Pete Anthonisz

Xerri missing out on a nomination in the AFL's AA squad just further confirms it as an award that deserves little attention. Joins the Brownlow as a misguided and illegitimate representation of year's best players

Just finished S1 of the excellent sci-fi series, The Eternaut. It may fly under the radar in Australia, but it's a great example of an international (in this case, Argentinian) story being told with love and care from those involved. Highly recommended

Feels like every film review I read from The Guardian has the most unnecessarily contrarian takes, to the point where their UK and Australian teams seem to contradict each other in a race to the punchline. I miss David and Margaret

Finally pulled the plug on Spotify in favour of Tidal. Would have done this so much sooner if I knew just how easy it was using Soundiiz to transfer my playlists across quickly and accurately. Looking forward to never again having to deal with intrusive suggestions, AI concerns and dodgy practices

Excellent analysis as always, Ricky. I think your observation regarding the gentle approach from the coaches is spot on. As much as some fans are baying for forced improvement with a stick, it feels a consistent approach from the club this year to foster the players on a slower road

I'm not sure how many times this season North has been harshly dealt with by the umpires, but that deliberate against Hardeman adds to the list #AFLDeesNorth

At what point does the AFL get rid of deliberate out of bounds? It's been horribly adjudicated...again. At least 'last touch' saves fans one more momentary blood pressure spike #AFLNorthDogs

Trust the Brits to make a movie that juxtaposes life and (the celebration of) death, medicine and cult, through the prism of covid-19 and Brexit. 28 Years Later is flush with theme. Also helps that it makes The Last of Us look like the Teletubbies they use to start the film. Kudos Boyle and Garland

Been a big fan of Annahstasia since first hearing Saturday from her EP Surface Tension (big thanks Derrick Gee), but her LP Tether is just pure emotion. Probably the most gorgeous, captivating new voice I've heard. Incredible album, do yourself a favour

There might be a heap of bad stuff happening and never-ending threats to the earth, but at least King Gizz and the Lizard Wiz are still fucking awesome

You're absolutely right. Lazy and/or shit takes is just par for the AFL media now. Completely missed is the games v Ess, Bris and Rich were without Curtis in prev AA form, missing due to a push in the back that almost certainly would have been less severe if committed this week. Could be 5-6 wins

Well in the end, the Cats kicked 7.5 to 0.1 in the last and dusted the Dons by 95. If that was North or WC, they'd be far harsher than calling them a team that "had a crack". North has been labelled "disappointing" every second week by talking heads who clearly aren't watching their games

Said similar earlier to friends: The apologists in Dunstall and Lyon were praising Essendon for having a crack. The latter noting Essendon's ability to kick 3 of the last 4 goals in the 3rd qtr in junk time when 50 down, instead of putting the cue in the rack, spoke to their future qualities

Incredible non-decision with Larkey's tackle on Banfield #AFLNorthFreo

Someone tell the umpires this is our home game. Please direct the 50-50 decisions accordingly #AFLNorthFreo

Bring Her Back is fuelled by anxious nightmares of the best kind and I loved every minute of it. The Philippou brothers are now essential directors, both across Australian and horror filmmaking, and I eagerly await whatever comes

The Murujuga rock art is one of Australia's most priceless heritage sites.

And it's being slowly destroyed.

If Environment Minister Murray Watt approves the 50 year extension to the North West Shelf, it will be a death sentence for Murujuga.

#savemurujuga #auspol @elinorjohnstonleek.bsky.social

Tristian Xerri is my hero #AFLNorthLions

Not sure I've heard a better sounding film than Sinners. The music is obviously incredible, but equally the storytelling through sound added such depth. A must watch!

☝️This

Even Matt Hill is struggling to sound interested by this final quarter, and I've heard him call 3-horse fields over 3300m #AFLGiantsPies

That's twice now with the Crazy Frog, Giants Stadium DJ. And you were warned. #AFLGiantsPies

Without sounding too much like I'm in ageing Millennial territory, I'd much rather sacrifice any music between goals and bounce the pill quicker. 1 minute of Crazy Frog was too much 20 years ago #AFLGiantsPies

Not at all. It's certainly never boring, and it looks and sounds amazing. But having a 15min intermission was incredibly civilised, should be more of it! Felt like the entire audience double dipped at bar

The Geelong player with only half a body is an interesting selection by the Cats given the conditions

Just finished watching The Brutalist. The cinema in Melbourne was a full-house. An incredible film, a modern epic, a possible masterpiece, and rewarded with a buzzing crowd during the credits. More of this please

Approaching the hill, passing the 1200m mark at Caulfield

Nearing the turn at the 600m at Caulfield

In the straight at Caulfield

A sneak peak of the Parade Ring enclosure, taking place in the new (now defunct) mounting yard at Caulfield

Getting a quick run around at Caulfield prior to Blue Diamond Stakes day. Track is in good order with tricky conditions forecast for tomorrow. Many thanks to Sam Bennetts, his staff and the MRC team

7 - Bonjoy - more a victim of finding slowly run races this season, but her BM84+ win in the Celebration of Life showed the numbers that could see her competitive in a Railway Stakes later this year

*Jokers Grin produced a monster figure at Belmont in late July 2024, just missing the season cutoff

Honourable mentions go to:

6 - Bravo Centurion - produced a series of 1000m figures at Belmont, plus winning the RS Crawford and Prince of Wales Stakes at Ascot, all of which were line ball with Western Empire. Would love to see him free-rolling in a race at The Valley or Caulfield

Using the midway point of the season as a chance to take stock and do something a little different (for a generally familiar racing media). I've removed any eastern states raiders: Light Infantry Man obviously won the Northerly, but Admiration Express was arguably the better run, despite the huge SP