Tony's Tales: An afternoon-of-a-lifetime at the 'G

Well this tale will mean a lot to those of you who follow Aussie Rules football, but hopefully all of you will understand what a special day it was. This all happens at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a 100,000 seat stadium that was the home of the 1956 Olympics and is where all the major cricket (summer) and football (winter) matches are held.

A long story short, I won an online auction from team sponsor Emirates to sit in the Coaches box for a blockbuster footy match between my beloved Collingwood Magpies on July 31 as they lined up against our traditional rival the Carlton Blues.

The short story is that it was an AWESOME experience, and frankly the long story is that it would take way too long to explain than you or I have reading / writing patience (of course, any AFL fans that want me to explain over a drink or three then please let me know).

In a day of highlights, there were visits to the player's rooms before and after the match (which I'm happy to say we ultimately won easily in front of 80,000 fans). All the players, former players, coaches and administrators that are always on TV and in the press were there in the rooms and in the halls. There was even a visit to the playing field before the game as the players warmed up.

Then it was off to the Coaches Box which for Aussie Rules is high up in one of the spectator stands. For those of us that have seen the box on TV, it is actually two boxes per team with about 10 people in each. One box is full of technicians gathering team data and video footage and feeding it to the main box which is where the head coach, assistant coaches and support staff are sitting. The coaches box is where my lucky co-visitor and I were to sit, with strict instructions to soak it all in and SAY NOTHING!

What followed was a fascinating example of how much sport has changed in recent years. Literally the coaching staff do not watch the game as we as spectators do. Rather they spend all of their time assessing the implementation of their planned plays, the implementation of the opposition efforts, and the marshalling of their resources on the field and the interchange bench. This all happens with five people feeding observations and statistics to the head coach and he making the final call before the decisions are fed down to the playing field.

We had active laptops in front of us that showed what the assistant coaches could see, and interestingly amongst the myriad of stats they did not include the time of the game or the score. Sideline discussions with the statisticians during the breaks confirmed that the coaches effort is very much the same regardless of how the game itself is progressing competitively. This is now very much a chess game -- it is strategy, implementation, and working with the resources available.

Technology is the key, and stats and video are constantly being collected and run down to the ground to show players as they interchange so that they can see where they can improve -- immediate feedback loops. Ex-players are at the boundary line feeding information and advice from the assistant coaches to each of the current players.

Needless to say it doesn't always work for the coaches as expected and there were plenty of instances when the occasional expletive was used and when the best laid plans went awray. All that said, with the mighty 'Pies on top of the ladder they are doing more right then wrong at present and they (and I) felt pretty happy at the end of the game.

When it was all over it was down into the players rooms to heartily sing the club song after a great win with all the club faithfull. Then off to the pub for a few drinks with family and friends who also went to the match and to celebrate what was an absolutely sensational day.

In closing, my compliments to all at the Collingwood FC for all that they do to make their fans feel such a part of our wonderful club.

Principals, planes and plantings

Having resisted posting for almost a year, Melissa is our guest writer this month!

Almost another month has passed since our last blog. The temperature in Dubai has risen, as has the humidity and we have flown off for cooler shores. As the saying goes, "be careful what you wish for" as the Melbourne evenings are decidedly cooler than those we have been used to in Dubai.

The theatre scene in Dubai is small, but very enthusiastic, and the summer sees overseas professionals (usually from the West End in London) joining forces with local talent to put on some wonderful shows. This summer saw Fame! and HairSpray come to Dubai. Sarah auditioned and was fortunate enough to land an ensemble role in the musical HairSpray. She also had a minor speaking part as the Principal of the High School (in the stage show, it is the Principal that sends Tracy to detention for her hair being too high). Sarah had a wonderful time, worked hard and performed well. Two weeks of intensive rehearsals (10 -4 EVERY day and sometimes additional rehearsals from 5 - 9) were followed by two matinee and five evening performances over five days. The cast (which included four professionals from the West End) were given standing ovations at every performance! Two days later we were on the plane to Melbourne (seeing various other members of the cast at the airport on departure day.)

It is wonderful to be back in Melbourne, the winter is cool but enjoyable. it is nice to have cold water come out of the cold tap. Catching up with family and friends can never be over-rated and listening to all of the Australian accents on the tv was a bit weird for the first few days.

Having sold the apartment in the city, we are now in our "holiday house" in Mont Albert. Much to Alexander's delight, the has a decent back yard. (While we do have a small yard in Dubai, it is too hot to go out at this time of year and it certainly doesn't have any dirt/mud in it.)

Alexander has been enjoying himself planting some trees and becoming part of the great Australian tradition that involves boys/men and lemon trees! Somewhat obviously, all of us are now proud owners of new gumboots.

Melissa passed her Semester 1 uni subjects well and is now getting her head around what is required for semester 2. Sem 2 starts this week and is more than half over before we go back to Dubai. Time management is of the essence!

Tony is able to be in Melbourne for a short time, but then has to go to the US for a couple of weeks. Fortunately he will be coming back to Melbourne before flying home to Dubai.