had met five times in the past 30 years, with Nil all draws in four of those games, and a 1-0 win to Uruguay in the most recent game in 2013. More pleasingly, their first three meetings (one in 1924, one in 1966 and one in 1985) featured 11 goals.

As it eventuated this time, goals from Raphael Varane and Griezmann would be enough to ensure France of a berth in the semi-finals for the first time since 2006. Writing for the Guardian, Stuart James noted that “Growing in confidence all the time and blessed with outstanding individuals, there is something ominous about the way France have dispatched Argentina and now Uruguay, scoring six goals in the process and, perhaps most significantly, leaving the impression there is so much more to come” while “Uruguay will reflect on a potential turning point just before half-time, when Hugo Lloris produced an outstanding save to keep out a powerful downward header from Martín Cáceres and Diego Godín thumped the follow-up wide. Those two chances were rare sights of goal for a team outplayed for much of the game”.  The final score:  France  defeated Uruguay  2-0..

• Brazil vs Belgium was played at Kazan, at 4 am on Saturday, 7 July, with the ky match-ups here expected to be the Brazilian captain, Thiago Silva  and Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku.. It’s been a long time since these teams faced each other. The last meeting was Brazil’s 2-0 World Cup Round of 16 victory in 2002. That was also their only competitive meeting to date. Rivaldo and Ronaldo scored in Kobe. It was a much closer match than the score would suggest. Brazil went on to win the competition that year – beating Germany 2-0 in the final.

From the BBC –  “Belgium produced a brilliant performance to knock five-time winners Brazil out of the World Cup and reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1986.  Roberto Martinez’s side turned on the style in Kazan to clock up their fifth straight win of the tournament and ensure the semi-finals will be contested by four European sides for the first time since 2006. Although, as another reporter noted,   “quite how Belgium hung on to reach the semi-finals and send Brazil home they may never know.  It was another Russia 2018 classic, featuring a Belgium side who plundered two goals against their famous opposition twice in the first 32 minutes after which the men in the yellow shirts would spend the next hour in thrilling perpetual chase. Led by their little general Philippe Coutinho, and perhaps with a little longer at their disposal, it would have been Brazil in the semi-final against France in St Petersburg on Tuesday”.  So we head into the Semi-finals with no South American side, no Germany, and no Spain, and likely all European semi-finals. Final Score:  Belgium defeated Brazil 2-1

• Sweden vs England, played at Samara, at 12 am, Sunday 8 July.  Goals scored by England’s Harry Maguire and Dele Alli were sufficient to give their team a semi-final berth.  It’s noted that the last time England won a World Cup quarter final was against Cameroon in 1990, and they had lost two since then, so despite the overall reputation of English football, they’d not played in a semi-final for 28 years.  Fun fact: All of Sweden’s players are based at clubs abroad, while all of Gareth Southgate’s men play their domestic football in England. Five players in the Sweden squad play their club football in the English league system – could their insider knowledge come in handy on Saturday?  They are: Victor Lindelöf (Manchester United), Martin Olsson (Swansea City), Sebastian Larsson (Hull City), Pontus Jansson (Leeds United), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Swansea).

Mind you, as written in the UK Independent News –  “England did have to work hard to get ahead, and it was not pretty in the first half-hour before the goal. But once they did so they were always in complete control, and started to attack with the fluency that had been promised all tournament but never quite arrived. Once Dele Alli nodded in a clever header the game was up”.  As for Sweden, their effort was seen by some as a rather feeble challenge. AS the Guardian’s Daniel Taylor wrote –    “It was England’s first clean sheet of the tournament and there was never a concerted spell when Sweden – willing but limited opponents – managed to pin them back”……….Final score saw England defeat Sweden 2-0.

• The final quarter final match was between Russia and Croatia, played at Sochi, at 4 am on Sunday, 8 July. Speaking prior to the match,  Russia central defender Ilya Kutepov told FIFA that the team doesn’t intend resting on the achievement of eliminating Spain. “We want to go as far as possible. Now we have new goals. Croatia are a very good team with great players but we are determined to make another step forward. I don’t want to say that after beating Spain we can beat anyone, no, I’d phrase it in a different way: appetite comes with eating. When we played in a group we wanted to qualify for the knockout stage. Then we thought that Spain are strong but we wanted to go further. Now we meet Croatia and the quarter-finals are not enough for us anymore. With every victory you want to go further and further”.

Unfortunately for the host nation, this match would see the end of Russia’s World Cup campaign, although the final result would come down to a penalty shoot-out.    From ABC News we read the following report  –  “The Croats hadn’t advanced to the semi-finals at the World Cup since 1998, when the country made its first appearance. Croatia will next play England in the semi-finals on Wednesday in Moscow.  With the crowd silenced following an extra-time header from Croatia defender Domagoj Vida in the 101st minute, Russia defender Mario Fernandes scored with his own header in the 115th to send the match to yet another penalty shootout.  Fernandes, who was born in Brazil but rejected a chance to play for that country’s national team in 2011, sent his penalty kick wide of the net in the shootout, giving Croatia the advantage.  Both goalkeepers made early saves in the shootout, with an injured Danijel Subasic stopping the opening shot from Fyodor Smolov. Igor Akinfeev later blocked an attempt from Mateo Kovacic.  At 1-1, Fernandes missed his shot, then the teams traded two scores each before Ivan Rakitic calmly converted the winning penalty.  “We should have finished the job before penalties but maybe it’s written in the stars we have to go through the extra drama,” said Luka Modric, whose penalty bounced off Subasic’s hand and the post before entering the other side of the net.

Although Russia made it further at this year’s World Cup than most anyone expected, it was Croatia that advanced to the semi-finals with a 4-3 shootout victory following a 2-2 draw.  The overachieving hosts, the lowest ranked team in the tournament at number 70, were trying to make it to the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since the Soviet Union finished fourth at the 1966 tournament in England.  Even Russian President Vladimir Putin was taken in by the host nation’s surprising run, at least according to Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov.  “Putin called me during the day, and he called me right now,” Cherchesov said. “He congratulated us on a very good game. He said what we showed on the field was great. I told him we were disappointed. He said we should have our eyes open and make the next steps.”   Final score saw Croatia  2 [4]  defeat Russia 2 [3].

 

So we now reach the Semi-Final stage  –  France versus Belgium [July 11],   and England versus Croatia [July 12]

 Semi Final No. 1  –    France versus Belgium  –  played at 4 am on Wednesday, 11 July [AEST], at the St Petersburg Stadium.

• There was only the single goal scored in this game, early in the 2^nd half, although both teams had scoring opportunities in the 1^st

The following is an almost complete copy of a rather ornate New York Times description of France’s victory, and the lead-up to it [written by Rory Smith] which I’ve taken the liberty to share with my readers.

“They were only glimpses, fleeting and flickering and ultimately insignificant, but they were so tantalizing that they were impossible to miss.

Kylian Mbappé, inside the first 10 seconds, burning Belgium’s Jan Vertonghen away, an express train speeding past a bewildered commuter. Paul Pogba striding forward, Antoine Griezmann dancing through challenges. Mbappé again, splitting Belgium’s defense in two with a blink-of-the-eye pirouetting drag-back.

They were moments to drop the jaw and draw the breath, visions of the heights this French generation — now one win away from being crowned champion of the world — might yet scale, images of what this team of all the talents could, and perhaps should, be.

But it was not those flashes of neon brilliance that took France past Belgium in a 1-0 win that sent thousands out to celebrate on the Champs-Élysées. France is not in its third World Cup final in 20 years because of what this team threatens to be, or might become.

It is there, instead, because of what it does in the long stretches between flashes; it is there not because it shines so brightly but because it dulls whatever it faces; it is there because of what it is: a team that always has much, much more than enough, but only ever does enough, and never any more.

France has, somehow, reached the cusp of greatness without ever really having given the impression it has stretched itself, or reached its full potential. It sleepwalked through its group, with single-goal victories against Australia and Peru, and a mind-numbing goalless draw with Denmark.

In the round of 16, against an Argentina side mired in chaos and permanently on the verge of a meltdown, it roused itself for a few minutes, scored three quick-fire goals, then sank back into itself, eventually winning — again — by just one goal.

It was only in the quarterfinal, against Uruguay, that it finally broke that trend of squeaking by, but only thanks a header off a set piece and an egregious error from Fernando Muslera, the Uruguayan

goalkeeper. France reached St. Petersburg, and the semifinal, hardly having broken a sweat.

It was greeted there by Belgium, whose own golden generation was supposed to provide a significantly more exacting test, to force the French out of their shells, to demand that Manager Didier Deschamps’s richly gifted players finally live up to their lofty reputations. For 50 minutes, the Belgians threatened to do just that, to draw this team into the open field. And then Samuel Umtiti scored — slipping his marker to meet Griezmann’s corner — and France drew back once more, content to contain and control.

Deschamps’s players let Belgium burn itself out, deprived it first of hope, and then of life, all the while not expending a drop of energy more than was strictly necessary.

Belgium’s Eden Hazard, in particular, had started the game as a ball of energy, twisting and turning and writhing his way past Benjamin Pavard, France’s right back; Hazard had the look of a player very conscious of the fact that this was his chance to stake a claim for greatness.

By the end, he looked adrift. He had long since wandered into central midfield, craving some sort of space, some sort of peace, only to find neither. His sparkle had gone, and so had his spark.

It was not — as might be expected, in the era of counter-pressing, that frenzied style of harrying and harassing that is so en vogue in European club soccer — because the French had pummeled him and his team into submission, barely allowing a moment’s rest, but because they had done the opposite: They waited as Belgium wandered into their sleeper-hold, and then simply refused to let go.

That has been France’s unexpected forte in this tournament: its defensive strength, its imperturbability, the ease with which it blunts an attack. Only Argentina has scored against the French from open play. They are so assured in defense that none of those single-goal victories felt at all close, or tense; they all seemed to be over long before the final whistle. So, too, here: When the game ended, the explosion of joy from the French players, and their small squadron of fans, felt somehow out of place, out of context, with the torpor that had descended.

France has achieved this not, as the teams of Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino seek to do, by seeking to coil itself around its prey, squeezing the breath from its opponents. Its approach resembles that of a crocodile, rather than a snake: It waits, pounces, and then sinks back beneath the surface, happy to wait again.

Given the personnel at his disposal, it is hard not to feel that Deschamps is forcing his players to do something that does not come naturally to them. This is a squad that could — should — be tearing through opponents; with its abilities, courage should not feel like a risk. There is a lingering feeling that France is not making the most of his resources, a temptation to wonder what this team might achieve, what it might become, with a less conservative, less cautious manager.

It is easy to speculate, too, that France’s passivity, that lack of ambition, might eventually prove its undoing, that in the final it will need to raise its game and will ultimately be unable — or unwilling — to do so.

There is, though, a counter argument that is no less compelling. France has met every challenge and passed them with ease. Lionel Messi could not disrupt its serenity; nor could Luis Suárez; now Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku have failed, too………………………….Deschamps and his players are in the World Cup final because of what they are: a team designed to draw the sting, to suck the air from a game, to deprive the fire of oxygen. It is hard to believe they will not win it, though, because of what they might be: the team with the sting, with the air, with the fire. France, for the last month, has done what is required. It will be confident it can do so, one last time……………………And the final score: France  1, Belgium 0

Semi Final No. 2  –    Croatia versus England  –  played at 4 am on Thursday, 12 July [AEST], at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow.

• Well, the dreams of World Cup glory were shattered today when Croatia won it’s way into the Final for the first time. As reported in the ‘Guardian’ – “England fans were left heartbroken as Croatia claimed a 2-1 victory in extra-time of their World Cup semi-final. Gareth Southgate’s side made a dream start with Kieran Trippier’s early free-kick securing a 1-0 lead but Croatia came out stronger in the second half and Ivan Perisic levelled in the 67th minute. The teams traded blows for the rest of the match, but were forced into extra-time locked at 1-1. After a tense first period Mario Mandzukic then ended England’s hopes of making it to their first World Cup final since 1966. Croatia will play France in the final on Sunday [Moscow time].

As would be expected, the scenes of fans reacting in Croatia and England sharply contrasted between those of pure joy and utter despair.

And from Fox Sports, we read:England, appearing in their first semi-final since 1990, had looked on course for their first final since 1966 as they led through Kieran Trippier’s fifth- minute free kick and totally dominated the opening half on Wednesday.  Croatia, in their first semi since 1998, levelled through Ivan Perisic after 68 minutes and then looked the more dangerous side. It stayed level at 90 minutes, meaning Croatia faced extra time for the third successive game, having got past Denmark and Russia on penalties. But just when it looked as if they would become the first team to appear in three shootouts at a single World Cup Mandzukic struck with a well-taken low shot.  England captain Harry Kane could not hide his desperate disappointment  “We’re gutted. It hurts, it hurts a lot,” Kane said after the match at the Luzhniki Stadium.  “It’s going to hurt for a while of course. We can hold our heads up high. It’s been a fantastic journey, we got further than anyone else thought we would have,” he added.  “It’s been great to get to this stage and we know we’ve done everyone proud but we wanted to go on and win it,” Kane added.  “We thought we were just good enough, we thought we could have done that. But we’ve fallen just a bit short. It hurts. I don’t know what else to say\………………….The Final score: Croatia: 2, England: 1.

The play –off for 3^rd and 4^th position:  Belgium versus England.

This match between the two semi-final losers, was played at St. Petersburg, at 12 am [AEST] on Sunday morning 15 July.  This game saw England finish 4^th at World Cup after Belgium won with goals  from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard. Later, the English coach admitted that “England had no illusions about it’s current    standing in international football.  England manager Gareth Southgate, speaking to ITV: “Belgium are a better side than us. We had to play flat out. We had a day less to repair and recover. It was a game too far for us.

“Belgium are a top team and they will be thinking they should have gone further than they did. We caused them problems and pinned them back but they have players of the highest quality. “Two years on, you look at the number of caps and age of squad for Belgium. This is their peak but we are nowhere near that and we knew that the whole way through.”

While both teams had hoped to go further than was expected of them,  for Belgium, it would be that country’s best result in the World Cup competition, and it’s fans were more than happy with the outcome of today’s match………………………The final score:  Belgium 2, England 0.

 

The FIFA World Cup Final:  France versus  Croatia.

Played at the Luzhmiki Stadium, Moscow, at 1 am on the morning of Monday, 16 July [AEST].

Well, there was almost a smorgasbord of goals in the final, with the balance of them going to the French team. In fact,  it was the highest scoring final since 1966

Reporting for the ABC News, Liam Butterworth wrote  –

‘France has become champion of the world for a second time after holding out a determined Croatia in an entertaining World Cup final.  While it wasn’t always convincing — its first two goals came from the first ever own-goal and video assistant referee awarded penalty in a World Cup final, and French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made a terrible error for Croatia’s second — Les Bleus made the most of their chances to hold out the Vatreni 4-2.  Teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe and midfield maestro Paul Pogba finished impressive team goals in a six-minute second half blitz that put the game beyond a Croatian side which had dominated large stretches and had 61 per cent possession.  While the French led 2-1 at half-time, Pogba blew the game open in the 59th minute by finishing a move that he had started in midfield.  He played Mbappe into a wide channel and then calmly curled Antoine Griezmann’s lay back pass past a motionless Daniel Subasic.

The 19-year-old Mbappe — already the first teenager to play in a World Cup final since Pele in 1958 — then matched another record held by the Brazil legend by scoring on 65 minutes. Defender Lucas Hernandez held off a strong challenge by Mario Mandzukic and passed inside to find Mbappe whose powerful right-foot strike beat Subasic once again.  Mandzukic gave his side a slice of hope on 68 minutes, taking full advantage of Lloris’ horrible attempt to beat him from a pass back.

But it wasn’t enough as France made amends for its defeat by Portugal in the 2016 European Championships by becoming the world’s best. France coach Didier Deschamps became just the third man to win the World Cup as a player and a coach, following Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer and Brazil’s Mario Zagallo.

Croatia had played extra time in each of its three previous matches but showed no signs of fatigue early in the final.”

“In the end, it was destiny for France and heartbreak for Croatia, who was playing in its first final. A wild World Cup concluded with a team everyone thought could win actually doing so, while Croatia’s miracle run falls painfully short. There could only be one winner, and a deserved France team managed to step up with its most convincing showing of the tournament when it mattered most.”  [Roger Gonzales, CBS Sports]..

So after 4 weeks of competition, France and it’s citizens are left to celebrate for the next 4 years at least, with a Final score:  France 4, Croatia 2

The end!!

 

 

This instalment covers the period 22 June to the 29 June [AEST], featuring the concluding matches in the Group Stage of the 2018 tournament

Match 24:  Brazil vs Costa Rica  [Group E]

Played at the St. Petersburg Stadium, at 10 pm,  Friday 22 June [AEST]

Brazil left it late to make the breakthrough against Costa Rica but eventually triumphed 2-0, scoring goals in injury time after the completion of the regular 90 minutes.  Final score:  Brazil 2, Costa Rica 0.

 

Match 25:  Nigeria vs Iceland  [Group D]

This game was at the Volgolgrad Arena, played at 1 am Saturday, 23 June [AEST}.

It ended up as a disappointing result for the enthusiastic but outclassed team from Iceland  – [from CBS Sports] –  Nigeria moved into second place in the World Cup’s Group D after beating underdog Iceland 2-0 on Friday thanks to two goals from Ahmed Musa. The African nation struggled in the first half and was fortunate to not concede, but Musa went on the counter with Victor Moses in the second half to score the winning goal before putting the game away late, placing his team in a great spot while also giving Argentina life in their group.   Final score:  Nigeria 2, Iceland 0

 

Match 26:  Serbia vs Switzerland  [Group E]

Played at the Kaliningrad  Stadium, at 4 am, Saturday, 23 June [AEST].

A last-minute Xherdan Shaqiri breakaway goal handed Switzerland victory as it came from behind to defeat Serbia 2-1 in Kaliningrad.  The win puts Switzerland in pole position to make it out of a tough Group E that contains five-times winner Brazil but it was pushed all the way by the Serbs. Unfortunately, national politics seemed to intrude into this match – as reported on news.com  –   “ It was a sweet victory for Shaqiri and fellow Swiss goalscorer Granit Xhaka, who along with teammate Valon Belrami were booed relentlessly by Serbia’s fans throughout.  Shaqiri, Xhaka and Belrami trace their roots to Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, a fact which had stoked tensions before the match.  Final score:  Switzerland 2,  Serbia 1.

 

Match 27:  Belgium vs Tunisia [Group G]

This game was played at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow, and to my view was one of the more exciting of the World Cup Games played to date, certainly from an attacking aspect, with a total of 7 goals shared by the two teams [including 3 goals within the first 17 minutes].  Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard both scored twice as Belgium strengthened their lead above England at the top of World Cup Group G by crushing Tunisia with a devastating attacking display. While Roberto Martinez’s side are not through to the last 16 yet, a win for England over Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday will see the Red Devils and Three Lions progress.   This game also saw Belgium complete another win following on from an unbeaten record of 21 games since September 2016. AS for Lukaku, he is the first man in 32 years to have scored two goals in two World Cup matches – the last to do that was Diego Maradona!!  Final score:  Belgium  5, Tunisia 2

 

Match 28:  Korea Republic vs Mexico  [Group F]

This match was played at the Rostov Arena, at 1 am Sunday, 24 June [AEST]

Javier Hernandez scored his 50th international goal after Carlos Vela converted a 26th minute penalty as impressive Mexico registered their second successive win in the tournament. Son Heung-min scored in the stoppage time to reduce the lead but it was too little too late for Korea. With the win, Mexico comfortably sit on top of Group F with six points, and with their second defeat Korea are out of knockout contention.

 

Match 29:  Germany vs Sweden  [Group F]

Played at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi, this game saw Germany come from behind at half-time to win a World Cup match for the first time since 1974. Toni Kroos winning goal for Germany, came after 94 minutes & 42 seconds, the latest goal scored by Germany in World Cup history [excluding extra time].The final score:  Germany 2, Sweden 1.

Match 30:  England vs Panama [Group G]

Played at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, at 10 pm, Sunday, 24 June [AEST]. This game ended up a bit of a walkover, with England leading  5-0 at halftime and looking as though they would go on with the scoring

Harry Kane completed his hat-trick of goals in the 2^nd half, the only English goal in that period.  In the 78^th minute, history was made when  Felipe Baloy becomes the first ever goal-scorer for Panama in World Cup finals! But that was where it ended for Panama, as England qualified for the final 16. With this commanding win, England sent a clear message to every other team in Russia with their  history-making demolition of Panama. Final scores:  England 6, Panama 1.

 Match 31:  Japan vs Senegal  [Group H]

Played at the Ekaterinhburg Arena, at 1 am, Monday, 25 June [AEST]

Japan twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Senegal in their World Cup Group H encounter on Sunday.

Goals from Senegal captain Sadio Mane and Moussa Wague were matched by strikes from Takashi Inui and Keisuke Honda for the Samurai Blues.   Both teams were left still hopeful of progressing into the knockout stages of the World Cup.  Having both won their opening fixtures, this meeting in Ekaterinburg was a chance for one nation to all-but seal their spot in the latter stages – but a 2-2 draw means they will have to wait for their final games to try and secure qualification from their group. Final score:  Japan 2, Senegal 2.

 

Match 32:  Poland vs Colombia [Group H]

Played at the Kazan Arena at 4 am on Monday, 24 June [AEST]

This game proved to be a crushing loss to the team from Poland, with Colombia sending them crashing in their Group H clash with a huge three-goal romp to claim the South American nation its first win in Russia. Colombian captain Radamel Falcao sunk Poland’s World Cup dreams with a goal in the 70th minute. Falcao found the net after Juan Fernando Quintero darted him a quick through-ball. And the party didn’t stop there.  Juan Cuadrado found the goal in the 75th minute after a stunning pass from James Rodriguez broke through the dejected Polish defence, putting three on the board for the South Americans as the final 10 minutes loomed [news.com.au].  Final Score:  Colombia 3, Poland 0..

 

Tuesday morning [AEST] saw the start of each group’s third matches for the respective teams, and in most of the groups, that vital 2njd spot on the group rankings was still up for grabs, none more so than Australia’s situation in Group C.  The final positions in Groups A and B were decided early this morning, with the two matches in each group played at the same  time  – presumably to avoid collusion, contrived results, etc, although with modern media communications, I’m not sure that such an arrangement really makes much difference, with no doubt, team coaches and/or other officials keeping a close eye on the ‘other’ match.

 

Match 33: Uruquay vs Russia  [Group A]

This game was played at the Samara Arena, at 12 am, Tuesday, 26 June {AEST].

The battle for top position,  and with the home team on a high after two strong wins, one might have expected a closer outcome.  Not to be!  Reporting from ‘The Telegraph’  we read – ‘ If the airless sensation inside the space-age Samara Arena arose in part from the sopping evening humidity, then it also reflected the oxygen sucked with dramatic suddenness from Russia’s exuberant World Cup campaign.   Having glided so serenely into the last 16, the hosts smashed head-first here into the reality of their own limitations, as a Uruguay side turbocharged by Luis Suarez put them to the sword with a ruthless flourish’  With this win, the South American team claimed top spot in the Group.  Final Score:  Uruquay  3, Russia 1

Match 34: Saudi Arabia vs Egypt  [Group A]

Played at the Volgograd Arena, at 12 midnight, 26 June [AEST],  this game was really between the two also-rans, playing for national pride only. The Middle Eastern team eventually dominated in the match to claim 3^rd spot in the group rankings, although they had to wait until the closing moments.  Saudi Arabia scored deep into stoppage time in both halves, with Salem Al-Dawsari’s last-gasp winner securing their first World Cup victory since a run to the last 16 in 1994.

Final score:  Saudi Arabia 2, Egypt 1

 Group A: Final Ranking of teams

1. Uruguay: 3. 0. 0.   5-0.  9 pts
2. Russia: 2.  0. 1.  8-4.  6 pts.
3. Saudi Arabia: 1.  0. 2.   2-7.  3 pts
4. Egypt: 0.  0. 3.   2-6.  0 pts

 

Match 35: Iran vs Portugal.  [Group B]

Played at the Mordovia Arena, Saransk, at 4 am, Tuesday, 26 June [AEST], with the result likely to determine which of these two teams missed out on qualifying for the next round. I’d been impressed by Portugal up until this stage –  while Iran had their chance to secure an historic win, however, the two teams played out a 1-1 thriller with Cristiano Ronaldo missing a penalty and Ricardo Quaresma scoring an incredible goal. But the draw was not enough for Iran, who would have to be satisfied with 3^rd place in the group.

Final Score:  Iran 1, Portugal 1.

 Match 36  Spain vs Morocco.  [Group B]

Played at the Kaliningrad Stadium, at 4 am, Tuesday, 26 June [AEST].  Another drawn game, which could have cost Spain top position, were it not for a similar result in the corresponding group match. Reporting from The Telegraph  – ‘As this match entered added time, Spain were staring into the abyss. Their ongoing participation in the 2018 World Cup had slipped out of their hands and they were reliant only on their great rivals, Portugal, continuing to frustrate Iran.   Seven extraordinary minutes later and, after a back-heeled volley, a major Video Assistant Referee controversy, several scuffles and a mini pitch-invasion, they were somehow into the last 16 as Group B winners. That occurred,  just when Morocco thought the points were theirs, Iago Aspas scored with a fine back-heeled flick in stoppage time as Spain ultimately made first place in the group theirs.

Final Score:  Spain 2, Morocco 2.

 Group B: Final Ranking of teams

1. Spain: 1. 2. 0.   6-5.   5 pts
2. Portugal: 1.  2. 0.  5-4.    5 pts.
3. Iran: 1.  1. 1.  3-2.   4 pts
4. Morocco: 0.  1. 2. 2-4.  1 pts

 

Match 37:  Denmark vs France  [Group C]

Played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow at 12 am, Wednesday, 27 June [AEST].  Denmark fighting for the 2^nd spot in this group, along with Australia, with the odds in Denmark’s favour.  These two teams achieved their aim – both qualifying for the next round, not simply because of Australia’s subsequent loss, but through the somewhat mundane exercise of a 0-0 draw  – as one journalist put it  – “France…haven’t exactlywon over many critics either – especially in their final group game…in a game neither team seemed especially eager to play”.  French coach Didlier Deschamps said after the game  – “I’m not saying at the end we gave up winning the match…But we got what we wanted”.  So did Denmark!

Final score: France 0, Denmark 0. .

Match 38:  AUSTRALIA vs Peru  [Group C]

Played at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi, at 12 am, Wednesday, 27 June [AEST],  The equation from this match  if Australia was to progress to the round of 16 –  need both Australia and France to win, provided Australia has scored more goals than Denmark. If Denmark won, or that match was a draw –  Australia would be heading home.

Michael Lynch, writing from Sochi  –  “A change of tactics, shape and structure, a different coach  – but a similar result. Just as they did in 2010 under Dutchman Pim Verbeek and in 2014 under home-grown boss Ange Postecoglou, Australia crashed out of the World Cup at the group stage, this time under another well-credentialled Dutchman, Bert van Marwijk, with a 2-0 loss to Peru”.

As with it’s nation of supporters, the Socceroos began with a confidence, that was quickly deflated by an early goal [Peru’s first at World Cup level] early in the match [in the 18^th minute]. But after half-time, we still held on to that hope  –  for 5 minutes anyway, at which point, a 2^nd goal to Peru went into the net. Even the first appearance of national hero, Tim Cahill, and young prospective star, Daniel Arzani, could do little to change the scenario of another loss at the group stage eventuating.  Watching the game in the early hours of Wednesday morning, yes, it was a disappointing outcome for an Australian supporter, although I did admire the passion and enthusiasm of the team from Peru and their 30,000 plus supporters.

In it’s three matches, Australia’s only scores came from penalty goals  –  we were again, when it counted, unable to score those vital field goals.  Congratulations to Peru.  Mind you, a win wouldn’t have helped the course, because of the mundane draw [mentioned above] between France and Denmark.  Final score:  Peru  2, Australia 0.

Group C: Final Ranking of teams

1. France:   2. 1. 0.   3-1.   7 pts
2. Denmark: 1.  2. 0.   2-1.   5 pts.
3. Peru: 1.  0. 2.  2-2.   3 pts
4. AUSTRALIA: 0.  1. 2.  2-5.   1 pts

 

Match 39:  Nigeria vs Argentina [Group D]

Played at the St. Petersburg Stadium, at 4 am, Wednesday, 27 June [AEST]

Argentina went into this game, in real danger of missing out on progressing, against a young and enthusiastic African team. Despite that, as a relieved Liomel Messi said after the game  – “We already knew we were going to win, we were confident that God would help us, that all would turn out well. But we did not expect the complication of the draw, of suffering so much”.  That confidence went into this match, and proved to be successful in a dramatic  win over Nigeria, which secure  a qualifying spot for the 2014 runners-up at the expense of their opponents.  Final score:   Argentina  2,  Nigeria 1

 

Match 40:  Iceland vs Croatia [Group D]

Played at the Rostov Arena, at 4 am, Wednesday, 27 June [AEST].

Iceland came into this group, with nothing to lose, lots of enthusiasm, but in the end, a lack of fire power to compete adequately in a strong group. The strongest team in the group – Croatia – continued to display the form that has seen them go through the group stage undefeated, and while Iceland had started their campaign with an unexpected draw with Argentina, thy would find Nigeria and Croatia their superiors. Afterwards, coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said “I couldn’t be more proud of the players, but we are disappointed to not go through”.

Final score:  Croatia: 2, Iceland 1.

Group D: Final Ranking of teams

1. Croatia: 3. 0. 0.   7-1.   9 pts
2. Argentina: 1.  1. 0.   3-5.   4 pts.
3. Nigeria:   1.  0. 2.  3-4.   3 pts
4. Iceland:       0.  1. 2.   2-5.    1 pts

 

Match 41:  Mexico vs Sweden [Group F]

This game played  the Ekaterinburg Arena at 12 midnight, Thursday 28 June [AEST]

Both of these teams would advance to the knockout stage, despite a convincing win by the Sweden team. But for Mexico, attentions were elsewhere. As Amy Lawrence reported for the Guardian – “Devastated on the pitch, trailing 3-0 after a performance riddled with anxiety and inhibition, with the minutes ticking down on Mexico’s World Cup Javier Hernández did the only thing that mattered in the circumstances. He pelted over to the touchline and asked his bench the burning question. What the hell is the score of Germany v South Korea? At that point it was 0-0; there was still hope”.  That hope would be realised. Final score Sweden 3, Mexico 0.

 

Match 42:  South Korea vs Germany  [Group F]

Played at the Kazan Arena, at 12 midnight, Thursday, 28 June [AEST].

Reporting from the Telegraph, we read of Germany’s exit from the World Cup

“Germany had progressed past the group stage of the World Cup sixteen times in a row, but booked themselves a premature exit this year after losing to South Korea in stoppage time.  Kim Young-gwon sealed their fate with a 94th minute goal, which was initially disallowed as off-side but a VAR decision saw the decision overturned as the ball came off Niklas Süle.  Tottenham’s Son Heung-min then added insult to injury scoring a 96th minute second Korean goal.  Though South Korea do not go through to the knock-out stages, the win is the first in their history against Germany.”   Final score:  South Korea  2, Germany 0.

Group F: Final Ranking of teams

1. Sweden: 3. 0. 0.   7-1.   9 pts
2. Mexico: 1.  1. 0.   3-5.   4 pts.
3. South Korea:        1.  0. 2.  3-4.   3 pts
4. Germany:       0.  1. 2.   2-5.    1 pts

 

Match 43:  Serbia vs Brazil [Group E]

Played at the Spartak Stadium, Moscow at 4am on Thursday, 28 June [AEST].  This match began at a fast pace, with Brazil, after a slow start in the tournament, proving two dominant for the Serbian team. The result ended Serbia’s hopes of qualifying from the group stage for the first time, while Brazil now head to Samara, where their last-16 tie will take place on Monday, as group winners.  Final score:  Brazil 2, Serbia 0

Match 44: Switzerland vs Costa Rica

Played at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, at 4 am, Thursday, 27 June [AEST].

This game ended in a draw, which was enough for Switzerland to progress to the next round, which they have achieved in four of the last five World Cups [missing out in 2010],  while Costa Rica [the only team to this stage of the tournament not to have scored] failed to win any games, only the second time they had done that in World Cup appearances, although on this occasion, like Peru, they scored 2 goals in their final game, forcing a draw against the Swiss team.  Final score: Switzerland 2, Costa Rica 2

Group E: Final Ranking of teams

1. Brazil: 2. 1. 0.   5-1.   7 pts
2. Switzerland:          1.  1. 0.   3-5.   4 pts.
3. Serbia:   1.  0. 2.  3-4.   3 pts
4. Costa Rica:       0.  1. 2.   2-5.    1 pts

 

 Match 45: Japan vs Poland  [Group H]

Played at the Volgograd Arena at 12 midnight, Friday 29 June [AEST]. I think this game was somewhat typical of other games in these final rounds of group matches –  as reported in the Guardian newspaper –  “On a sweltering evening full of twists and turns Japan scrambled into the knockout stage of the World Cup in rather undignified fashion, courtesy of a goal scored 400 miles away in Samara by Colombia’s Yerry Mina and by virtue of the fact they accrued two yellow cards fewer than Senegal.  That is how tight the margins were in Group H, where Japan and Senegal finished with identical records: level on points, goal difference and goals scored. Japan accumulated four bookings compared with Senegal’s six and that – Fifa’s fair-play rule – ended up being the deciding factor that also contributed to a bizarre finish to the match. Aware of the scoreline in Samara and under instructions from their manager, Japan played a game of keep-ball inside their half, in effect running down the clock with no intention of trying to score, despite being behind. Japan knew that unless they had a couple of players booked, or Senegal could score an equaliser, or Poland could score again, they were through to the last 16 for only the third time in their history”.  Final score:  Poland 1, Japan 0;

Match 46:  Senegal vs Colombia  [Group H]

Played at the Samara Arena, at midnight, Friday 29 June [AEST].  Reporting for the BBC, we read that ‘Yerry Mina’s second-half header sent Colombia into a last-16 tie with England at the World Cup at the expense of Senegal, who lost out to Japan having received more yellow cards.  Senegal spent the final 20 minutes pushing for an equaliser which would have sent the African side through – Aliou Cisse’s side were level with Japan in terms of points and goal difference, but crucially not yellow cards. Colombia had to win to be sure of their progress but with Poland beating Japan 1-0 in Volgograd, African representation at the World Cup was ended as Senegal failed to secure the point they needed’   This kind of scenario was also repeated in at least one of the Group G matches. Final score:  Colombia 1, Senegal 0.

Group H: Final Ranking of teams

1. Colombia: 2. 0. 1.   5-2.   6 pts
2. Japan: 1.  1. 1.   4-4.   4 pts.
3. Senegal:       1.  1. 1    4-4.   4 pts
4. Poland:              1.  0. 2.   2-5.  3 pts

 

Match 47: Panama vs Tunisia [Group G] 

Played at the Mordovia Arena, Saransk, at 4 am, Friday 29 June [AEST]. After their big loss to Belgium, Tunisia ended their World Cup campaign with a win over Panama which would finish the Group stage with 0 points from their three games.. Tunisia would finish third in the group. While neither team could make the next round, this would be the more entertaining of the four overnight matches, with national pride being dominant.  Final score:  Tunisia 2, Panama  1.

Match 48:   England vs Belgium  [Group G]

Played at Kaliningrad Stadium, at 4am , Friday, 29 June [AEST]. With both these teams fairly confident of qualifying, in some eyes this match was another almost ‘non-event’  – with the score 0-0 at halftime,  Belgium hit early in the 2^nd half [51^st minute] to score the only goal of the match, and retain top position in the group. From the BBC report of the game –  ‘Gareth Southgate made eight changes from England’s win against Panama, while opposite number Roberto Martinez made nine alterations – proving victory was not exactly the top priority as the tournament moves towards the knockout phase.  That was illustrated by a largely mediocre, lifeless encounter in Kaliningrad that was settled by Januzaj’s goal six minutes after the break….’,

Group G: Final Ranking of teams

1. Belgian:            3. 0. 0.    9-2.   9 pts
2. England:        2.  0. 1.   8-3.   6 pts.
3. Tunisia:            1.  0. 2    5-8.   3 pts
4. Panama:               0.  0. 3.   2-5.   0 pts

 

So that concluded the Group stage of the Tournament  – all 48 matches played over 8 groups.

The Round of 16 follows over Saturday to Tuesday, Moscow time, and those 8 matches will be as follows, with times indicated at Australian Eastern Standard Time [AEST].-

• France versus Argentina [12am Sunday, 1 July];
• Uruguay versus Portugal [4am, Sunday, 1 July];
• Spain versus Russia [12am, Monday 2 July];
• Croatia versus Denmark [4am, Monday 2 July];
• Brazil versus Mexico [12am, Tuesday, 3 July]’
• Belgium versus Japan [4am, Tuesday, 3 July];
• Sweden versus Switzerland, [12am, Wednesday, 4 July]; and,
• Colombia versus England [4am, Wednesday, 4 July].

 

I have highlighted my predicted winners.

 

To be continued…..

 

The Group Stages [Matches 1-23].

 

Continuing with our report from Issue 19 of the Coachbuilder’s Column, we look at the first week of the competition, taking us from Match 1 [14 June] to Match 23 [22 June], Moscow time. For my purposes, I’m using Australian Eastern Standard Time [AEST], in my summary of matches played up until the early hours of Friday morning [22^nd June].

The FIFA 2018 World Cup got under way with the Opening Ceremony, at about Midnight, on the morning of 15 June here. I didn’t see those proceedings, , but I did watch most of the opening match featuring World Cup hosts, Russia, against Saudi Arabia.

Match 1;  Russia versus Saudi Arabia. [Group A]

These were the two lowest ranked teams at the Tournament – on FIFA rankings, Russia in 70^th spot, and Saudi Arabia 67^th. In the Group they have drawn, Russia would go into this first match [played at 1 am AEST]  with high hopes of getting through to the next round for the first time in more than 30 years. If they were going to win a game, this was their big chance against the Saudis who have come into the tournament following on from three successive losses to Italy, Peru and Germany.

Russia went into this game, played at 1 am, Friday, 15 June [AEST] at the 80,000 capacity Luzhniki Stadium [described as the crucible of Russian and Soviet sport,  without a victory in over months, so there would be a lot of pressure on the host team prior to this match.  Despite a brief threatening move by the Saudis early in the 2^nd half, the Russians didn’t let their home crowd supporters down, going on to a convincing win over the luckless Saudis –   Russia  5,  Saudi Arabia  0

There was no TV coverage by either SBS or Foxtel of Games 2 and 3  –  but this supporter found BBC radio descriptions [in English] on SBS Radio 2.

Match 2: Egypt versus Uruquay  [Group A]

Played at the Central Stadium, Ekaterinburg [new capacity of 35,000], at 10 pm AEST, 15 June –  described as a weak looking Group A, especially following Saudi Arabia capitulation earlier this morning,  Egypt’s success may well have depended on the availability of star player Mohamad Salah who suffered a shoulder injury in Liverpool’s Champions League final loss to Real Madrid three weeks ago, and has been battling to get fit on a day by day basis.  Meantime, Uruquay’s top scorer – Luis Suarez – has insisted he is a much more mature player since sparking controversy in his previous two World Cup tournaments. The Barcelona forward prevented a certain goal for Ghana with a deliberate handball on the line in 2010, and then infamously bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in Brazil in 2014.

As for the match, this was the first of two last minute wins .  At halftime, with the scores locked at 0-0, Egypt would probably have been feeling satisfied to have reached that point without conceding a goal to the highly fancied South American team.  However,  it was in the 89^th minute of the match,  that Uruguay scored against a brave Egyptian team, – with  the Jose Gimenez late talley from Sanchez  being enough to seal the win. It was the first opening match win for Uruguay since 1970………..Final score:    Uruquay  1  Egypt 0

Match 3: Morocco versus Iran [Group B]

Scheduled for 1 am [AEST] Saturday 16 June –   Iran in the days leading up to this match, found their preparation disrupted, as they were without boots. Their supplier, Nike, could not provide any because of Donald Trump’s  re-imposition of economic sanctions against Iran.  The team called for assistance from FIFA, other team numbers, or by making purchases from Russian shops. Apart from that, Iran headed into the match after a difficult build-up, with friendlies against Greece and Kosova being cancelled. However, there was some confidence –  they knew much about the Moroccan team but doubted the opposition had much knowledge about the Iranians.

The match was played at St. Petersburg Stadium, apparently designed in a modern ‘space-ag’ format!! In the first match for Group B, Iran waited until the 96th minute to open the scoring, sealing their win. An own goal in the 6th minute of stoppage time was what it took for Iran to scrape a victory from Morocco. Morocco has still never won their opening World Cup match, while the result gave Iran a rare win at the World Cup finals competition.   Final score:   Iran 1, Morocco 0.

 Match 4: Portugal versus Spain  [Group B]

This game was played at the Fisht Stadium in Socchi, at 4am [AEST] Saturday 16 June.  I’d watch a replay later in the day, but it proved to be the best game of the tournament so far, with the teams not separated at the end of the match, and predictions that Portugal, in particular, could go far in this tournament.  Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Spain’s Diego Costa traded goals back and forth until Nacho took a beautiful strike from distance to give Spain their first lead in the 58th minute. In the end however, Cristiano Ronaldo created the highlight of the match, by  completing a hat trick of goals in the 88th minute – a  free-kick that clinched a valuable point from the match for Portugal to earn the draw. Both Spain and Portugal will both receive one point in the standings.  Final score  –   Portugal 3; Spain 3.

Match 5:  France versus AUSTRALIA  [Group C]

In a match, described by one media outlet as the ‘Princes versus the Paupers’ [on the basis of transfer fee values for the respective team players – the Aussie players ‘valued at $50million, against the estimated $1billion for the French team], it was perhaps hopeful optimism on my part to suggest that was one thing in Australia’s favour  –  France are traditionally slow starters in major tournaments. In 4 of their last 8 major events, France failed to score with a record of 3 wins, 1 loss, and 4 draws, and 2 of those wins were sealed with last minute scores. The Australians, going into this match, felt that if they could avoid conceding an early goal, they would give themselves a strong chance of continuing France’s opening game record.

Before looking at the outcome, a brief look back at Australia’s four previous World Cup appearances.

• 1974 [Germany]: Lost 0-2 to East Germany; Lost 0-3 to West Germany; Drew 0-0 with Chile.
• 2006 [Germany]: Won 3-1 over Japan;  Lost 0-2 to Brazil; Drew 2-2 with Croatia.  Second Round: Lost 0-1 to Italy [from a last minute penalty].
• 2010 [South Africa]: Lost 0-4 to Germany;  Drew 1-1 with Ghana;  Won 2-1 over Serbia.
• 2014 [Brazil]: Lost 1-3 to Chili;  Lost 2-36 to Netherlands;  Lost 0-3 to Spain

In any case, the 2018 opening match for the Socceroos was played at the Kazan Arena, ay 8 pm [AEST], on Saturday 16 June.  As it eventuated, Tim Cahill, the Socceroos all- time leading goal scorer and veteran of 3 World Cups, did not make it onto the pitch in this game.  Irrespective of the pre-match ‘one-sided’ nature between the two teams, more than 7000 Aussies turned the Russian city of Kazan, hoping their team could defy the odds.

By halftime, the score was 0-0 –  Australia had managed to hold the French out, and looking reasonably confident of continuing that way. However a penalty shot 58 minutes in, gave France the opening goal, yet 4 minutes later, Australia responded in similar vein, with an equalising goal from a penalty shot.  However, at 81 minutes,  a brief lapse on defence [that’s all it needs],  and a goal to France, gave them back the lead.

It could be described as a brave performance, pushing France to the limit, though I found the commentator’s comment of a ‘fantastic’ effort by Australia a little annoying  –  ‘they didn’t win’!!  However, the view is, second spot in the group, behind France,  is up for grabs  –  Australia’s two other opponents in the group would play each other a few hours later.    Final score:  France 2; Australia 1.

[local paper headlines on Sunday morning included –  So far from disgrace  – Van Narwijk proud of valiant team  –  Unlucky defeat’s upsides   –  Roos suffer hi-tech torture  –  Bad luck boys, bring on the Danes   –  Paupers but Aussie fans don’t care].

Match 6:  Argentina versus Iceland  [Group D]

This game was played at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow, at 11 pm [AEST] Saturday, 16 June

Argentina’s Lionel Messi [the five time world player of the year] did not go into this game taking Iceland lightly –  “Iceland showed they could compete with anyone at the last Euros” he said. Yet there was criticism of his team [which lost the 2014 World Cup to Germany] claiming that too much was focused on Messi against a ‘band of grafters’ who pride themselves on teamwork [and revel in their underdog status].

From one report –  While the result was not on the scale of that Iceland produced to eliminate England from Euro 2016, it was a major boost for the tiny nation, who retain hopes of advancing from a group that also includes Nigeria and Croatia.  The island nation of 330,000 is the smallest country to ever qualify for the finals but emphatically showed they can mix it with the heavyweights.

In front of a raucous crowd at the 45,000-capacity venue, Iceland launched into some early physical challenges and rattled Argentina. Argentina must regroup before facing Croatia on Nizhny Novgorod on June 21, while Iceland face Nigeria in Volgograd on June 22.  As for Lionel Messi – he is yet to win a major international tournament and time is running out with his 31st birthday looming.  A credible performance by the under-dogs  –  with the final score  Argentina  1;  Iceland 1.

Match 7:  Peru versus Denmark [Group C]

This match was  played at the Mondovia Arena in Saransk [at 2am, Sunday 17 June , AEST] between Australia’s other two opponents in this group. Peru were relieved that their star forward Paolo Guerrero was available following the overturning of his 14 month ban for taking cocaine, after a successful last ditch appeal.. With France the Group C favourite [with due respect to the Aussies], neither team wanted to drop points in this game. As with the earlier game, there was no television coverage for this writer, and I’d slept through most of the radio broadcast.  Yussuf Poulsen ruined Peru’s first appearance at a World Cup finals for 36 years on Saturday with the winning goal for Denmark to seal a 1-0 victory in Saransk.   Final score   –  Denmark 1, Peru  0.

 Match 8:  Croatia versus Nigeria  [Group D]

This game was played at the Kaliningrad Stadium at 5am, Sunday, 17 June [AEST].Nigeria are the youngest team in the tournament, and had to face up against a Croatian team powered by one of the tournament’s strongest and most experienced midfields. A strong group, including Argentina and Iceland, the Nigerians had hopes of getting something out of the game for the sake of the young team. The experience of Croatia would prove the difference, with Oghenekaro Etebo’s own goal and Luka Modric goal gave Croatia a winning start in their World Cup campaign, and also enabled them to grab top spot in Group D at the points table, after the first game of the group [played earlier]  between Argentina and Iceland ended in a 1-1 draw. The African team [the ‘Super Eagles’] were disappointed with the loss – acknowledging that Croatia had performed better, and their team had made some basic mistakes.   The final score  – Croatia 2, Nigeria 0

 Match 9:  Costa Rica versus Serbia  [Group E]

This match took place at the Samara Arena, at 10 pm, Sunday 17 June [AEST].

Serbia captain, Aleksandar Kolarov scored a spectacular free-kick from 25 yards to give Serbia a deserved victory in their opening World Cup Group E match against Costa Rica.leaving  Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas clutching at thin air as he desperately scrambled across goal.  Costa Rica only sporadically threatened the Serbia goal during the game, with an early header over the crossbar from unmarked defender Giancarlo Gonzalez their best effort. With games against Brazil and Switzerland to come, this was a key match for both nations to press their credentials to reach the knockout stages.   Final score was  Serbia  1;  Costa Rica  0.

Match 10:  Germany versus Mexico  [Group F]

Played at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, at 1 am on Monday, 18 June [AEST].,

This game provided a bit of an upset – GERMANY became the third defending champion in the last 16 years to lose its opening match at the World Cup, falling to Mexico 1-0 on Monday morning (AEST).  Hirving Lozano scored the lone goal in the 35th minute.   “I don’t know if it’s the biggest victory in (Mexico’s) history, but one of the biggest for sure,” Lozano said. “It’s great to start on the right foot when you are playing the world champions.”  The Germany coach Joachim Loew was straight to the point:   “We played very badly.”

France in 2002 and Spain in 2014 were the other defending champions to lose their opening matches. Neither of those teams advanced from the group stage. It will be interesting to see how Germany comes back on this occasion.  The final score:   Mexico  1;  Germany 0.

Match 11:  Brazil versus Switzerland  [Group E]

Played at the Rostov Arena  at 5am on Monday, 18 June [AEST].

Brazil failed to win it’s opening World Cup match for the first time in 40 years, having to settle for a draw with the Swiss team. From ABC News  –  Brazil joined the host of big guns who have failed to fire in their opening World Cup game as lax defending from a corner allowed Switzerland to cancel out Philippe Coutinho’s spectacular curling strike and grab a 1-1 draw.

The five-times world champions took a deserved lead midway through the first half in the Group E game when Coutinho’s irresistible long-distance shot cannoned in off the far post, but Tite’s side, who had looked so impressive in the tournament build-up, failed to build on their advantage. The highly organised Swiss hit back early in the second period from one of their few chances as Brazil’s Casemiro and Miranda switched off and the unmarked Steven Zuber barely had to leave his feet to nod in Xherdan Shaqiri’s whipped corner.

Brazil went all out in pursuit of a winner and came agonisingly close to finding it but had to settle for a point and joined fellow tournament favourites Germany, Spain and Argentina in failing to win their first game.   Final score: Brazil 1;  Switzerland 1

At this point  in the tournament, the broader Australian population of soccer fans were suddenly given a lifeline of coverage  –  the vastly restricted coverage being supposedly provided by the Optus Network  [which prevented the majority of Australian supporters from seeing most matches live]  had technical problems.  By the end of Tuesday’s competition [Moscow time], because of ongoing difficulties faced by Optus, a welcome and surprising agreement had been reached  – EVERY match during the group stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be available to Australian football fans on SBS, or for free on the Optus Sport streaming platform. Optus made the bombshell announcement Wednesday afternoon that it would give SBS shared responsibility for delivering the World Cup to Australia after a massive failure of technology left thousands of fans without access to football. “The FIFA World Cup is the absolute pinnacle of football, a sport that Australians are deeply passionate about,” said SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid. “SBS looks forward to continuing to simulcast games, together with Optus for the next ten days.”

As far as I am concerned, this kind of arrangement should have been in place from the beginning of the tournament. But of course these days the power and greed of money over-rides what the broader population wants!!

Match 12:  Sweden versus Korea Republic  [Group F]

Played at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium at 10 pm, Monday 18 June [AEST].

From NDTV Sports – Sweden on Monday defeated South Korea 1-0 thanks to a penalty from captain Andreas Granqvist that was awarded after the referee took the help of VAR. Post the 65th-minute goal, the South Koreans tried really hard in the latter stages of the match to find an equaliser but were repelled by a stubborn Swedish defense. The penalty to Sweden was awarded after Kim Min-woo brought down Viktor Claesson with a clumsy challenge in the box. The referee ran to the sidelines to view the video of the incident and immediately pointed to the spot. Granqvist coolly slotted away the penalty to give his team a much-deserved lead. The Swedes were resolute in defence and denied South Korean attackers Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan any opportunity to score    Final Score:  Sweden 1:  Korea Republic 0 

Match 13:  Belgium versus Panama  [Group G]

Played at the Fisht Stadium,Sochi, at 1 am, Tuesday 19 June [AEST]

Belgium went into this game with the absence of some injured defenders. That didn’t stop them –  the match was described as a professional performance against very limited opposition, after what some described as a worryingly sluggish start by Belgium, followed by three second half goals, which saw off Panama who are unlikely to trouble future opposition.   Final score:  Belgium  3;  Panama 0

 Match 14:  Tunisia vs England  [Group G]

Played at the Volgograd Arena at 4am, Tuesday 19 June [AEST].

England went into this match confident of being able to match the most formidable opponents , despite having managed only 6 knockout wins at major tournaments since 1966 – claiming it has the calibre of those players in its team. After  the win early in the evening by Belgium, . England would need a convincing win to overtake Belgium at the summit of Group G. In the game, Tunisia threatened to take one point from it until the closing stages.  Harry Kane’s stoppage-time winner ensured England started their World Cup as he scored his second goal of the game with a clever header, and  Gareth Southgate’s side recorded England’s first win in the opening game of a major tournament since they beat Paraguay in the 2006 World Cup…Final Score: England 2, Tunisia  1.

Match 15:  Colombia vs Japan [Group H]

This game was played at the Mordovia Arena, Saransk, at 10 pm, Tuesday 19 June [AEST]. Japan sacked its coach 71 days before the World Cup, but was still confident of proving its doubters wrong, going into tonight’s match. After this match, an interesting report from Fox Sport  –  ‘JAPAN showed once again why they have the best fans at the World Cup after they stayed behind to clean up the stadium following their win against Colombia.  The Asian nation earned their first World Cup victory on European soil after edging out their South American opponents to win 2-1 in their Group H opener,   And the fans celebrated in style by tidying up the ground — just as they had done during the World Cup in Brazil four years ago. Supporters took bin bags with them to the game against Ivory Coast in 2014 — and despite losing — stayed to clean up after themselves.   Final score: Japan 2, Colombia 1

Match 16: Poland vs Senegal [Group H

This game was played at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow, at 1 am, Wednesday 20 June [AEST]. It was Poland’s first World Cup match in 12 years.  While Japan became the first Asian nation to topple a South American opponent at a World Cup in the opening game of the night, then it was Senegal who became the first African nation in Russia to score. Senegal completed the chaotic night after defeating Poland 2-1 amid a sea of pure carnage. Poland secured a late goal off of the head of Grzegorz Krychowiak in minute 86, but despite some heavy pressure in the dying minutes they were unable to secure the draw.   Final Score:  Senegal 2,  Poland 1.

Match 17: Russia vs Egypt  [Group A]

To be played at the St. Petersburg Stadium, at 4 am, Wednesday 20 June [AEST]   It would prove to be an exuberant night for the home fans who were given plenty of reasons to cheer as Russia backed up its 5-0 opening win against Saudi Arabia with a 3-1 victory over Egypt.  Russia scored three goals in a 15-minute span early in the second half to set up a 3-1 win over Egypt,  moving the host nation to the brink of the World Cup’s knockout stage.    Final score:  Russia 3, Egypt 1

Match 18:  Portugal vs Morocco  [Group B]

To be played at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow at 10 pm, Wednesday 20 June {AEST]

Portugal is closing in on booking a spot into the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup in Russia after hanging on to beat Morocco, 1-0  to move to four points in Group B.   Portugal’s in form player – Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 4^th goal of the tournament, just 4 minutes into the match, and while his team was basically restricted from any further scoring, the team from Morocco was unable to find the goals themselves.     Final score:  Portugal  1  Morocco  0

Match 19:  Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia  [Group A]

This game was played at the Rostov Arena, at  1 am, Thursday, 21 June [AEST]

An early goal by Uruquay’s Luis Suerez, led his team to a hard fought victory over Saudi Arabia, and helped to book his team’s place, with Russia, in the knockout stage, while Egypt and Saudi Aravia will both be eliminated. Suarez scored the winner in his 100^th international appearance.  Uruquay now play their hosts on June 25 to determine top spot in their Group.    Final score:  Uruquay 1  Saudi Arabia  0

Match 20:  Iran vs Spain  [Group B]

To be played at the Kazan Arena, at 4 am on Thursday, 21 June [AEST]

From the UK Telegraph, the following summary of this game is most apt – ‘Spain beat Iran 1-0 here in Kazan. But rarely can a victory have been as hard won. Iran were simply magnificent in their collective obduracy. Rarely can the old coaching maxim of don’t leave anything on the pitch have been so played out as it was by this Iran team. Against their elevated opponents, the players of Iran gave their all, several of them collapsing to the turf on the final whistle, exhausted by their heroic effort’.  Unfortunately, to no avail.    Final score:  Spain 1  Iran 2

 Match 21:  Denmark vs AUSTRALIA  [Group C]

The one we have been waiting for since last Saturday night  – played at the Samara Arena. A couple of the headlines in Australian media before the game  –  ‘Stopping the Danes half the battle’   –   ‘Denmark shape as daunting opponents in a game the Socceroos will be desperate to win’   –   ‘Denmark pose an aerial threat’………………and so on, suggesting confidence by the Australian public is hopeful rather than high. Australia’s other two Group C opponents played in the match following.

The match was played at the Samara Arena, at 10 pm, 21 June [AEST]

Not a good start, with an early goal to Denmark, but one would have to suggest that the Socceroos held the Danes for the rest of the match, after levelling the scores before halftime, compliments of an Australian penalty goal from the Aussie captain, Jedinek.  But the Aussies could not take advantage of that by kicking second goal. I was a bit annoyed by the media [Australian] praise heaped on the Australians for scoring one point from a draw – while that may have still left Australia with a slim chance of making the next round, it has to be admitted the odds are against them. In terms of the way they played [apart from kicking goals  – our only two scores have come from penalty shots] Australia probably deserved one point from the game against France, and three points against Denmark. But you can’t win if you don’t get the ball into the net!!   Final score:  Denmark 1,  Australia 1.

Match 22:   France vs Peru  [Group C]

This was played at the Ekaterinburg Arena, at 1 am, Friday  22 June [AEST] The result here was expected, and possibly aided Australia’s hopes as we go into our third group match.  By winning, France joined Uruquay, Croatia and host team Russia in the knock-out rounds, and pushed Peru into an early exit.  Despite that, the coach of Peru was appreciative of the support given to his team – “We thank our fans and people [from other countries] will have been surprised by the passion and love our fans have for us….we are sorry that we could not give them a better tournament”.  Peru face Australia early Wednesday morning in their final game –  a match the Aussies ‘must’ win well if they want any hope of advancing. Final score:  France 1,  Peru 0

Match 23:  Argentina vs Croatia  [Group D]

Played at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, at 4 am, Friday 22 June [AEST]

How the great have fallen.  Argentina were crushed by Croatia, to all but but send the South Americans out of the tournament, while ensuring  Croatia a place in the next round.  This defeat  means Argentina [one of the pre-tournament favourites] on the brink of a humiliating first round exit, after losing the 2014 Final to Germany.

At the conclusion of Match 23,  we have four nations likely eliminated with a number of others, including Australia on the brink of exiting –  those eliminated are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Peru

Group point positions after matches 1-23,  completed on Friday morning, AEST, were as follows

• Group A: Russia [6]; Uruquay [6], Egypt [0], Saudi Arabie [0];
• Group B: Spain [4]l  Portugal [4], Iran [3], Morocco [0];
• Group C: France [6], Denmark [4], Australia [1], Peru [0];
• Group D: Croatia [6], Iceland [1], Argentina [1], Nigeria  [0];
• Group E: Serbia [3],  Brazil [1], Switzerland [1], Costa Rica [0];
• Group F: Sweden [3], Mexico [3], Germany [0], South Korea [0];
• Group G: Belgium [3], England [3], Tunisia [0], Panama [0];
• Group H: Japan [3], Senegal [3], Poland [0], Colombia [0]

Arising from games played Friday night/early Saturday morning [AEST], you can add the following points to the teams mentioned above   –

• Group D: Nigeria [+3],
• Group E: Brazil [+ 3], and  Switzerland [+3]

 

To be continued!!

This article is compiled  from  various reports and historical records, and is essentially presented from the perspective of an Australian supporter [of the ‘Socceroos’]  –  aimed at providing  my summary [as ‘The Coachbuilder’ ]  of outcomes and results of the 64 matches which will make up the 2018 FIFA World Cup over the next four weeks.

The intention is not to provide any consolidated degree of continuous journalistic reporting of individual matches [there are plenty of world and/or local media outlets where detailed reports can be obtained on the minutest of details].  Apart from some introductory background, history, and make-up of the present participants, I will provide a daily update of match results only – of course, with Australia’s participation to the extent to which it lasts,  those results will most likely extend a little beyond a mere score sheet!

I’m aware that FIFA and the World Cup are so often dominated by controversy, including claims of corruption, politics, and disputes over the granting of the venue country for the tournaments.  Now while those things and other issues are important, and indeed a real concern at times,  I intend to concentrate on the ‘competition’ itself, and the sport that will be displayed over the next 4 weeks. Let the players be the centre of attention rather than the officials and administrators, for a while at least.

 

The second instalment will come in at the conclusion the matches played on the 17^th June of the Group Stage,  and will continue at various stages following, concluding the Group stage,  and then covering the Round of 16, and the various subsequent Quarters, Semis, and Finals of the tournament.

 

This is in fact, the first World Cup tournament to be held in Eastern Europe, and the first to be held in Europe generally since Germany hosted the 2006 Cup.  It has been conducted in Europe on 11 occasions.  A total of 64 matches will be played in 12 venues located in 11 cities within ‘European’ Russia. . The final will take place on 15 July [Moscow time] at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow

 

The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when the then  FIFA president Jules Rimet decided to stage an international football tournament. The inaugural edition, held  that year, was contested as a final tournament of only thirteen teams invited by the organization. Since then, we have seen various expansions and remodelling of the event to the present  32-team final tournament , which was preceded by a two-year qualifying process, involving over 200 teams from around the world.

 

For the record –  in 20 tournaments, only 8 countries have won the World Cup

• Brazil: [5]  –  2002,1994, 1970, 1962, 1958
• Germany [4] – 2014, 1990,1974, 1954
• Italy [4] – 2006, 1982,  1938, 1934
• Argentina [2] –  1986, 1978
• Uruguay [2] – 1950, 1930
• France [1] –  1998
• Spain [1] –  2010
• England [1]   –  1966

 

On a year by year basis,  the following table  shows the host nation [in brackets] followed by the winning team [highlighted] that year..

• 1930 [Uruquay]    Uruquay
• 1934 [Italy]  Italy
• 1938  [France] Italy
• 1950  [Brazil]  Uruquay
• 1954 [Switzerland]  West Germany
• 1958  [Sweden]   Brazil
• 1962 [Chile]  Brazil
• 1966 [England]   England
• 1970 [Mexico]   Brazil
• 1974 [West Germany]  West Germany
• 1978 [Argentina]
• 1982 [Spain]   Italy
• 1986 [Mexico]  Argentina
• 1990 [Italy] West Germany
• 1994 [USA]   Brazil
• 1998 [France]   France
• 2002 [South Korea/Japan]    Brazil
• 2006 [Germany]   Italy
• 2010 [South Africa]   Spain
• 2014 [Brazil]

 

The 2018 Tournament is  represented by 32 national teams, composed of 8 Groups numbered A to H, with Australia [the Socceroos] placed in Group C.

 

• Group A: Russia, Saudia Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
• Group B: Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
• Group C: France, Australia, Peru, Denmark
• Group D: Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria
• Group E: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
• Group F: Germany, Mexico, Sweden, Korea Republic
• Group G: Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England
• Group H: Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan

 

The Tournament Program [starting time:  Australian Eastern Standard Time]

• Group stage: Friday June 15 [1 am] –  Friday, June 29 [4 am]: 48 matches;
• Round of 16 Sunday, July 1 [12 am] –  Wednesday, 4 July [4am] : 8 matches;
• Quarter Final 1: Saturday July 7  [12 am];
• Quarter Final 2: Saturday July  7  [4 am];
• Quarter Final 3: Sunday July 8 [12 am];
• Quarter Final 4: Sunday, July 8 [4am].
• Semi Final 1: Wednesday, July 11 [4 am];
• Semi Final 2: Thursday, July 12 [4 am]
• Third Place Play-Off: Sunday, July 15 [12 am];
• FINAL: Monday, July 16 [1 am].

 

Tiebreakers

In the group stages, the number of goals scored and conceded can be the difference between advancement and elimination when teams finish on the same number of points. If the difference is equal, the team with the most goals advances. In rare cases, head-to-head records and fair play points may be compared. If all else fails, lots are drawn to determine the winner. These requirements are summarised as follows.

The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows (regulations Article 32.5)

• points obtained in all group matches;
• goal difference in all group matches;
• number of goals scored in all group matches;

If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:

• points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
• goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
• number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;

fair play points

• first yellow card: minus 1 point;
• indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points;
• direct red card: minus 4 points;
• yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points;

drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee.

 

Team snapshots

[compliments of the Melbourne Herald & Weekly Times Pty Ltd, and writer Ross McGravie]

• Argentina

The perennial runners-up will be desperate to win for Lionel Messi.  It is also the last chance for many ageing stars including Sergio Aquera and Angel Di Maria

• AUSTRALIA

Australia has qualified for its 4^th  successive World Cup after the longest and most arduous qualifying campaign that any team has endured in the tournament’s history. The Socceroos  will enter the group stage as the lowest ranked side at 40, but its experience over the past three tournaments  pave the way for an upset or two, and the team should not be underestimated. But in all honesty, optimism cannot be too high!! Simply, lots of hope!!

• Belgium

Has attacking options  but may struggle to keep out the goals. Can go deep into the tournament if the various combinations click.

• Brazil

Seeking redemption after being humiliated 7-1 by Germany on home soil in the 2014 semi-final. Easily capable of winning.

• Colombia

Fourth in the ultra-competitive South American qualifying, will fancy chances of advancing.

• Costa Rica

A sensation when it made the 2014 quarter-finals, no longer regarded as a minnow having qualified in CONCACAF with two matches to spare.

• Croatia

Scraped into the finals with a playoff win over Greece. Has talent to repeat 1988’s third placing if it can escape tough group with Argentina, Nigeria and Iceland.

• Denmark

Has a rich pedigree in major tournaments, and has progressed past the group stage at three of its four World Cup appearances. They are solid in defence.

• Egypt

A mix of youth and experience led by Essam ‘the high-dam ’El-Hadary. Energy levels could lift after gaining an exemption from Ramadan fasting.

• England

Usually ends in ignominy or a penalty shootout. Unbeaten in qualifying, luck could take England closer to its first trophy since 1966

• France

There will be goals aplenty with numerous players vying for a front up front; dark horses for the tournament.

• Germany

After winning the 2017 Confederations Cup with a second –string side, coach Joachim Low won’t be short of options

• Iceland

The surprise of UEFA Euro 2016, where it reached the quarter finals, the tiny nation has produced a team capable of packing a bigger punch than Bjork.

• Iran

First Asian side to qualify, and playing in its second successive World Cup after 12 consecutive clean sheets.

• Japan

Coach Vahid Halilhodzic was replaced by Akira Nishino who removed Japan’s biggest stars to adopt a counter attacking game style

• Korea Republic

A fixture at the World Cup since 1986, it will need to break the goal-scoring shackles in pool matches against Sweden and Mexico to survive.

• Mexico

Rarely lacking confidence, always thinks big and has the benefit  of playing at the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.

• Morocco

Competes for the 5^th time but first since 1998. Organisation will ultimately  dictate games played – particularly after meeting Spain, Portugal and Iran.

• Nigeria

Expect the unexpected. Long tipped the nation to become Africa’s  first World Cup winners after numerous  successes at youth level.

• Panama

Makes its World Cup debut with one of the oldest line-ups. First objective is to avoid being smacked like the 6-0 friendly loss to Switzerland in March.

• Peru

This is a no-nonsense counter-attacking team that scored 16 of its 24 goals in South American qualifying when it won the ball in its opposition’s half  – ‘not a team of stars but rather of players who have earned their stripes’ says coach Ricardo Gareca.

• Poland

Qualified comfortably ahead of Denmark, Australia’s opponents, and will be favoured to advance. Little chance of winning the lot, but anything is possible from a side that continues  to fly under the radar.

• Portugal

There’s enough quality in the talent-ridden squad – featuring players who ply their trade in most leagues from Scotland and Turkey to England and Russia – to suggest Portugal can continue to  defy expectations.

• Russia

Dangerous attack and plenty of promising youngsters who could use the experience to push for greater success at Qatar in 2022.

• Saudi Arabia

Squeezed Aussies out of automatic Asian qualification spot and into the play-offs. Unpredictable at the best of times.

• Senegal

Returning for the first time since the 2002 quarter-final. Enough personalities to ensure its Russian adventure will be exciting.

• Serbia

The rakia will be flowing  if this team of seasoned professionals can advance from a tough group. More than enough quality and experience to do so.

• Spain

This is the perfect stage for the La Roja pioneers to exit on a high while show casing the very best of ‘the beautiful game’

• Sweden

Ziatan Ibrahimovic’s retirement could yet shape the destiny of this side, which struggled to qualify without him.

• Switzerland

Won 9 of 10 games in qualifying before losing to Portugal and was forced to beat Northern Ireland in the playoffs.

• Tunisia

Attack-minded coach and had plenty of fight and sped, but jury’s out over defence. One of the major outsiders

• Uruguay

Finishing second behind Brazil in qualifying was a significant achievement  for the two-time winners [1930 and 1950].

 

Australia’s three Group matches are scheduled as follows [AEST]:

France versus Australia:  Saturday, June 16 at 8 pm.

Denmark versus Australia: Thursday, June 21 at 10 pm.

Australia versus Peru:  Wednesday, June 27 at 12 am

 

Australia’s road to Russia.

Asian qualifying results

• Australia 2-0 Iraq [Perth]
• UAE 0-1 Australia [Abu Dhabi]
• Saudi Arabia 2-2 Australia [Jeddah]
• Australia 1-1 Japan [Melbourne]
• Thailand 2-2 Australia [Bangkok]
• Iraq 1-1 Australia [Tehran]
• Australia 2-0 UAE [Sydney]
• Australia 3-2 Saudi Arabia [Adelaide]
• Japan 2-0 Australia [Saitama]
• Australia 25-1 [Thailand]

Round 4

• Syria 1-1 Australia [Krubong]
• Australia 2-1 Syria [Sydney]

Intercontinental play-off

• Honduras 0-0 Australia [San Pedro Sula]
• Australia 3-1 Honduras [Sydney]

 

The  Socceroos final 23 man   2018 Squad

[comments from Bet365]

In goal, Mat Ryan, Brad Jones and Danny Vukovic have all been picked as possible number ones, with Ryan favourite to retain his spot between the sticks after a strong first season in the English Premier League with Brighton and Hove Albion.

At the back, Trent Sainsbury is certain to make up one part of the centre back pairing with Mark Milligan, Milos Degenek and Matt Jurman all vying to partner him.

Along the defensive flanks, Aziz Behich and Josh Risdon are near certain of starting spots with Millwall’s James Meredith providing back up.

Socceroos skipper Mile Jedinak has predominantly played as a holding midfielder for Australia but don’t rule out the Aston Villa man playing alongside Sainsbury in defence.

Jedinak’s possible switch comes with Aaron Mooy, Massimo Luongo, Jackson Irvine and Tom Rogic all providing attractive central midfield options after strong clubs seasons in Europe.

On the wings, Mathew Leckie has made the right his own, while Robbie Kruse is close to locking down the left. Potential competition looms in the form of A-League duo Daniel Arzani and Dimitri Petratos , with both capable of providing a spark on either flank if called upon.

Up top, Tomi Juric has been named but is battling to overcome a knee injury with Jamie Maclaren called in as back-up.

Also looking to bang in the goals are Andrew Nabbout, who can also play out wide, and Socceroos veteran Tim Cahill.

Despite a lack of club minutes, Cahill has secured selection for a fourth World Cup and should he score in Russia will become just the fourth player in history to do so at four World Cups.

 

Bring on the game.

 

Meanwhile, a report today [14 June]  from the ‘Age newspaper’ [Dominic Bossi]  –

“They might be nearly 14,000 kilometres away but the Socceroos have been made to feel at home at their training base in Kazan. Tailored sleeping arrangements and a reminder of their loved ones have provided the personal touch for Bert van Marwijk’s squad ahead of their formidable World Cup opener against France. Players were surprised by the national team staff gesture when they were met with photos of their nearest and dearest by their hotel room beds. In an attempt to give the players every mental edge, Socceroos staff asked players’ families to supply three photos each to be put up. The gesture was a welcome addition for the players as they arrived at the Korston Complex in Kazan, where they’ll spend the majority of their time in Russia….”

 

Bring on the football!!

 

The Group Stages

Using Australian Eastern Standard Time [AEST],  the FIFA 2018 World Cup got under way with the Opening Ceremony, at about Midnight, on the morning of 15 June here. I didn’t see it, but I did watch most of the opening match featuring World Cup hosts, Russia, against Saudi Arabia.

 

Match 1;  Russia versus Saudi Arabia. [Group A]

These were the two lowest ranked teams at the Tournament – on FIFA rankings, Russia in 70^th spot, and Saudi Arabia 67^th. In the Group they have drawn, Russia would go into this first match [played at 1 am AEST]  with high hopes of getting through to the next round for the first time in more than 30 years. If they were going to win a game, this was their big chance against the Saudis who have come into the tournament following on from three successive losses to Italy, Peru and Germany.

Russia went into this game, played at 1 am, Friday, 15 June [AEST] at the 80,000 capacity Luzhniki Stadium [described as the crucible of Russian and Soviet sport,  without a victory in over months, so there would be a lot of pressure on the host team prior to this match.  Despite a brief threatening move by the Saudis early in the 2^nd half, the Russians didn’t let their home crowd supporters down, going on to a convincing win over the luckless Saudis –   Russia  5,  Saudi Arabia  0

 

There was no TV coverage by either SBS or Foxtel of Games 2 and 3  –  but this supporter found BBC radio descriptions [in English] on SBS Radio 2.

 

Match 2: Egypt versus Uruquay  [Group A]

Played at the Central Stadium, Ekaterinburg [new capacity of 35,000], at 10 pm AEST, 15 June –  described as a weak looking Group A, especially following Saudi Arabia capitulation earlier this morning,  Egypt’s success may well have depended on the availability of star player Mohamad Salah who suffered a shoulder injury in Liverpool’s Champions League final loss to Real Madrid three weeks ago, and has been battling to get fit on a day by day basis.  Meantime, Uruquay’s top scorer – Luis Suarez – has insisted he is a much more mature player since sparking controversy in his previous two World Cup tournaments. The Barcelona forward prevented a certain goal for Ghana with a deliberate handball on the line in 2010, and then infamously bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in Brazil in 2014.

As for the match, this was the first of two last minute wins .  At halftime, with the scores locked at 0-0, Egypt would probably have been feeling satisfied to have reached that point without conceding a goal to the highly fancied South American team.  However,  it was in the 89^th minute of the match,  that Uruguay scored against a brave Egyptian team, – with  the Jose Gimenez late talley from Sanchez  being enough to seal the win. It was the first opening match win for Uruguay since 1970.

Final score:    Uruquay  1  Egypt 0

 

Match 3: Morocco versus Iran [Group B]

Scheduled for 1 am [AEST] Saturday 16 June –   Iran in the days leading up to this match, found their preparation disrupted, as they were without boots. Their supplier, Nike, could not provide any because of Donald Trump’s  re-imposition of economic sanctions against Iran.  The team called for assistance from FIFA, other team numbers, or by making purchases from Russian shops. Apart from that, Iran headed into the match after a difficult build-up, with friendlies against Greece and Kosova being cancelled. However, there was some confidence –  they knew much about the Moroccan team but doubted the opposition had much knowledge about the Iranians.

The match was played at St. Petersburg Stadium, apparently designed in a modern ‘space-ag’ format!!

In the first match for Group B, Iran waited until the 96th minute to open the scoring, sealing their win. An own goal in the 6th minute of stoppage time was what it took for Iran to scrape a victory from Morocco. Morocco has still never won their opening World Cup match, while the result gave Iran a rare win at the World Cup finals competition.   Final score:   Iran 1, Morocco 0.

Match 4: Portugal versus Spain  [Group B]

This game was played at the Fisht Stadium in Socchi, at 4am [AEST] Saturday 16 June.  I’d watch a replay later in the day, but it proved to be the best game of the tournament so far, with the teams not separated at the end of the match, and predictions that Portugal, in particular, could go far in this tournament.  Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Spain’s Diego Costa traded goals back and forth until Nacho took a beautiful strike from distance to give Spain their first lead in the 58th minute. In the end however, Cristiano Ronaldo created the highlight of the match, by  completing a hat trick of goals in the 88th minute – a  free-kick that clinched a valuable point from the match for Portugal to earn the draw. Both Spain and Portugal will both receive one point in the standings.  Final score  –   Portugal 3; Spain 3.

 

Match 5:  France versus AUSTRALIA  [Group C]

In a match, described by one media outlet as the ‘Princes versus the Paupers’ [on the basis of transfer fee values for the respective team players – the Aussie players ‘valued at $50million, against the estimated $1billion for the French team], it was perhaps hopeful optimism on my part to suggest that was one thing in Australia’s favour  –  France are traditionally slow starters in major tournaments. In 4 of their last 8 major events, France failed to score with a record of 3 wins, 1 loss, and 4 draws, and 2 of those wins were sealed with last minute scores. The Australians, going into this match, felt that if they could avoid conceding an early goal, they would give themselves a strong chance of continuing France’s opening game record.

Before looking at the outcome, a brief look back at Australia’s four previous World Cup appearances.

• 1974 [Germany]: Lost 0-2 to East Germany; Lost 0-3 to West Germany; Drew 0-0 with Chile.
• 2006 [Germany]: Won 3-1 over Japan;  Lost 0-2 to Brazil; Drew 2-2 with Croatia.  Second Round: Lost 0-1 to Italy [from a last minute penalty].
• 2010 [South Africa]: Lost 0-4 to Germany;  Drew 1-1 with Ghana;  Won 2-1 over Serbia.
• 2014 [Brazil]: Lost 1-3 to Chili;  Lost 2-36 to Netherlands;  Lost 0-3 to Spain

In any case, the 2018 opening match for the Socceroos was played at the Kazan Arena, ay 8 pm [AEST], on Saturday 16 June.  As it eventuated, Tim Cahill, the Socceroos all- time leading goal scorer and veteran of 3 World Cups, did not make it onto the pitch in this game.  Irrespective of the pre-match ‘one-sided’ nature between the two teams, more than 7000 Aussies turned the Russian city of Kazan, hoping their team could defy the odds.

By halftime, the score was 0-0 –  Australia had managed to hold the French out, and looking reasonably confident of continuing that way. However a penalty shot 58 minutes in, gave France the opening goal, yet 4 minutes later, Australia responded in similar vein, with an equalising goal from a penalty shot.  However, at 81 minutes,  a brief lapse on defence [that’s all it needs],  and a goal to France, gave them back the lead.

It could be described as a brave performance, pushing France to the limit, though I found the commentator’s comment of a ‘fantastic’ effort by Australia a little annoying  –  ‘they didn’t win’!!  However, the view is, second spot in the group, behind France,  is up for grabs  –  Australia’s two other opponents in the group would play each other a few hours later.

Final score:  France 2; Australia 1.

[local paper headlines on Sunday morning included –  So far from disgrace  – Van Narwijk proud of valiant team  –  Unlucky defeat’s upsides   –  Roos suffer hi-tech torture  –  Bad luck boys, bring on the Danes   –  Paupers but Aussie fans don’t care].

 

Match 6:  Argentina versus Iceland  [Group D]

This game was played at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow, at 11 pm [AEST] Saturday, 16 June

Argentina’s Lionel Messi [the five time world player of the year] did not go into this game taking Iceland lightly –  “Iceland showed they could compete with anyone at the last Euros” he said. Yet there was criticism of his team [which lost the 2014 World Cup to Germany] claiming that too much was focused on Messi against a ‘band of grafters’ who pride themselves on teamwork [and revel in their underdog status].

From one report –  While the result was not on the scale of that Iceland produced to eliminate England from Euro 2016, it was a major boost for the tiny nation, who retain hopes of advancing from a group that also includes Nigeria and Croatia.  The island nation of 330,000 is the smallest country to ever qualify for the finals but emphatically showed they can mix it with the heavyweights.

In front of a raucous crowd at the 45,000-capacity venue, Iceland launched into some early physical challenges and rattled Argentina. Argentina must regroup before facing Croatia on Nizhny Novgorod on June 21, while Iceland face Nigeria in Volgograd on June 22.  As for Lionel Messi – he is yet to win a major international tournament and time is running out with his 31st birthday looming.  A credible performance by the under-dogs  –  with the final score  Argentina  1;  Iceland 1.

 

Match 7:  Peru versus Denmark [Group C]

This match was  played at the Mondovia Arena in Saransk [at 2am, Sunday 17 June , AEST] between Australia’s other two opponents in this group. Peru were relieved that their star forward Paolo Guerrero was available following the overturning of his 14 month ban for taking cocaine, after a successful last ditch appeal.. With France the Group C favourite [with due respect to the Aussies], neither team wanted to drop points in this game. As with the earlier game, there was no television coverage for this writer, and I’d slept through most of the radio broadcast.  Yussuf Poulsen ruined Peru’s first appearance at a World Cup finals for 36 years on Saturday with the winning goal for Denmark to seal a 1-0 victory in Saransk.

Final score   –  Denmark 1, Peru  0.

 

Match 8:  Croatia versus Nigeria  [Group D]

This game was played at the Kaliningrad Stadium at 5am, Sunday, 17 June [AEST].Nigeria are the youngest team in the tournament, and had to face up against a Croatian team powered by one of the tournament’s strongest and most experienced midfields. A strong group, including Argentina and Iceland, the Nigerians had hopes of getting something out of the game for the sake of the young team. The experience of Croatia would prove the difference, with Oghenekaro Etebo’s own goal and Luka Modric goal gave Croatia a winning start in their World Cup campaign, and also enabled them to grab top spot in Group D at the points table, after the first game of the group [played earlier]  between Argentina and Iceland ended in a 1-1 draw. The African team [the ‘Super Eagles’] were disappointed with the loss – acknowledging that Croatia had performed better, and their team had made some basic mistakes.

The final score  – Croatia 2, Nigeria 0

 

Match 9:  Costa Rica versus Serbia  [Group E]

This match took place at the Samara Arena, at 10 pm, Sunday 17 June [AEST].

Serbia captain, Aleksandar Kolarov scored a spectacular free-kick from 25 yards to give Serbia a deserved victory in their opening World Cup Group E match against Costa Rica.leaving  Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas clutching at thin air as he desperately scrambled across goal.  Costa Rica only sporadically threatened the Serbia goal during the game, with an early header over the crossbar from unmarked defender Giancarlo Gonzalez their best effort. With games against Brazil and Switzerland to come, this was a key match for both nations to press their credentials to reach the knockout stages.

Final score was  Serbia  1;  Costa Rica  0.

 

Match 10:  Germany versus Mexico  [Group F]

Played at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, at 1 am on Monday, 18 June [AEST].,

This game provided a bit of an upset – GERMANY became the third defending champion in the last 16 years to lose its opening match at the World Cup, falling to Mexico 1-0 on Monday morning (AEST).  Hirving Lozano scored the lone goal in the 35th minute.   “I don’t know if it’s the biggest victory in (Mexico’s) history, but one of the biggest for sure,” Lozano said. “It’s great to start on the right foot when you are playing the world champions.”  The Germany coach Joachim Loew was straight to the point:   “We played very badly.”

France in 2002 and Spain in 2014 were the other defending champions to lose their opening matches. Neither of those teams advanced from the group stage. It will be interesting to see how Germany comes back on this occasion.

The final score:   Mexico  1;  Germany 0.

 

 

Match 11:  Brazil versus Switzerland  [Group E]

Played at the Rostov Arena  at 5am on Monday, 18 June [AEST].

Brazil failed to win it’s opening World Cup match for the first time in 40 years, having to settle for a draw with the Swiss team. From ABC News  –  Brazil joined the host of big guns who have failed to fire in their opening World Cup game as lax defending from a corner allowed Switzerland to cancel out Philippe Coutinho’s spectacular curling strike and grab a 1-1 draw.

The five-times world champions took a deserved lead midway through the first half in the Group E game when Coutinho’s irresistible long-distance shot cannoned in off the far post, but Tite’s side, who had looked so impressive in the tournament build-up, failed to build on their advantage. The highly organised Swiss hit back early in the second period from one of their few chances as Brazil’s Casemiro and Miranda switched off and the unmarked Steven Zuber barely had to leave his feet to nod in Xherdan Shaqiri’s whipped corner.

Brazil went all out in pursuit of a winner and came agonisingly close to finding it but had to settle for a point and joined fellow tournament favourites Germany, Spain and Argentina in failing to win their first game.

Final score: Brazil 1;  Switzerland 1

 

To be continued

 

 

 

I’ve spoken about Darren Weir previously in this column, and have decided on this occasion to follow his fortunes at the May, 2018 carnival of racing at Warrnambool in the southwest of Victoria.

Darren Weir has been leading Country Trainer in Victoria since 2005 [and Australia wide in more recent years], and  is generally regarded as a perfectionist by nature , leaving no stone unturned, in getting the greatest ability out of each horse.  Over the period 2009/2010 to 2016/2017, his winning strike rate ranged between 13.7 % [2012/2013] to 17.8% [2013/2014], while in the current year, his present winning rate is 15.1%, including 152 metropolitan wins and 7 Group One victories.  In the 2016/2017 season, of 2,686 runners, his results were 449 [1^st], 355 [2^nd], and 323 [3^rd] for total prizemoney in that year alone of $24,650,054.

From various published profiles, we learn that  Darren was born in Berriwillock, a tiny Mallee District town in Victoria, whose population is only slightly more than the total number of staff Darren now employs across his vast thoroughbred racing business. Darren left school at age 15 and quickly sought to learn and experience all he could about horses, including a period working at the world renowned Lindsay Park training complex. He spent a few months working in a stable in Ireland, and on returning to Australia, Darren worked again  at the  Lindsay Park Stud.  In 1990, he moved to Stawell and began working as a farrier, servicing trainers in the Wimmera and Western District areas of Victoria. Weir began breaking-in horses for a large state wide client base.

He eventually obtained his Owner-Trainer License in 1995 and his Full License in 1997. When he relocated to Ballarat in August 2001, he purchased  the Ballarat establishment Forest Lodge and  major renovations and extensions were undertaken and the facilities have  constantly being  upgraded since then.  The property has top class facilities and is becoming a Centre of training excellence. The utmost priority is for the facilities to be safe for the horses and staff. This ensures that the horses receive the best care available and are happy in their environment.  The Ballarat stable has a swimming pool, 2 walking machines, indoor & outdoor riding arenas, 2 undercover treadmills and hyperbaric stables & treadmill.  There is also a 1400m uphill synthetic track located at the Ballarat racecourse.  Darren also has a training complex at Warrnambool which has access to the beach, treadmill, water walker and swimming pool.

For this article, I’m directing particular interest to his recent involvement at the annual Warrnambool racing and jumps carnival, held at the beginning of May, each year, by the Warrnambool Racing Club. The Club is steeped  in over 160 years of history, and annually hosts some of Victoria’s  premier jumps races.  Warrnambool is a regional centre and former port city on the south-western coast of Victoria, with at June 2016, an estimated urban population of 34,618.  The city is situated on the southern coastal region of Victoria at the western end of the historic  Great Ocean Road.

In 2017,   Darren Weir trained 14 winners over the 3 day carnival at Warrnambool [from a total of 46 starters across 30 races]. On Day 1 [4 winners], Day 2 [5] and Day 3 [5]   He also had four winners on Day 1 in 2016, and as we will see, he would repeat that feat on the first day of the 2018 carnival  John Allen, the jockey who rides both flat and jumps races on a regular basis for Weir, himself  rode 7 winners over the 3 days of the 2017 carnival,   the most ever for a single jockey at the carnival.

But Weir himself would be non-plussed about his chances of repeating his 2017 figures this year  –  as one journalist wrote on Tuesday prior to the carnival “In Darren Weir’s inimitable style, he’s talking down his prospects at Warrnambool this week, saying, ‘I’d be happy to get a winner a day’. There’s little doubt because of weight of numbers, that Weir will achieve that aim, and it’s more a case of how many winners he can train each day….Numbers wise, Weir’s assault is even stronger this year. He has 63 runners – 16 on Tuesday [3 were scratched], 23 on Wednesday, and 24 on Thursday. ‘I’m pretty sure 14 won’t be happening again’, he said…………….If you had put $1 on all of Weir’s starters at Warrnambool last year, you would have received a return of $95.70 for their $46 outlay”.  This writer is hoping for that kind of return in 2018,  on a slightly larger [though quite small compared to most punters] ‘investment’ on the great trainer’s success rate!

Day One of the Carnival, Tuesday, May 1^st.

Day One  began with a big program of 10 races, to get the  2018 carnival underway, and the Weir stables would have  a total of  13 horses competing in all but one of the races. The day’s program would include four Hurdle races, and one Steeple event [which would be one of five feature races over the three days].

 Race 1: George Taylor Memorial Hurdle [3200 metres]  –  No. 1: Bit Of A Lad [John Allen]:  [3^rd ].  9 starters:  started out last:, and stayed that way still halfway through the race, but came home strongly under John Allen to finish a long third behind the two leaders  – race won by the first favourite of the day ‘Cougar Express [Jockey: Brad McLean, trainer Jarrod A McLean] – local brothers!! All 9 horses around safely. My price: $1.95 for the place.

Race 2: TAB Hurdle: [3200 metres] –  No. 5: It’s A Silvertrail [John Allen] :  [2^nd.]  My odds on Unibet: $3.70 and $1.60. Started as the favourite, and got off to a good start and was amongst the leaders throughout the race – in the final 100 metres, Silvertrail had the race at it’s mercy, but a strong finish by the stayer, Kothu Rotti, ridden by C Douglas, trainer John McArdle [another Warrnambool trainer]. All 9 horses around safely.

Race 3: Choices Flooring Maiden Hurdle  [3200 metres]:  No. 3: Danesai [John Allen]. [ 4^th ].  11 starters. My odds: $5.50 and $2.10.  This horse was near the rear of the field for much of the race, but another strong ride towards the end of the race, saw Weir’s horse just miss out on the third placing  – his horses run 4^th so many times [and in my view, try to come from too far behind, too late!!]. Anyway, the winner: Flying Casino, ridden by L. Horner, trained by Eric Musgrove [veteran jumps trainer].  All gorses appeared to get around safely.

Race 4:  Simons Waterfront Plate, [1200 metres]:  No. 5: Night Falls [Damian Lane] – two other Weir entries were scratched [Chouxter, and Helcrimson] . [ First] There were 13 starters in this first of the flat races.  A bit of a worry for the trainer, dropping the horse back to the 1200 metres, but then in the closing stages, at the race favourite, Night Falls powered away, and Weir was relieved [as were the punters] to finally get a win after 4 races on Day 1. My odds: $1.85 & $1.16. The winner: Night Falls [Damien Lane – Darren Weir].

Race 5: Callaghan Motors Vobis Gold Strike [1000 metres]. Two horses for Weir –  She’s Our Reward [Dean Yendall] [5^th]  and Limeshow [Damien Lane] [6^th] , my odds were $5.00 & $1.85, and $6.50 & $2.15. Neither horse really in with a chance over the 1000 metres and finished in the middle of the field of 9 starters.  Winner was debut starter Write Enuff [Craig Williams –   Kevin Keys].

Race 6: 3YB Scotty Stewart Brierly Steeple  [3450 metres]:    Now and Zen [John Allen].  Lost rider!!   There were 11 starters.  My odds: $7.00 & $2.35.  Disaster at the first jump  –  Now And Zen threw his jockey, John Allen, and a short while later, the riderless Weir horse ran  another of the horses off the track, resulting in 9 horses finishing the race. Jockey John Allen was okay, he walked back to the stalls.  The winner was the local horse Gold Medals, ridden by Shayne Jackson, trained by Symon Wilde. The defending champion, favourite, and top weight, Zen Em came in second, just.

Race 7: Cally Hotel Handicap  [2350 metres]:  Big Hammer [Dean Yendall]. [First]  11 starters in this race, my odds  $3.60 & $1.55.  Horse position not looking good for the first 1500 metres or so, and then Yendall encouraged the horse to go forward, and as they entered the long straight,  Big Hammer away, and despite a late challenge from the second placed horse, it was another strong Weir win, one of many he has achieved in this race, and his second win for the day [still half of his winners last year, with 5 horses still in the running.  Winner: Big Hammer [Dean Yendall- Darren Weir].

Race 8:  I Am Warrnambool Handicap  [1700 metres].  Weir has the top three weighted runners in this race  –  Grand Dreamer [Fred Kersley], Tradesman [John Allen] [First], and Mongolian Wolf [Damian Lane] [3^rd]  My odds are, in the above horse order – $23.00 & $4.80; $1.95 & $1.16; and $9.50 & $2.45.  There were 10 starters, but a beautiful ride by John Allen [after a frustrating start to the day, including  being thrown off his horse in the Steeplechase], and when he went for home on Tradesman, the race was soon over.  The third Weir horse came in third position.  Winner:  Tradesman [John Allen – Darren Weir].

Race 9: Carlton Draught Handicap  [1000 metres].  No Weir horse, Choisborder was entered but scratched overnight.  The race had a big field of 15 starters for the sprint down the straight.  Winner:  Manhattan Spirit [Damien Thornton – Mattie Williams]

Race 10: Idetect Handicap  [1200 metres]:  Weir horses were Jaws Of Steel [Damian Lane] [First]  and Accreditation [Dean Yendall]   We had 11 starters in the final race of Day 1.  And the race brought up Win No. 4 for Darren Weir [for the third year in a row], with Jaws Of Steel charging to the front in the final stages and going on with it.  Accreditation finished back in the middle pack.  The winner:  Jaws Of Steel [Damian Lane – Darren Weir]

From one report of the day’s racing [from the Weir aspect], Michal Manley [Herald Sun] wrote  “It was an action-packed Brierly [Steeple] early as Now And Zen lost rider John Allen at the first fence. The riderless Now And Zen then went left and  ran Zataglio off the track at the second fence. Trainer Darren Weir wasn’t certain whether Now And Zen would run in the Grand Annual [Steeple on Thursday] as he thought missing a run in the Brierly could affect his chances of seeing out the 5,500m. Allen bounced back two races later to win on the Weir-trained Tradesman”.

Day Two of the Carnival, Wednesday, May 2^nd.

 With Day 2 approaching, Darren Weir had 23 horses entered to start in 9 of the 10 races on the card, including Hale Soriano in the 3,450 metre  Steeple, and Ancient King in the 3,200 metre Galleywood Hurdle. By morning, he had scratched two horses,  leaving 21 to run.

As for today’s two Jumps races, Hale Soriano in the Steeple has been racing consistently over the smaller jumps, and the experts see no reason why the horse will not go close to winning this race, in which it will likely start as the favourite.  The horse  is a 7yo chestnut gelding (male) from United Kingdom and was sired by the stallion Halling out of the dam Sureyya. Hale Soriano has managed to win 5 races in his career so far. Ancient King, in the feature Hurdle race, as the top weight, has been racing recently in flat races with not surprisingly,  no success apart from achieving the desired race fitness, but now gets back over the jumps where he has a super record, and can win. Ancient King is a 8yo brown or black gelding (male) from Ireland, and was  sired by the stallion Ramonti out of the dam Queen Of Rap.   The horse has managed to win 11 races in his career so far. On 6th Aug 2017 at Sandown Lakeside, Ancient King scored one of  his most significant wins in the Grand National Hurdle.

Race 1: Winning Edge Presentations Maiden [1400 metres]:  Weir had three starters in this  8 horse race  –  Donndubhan [John Allen] [4^th],  Truly High [Damian Lane] [First] and Champagne Friday [Dean Yendall] [2^nd].  My odds for the race in order of the three mentioned horses –  $5.50 & $1.65; $3.90 & $1.40, and $4.20 & $1.45.  Weir got the Quinella with this race [in fact, the three Weir horses finished in the first 4 placings]  –  with the more fancied  Champagne Friday just beaten on the line by stablemate Truly High, a perfect start for the man of our project!!  Winner: Truly High [Damian Lane – Darren Weir].

Race 2: Warrnambool Football/Netball Maiden  [1700 metres]: there were no Weir horses in this race.  Winner:  Aljamaal [Luke Nolan – M.A.Townsend]

Race 3: Warrnambool Greyhound RC Maiden [1700 metres]: Two Weir horses in this race  –  Big Bad Baz [Brad Rawiller] [First] and Count Zero [John Allen] [3^rd]. My odds – $1.65 & $1.08, and $7.50 & $1.85.   I didn’t see this race initially, but it proved to be yet another success for Darren Weir [Win No. 6 for the carnival], with Big Bad Baz winning as the clear favourite on this occasion, with Weir’s other horse coming in third in a small field.  The winner:  Big Bad Baz [Brad Rawiller – Darren Weir]

Race 4: Decron Dunroe Steeple  [3450 metres]: Weir’s runner was Hale Soriano [John Allen] [FF] with my odds being $3.50 & $1.45.  Unfortunately, our runner did not finish the race  –  racing around 3^rd/4^th for most of the raced, the horse stumbled at the third last jump, and fell right back at the tail of the field, and was apparently pulled up by Allen.  The winner:  The Dominator [Steven Pateman – Henry Dwyer] –  this horse led from the start of the race,  was literally dominating and setting a dashing tempo, and for a large part of the race was 8-10 lengths in front of all others in the field of 8 starters, and looked likely to go all the way without being seriously challenged – but, after 3,400 metres, the last 50 metres proved a thrilling finish with second-placed King Kamada also stealing the race at the end!! It would almost have being an injustice for The Dominator to lose.

Race 5:  Bottle – O Warrnambool Maiden [1700 metres]  –  again, we had the two Weir horses in a field of  10 starters –  Golden Song [John Allen] [2^nd], and Set With Jewels [Dean Yendall] [3^rd].  My odds were $9.50 & $2.80, and $8.00 & $2.55 respectively.  On this occasion, the Weir horses finished together behind the eventual winner, yet another local horse and trainer..  Winner:  Von Mystic [Damian Lane – Aaron Purcell].

 Race 6: Galleywood Hurdle  [3200 metres]: the Weir runner was Ancient King [John Allen] [3^rd] in a small field of just six runners. Odds on Ancient King were  $2.40 & $1.45. This race was the second of the five feature races over the three day carnival.   The ‘King’ got off to a strong start, jumped well, but halfway through the race came under challenge  from the eventual winner  –  Two Hats, which fell in this race last year –  another local winner, very well received by the patriotic Warrnambool crowd, while Ancient King finished back in third place, with no third dividend due to the small field.  Winner:  Two Hats [Braidon Small – Aaron Purcell].

Race 7: Silvan Ridge Futurity   [1400 metres]:  the Weir horses were Sarkozy [John Allen] [9^th] and Allspice [Dean Yendall] [7^th], with odds of  $23.00 & $6.00, and $11.00 & $3.40, not two of the stable’s best chances for the day.  One of the earlier favourites for the race was another Weir horse, Furion, which was scratched overnight.  Both horses proved not to be a chance, and finished back in the field of 12 horses..   Winner:  the favourite, Honey Esprit [Ms Jamie Kah –  C.W.McDonald].

Race 8: Wangoom Handicap [1200 metres]; Weir horses here total four of a field of 15 starters.  They were:  Ulmann [John Allen] [6^th],   Stellar Collision [Brad Rawiller] [2^nd],  Ozi Choice [Damian Lane] [5^th],  and Handsome Thief [Dean Yendall] [First].   My odds on each horse were  $14.00 & $4.20; $8.00 & $2.75;  $12.00 & $3.70;  and $4.60 & $1.90.  This race was the second of today’s feature races, two more features to come tomorrow, and is described by some as the ‘Newmarket Handicap’ of the ‘bush’.  Last year, the race was Quinelled by the Weir team with Ullman and Stellar Collision.  The trainer did it again,  with his second Quinella for the day, and with last year’s  unlucky runner-up beaten into second place again, behind the race favourite, Handsome Thief. The other two Weir runners finished just outside the placings in 5^th and 6^th positions.  Winner:  Handsome Thief [Dean Yendall – Darren Weir].

Race 9:  Sinclair Wilson  [1700 metres]:  a race of eleven starters including three Weir horses –  Lucky For All [Dean Yendall] [First],  Heavenly Thought [Brad Rawiller] [2^nd],  and Zedinator [John Allen] [5^th].  My odds backed were $2.05 & $1.18; $3.00 & $1.34; and $19.00 & $4.00, a couple of likely chances included there.  Would you believe   – yet another race Quinella to the Weir stables –  Lucky For All [the favourite] wins, ahead of Heavenly Thought, and Weir has his 4^th winner for the day.  Mind you, the winner had to fight off his stable mate in the closing stages, after a brilliant ride by Yendall along the fence.  Winner:  Lucky For All [Dean Yendall – Darren Weir].

Race 10: Warrnambool Hyundai  [1400 metres] –  with the scratching of Nacar, Weir still had three starters in this race of 14 horses. They were – Think Babe [Dean Yendall] [3^rd], Minoan Spirit [Harry Coffey] [12^th], and Kevin’s Time [Declan Bates] [7^th],  with odds of  $2.90 & $1.45; $21.00 & $6.00; and $34.00 & $9.00.   Think Babe, the favourite took the lead in the straight, but was soon challenged and beaten into 3^rd place.  The other two Weir horses were never a chance, despite Kevin’s Time threatening to move forward in the middle stages.  Winner:  The Mood I’m In [Jarrod Fry –  Vince Malady].

In summary, Darren Weir would end the day’s program with other 4 winners.  He celebrated his 48th birthday today with those four winners at Warrnambool, including the Quinella in the feature flat race, the Wangoom Handicap (1200m), with Handsome Thief defeating Stellar Collision. Weir has trained eight winners for the carnival but needs another six on Thursday to equal his record of 14 set last year   Last year he ended the second day on nine winners and that looked almost certain to be the case as his galloper Think Babe was well clear in the straight in the last race but was run down by The Mood I’m In close to the line and weakened to finish third.  Prior to that he had won races with Truly High ($6.50), Big Bad Baz ($1.55), Handsome Thief ($2.90) and Lucky For All ($1.95). He also trained four seconds and four thirds from his 19 starters and Quinealled three races.

Talking afterwards, both Weir and jockey Dean Yendall paid homage to the stable’s track walker Darren Murphy.  Weir said Murphy had a plan for his each of his starters and it made the difference in a competitive race such as the Wangoom Handicap. “He had a plan as to where they should position and the jockeys got it 100 per cent right,” Weir said.

Day Three of the Carnival, Thursday, May 3^rd.

From the Weir websites, we read that for Thursday, Weir had a strong hand as he attempts to win the Warrnambool Cup for a fifth consecutive year with four runners headed by the $2.90 favourite Kiwia, the second favourite at $5 Yogi, Gallic Chieftain at $9.50 and Master Of Arts at $13.  Weir, though, is concerned that Kiwia, who finished second to Qewy in the Bendigo Cup in the spring, might be a run short due to his unlucky second at Caulfield last start behind Self Sense.  “He didn’t have the hit-out I wanted to go into a race of this nature,” Weir said. “He didn’t get the tough run I wanted.”  Weir said Kiwia worked well at Ballarat on Saturday with a strong gallop designed to compensate for him not having the run he wanted at Caulfield.  Weir said last-start Flemington winner Gallic Chieftain was in great condition.  “If he can put two in a row together he’ll be hard to beat. It was a tough win at Flemington.”  Weir also said Yogi could be a run short having had just the two runs back from a spell.  Weir said his other starter Master Of Arts was fit and would come right into calculation if the rain came.                 Weir said Now And Zen would contest the Grand Annual Steeplechase today after he lost his rider in the Brierly Steeplechase on Tuesday.  “I would have liked to have seen him finish the Brierly so we’re guessing a bit. He went to beach in the morning and he’s fine.”

Race 1: Hammonds Paint Novice Hurdle [3200 metres] – a race decimated by scratchings, leaving just four starters, including Weir’s Duke Of Boneo [John Allen] [3^rd].  My odds were $1.60 & $1.08.   The ‘Duke’ started favourite, placed 2^nd and ready to strike for most of the race  –  as the four horses strolled along in Indian file, or as the race caller noted ‘there’s not much happening’. But then, with 50 metres to go, and the ‘Duke’ in front, the Weir horse got the staggers and was over-run to the line, finishing third!!  The winner: Getting Leggie, ridden by Steven Pateman, and trained by young South Australian, Nick Smart.

Race 2: No Fuss Event Hire Handicap  [1200 metres]  –    8 starters, including the Weir horse Kaplumpich [John Allen] [2^nd], which went into the race as favourite. My odds were $2.35 & $1.20. A, second Weir horse, No Emotion which would have been a first starter was scratched overnight. In this race, the Weir horse was beaten into 2^nd place, and while a protest was lodged against the winner for interference, that was eventually dismissed.   The winner:  Tee Train [Craig Williams – Symon Wilde]

Race 3: Schweppes Handicap [1400 metres]: another small field of 7 runners, including Rising Hope [Dean Yendall] [5^th].  No luck in this race for Rising Hope [perhaps ‘diminishing’ hope is a more appropriate name!!]. My odds were $6.00 & $2.65 with the horse coming in 5^th..  The winner: La Fleurette [Ms Nicky Nerriman –Symon Wilde, two out of 3 races so far for this trainer].

Race 4: Ludeman Real Estate Handicap [2000 metres]:  We had three Weir horses in this race, a field of 15 starters.  They were: Golden Flag [John Allen] [5^th]   Thunder Cloud [Brad Rawiller] [First];    Zelenus  [Dean Yendall] [14^th],  with my odds on the race being $8.00 & $2.45; $6.50 & $2.15;  and $26.00 & $6.00.  The favourite was a horse called Hangman who had the race in control – until Weir’s Thunder Cloud came from the clouds and went away in commanding fashion to win Weir’s 9^th race of the carnival.   The winner:  Thunder Cloud [Brad Rawiller  – Darren Weir].

Race 5: The Standard Handicap  [1100 metres]:  We had four Weir horses in this race, in a field of 15 starters again.  They were Labuan Star [Brad Rawiller] [3^rd];   Painte [John Allen];  He’s A Moral [Dean Yendall]; and Artie Dee Two [Damian Lane]. My odds on each horse were $11.00 & $3.50; $10.00 & $3.20; $17.00 & $5.00; and, $10.00 & $3.20. No favourites in that bunch, although Labuan Star had a few supporters. At the loading of this race, the rain [as predicted] began to hit Warrnambool. Of the Weir horses, it would only be Labuan Star that produced a result, running into third place  The winner [that man again]  –  InnKeeper [Ms Linda Meech –  Symon Wilde]

Race 6:  Evergreen Turf Neville Wilson Series  [1700 metres]:  two Weir horses – Approved Anger [John Allen] and Furrion [Brad Rawiller] [First] – this second horse would start as favourite in the race, which as it began, the weather deteriorated and the rain proper began to affect the afternoon, and the track. My odds – $7.50 & $2.15, and $1.60 & $1.10.  This was Furrion’s 3^rd race, for two wins so far, and today would not alter that trend – a convincing win to the favourite, while the horse which won the race over the past two years, Like The Clappers, battled on for a close second.  The winner: Furrion [Brad Rawiller – Darren Weir]  –  the horse described as a very exciting prospect in the months and years ahead  –  ‘a star is born at the ‘Bool’ said the race caller as Furrion crossed the line.

Race 7; [the big one]:  Waterfront By Lyndoch Living Grand Annual Steeplechase  [5,500 metres], a jumps race worth $350,000, with 11 starters. For Weir, he was giving Now and Zen [John Allen] [Fell]  another opportunity [after’s Tuesday’s ‘mistake’], with my starting odds at $6.00 & $2.25. At this point, Weir has found 10 winners since Tuesday, and he would dearly love for this one to surprise the tipsters. A horse, proven in the wet [which was happening to a minor extent at this stage of the afternoon], and a starter in 13 jumps races for 5 wins and 5 2^nd placings. Weir had confirmed overnight that Now And Zen would contest the Grand Annual Steeplchase today, after losing his rider in the Brierly Steeplechase on Tuesday. Weir said  ‘I would have liked to have seen him finish the Brierly so we’re guessing a bit. He went to the beach in the morning and he’s fine’.    However, he was up against a strong and proven field of competitors……………It would be a .disappointing outcome for Now And Zen – halfway through the race, fell [not noticed by the race caller], got up and ran on, but later taken away for treatment to an injured leg.  No early news on the luckless John Allen.           Meanwhile, the race itself, after 5,500 metres, saw another thrilling finish to the line between the two horses that finished first and second in Tuesday’s Brierly Steeple –  in fact, a repeat of that finish  –  the winner was the local horse Gold Medals, ridden by Shayne Jackson, trained by Symon Wilde. The defending champion, favourite, and top weight, Zen Em came in second, just by a short head. Amazing finish, and what a day for trainer, Symon Wilde.   Winner:  Gold Medals [with the Steeple double] [Clayton Douglas – Symon Wilde].

Race 8: Mercedes Benz Handicap  [1400 metres]:  Two Weir horses –  Kenjorwood [Brad Rawiller] [4^th],   and Refulgent [Dean Yendall], my odds were $20.00 n& $5.50,  and $34.00 & $9.00. although Kenjorwood would actually start the race at a much shorter price. In fact, the horse led for a large part of the race, but tired in the closing stages and was overrun by the favourite, in fact missing out on a place altogether. Not a very successful day [despite two winners] for Weir, or for supporters of his horses, viz., the writer!!!

Race 9: Sungold Milk Warrnambool Cup  [2.50 metres] – a final field of 13 starters.  Darren Weir had  four Cup starters, and he noted, prior to the race, with respect to each:………Master Of Arts  Brad Rawiller] [5^th]  “I’m really happy with him. If it’s wet he’ll come right into contention but if the track’s not I might even take him out.”   Gallic Chieftan  [Johnj Allen]  [First] “He’s fit and tough and racing in great fashion.”   Kiwia [Damian Lane]) [6^th]  “This is the race he’s been set for but my worry is that he didn’t have a hard hit-out last start. He worked well at Ballarat on Saturday.”   Yogi [Craig Williams]  [2^nd] “He’s going well but he’s only had two runs in and he might be one run short.”   My odds in order of named horses were  $13.00 & $4.00;  $9.50 & $3.10;  $2.90 & $1.45; and $6.00 & $2.25.  Weir felt that the fittest of his four runners would be Gallic Chieftan, and that prove4d the case, with the horse surviving a late challenge, just, from stablemate, Yogi.  In the final analysis of the Cup, the four Weir horses finished within the top six positions of the 13 runners.

Race 10: Scania Australia Handicap  [1300 metres]:  a field of 16, including two Weir horses  –  Fifty Stars [Brad Rawiller] [First],  and Smart Talk [Harry Coffey] [8^th]. A third entry, Atone was scratched overnight.  My odds were $1.95 & $1.20, and $23.00 & $6.00.  This race would end the Warrnambool Racing Carnival with yet another triumph for the Weir complex, with Fifty Stars dominating the finish and going on to a strong win. This win would give Weir four winners on each of the three days of the Warrnambool carnival, a total of 12, not quite up to last year’s year’s total, but still, the second highest total wins in the carnival’s history.

I will again use Michael Manly’s summary [part]  to  conclude the event.  “Darren Weir didn’t match his heights of last year but still dominated the Warrnambool carnival with 12 winners, including a fifth consecutive cup…………….Before the Cup, Weir said Gallic Chieftan was the fittest and toughest of his four runners. That made the difference. Yogi was one run behind in his preparation and it told. Gallic Chieftan was the right horse on the right day. The toughness in a great race told late. Weir described John Allen’s ride on Gallic Chieftan as ‘a great one’. Allen said he’d had a frustrating carnival before the cup win, being successful only on Tradesman on Tuesday. Earlier, .his mount Now And Zen fell in the Grand Annual Steeplechase. And he was dumped from the same horse at the first fence in Tuesday’s Brierly Steeplechase…………………..Weir’s previous Warrnambool Cup winners were Askar [2014], Tall Ship [2015], Master Of Arts [2016] and High Church [2017]. Despite his 12 winners this week, a $1 bet on all of Weir’s 51 runners would have produced a loss, of $9.70.”  The writer can vouch for that!!!

It would be remiss of me not to mention the other trainer of the day [especially the final day]  – and that was Warrnambool boy, Symon Wilde  –  who not only trained the winner of the Grand Annual Steeplechase [with the same horse, Gold Medals,  winning the Brierly Steeple on Tuesday], but picked up 3 other winners on Thursday. Not surprisingly, the Warrnambool crowd erupted as Gold Medals came back to scale after the race, which was won by the smallest of margins over the favourite [as on Tuesday], Zed Em  –  the race caller’s description was as the desperate as the crowd, and while he felt Gold Medals had won, his plea over the speaker system was ‘please don’t tear down the stand if I’m wrong’!!! He wasn’t!!  Speaking afterwards, Wilde said  – “It’s a dream come true, as I’ve now won the main Warrnambool races, the Brierly, the Wangoom, the Cup and now the Grand Annual. I’ve now got the full deck of cards. It’s a race I’ve watched all my life and wanted to win for years. Dad trained and then I joined him. This is so more than a Group 1 to me. He’s not a Group 1 horse, but he’s a horse who has won $1 million”.

Incidentally, Weir’s horse in the Grand National Steeplechase, which fell coming down the ‘hill’ for the first time during the race, was later treated by vets, and found to be lame in the near hind leg. I was so thankful that there was not a more serious outcome for the horse. Over recent years, Victoria which is now one of only two states to retain jumps racing, has received much adverse criticism from anti-jump racing protestors, and in early years there was some genuine concern about the seemingly high number of horse deaths that occurred due to falls, etc,  Thankfully this year, the only major mishaps occurred to the same horse twice – Weir’s Now And Zen.  As a spectator, I love to watch the jumps races, but in all honesty, do so with my ‘heart in my mouth’ willing all horses and jockeys to get around the courses safely, irrespective of where thy finish in a race.

Finally, on that note, from Darren Weir Racing @DKWeirracing  –  “Now And Zen is back at the Ballarat stables for ongoing care. Rest assured he is much loved by his owner and everyone at Darren Weir Racing so he will be well looked after”.

[Bill Kirk, 4^th May, 2018]