Article printed in Adelaide Advertiser" - July 18, 2009
Article printed in "The Sunday Times" (Perth, WA) - June 28, 2009
Article printed in "Sports Confidential", Herald Sun - June 2, 2009
Apologies to Matt Wade - whoever you are.
It is definitely Matt Walsh who plays Ben Cousins in the show! This press cutting is historical proof that our show image definitely came first!
For the record, it was first seen by the public at the Collingwood v St Kilda game on May 11, 2009.
Article printed in "Pssst", The Age - April 26, 2009
The definition of irony...
Brian Taylor, Ray Shaw and John Barnes publicly bemoan the state of affairs where the 1300 registered AFL media members put players under too much personal scrutiny eg. the Heath Shaw saga - “Come on, everyone’s done it” (Ray Shaw). It is contended that in the process the media miss out on the “really good stories” (Ray Shaw).
A few moments later, Ray Shaw categorically states that Eddie McGuire and Mick Malthouse should go. And that Collingwood will never win a flag under Malthouse - citing amongst other things, issues regarding “communication with the players”. Audience members are audibly surprised but BT backs Malthouse all the way on the grounds he got the Pies to those two Grand Finals.
Some time after that a former Kennett government member pushes buttons - both physical and metaphorical - on the sound desk while he engineers a performance by Kieran Butler and Matt Walsh as Eddie McGuire and Ben Cousins from “Ben Cousins – a rock opera”.
In his short preamble to the profane set piece and musical number – a homage to the HBO series “Deadwood”, that mercilessly satirises McGuire and Cousins - Butler pulls no punches with his material and song about Richard Pratt.
Later still, Des Tuddenham is so offended that he later threatens to punch Butler out if he ever sees him performing the material again saying “Don’t ever take the name of Richard Pratt in vain – Ever!” Butler simply acknowledges that he has listened to Tuddenham’s grievances and conditional threats – and accepts that he might have lost a few fans over that one!
Where did all this happen? Club 42 – a male dominated Collingwood Football Club coterie group – who didn’t really laugh much at Kieran Butler with his near the knuckle Pratt and McGuire material - but laughed ever so hard when John Barnes said “I think of Caroline Wilson when I’m doing my missus so I don’t blow me load too soon”. Ray Shaw might be right. That is quite a good story. But were any of the 1300 registered media members actually there?