When the footy starts, it’s a beautiful time of the year. Nowadays, live streaming of trial matches makes access to early season form far easier. Where once such clashes were the domain of only the hardcore fan, many more punters…
Bumpers Up – The Fake, The Fields, The Force, The Footy
Welcome to the first edition of Bumpers Up for 2021. For those unacquainted with this column, expect my take on the latest Eels news, be it from mainstream media or exclusive to TCT. In turn, you can return fire on…
Bumpers Up – Christmas Edition: Trials, Farewells, Partnerships
Christmas is almost upon us, but that hasn’t stopped the Eels world from turning. So forget the old red and green decorations, there’s Blue and Gold to add to your tree this week. Announcements have literally arrived on a…
Bumpers Up – New Rules, Eels Tributes And Life After Footy
Whenever I hear or read about committees being created, I cringe. It’s not that I oppose change, it’s just that I am wary of committees making significant recommendations based on the opinions of a select few. And when you have…
Bumpers Up – Rumours, Contracts And Back To Business
Last week I received an interesting response to this column. “Why tell us things in your article what we know already from the paper?” The responder was obviously new to any form of media – mainstream or social. Besides…
Bumpers Up – New Apparel And Corporate Partners Launch Eels Into Preseason
It’s been another big week on the Blue and Gold front. Really, it’s just Eels Fan 101 – you cannot expect a week to go by without some news, good or bad. There’s plenty to discuss – memberships, corporate…
Bumpers Up – Origin Done, Season Done, Pre-Season Arriving
Welcome to the first edition of “Bumpers Up”. Towards the end of the NRL season, I introduced the “Sixties Mind-Trip” column. The goal was to cover a range of topics from the previous week of footy. It was proving a…
The Spotlight – Painting A Roster Change Picture
Over the past month and a half we’ve been inundated by Eels roster news. Departing players were announced, and newly contracted players have been added in relatively quick time. As Eels fans we collectively thank those leaving the club…
Instant Reaction – The NRL Shuts Down
Well shit, where do you start with this one? We always knew it was coming. As each and every single professional sporting competition bent the knee to the rampaging threat of COVID-19, the NRL put on a brave front and…