Five for Sunday 27/4/25

1. During an afternoon watching the NRL on Kayo, I found myself punctuated at every single ad break by at least 2 ads from the same political party in regards to the upcoming election. During one break, there were three ads in a row, back to back to back.  Meanwhile on the other TV, watching the AFL on free to air Channel 7, there was not one political ad. Is this the norm now? All political advertising on streaming services?

2. I for one will be very glad when we get to this point next week. It feels like there is more political ads than ever before, even though I rarely watch free to air TV. I voted last week and yet still have to put up with the ads. Is there still the moratorium on advertising in the days leading up to Saturday? I certainly hope so.

3. Chicken Tikka with noodles instead of rice. It’s a winner.

4. Forward passes not being called, incorrect play the balls called that seem fine but ones that are not seemingly ignored, and the high tackle rule being manipulated by players and overplayed by refs. Magic Round looks like being another beauty for controversy. Can it beat 2021 for that? I’m guessing there will be a lot of conversation over almost every match this weekend over the coming days. 

5. I’ve been watching Graham Kennedy’s Blankety Blanks from 1979 on YouTube over the last couple of weeks. I still laugh at everything. Noel Ferrier, Noelene Brown, Ugly Dave Gray, Stuart Wagstaff. Tony the Moustache Twirler. Peter the Phantom Puller. The dreadful fashions. The horrible answers. Graham’s hardly PC comments. But it’s still great. And no ads. Look it up if you have half an hour to kill. It’s fun.

Five for Friday - 25/4/25

1. Bacon and egg rolls. Still as great an Australian institution as you can imagine. But controversy continues to reign whenever they come up on the menu, at home or eating out. How many slices of bacon is correct? (Two). What kind of roll do you have? (Bigger the better). Can you have cheese on it? (Yes). Can you introduce avocado? (Fuck no!). But basically the argument is about the sauce. Tomato or BBQ? You think the Federal Election is on a knife edge? This question could tip the balance either way. I’m happy with either. But I’ve always been a moderate.

2. Collingwood wins on Anzac Day again. It makes the day so much more enjoyable. 92,000 at the G once again even on a wet arvo. It’s an incredible event. The Pies remain at the top of the ladder, and it’s almost fine to start talking about another premiership. Almost.

3. Anzac Day once again revived the discussion about the best sounding National Anthem, Australia or New Zealand. Once again, hands down, despite invoking the G word, New Zealand’s anthem wins again. Combining indigenous and English, a powerful anthemic sound, this still wins every time you hear it.

4. Today’s three NRL matches provided more forward passes than an NFL match. It is still hard to believe that the bunker can apparently rule on knock ons (not well) but not forward passes. Several tries again featured the forward pass not being seen. It is still a big problem in the game.

5. 20 minutes of conversation after the Melbourne v South’s match on Fox League talking about the Latrell Mitchell high tackle, despite analysing exactly how low he had been in attempting the tackle and yet still hitting the attacking player in the head, failed to mention one thing - he made no attempt at wrapping his arms around the player, it was all shoulder that hit his head. Was this deliberate from all four members on the panel in hoping to help the inevitable suspension verdict coming up? Surely ONE of them noticed that he only went with his left shoulder. It does make you wonder what and where the agendas are sometimes.