Fresh Collingwood cartoon ripe for the picking!

My Round 9 cartoon for the mighty Collingwood Football Club is now up on the club website in a cozy cartoon corner, on the Collingwood facebook page and also here on my own little slice of internet (click on the link to ‘Collingwood Cartoons’ to see all my Pie-themed cartoons and their accompanying commentary – penned by yours truly)

Here is this week’s offering:

Round 9 (Coll 75 – Adel 49):

Another week, another win for the mighty Pies. Collingwood jetted off to face the resurgent Crows on Saturday night for what was billed as a stern test for both teams.

It was tough in the clinches throughout and clear air was nearly impossible to find. Pendlebury was all class but he had ample support from the likes of Daisy Thomas, Steele Sidebottom and Dayne Beams. One would surely have been forgiven for mistaking Beams for Dane Swan, what with his preponderance of tattoos and his possession gathering panache.

Collingwood’s 2012 campaign has been dogged by injuries but Beams is showing he’s more than capable of rising to the challenge and providing an ample serve of midfield grunt. I’m sure Bucks is proud as punch.

If coaches, analysts and players are to be believed, it seems ‘structures’ are now more important that ever in the AFL. They’re always to blame when things go awry and players are praised for sticking diligently to them when a win is notched. The Collingwood coaching crew must be thanking their lucky stars that with knee injuries ending seasons left right and centre, players like Beams are standing resolute to prop up our six game winning streak.

New Black and White cartoon

It’s fun to stay up with the latest news and provide nuanced – and hopefully giggle-inducing – cartoons. However, sometimes it’s equally fun to indulge oneself in pure silliness and embrace the freedom that comes from a pen, a piece of paper and a bizarre thought.

In this spirit of silliness I hope you enjoy my latest

 

The Adelaide Roadtrip

This weekend sees the mighty Magpies heading over to Adelaide for what will surely be a stern test. The Crows are awfully good this season but let’s hope Collingwood can come away with a win…and only a win

Grand Final Nightmares Put to Bed

My new Collingwood cartoon is now up on the club’s website, facebook page and of course in my own dedicated Collingwood section.

Here’s a little accompaniment to round out a satisfying weekend for Pies fans…

Friday night saw a rematch of last season’s grand finalists and a stirring victory by the Pies. Collingwood were down to one fit man for the majority of the last quarter but hung on in the end. It may have been Dreamtime at the ‘G on Saturday night but surely there were more than a few Collingwood nightmares soothed the evening before.

Steele Sidebottom zipped around the wings, racking up another career-high possession tally and Scott Pendlebury simply oozed class all night. Time appears to slow to Matrix-like levels when Pendles has the ball. A little jink, a head fake and away he goes. Luckily for Pies fans he even had a bit left in the tank to slam home a late goal and truly ‘ice’ the game.

Next week it’s a tough road trip to play the seemingly invincible Adelaide in the city of churches. Let’s hope that with a little prayer from the fans and a quality effort from the boys on the field the mighty Pies can chalk up another big win.

The impact of Craig Thomson

We all understand that Craig Thomson is not exactly an asset to the ALP. In fact, to say that he’s a thorn in Labor’s side would be an understatement on par with, ‘geez the European economy looks a bit rough’. From a cartoonists perspective however it’s important to look at the more neglected angles of the whole Thomson/HSU saga to truly cover off on the issue. Sure, the fate of the government could rest on Thomson’s upcoming speech to parliament and sure, this soap opera might open the door to stricter rules regarding moral standing being placed on MPs, but what about the smaller stories!?!

Craig Thomson has to be the least popular man in Labor right now. In these tough economic times, you’ve got to feel for his predecessor.

 

The downside of austerity

Without delving into the nitty gritty of currency valuations, geo-political structures and the like, it seems the situation in Greece and the rest of Europe might be getting worse before it gets better. There have been umpteen stories about the effect of Greek elections on it’s viability as a member on the Euro and the long term ramifications of a possible debt default. What will become of the EU? Will the leaders of Europe’s superpowers even be able to sustain it as a group? If not, what will be the legacy of Sarkozy, Hollande and Merkel, their austerity-loving counterpart? I figure they must be wondering a similar thing and perhaps maybe in these fiscally conservative times it may be wise to hold off on any grand statements of posterity.

Fresh Collingwood Cartoons

This weekend our might Pies swapped bitterly cold Melbourne for the warmer climes of Brisbane and came away with a convincing win. A dominant first quarter performance took the game away from the Lions. Swan, as always, ran riot but Steele Sidebottom’s performance was surely the most pleasing thing for Collingwood folk to see. A spate of long-term injuries and a series of niggles have tested our midfield depth but on Saturday night Sidebottom filled the breach manfully. His career high 35 possessions were a massive factor in the victory and truly showed his growth as a footballer. He richly deserves the title bestowed upon him below.

I would be remiss not to mention Mother’s Day and I can just imagine some of the conversations in Collingwood-loving households across the land. Happy Mother’s Day indeed to all the Magpie Mums out there! Here’s hoping you enjoyed a nice family meal and can now look forward to the Grand Final rematch on Friday night. A bit of revenge is in order I think and hopefully a few classy inclusions to the side can help deliver another sweet reward. Go Pies!

You gotta feel for Demons fans

Last night a sloppy, slack and seemingly lackadaisical Hawthorn demolished Melbourne. It was tough to watch. Although it did prompt the question, ‘which team would it be most depressing to be a supporter of at the moment?’ I tend to think Melbourne would have to be right up there but a wise football watching friend of mine suggested Port Adelaide as a possible candidate. Both arguments have merit. Both teams have a light smattering of talented kids but for too many issues to compensate. I’m leaning towards saying Port just because financially speaking, their club is also really struggling while at least Melbourne has been put in a halfway decent position by the tireless efforts of Jim Stynes before his sad passing.

Unfortunately for Dees and Power fans, their coaches don’t inspire great confidence, their lists aren’t talented or deep enough and things look ominous for at least a few years. Not sure what Port fans can do but at least Melbourne supporters have a mascot that might be able to offer them some fitting accommodation .

Eighteen months till the next election? Sure doesn’t feel like it.

Federal politics is an odd beast. Sure there’s a fair smattering of welcome analysis into the recent budget and a number of other important economic issues, but there’s perhaps even more focus on the Thompson and Slipper scandals and their potential to bring down the government. The old adversaries; policy and politics are again battling for attention. Watching question time this week, one has got the distinct impression that an election could crash down – thunderstorm style – at any moment on the whim of a couple of independents. Journalist’s are in a decidedly tough spot. They must simultaneously be ready to pounce should an Oakeshott, a Windsor or a Wilkie chuck a tantrum and bring on a ballot, while also keep in mind that technically we’re more than a year from the polls.

In this wild world of political brinksmanship, innuendo and rancor a new cartoon was born. Enjoy

The rise of the Dissident

China truly is a fascinating nation. It’s vast, it’s crowded, it’s ancient, it’s modern, and increasingly it’s a hotbed of political intrigue. First there was the case of Bo Xilai being exposed for apparent rampant corruption and the not insignificant side issue of his wife being heavily implicated in the murder of a British citizen.

Now the flavour of the month is Chen Guangcheng, the blind political dissident who managed to escape house arrest and make it to the US Embassy in Beijing. A thorny diplomatic issue? Well considering it all transpired in the week before US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton was due in town for a series of high-level talks I think it’s fair to say this is one of the all-time thorniest.

As it stands, Chen is holed up in a hospital awaiting a passport and visa that will allow him to travel to America to continue his studies in the law. One can only imagine the amount of negotiation and diplomatic tick tacking that went on behind that deal.

Anyway, the Chen Guancheng case got me thinking about what it takes for the media to classify someone as a dissident. It seems that China is full of them but that the rest of the world is largely dissident-less. A child might be ‘naughty’ and a teenager might be ‘difficult’ or ‘angsty’ but I’ve come to wonder what you have to do to be labelled a dissident. Thus, another cartoon was born and I’d like to share it with the world. Enjoy

and of course you can see all of my political and current affairs cartoons in the dedicated section.