FOOTY FOR FREEDOM

WHO IS THE NEXT JOCK McHALE?

(Trigger Warning: In this piece of writing I make the bold assumption that AFL and AFLW football are equally important. Anyone with a fragile ego who disagrees is advised that they might get upset if they continue reading.)

I can only see two viable modern day candidates to be the next Jock McHale.

Both are senior coaches.

Amazingly, both are currently coaching at the same club.

Since I cannot decide which one has the biggest chance of surpassing Jock McHale in terms of career echeivement, I am going to rely on the outdated principle of ladies first to describe my assessment of the AFLW coch before the AFL coach.

A. DARREN CROCKER

If I am not mistaken, there is only one club in VFL/AFL/AFLW/VFLW history (which began in 1897) to have won both seniors and reserves premierships in consecutive years. North Melbourne Football club in 2024-2025. Collingwood did not win a single reserves premiership in any of the years in which Jock McHale coached successive premierships.

So in the most successful club over a two year period category, CROCK IS AHEAD OF JOCK.

In the category of winning premierships in a row at AFL/VFL/AFLW level Jock has a fourpeat and a twopeat whereas Crock, at this stage, only has one twopeat.

But if the very strong North Melbourne AFLW side wins the next two AFLW flags and if Crock is the senior coach in both victories, then Crock will be the only coach in VFL/AFL/AFLW history to equal Jock McHale’s fourpeat.

Not everyone will be quick to give Crock the credit for an acheivement equal to Jock’s.

But I will.

As a man who was a Registered Midwife in the state of Victoria for 3 decades, I state unequivocally that I believe that the only fields of endeavour I can see in which the human rights of men and women are different are A. carrying life in the womb B. giving birth to that life and C. breast feeding babies.

As footballers, men and women have just as much right to recognition for equal achievement. To me it would be patently sexist to say that an AFLW fourpeat in 2024-2027 would not be the equivalent or perhaps even better than Jock’s fourpeat in 1927-1930. (Jock won in a twelve team competition which included three expansion teams, whereas Crock beats out seventeen longer established opposing teams every time he wins a flag.)

B. ALASTAIR CLARKSON

I have already proved on this blog that Alastair Clarkson’s premiership winning achievement’s make him the equal second best coach in AFL/VFL history.

The scores under my new system (click above link for details) for evaluating the success levels of coaches across different eras of AFL/VFL/AFLW history are:

The GOAT is Jock with 84 points.

In equal second are The Red Fox, Norm Smith, and Clarko tied on 66 points.

If Clarko can pull off a flag with his fast improving young side before the Tassie team starts playing, he goes one point behind Jock.

If Clarko wins his fifth flag when Tassie is playing in the AFL, Clarko ties with Jock McHale to be men’s footy’s GOAT at senior coaching.

Will Kane Cornes comment on this on The Agenda Setters before Eddie Maguire enters the debate?

If Kane is first and backs Clarko, will Eddy back Jock the following night on Footy Classified or admit that Kane makes lots of good points?

It is beyond the scope of this small blog of an old marginalised man to host any major part at all of that debate.

But is not beyond the footy community as a whole.

Especially the Grand Final Breakfast.

I hope I am not wrong.

Geoff Fox, May 27, 2026, Melbourne, Australia

IS CLARKO A BETTER COACH THAN THE RED FOX? (I’m backing Clarko.)

This is a list of the men who have coached the most premiership winning teams in VFL/AFL history:

8 – Jock McHale

6 – Norm Smith

5 – Jack Worrall, Checker Hughes

4 – Dick Reynolds, Tom Hafey, Ron Barassi, Allan Jeans, David Parkin, Kevin Sheedy, Leigh Mathews, Alastair Clarkson

According to the above list, Jock McHale is the most successful coach ever and Norn Smith is second best.

This is unfair to modern coaches because it is much harder to win a flag in an 18 team competition than it was to win a flag in the 10 team competititon of 1917 and 1919 (McHale’s first two flags) and the 12 team competition of the rest of McHale’s victories and all of Norm Smith’s victories.

I address this unfairness by allocating one point per non premiership winning team in the competition in each season in which a coach won a premiership.

Under this scoring system the top three coaches of all time are:

84 – Jock McHale

66 – Norm Smith, Alastair Clarkson

This raises two very important questions:

Is Alastair Clarkson already a better coach than Norm Smith was?

Is the talented young list at North Melbourne good enough to make their beloved leader catch up with current GOAT Jock McHale or even go ahead of him in the coming years.

I’m backing Clarko.

Who wants to help?

Geoff Fox, 21st May, 2026, Melbourne, Australia

(I do not know if a bloke as old as I am – 68, turning 69 on Saturday – can become a True Blue Roo, but I want to ……..)

COBRAS KICKING GOALS

Running in …….

Slotting it …….

An annihilation of a top side.

Geoff Fox, 4th April, 2026, Melbourne

WHITE LINE FEVER

White Line Fever is a sporting term that can refer to violence that normally non-violent people can commit when they cross the boundary of a sporting arena.

Violence is something that sadly accompanies human freedom.

Minimising violence is important, but if we eliminate too much freedom to do that, we end up with tyranny.

In sport, as in life, getting the balance right between freedom and discipline is very difficult but essential.

Freedom is glorious.

Especially in footy.

We must reduce violence.

But if we eliminate all excitement we might find ourselves having a lot less fun.

Geoff Fox, 03-03-2026, Wallan, Australia

The photo at the top shows “Captain Blood” Jack Dyer “interacting with opponent Tom Meehan in 1949

Kill It Girls

I love all AFLW clubs (except, perhaps, for Collingwood) but what I saw Melbourne do last Saturday is really special for me. They proved how good AFLW teamplay can be. Today I cannot be anything but a Dee. Here are some highlights:

This rap is the result:

Maggie magic is a password for a goal that broke it open. On the siren kept her eye in and got us going.

Kill it Kill it Kill it Girls/When we push we get more goals/Shaking up the footy world/Kill it girls

No need to watch old cricket when the prelim’s got Gall in it. She grew up in Euroa. Demons know her country spirit. Her opponents got no chance. Georgia chokes her dance.

Look at First ruck Campbell playing the game her dad did. Quick as a flash the ball is out for yet another clearance

Kill It Kill It Kill It Girls. When we push we get more goals. Kill it girls.

Terrific grabs are ours when Ryleigh’s in the house. The crowd can shout out loud for this perseverance.

Crows champ Chelsea Randall thought she had it handled. But Tahlia Gillard’s run down made her put her guns down.

Pace and nerve craft and verve the will to do the work: gotta back in Blaithin Mackin keeping us on course.

All Aussie Captain Kate she’s dope she’s boss she’s great. Her goals her shirks her passes are making us a force.

Kill it Kill it Kill It Girls. When you push you get more goals. Kill It Girls

I am a 68 year old bloke on Australia’s social scrapheap without the ability this week to put the above words and film together.

Apologies to all people (especially Harriette Cordner) from non Collingwood Clubs because I cannot do more of this for you. Apologies for Melbourne people because I cannot even finish this one properly. I do this on my own ……….

BUT ……….. Go Dees !!!!!!!!!

As Ned is sometimes said to have said, “Such Is Life.”

Geoff Fox, November 19, 2025, West Footscray, Australia

above words and film copyright Geoff Fox 2025

Football And Morality.

I have been watching our sport of Australian Rules football since 1945, when I attended the famous Bloodbath Grand Final as an innocent nine-year-old. What I love about the game is the high marking , the precision kicking and the speed with which the ball transitions from the back to the forwards.

I support 17 games in both the AFL and AFLW as the best number of regular season games. (When and if a Tasmanian team joins the AFL, the figure 17 should be increased to 18.)

Every team should play every other team once. That’s the fairest and most sporting way.

I agree with my occasional fellow congregant Geoff Fox that “Fairness is fundamental to every effective social action we take and every social institution we wish to maintain. Do as you would be done by.”

But I suggest a modification to Geoff’s idea of 17 AFLW games in 2026 to a slower phasing in with 15 games in 2026 and 17 games in 2027.

Bill Uren, moral philosopher and scholar, Newman College. The 17th of November, 2025

REDEFINING THE DEES AS THE BEST GENDER PARITY FOOTY CLUB IN AUSTRALIA

DEAR MICK STINEAR AND PLAYERS,

Does this rewrite of It’s A Grand Old Flag represent what you stand for? Would you sing it?

“Its a home grown game. Its a great Aussie game

with fairness for me and for you.

And the fairness of this game we love

is famed in the red and the blue.

Every hearts beats true for the red and the blue.

We sing this song to you:

no gender gap is what we want !!!!

Keep your eyes on the red and the blue.”

Geoff Fox, Novmeber 17, 2026, West Footscray, Australia. former Registered Midwife (educated in Herston)

Human Rights Of Female Players Violated By A 12-Game AFLW Season

The following is a list of those human rights – as articulated in the UnIversal Declaration Of Human Rights – which I believe are violated when the AFLW has a 12 game season and the AFL has a 23 game season.

ARTICLE 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

ARTICLE 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as ……. sex …….

ARTICLE 5. No one shall be subjected to ……. degrading treatment …….

ARTICLE 23. Everyone has the right to work ……. (AND) to just and favourable conditions of work …….

I am also deeply concerned that any female footballer or many female footballers, who wish to complain about the above, will be prevented from doing so, thus violating:

ARTICLE 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media …….

Geoff Fox, November 9, 2025, Melbourne, Australia