“I can imagine it has been a real challenge for them. I implore them to stick [with it]. It will be OK. As long as we take the lessons that we have learned through this time, and take it forward, we are going to be better for what has happened this year and their support has been amazing,” Cotchin said.
“We hear it loud and clear week in, week out not just in grand final week but throughout the season.”
Cotchin admitted he came close to giving the game away before their run of success but was glad he remained and that he had seen such growth in the group through the tumultuous season as they adopted a motto similar to the one outlined in the Do Your Job documentaries that focus on the New England Patriots.
He said to turn back-to-back flags into a three-peat was possible if they set their minds to securing another flag, having ticked off the club’s ambitious goals with their third premiership.
“To say that we have ticked them off is pretty incredible to say the very least but I know with the hunger we have, as a group but also has a football club, we’ll be looking at ways we can get better and stay on this journey,” Cotchin said.
Photos of the 14 victims killed in a 2015 terror attack in San Bernardino, Calif. (AP Photo/Stefanie Dazio)
OAN Newsroom UPDATED 12:55 PM PT – Saturday, October 24, 2020
On Friday, a California U.S. attorney’s office sentenced 28-year-old Enrique Marquez Jr. to 20-years in federal prison.
Marquez was reportedly an active member of the 2015 attack on the ‘Inland Regional Center’ which resulted in the killing of 14 people. He had purchased the two rifles used in the mass shooting.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Kristi K. Johnson of the Central California District’s national security division, right, talks to reporters. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Marquez has pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide support and resources to terrorists as well as making false statements regarding the acquisition of the weapons.
Once he completes his sentence, Marquez will be on supervised release for 15 years.
Traffic passes by Mexico’s first Woolworth store, still in operation, in Mexico City, on Thursday, … [+] July 16, 2015. Photographer: Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg
For over a century, Woolworth’s was a staple in downtown shopping districts, large and small, across the United States. Woolworth’s catered to shoppers of all ages and offered affordably-priced merchandise, from bobby pins to canaries. At the time of its centennial celebration, the company operated 4000 stores in the United States and abroad. However, time caught up with Woolworth’s and its final US locations closed in 1997. But the Woolworth name is still alive in Mexico and its “red-front” stores still serve and satisfy a loyal customer base.
Woolworth’s was known for its Halloween costumes designed by Ben Cooper, Inc. The inexpensive … [+] costumes are now highly collectible.
FWW ARCHIVE
After several failed attempts, Frank Winfield Woolworth opened his first successful store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania back in 1879. Woolworth perfected the 5&10 business model and aggressively expanded his expire. He priced all merchandise at either five or ten cents, a pricing policy that the company adopted for over 50 years. The Woolworth company raised the limit to twenty cents in 1932 but abandoned the policy entirely three years later.
By 1927, the company operated over 1800 stores throughout the United States, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Cuba, and Germany. British Woolworth’s were known as “three-and-sixpense” stores while German locations featured a “25-&-50 phenning” pricing structure.
A 1956 image of Mexico’s first Woolworth store, located in Mexico City.
FWW ARCHIVE
But Woolworth’s didn’t arrive in Mexico until April 1956. The retailer boasted, “Most Mexican housewives will agree that if there’s one thing Mexico needed, it was a 5 and 10.” Woolworth claimed that it introduced packaged hair nets, carded buttons, and lipstick to Mexican shoppers. The retailer promised that customers would be unable to tell the difference between its stores in Mexico and the United States.
The original store, located in the heart of Mexico City on the Av. de los Insurgentes, has remained in operation for over six decades. The signature Woolworth font still graces the building’s exterior.
Today’s Woolworth stores in Mexico are larger in size than their former American counterparts. The multi-level locations have transitioned from traditional 5&10 stores to popularly-priced department stores.
A Woolworth online advertisement in October 2020 promotes a line of Halloween merchandise.
GCC
In the US, Halloween was Woolworth’s biggest holiday in terms of net sales and variety of merchandise. Well-known as a source of decorations and costumes, Woolworth stores provide merchandise for the holiday tradition known as Día de los Muertos [Day of the Dead]. The three-day festival pays respect to deceased family members with numerous public celebrations and cultural customs. Woolworth stores feature aisles of toys and candies shaped like skeletons, coffins, and skulls, along with festive paper wreaths, candles, and decorations.
Woolworth and Del Sol stores feature an exclusive Barbie Día de los Muertos doll for 2020.
GCC
In recent years, Halloween has also become popular in Mexico, especially in the urban areas. Woolworth stores currently feature face masks, costumes, and M&Ms, alongside the classic Día de los Muertos merchandise.
As American shoppers abandoned downtowns and favored shopping malls and big-box stores, Woolworth could no longer effectively compete. By the end of 1997, Woolworth closed its final 400 US stores and sold off all remaining foreign investments that carried the Woolworth banner. In addition, F. W. Woolworth Co. sold its interest in the Mexico stores to Grupo Comercial Control, the operator of one of its largest competitors, Del Sol. Woolworth wanted out of the variety store industry.
The exterior of the F.W. Woolworth store on New York’s 34th Street is shown slightly before its … [+] closure. (Photo by James Leynse/Corbis via Getty Images)
Corbis via Getty Images
Grupo Comercial Control currently operates 36 Woolworth stores in 25 cities, in addition to 78 Del Sol units and several Mexican restaurant chains. The corporation does not release many public details regarding its sales, profits, and structure. Recent reports indicate that the stores enjoy an annual sale increase of approximately 5%. Despite numerous attempts, Grupo Comercial Control did not supply a comment for this report.
Mexico’s Foreign Investment Law, enacted in 1973, prevented Woolworth, as an American corporation, to effectively infiltrate the Mexican retail market. It wasn’t until July, 1981 that the company was able to sell off 51% of its interest to a group of Mexican nationals in order to expand the business.
Throughout most of its 118-year tenure, Woolworth was regarded as part dime store, part diner. As such, it was the world’s largest restaurant operation up through the 1980s. But its Mexico stores abandoned the lunch counters and in-store dining rooms decades ago. They have been replaced by small dulcerías that offer popcorn, nachos, and Icee frozen drinks.
An image of the Tijuana, Mexico Woolworth from the early 1970s.
ML
The Woolworth name still exists on storefronts outside of Mexico. But the Woolworth stores found in Australia, South Africa, Kenya, and throughout the Caribbean never had a connection with the American operation. These retailers assumed the rights to the Woolworth name long before the F. W. Woolworth Co. expressed interest in expansion to these countries. Only the currently-operating German Woolworth stores are offshoots of the former F. W. Woolworth firm. Woolworth sold off its British interests back in 1982.
The interior of a Mexico City Woolworth store is shown in the mid 1960s.
FWW ARCHIVE
Could the traditional Woolworth variety store successfully return and effectively compete in today’s retail environment in America? If not, why not? Stores like Dollar General DG and Family Dollar carry a wide assortment of value-priced goods that mimic the offerings of the former Woolworth stores. Walgreen’s WBA , Rite Ai RAD d, and CVS sell merchandise from sundries to small appliances that Woolworth stores once championed. But none of these businesses can provide the sense of routine and stability of the former American Woolworth’s. From its luncheonettes to its family-oriented appeal, Woolworth played an important role, both commercially and socially.
By contrast, Woolworth stores in Mexico have evolved over time and have found their place and purpose. They have set the standard for competitive pricing and expanded merchandise offerings, and these larger stores continue to thrive. It took a Mexican company to take an American icon into the 21st century.
A special thanks to Carlos Castellar for his assistance with this post.
And as senior counsel assisting said in the final hearings of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Royal Commission last week, it is “the most in-depth and thorough examination of Australia’s aged care systems that has ever been undertaken”.
The QCs have presented more than 120 recommendations detailing massive reform, including a new Aged Care Act; a star rating system allowing families to compare nursing homes for quality and safety that would also show any reports of abuse and neglect; and new staffing requirements with more nurses and specialist care for dementia and palliative patients.
Of course, none of these recommendations are guaranteed to be taken up by commissioners Tony Pagone and Lynelle Briggs for their final report.
But the reforms include many of the issues the ABC has also investigated over the past two-and-a-half years, from the time we launched our crowdsourced investigation in April 2018 asking families, staff and insiders to share their experiences with us.
It is difficult to see neglect in action, but that’s exactly what happened when one family gave us two weeks of hidden camera footage showing life at Sydney nursing home Carino Care for 80-year-old Luigi Cantali — a blind Italian man with mild dementia.
We watched three days in his life, revealing how he was left in his chair or bed all day wearing soiled incontinence pads and clothes; how he went hungry when his meal was left out of reach and the hours left alone because staff members rarely came to assist him.
The day after our story aired, the regulator, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, found the home failed more than half the required standards, saying there were not enough skilled staff and recording that residents had “died in pain and distress”.
A lack of staffing ratios and not enough trained staff are two of the consistent themes running through all the royal commission hearings.
That is because there are no staff-to-resident ratios, no requirement for a registered nurse to be on duty, and no standard minimum training for carers who are unregulated.
But that could all change if counsel assisting’s recommendations are accepted by the commissioners.
Staff-to-resident ratios haven’t been proposed, however, the suggested solution is a mix of more qualified staff including registered nurses, enrolled nurse and personal care workers with proper qualifications working a mandated number of hours.
The hidden camera showed blind man Luigi Cantali’s dinner was left out of reach.(Supplied)
They suggested a registered nurse on duty 24/7 with residents receiving more than three hours direct care per day from a mix of staff, better pay for workers, and more accountability from providers who would have to provide quarterly reports on staffing.
This recommendation along with a system rating nursing homes on the My Aged Care website would allow families to make better decisions when choosing care.
Regarding our story on Luigi — he died six days after the family moved him out of Carino Care.
The Quality and Safety Commission hasn’t done a full audit of Carino Care for over a year because of COVID-19.
In its last full audit in October 2019, the regulator found it posed a “serious risk” to residents, failing over 40 per cent of standards, with subsequent inspections finding it is still non compliant, yet the nursing home remains fully accredited until the end of this year.
Carino Care is owned by parent company Tierra Health, a consultancy firm advising other aged care homes on how to meet quality and safety standards.
Sexual assault: 50 assaults per week
Dorothy Major was sexually assaulted by a nurse in her room at an aged care facility.(ABC News: Brendan Esposito)
Sexual assault in aged care is more common than anyone wants to believe.
And the worker who sexually abused an elderly woman but escaped any action because she wasn’t believed.
In the final hearings, the royal commission revealed a never-before-seen government-commissioned report that estimated there are 50 sexual assaults per week — the vast majority perpetrated by other residents with dementia and cognitive disabilities.
Under current regulations, there is no requirement to report or register those attacks by impaired residents.
“This is a national shame,” Mr Rozen told the inquiry.
“As disturbing as these figures are, the evidence of the lack of follow-up by the Australian Government department that receives the reports is, if anything, worse.”
However, the issue of sexual abuse was a glaring omission at the hearings.
No victims or families of victims gave evidence, and the issue was not examined in any detail — something that has angered grassroots aged care advocates and support groups who have been dealing with the fallout for years.
However, the counsel assisting has recommended a new “serious incident reporting scheme” that would require nursing homes and home care providers to report all physical and sexual abuse perpetrated by staff as well as residents — including when the allegations involve a perpetrator with dementia.
And there could be more transparency, with a proposed new regulator required to publish a record of the assaults every quarter, showing which providers and individual nursing homes have had assaults on their properties.
Aged care providers would also have to prove what action they had taken and have those measures approved by the regulator.
Dementia care: The hidden camera tells a troubling story
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Ernie’s family put a secret camera in his room to find out why his pyjamas were regularly torn.(Supplied)
Over half the residents in aged care have dementia — and that’s a conservative estimate.
Yet, personal care workers — who do the crucial work of showering, feeding and mobilising the elderly — don’t require any training in the often complex task of helping people who suffer from cognitive decline.
Unable to speak, the 85-year-old couldn’t explain why his pyjamas were ripped and in need of replacing so his family installed a camera in his clock radio and discovered it was due to “rough handling” by carers — a term used to describe rough treatment and incorrect techniques.
The camera showed much more than that — carers who looked after the man every day but didn’t speak to him, didn’t warn him when they were moving him, who watched TV and talked to each other as if he wasn’t there.
This lack of knowledge in dealing with people with dementia is the reason counsel assisting has proposed compulsory training in dementia care (and palliative care) for every single aged care worker; reviewing training courses to ensure appropriate education on dementia training; and a register for personal care workers (who are currently unregulated), which would mean mistreatment could see them struck off rather than allowed to move between nursing homes.
Following our story, lawyers for Bupa viewed all the hidden camera footage and said it “seemed likely” that other residents with dementia were treated in the same way as Mr Poloni and undertook to retrain staff in “person centred care”.
Ultimately, Bupa concluded that the care was adequate “but could have been undertaken in a better fashion” and did not see any need to report staff to the regulator.
The Quality and Safety Commission has not done a full audit at Templestowe since August 2019.
Chemical and physical restraint: Dad ‘never came back 100 per cent’
Terry Reeves on his first day in the home and seven weeks later.(Supplied)
The overuse of physical and chemical restraints has been described as a human rights abuse with the Australian Law Reform Commission making recommendations to stop it six years ago — reforms that were ignored by Government.
In January 2019, the issue came up again after we broadcast video footage of Terry Reeves, a man with dementia who was regularly tied to his chair with a lap belt — sometimes for a total of 14 hours a day — and heavily sedated with the anti-psychotic Risperidone.
His daughter Michelle McCulla gave evidence at the royal commission of other residents with dementia who were kept in a small room, strapped to their chairs like her father.
At the time, Garden View nursing home had a 100 per cent score from the regulator, the Quality and Safety Commission, but when it visited after our story, the nursing home failed over 75 per cent of standards.
The royal commission has already found elderly people are subjected to “unjustified clinical and physical restraints”.
In its final hearings last week, counsel assisting recommended new, stricter regulations and proposes that GPs no longer prescribe powerful antipsychotics unless a geriatrician or psychiatrist has consulted the resident and approved a prescription.
That’s likely because evidence shows GPs are often pressured by staff to prescribe such medication due to low staffing levels and a lack of dementia training.
Counsel assisting says civil suits could be laid against providers who breach these rules, which has angered advocates who say criminal charges should be laid instead due to the obstacles and cost of taking civil legal action against big providers.
As for our story on Mr Reeves — he died in August with his family saying: “He never came back 100 per cent.”
The Quality and Safety Commission found Garden View nursing home met all standards in October last year but has not conducted a full audit since then, with the home accredited until May next year due to the “exceptional circumstances” of COVID-19.
Home care: Endless waiting lists and high fees
Evelyn Micallef’s daughter and son-in-law care for her at home.(ABC News)
The home care waiting list has more than 100,000 people on it, with people waiting a year or more.
With COVID-19 causing indefinite restrictions on visits to nursing homes, home care is the preference for many elderly Australians and their families.
For that reason, counsel assisting proposes clearing the waiting list by the end of next year — a reform that will cost many billions of dollars.
And they suggest the disparity in funding of home care and residential care should end, with those staying at home given the same maximum amount of funding as if they were in a nursing home, which equates to about $60,000 a year.
However, counsel assisting shied away from the thorny issue of uncapped administration fees charged by home care providers, something we investigated last month.
Our story showed that the elderly had a large proportion of their home care subsidy taken in fees by home care providers.
Instead, counsel assisting is proposing standardised statements showing the monthly amount of money paid out and including fees and charges with consultants to assist in guiding aged Australians.
The final report to come in February
Many of the proposed reforms hinge on a new Aged Care Act to replace the one created by John Howard’s government in 1997, which opened aged care up to private enterprise and led to less staff, a deskilled workforce and a regulator that has been more about cutting red tape than investigating mistreatment and protecting the elderly.
Crucially, counsel assisting wants a new independent commission as the regulator, removed from any Federal Government influence.
It’s this reform that led to the highly unusual and public disagreement between the two commissioners last week, with Lynelle Briggs, a former Public Services Commissioner, labelling the proposal “extraordinary” and arguing in favour of maintaining the current regulator, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, despite overwhelming evidence of its failures especially during the COVID outbreaks.
She says the commission could be bolstered to become the “tough cop on the beat” and a “one stop shop” — phrases used by Health Minister Greg Hunt when he announced the establishment of the Quality and Safety Commissioner in 2018.
Commissioner Tony Pagone, a former Federal Court judge, directly opposed her, lending support to the new proposal.
With no tie breaker on this one, we now have to wait until the final report in February next year to see which of the commissioners wins out and whether the aged care system really will be rebuilt again from the ground up.
community, goulburn-post-150th-anniversary, Goulburn, Goulburn Evening Penny Post, 1920, centenary edition, Steve Wilson, Norman Wilson, bandmaster
It wasn’t until recent years that Goulburn man Steve Wilson resurrected a rare piece of local history. He carefully pulled out an October 25, 1920 centenary edition of the Goulburn Evening Penny Post from a drawer, reflecting on its significance to his family. Mr Wilson’s paternal grandfather, Norman, worked as a compositor and linotypist at The Post when the edition was published. “It’s a family heirloom,” he said of the publication. “We’re very proud of it because we’ve been around Goulburn for six generations.” READ MORE: First editor campaigned for The Post in more ways than one Old newspapers provide rich pickings for history buffs The publication, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the city’s ‘foundation’, carried accounts of early exploration, settlement, church and other building construction, the Towrang Stockade, the famous Rossi dispute at Saint Saviour’s Cathedral and a ‘resident’s reminiscences.’ There were also ‘interesting facts’ about Goulburn ‘then and now’; the city’s population stood at 11,000 in contrast to 655 in 1841, and the jail housed 353 prisoners. Inside, a small article appears on the “Penny Post’s jubilee.” “It is not the habit of The Post to boast but on our 50th birthday we may be pardoned for saying that from its first issue The Post has never looked back and each week sees its circulation increase,” the article states. The edition is filled with historic photos of Auburn Street and landmark buildings like Conolly’s Mill and the Mechanics Institute. Mr Wilson said his grandfather kept the publication that he helped produce. It was passed down to his father, Keith, a former Goulburn High School teacher, and then himself, who also taught at the institution. ALSO READ: NSW Governor visits Goulburn 200 years after Macquarie Norman James Wilson was born in Newtown in 1890 but his family moved to Goulburn when he was young and lived at 22 Auburn Street, on ‘Wheatley’s Hill.’ “He would have joined the newspaper straight out of school,” Mr Wilson said. “He didn’t talk much about his days at The Post because he was more into music.” Norman was a bandmaster in the city’s Municipal Band. He held the same role in the Australian Light Horse band and as such, did not have to enlist in World War One. “He was a big man and he mainly played the trombone and euphonium. But he also played cornet and trumpet and performed in Lieder Theatre musicals,” Mr Wilson said. “I can remember him sitting at the kitchen table scoring music for different instruments. My father did it too.” Norman had married Ivy Tevelien in Goulburn in 1917. He worked at the newspaper until 1954 when the family left for Sydney. By this time he had twice won ‘Freedom of the City’ for his contribution to Lilac Time, an August 30 Post article stated. ALSO READ: “We made it this far; we can make it all the way through!” – Goulburn businesses are ‘cautiously optimistic’ On his departure, Mayor Gerathy gave him a letter “under seal” thanking him for his contribution to the city’s musical life and for his charitable work. In the early 1920s, like many others, he had helped build the Rocky Hill War Memorial. “I greatly regret his departure and feel sure all aldermen will feel the same way,” the Mayor said. Norman worked as a linotypist for The Manly Daily for 10 years before the family returned to Goulburn. He retired at age 70 and died here in 1981. Mr Wilson said he was proud of his grandfather and his association with the newspaper. “I’ve always been a big fan of Goulburn and its rich history,” he said. Did you know the Goulburn Post is now offering breaking news alerts and a weekly email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up here.
It wasn’t until recent years that Goulburn man Steve Wilson resurrected a rare piece of local history.
He carefully pulled out an October 25, 1920 centenary edition of the Goulburn Evening Penny Post from a drawer, reflecting on its significance to his family.
Mr Wilson’s paternal grandfather, Norman, worked as a compositor and linotypist at The Post when the edition was published.
“It’s a family heirloom,” he said of the publication.
“We’re very proud of it because we’ve been around Goulburn for six generations.”
The publication, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the city’s ‘foundation’, carried accounts of early exploration, settlement, church and other building construction, the Towrang Stockade, the famous Rossi dispute at Saint Saviour’s Cathedral and a ‘resident’s reminiscences.’ There were also ‘interesting facts’ about Goulburn ‘then and now’; the city’s population stood at 11,000 in contrast to 655 in 1841, and the jail housed 353 prisoners.
Inside, a small article appears on the “Penny Post’s jubilee.”
“It is not the habit of The Post to boast but on our 50th birthday we may be pardoned for saying that from its first issue The Post has never looked back and each week sees its circulation increase,” the article states.
The edition is filled with historic photos of Auburn Street and landmark buildings like Conolly’s Mill and the Mechanics Institute.
Mr Wilson said his grandfather kept the publication that he helped produce. It was passed down to his father, Keith, a former Goulburn High School teacher, and then himself, who also taught at the institution.
Norman James Wilson was born in Newtown in 1890 but his family moved to Goulburn when he was young and lived at 22 Auburn Street, on ‘Wheatley’s Hill.’
“He would have joined the newspaper straight out of school,” Mr Wilson said.
“He didn’t talk much about his days at The Post because he was more into music.”
MUSIC MEN: Norm Wilson (left) was not just a compositor at The Gouburn Evening Penny Post but also a talented musician who was bandmaster in the city’s municipal and military bands. He is pictured here with equally talented son, Keith, who taught at Goulburn High School for many years. Photo supplied.
Norman was a bandmaster in the city’s Municipal Band. He held the same role in the Australian Light Horse band and as such, did not have to enlist in World War One.
“He was a big man and he mainly played the trombone and euphonium. But he also played cornet and trumpet and performed in Lieder Theatre musicals,” Mr Wilson said.
“I can remember him sitting at the kitchen table scoring music for different instruments. My father did it too.”
Norman had married Ivy Tevelien in Goulburn in 1917. He worked at the newspaper until 1954 when the family left for Sydney. By this time he had twice won ‘Freedom of the City’ for his contribution to Lilac Time, an August 30 Post article stated.
On his departure, Mayor Gerathy gave him a letter “under seal” thanking him for his contribution to the city’s musical life and for his charitable work. In the early 1920s, like many others, he had helped build the Rocky Hill War Memorial.
“I greatly regret his departure and feel sure all aldermen will feel the same way,” the Mayor said.
Norman worked as a linotypist for The Manly Daily for 10 years before the family returned to Goulburn. He retired at age 70 and died here in 1981.
Mr Wilson said he was proud of his grandfather and his association with the newspaper.
“I’ve always been a big fan of Goulburn and its rich history,” he said.
The Goulburn Post is marking its 150th anniversary with a special commemorative edition on Wednesday, October 28.
While you’re with us…
Did you know the Goulburn Post is now offering breaking news alerts and a weekly email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up here.
In life, finishing in the top 10 or 20 per cent of people or teams is something to be proud of, but in the cutthroat world of sport it often isn’t enough unless there’s a flag as well.
It’s hard to build a contender that can stay in the window for any extended period of time. Geelong has done so, but might be getting to the end of its current stretch (at least without reinforcements).
Not only have the Cats fielded the four oldest teams on record this October, but their most important players are at the older end of the scale.
But Geelong have also had an extended run of great teams, including four top-four finishes on the home and away ladder in the past five years.
Most will point to the fact that those Cats sides won a total of three finals in the previous four years. Many will say that not winning a grand final would mean that the period has been a waste.
For Geelong coach Chris Scott and his charges, Saturday night presents the perfect opportunity to quash that opinion once and for all, and leap that final hurdle.
A solid foundation
There are plenty of different ways to build teams. Some start with the engine room, those who win the ball and keep it away from their opponents. Others look at strike power up forward.
Geelong, in their most recent era, have built from a solid foundation. Despite the acclaim and accolades thrown to their midfielders and forwards, it is a nullifying defensive bedrock that drives the Cats’ success.
There are only two former All Australians in the Geelong back line, and one of them — Harry Taylor — last made the AA side in 2011. Despite this, they have effectively coalesced as a group that stops other teams before they can get going.
The side also ranks near the top for avoiding contested one-on-one losses. Even when teams can isolate them, they usually hold strong.
The component parts of the defence are largely built from alternative pathways — Taylor is the only top 20 selection in the group. Tom Stewart, the other All Australian, was a mature-age national draft pick-up who has thrived at AFL level. The others range from rookies (Jack Henry) to those delisted (Lachie Henderson), and all stops in between.
The Cats also generate real scoring opportunities from the back half — with over 40 per cent of their goals from chains starting in the back half so far in the finals. By contrast, Richmond have only managed 25 per cent of goals from the same starting spot.
It doesn’t matter how you get there, it’s about how you work together.
This applies further up the ground as well — no side allows fewer uncontested possessions than the Cats do to their opponents.
The Cats prioritise denying opponents the ability to get clear ball through the middle of the ground, or finding overlaps in the corridor. If the Cats can control possession in the middle, they will be solidly on track.
They’re good in the air
While a fair chunk of the game of football is played beneath shoulder height, a lot of the important stuff — and the highlights — happen above the head. While you can’t kick a goal from above your shoulders, it’s often how you gain those shots on goal.
With the forward press, third players up and the modern tactical game, there’s a premium on both being able to retain possession and gain meaningful territory at the same time. Some sides, such as Richmond, are more than willing to chance the run and carry.
When push comes to shove, Geelong are the modern definition of the ‘mark first’ team. No side takes more marks generally than the Cats, and they do the best to honour the leads of their teammates. Geelong games feature fewer contested marks than games involving any other team except Greater Western Sydney.
Instead of always bombing it on the heads of their teammates, they find space that few other teams can. Users of the ball like Gary Ablett Jr, Sam Menegola, Mitch Duncan, Zach Tuohy and even the riskier Patrick Dangerfield can be relied upon to weight kicks to the advantage of teammates.
No team gets more marks on lead than the Cats, or denies the opposition opportunities to do the same.
The Cats also dominate marks where it matters most — inside 50, both for and against. Geelong has the best mark inside 50 differential this year. Having the best one-on-one mark and leading marker in the league helps.
Not only can they find targets inside 50, they can also deny opposition sides good opportunities.
Part of this is the Cats generally have a size advantage over most sides. They will likely walk into the grand final with a three-centimetre and three-kilogram edge, on average, over the Tigers.
Occasionally, this aerial and territory focus allows sides with solid ground pressure to capitalise inside 50, because they’re only average at preventing ground ball gathers in defence.
When a team runs a spoil-heavy defence, with fewer intercept marks, it leaves the door ajar for sides to create scoring opportunities. While the Tigers have shied away from the ground ball inside 50 in recent years, it may present a real path to goal for the Tigers.
The clock is ticking
The old adage in football is that you need to lose a big final before you win one. In recent years that has taken a bit of a beating, with the Bulldogs and then Richmond crashing through with little opportunity for failure prior.
For those who have a setback, there’s always hope, and things you can learn from. The Cats have the memory of a loss to the Tigers, not only 12 months ago in the preliminary final, but also a tough loss five games ago. On paper, the Cats competed well enough to win — and had Tom Hawkins converted in the fourth quarter to close within 10 points, they may have been a shot.
Instead, the Tigers went the other way and sealed the game.
Eventually, the veteran talent will leave Kardinia Park, and the premiership window will shut. At least for this litter of Cats.
With the great Gary Ablett Jr fronting up for his final game, and stars of the last generation of the Cats’ premiership era such as Selwood, Taylor and Hawkins closer to the end of their career than their start, Saturday might represent the best — and last — chance to hoist the Premiership Cup.
The 4G mobile network’s 100 Mbps service coverage extended to 18% of Finland’s land area by the end of June 2020. As such, coverage had increased by two percentage points in the last six months. In ideal conditions, download speeds of 100 Mbps were available to slightly over 93% of all households. In contrast, no significant changes occurred in 30 Mbps and 300 Mbps service coverage during the first six months of the year.*
100 Mbps mobile service coverage extended to 57% of Finnish main roads and highways, with the total coverage of all road classes being 41%. Rail network coverage was 58%.
The speed-category-specific coverages of the mobile network represent availability in ideal conditions. They do not account for network congestion or structural and geographical obstacles.
A man who tried to kill his ex-wife by dousing her with drain cleaner in a shopping centre chase has been jailed for 12½ years in what a Hong Kong judge described as one of the most serious cases of its kind.The High Court heard Chow King-man, 71, attacked Cheung Shing-fa, 50, out of blind jealousy on June 13 last year, after she started a new relationship as their marriage had fallen apart following a downturn in his renovation business that led to his bankruptcy.Pre-sentencing reports…
A man with a history of domestic violence who set fire to a bedroom his partner was lying down in, causing burns to almost a third of her body, has been sentenced to six years behind bars.
Key points:
The court heard the pair argued after running into the woman’s ex-boyfriend
Mongoo was motivated by “revenge and anger” when he started the fire
He will have to serve at least four years in jail before he can be released
The District Court heard Earl Norman Mongoo, 52, lit the fire in the Midvale home in Perth’s east in June 2019, following an argument with the woman after they ran into her ex-boyfriend at an op shop.
When the pair arrived home Mongoo discovered the woman had cut up some of his clothes.
In what his lawyer described as “tit for tat”, he went outside to get a five-litre can of fuel which he then poured around the bedroom as his partner laid on the bed.
He then set the fuel alight.
The court was told that when he left he also threw a Molotov cocktail on the house.
The victim ran screaming from the bedroom, receiving burns to her face, neck, trunk and arms.
She jumped onto the couch to smother the flames before running outside to run her wounds under water.
‘No-one can be safe in a relationship with you’
Judge David MacLean said Mongoo was motivated by revenge and anger and it was clear his intention was to cause as much damage as he could.
The defence presented a letter from the victim which was said to show the woman had forgiven Mongoo.
However Judge MacLean said the rekindling of the relationship did not reflect well on Mongoo.
“To continue a relationship with someone who you injured so egregiously, that is a surprising and selfish view to take,” he said.
“It seems to me no-one can be safe in a relationship with you.”
Mongoo has a history of domestic violence.(Facebook: Earl Mongoo)
Judge MacLean said the sentence imposed on Mongoo needed to deter him from committing further crimes against his partner, and to protect the community.
However he accepted Mongoo had pleaded guilty at an early opportunity, saving the victim from having to testify at trial.
Mongoo will have to serve four years before he can be released.
With time already served, he will stay in jail until at least June 2023.
Guthrie’s desire to compete in a grand final has burned within for close to a decade. He was an emergency in 2011 when the Cats last reached the decider and won the flag.
Before the win over the Brisbane Lions, he had been involved in three preliminary final losses – he missed 2017 through injury – so the emotion that overflowed when he sat down with his younger brother (and teammate) Zach sprang from deep within.
Guthrie, pictured here playing against the Saints in round one, 2011, missed out on playing in the Cats’ premiership that year.Credit:Sebastian Costanzo
“It kind of hit me in the rooms. After all this time. It’s my 10th season and I have a chance to compete in a grand final,” Guthrie said.
“I think that has been a bit of a driving factor throughout my career, to be close to playing in a grand final but not getting a chance …”
His mum Suzanne Guthrie suspects the competitive fire within her son was lit when the family attended the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Guthrie is not so sure what exactly sparked both his love of sport and his competitive instinct (having three brothers probably helped) but his memory of the long jump final in Sydney when Australia’s Jai Taurima won silver behind Cuba’s Ivan Pedroso in front of 112,000 people remains strong.
“That was probably one of the best experiences I have had in my lifetime,” Guthrie said.
“It’s hard to say whether it sparked anything but it’s definitely an interest of mine, elite sport and elite processes and how people get to where they are and what they do to set themselves up to be the best at what they can do.
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“When we play GWS and I am staying [in the Olympic precinct] I like the whole feel of that stadium and the history of it.”
The Guthrie river runs deep and his mind ticks away constantly under the unruly mop of hair.
He admits he often likes to connect what he has learned in the past with the experiences he has now.
Literally this time last year he made the trip to a Viking museum in Norway (he denies it influenced his hairstyle) while travelling through Scandinavia and found time to train and chat to people playing AFL in Sweden and Denmark.
Such was his openness, a few people from that trip have already messaged him this week to wish him well for the grand final. Guthrie respects their efforts, describing the goalposts in Stockholm – made from trees found in the nearby woods – as an indication of “some of the pretty cool steps they have taken to drive the game” in foreign territory.
He doesn’t mind mixing with whoever, whenever, having taken a job at the Cold Rock Ice Cream franchise in Belmont, 500 metres from GMHBA Stadium in 2014 while playing for the Cats and studying. He didn’t have to work, but he wanted the job.
“I kind of see myself as just a regular person. I know what we do is in the public eye a little bit and in the spotlight but in the end I just want to experience what every life has to offer,” Guthrie said.
“It would be a little bit of a boring life if I spent my whole early adulthood at a footy club and not getting out there and seeing what else the world has to offer. That was the mindset behind that.”
Other parts of his mind are harder to explain, such as the fact he can instantly tell someone the number of letters in a word or sentence as soon as he sees it.
“I don’t know what goes through my mind sometimes. I must just get bored easily, but if there is a street sign or a sentence I will add up all the letters in the word or the sentence,” Guthrie said.
“I don’t know why I do it. I just do it for myself. It’s a bit weird, I know.”
That such a habit is a little unusual is what makes him so normal, a person who marches to the beat of his own drum and has understood the importance of family and friends from a young age as he watched his mum, who will be at the Gabba on the weekend, battle breast cancer.
“That all happened when I was in early high school,” Guthrie said.
“To see the way she approached that at a time in her life that was a little intense and pretty scary … she was always thinking of herself as a mother first and foremost.
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“She is that kind of person and if I can take some of those skills and apply them to the people around me and they can think of me that way I would be absolutely stoked.”
It’s part of the reason why he goes into Saturday’s game with a motivation that extends beyond himself and also why he is such a down to earth character, respected in the local community.
“I want to achieve some success and have a premiership next to my name up on the wall at Geelong. I am keen for my teammates to have the same,” Guthrie said.
Although talking premierships with Blicavs is impossible on the Monday morning ride, the Cats ruckman admitted the pair, who have known each other since school, have dreamed about Saturday for a while.
“You do talk about how nice it would be to be involved in a grand final together,” Blicavs said.
But that’s only the first part of the dream.
“We still know there is a job to do on Saturday,” Guthrie said.
“Richmond aren’t going to let us have it. We are going to have to take it ourselves.”
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Peter Ryan is a sports reporter with The Age covering AFL, horse racing and other sports.
