Micro Noises 72: Trading in anagrams
Hip, hip, Duryea!
Hawthorn's Taylor Duryea joined an elite group of players on Grand Final day. Duryea was already in a minority as one of just 20 of the 12,315 VFL/AFL players to have a surname that ends with "-ea". Of those 20, Duyrea is only the sixth to have played in a Grand Final, and just one of four to have won a flag. The "-ea" big six are:
PLAYER | GRAND FINALS | PREMIERSHIPS |
Mark Shea | 1908 (Essendon) | |
Paddy Shea | 1908, 1911, 1912 (Essendon) | 1911, 1912 |
Fred O'Shea | 1911 (Essendon) | 1911 |
Keith Shea | 1932 (Carlton) | |
Warren Tredrea | 2004, 2007 (Port Adelaide) | 2004 |
Taylor Duryea | 2014 (Hawthorn) | 2014 |
Only four Sheas have played VFL/AFL football, with three of those playing in Grand Finals and two in premierships. The unlucky fourth Shea was Jack, who played 27 games for Hawthorn between 1945 and 1947. The Hawks' best finish in those three seasons was 10th.
Mystery Team
As is our wont in the off-season, we have come up with a team of players that all have a common link. The team below is drawn from VFL and AFL teams of virtually all eras but each of them has a common thread that links them. Can you guess what that link is? All will be revealed in Micro Noises 73.
B: | Mick Malthouse (StK/Rich) | Les Abbott (Coll/Carl/Rich/Melb/SM) | John Jenkins (Rich/NM) |
HB: | Wels Eicke (StK/NM) | John Scarlett (Geel/SM) | Artie Freeman (Coll/Fitz/Ess) |
C: | Greg Wells (Melb/Carl) | Geoff Raines (Rich/Coll/Ess/Bris) | Charlie Cameron (NM/Fitz) |
HF: | Russell Greene (StK/Haw) | Jack Wrout (NM/Carl) | Bernie Harris (Fitz/Bris/StK) |
F: | Paul Sarah (Geel/Rich) | Phil Baker (NM/Geel) | Alex Ruscuklic (Fitz/Carl) |
R: | Harry Neill (SM/Foots/StK) | Alan "Bull" Richardson (Rich/SM) | Tommy Lahiff (Ess/SM/Haw) |
Int: | Alan Dale (Ess/StK) | Stuart Magee (SM/Foots) | Allan Sidebottom (StK/Fitz) |
Sub: | David Johnston (Ess/Fitz) |
Postcode of the week
It's fair to say that GWS hasn't set the world on fire in its first three years in the AFL. The Giants finished last in their first two seasons and even in 2014, a year of expected improvement, they won just six games. But there are signs that GWS is slowly turning things around and this is reflected in their "points against" total for this season. The Giants had 2320 points kicked against them and 2320 is the postcode of Horseshoe Bend.
Ridiculous footy anagram of the week
It may be the off-season but there has been no shortage of news stories emanating out of the AFL, most revolving around the activities of the trade period. But there were movements on the coaching front also. Adelaide appointed Phil Walsh as its new coach, although we couldn't help wondering whether he may have been better placed at struggling Essendon, given that ADELAIDE'S PHIL WALSH is an anagram of I WILL HELP A DEAD SASH.
Trade week anagrams
So many rumours, later proven to be false, are aired during TRADE PERIOD. Appropriately then, it is an anagram of A REPORT DIED. But some of the reports turn out to be true. No one could believe it at first when it was announced that Dogs' captain Ryan Griffen wanted a trade, but sadly for other Sons of the West, the rumour was true.
Once it was revealed that Griffen wanted out, things changed drastically at the Kennel. It emerged that Griffen was one of quite a few players who felt that Brendan McCartney had lost too much support to be able to continue as coach. President Peter Gordon and CEO Simon Garlick came out the next day to announce that "Macca" had resigned, under considerable pressure. It's little wonder, then, that PETER GORDON AND SIMON GARLICK are an anagram of DRASTIC DOG KENNEL - "GO MAN (OR R.I.P.)"
But the story did not end there. The latest from the Bulldogs camp is that Giant Tom Boyd has requested a trade to the Dogs and that the Bulldogs are prepared to swap Griffen to get him. But would it be the right thing for either club to do? Perhaps not. That potential GRIFFEN AND BOYD TRADE is an anagram of TARDY OFFER; BAD ENDING.
In the end most Bulldog fans' feelings about THE AFL'S TEN-DAY TRADE PERIOD could probably be summed up by its anagram: AT END, HATE IT. PREFER OLD DAYS.
Trade week limerick
But why confine the trade period to anagrams alone? Limericks deserve a run, too! With the Giants' Jono O'Rourke on the move, there was speculation about where he might end up, but he inevitably finished up at a top team, Hawthorn. In summary:
A young named Jono O'Rourke
Was the subject of very much talk
After much to and fro
About where he might go
He of course ended up as a Hawk
Micro Noises is Andrew Gigacz's regular, quirky look at all things footy. The name Micro Noises is an anagram of Enrico Misso, who played one game for St Kilda in 1985. He remains the only Enrico and the only Misso to have played footy at the highest level.
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