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A Wink from the Universe
‘There’s no one I trust more with my club’s yarn than Martin Flanagan’ – Bob MurphyThe Western Bulldogs’ 2016 premiership came from nowhere – they were the club with no luck, no stars, no right to win, no culture of success. They were the rank underdogs and they swept to victory on an unprecedented tide of goodwill that washed over the nation. Only Martin Flanagan could bring to life this particular miracle. The club’s two guiding spirits – captain Bob Murphy and coach Luke Beveridge – welcomed him in, Beveridge making available his match diaries, pre-match notes and video highlights. Flanagan interviewed every player, watched every match, talked with the trainers, the women in the football department, the fans who never miss a training session, the cheer squad.What Flanagan shows is that the Bulldogs found a new way to play partly because they found a new way to be a team – a new way to support each other, even a new way to be. A Wink from the Universe takes us into the heart of the community Luke Beveridge and Bob Murphy dreamt into being with the support of the Bulldog people around them. This is a classic of sportswriting – a book for fans of the club, and of the game, but also a book for anyone who wants to know how a group of people can will a miracle to happen.
- GenresNonfictionSports
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 26, 2018
6 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Martin Flanagan
39 books15 followersMartin Flanagan is the author of twenty books, a play and two movie treatments. He is one of Australia’s most respected sports journalists and wrote for The Age from 1985 to 2017.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 3, 2018
"That's all we need... a wink from the universe."
This book made me cry.
Fitting, considering 2016 was the year I spent a lot of time crying over the footy.
I cried when Bob went down having done his ACL in round 3 against Hawthorn. I cried when Mitchy Wallis broke his leg in Round 18 (and cried again when the TV re-played the footage of him screaming in pain on the stretcher in the club rooms). I cried when we won the prelim against GWS - and cried even harder when my dad called me minutes after the siren to simply say; himself in tears, 'chick, we did it.' I cried when the final siren went on that fateful day on October 1st, and continued to cry as my dad, stepmum and brothers pulled me in to a group hug - when I'd finally calmed down enough to start singing the club song and jump around in excitement instead, Bevo had to go and hand his medal to Bob: and cue the waterworks!
Reading this book was like reliving all those moments again. Martin Flanagan has managed to capture every emotion that this fanatic doggies supporter felt throughout that time. To read the thoughts of the players (especially Libba - what a character!), staff and other supporters was amazing - Flanagan includes quite a few excerpts of Bevo's pre and post match notes from the entire season; a really fascinating insight into something us supporters don't normally get to see.
A Wink from the Universe is a must read for every doggies fan (and any footy fan). We bleed red, white and blue, and Martin Flanagan has captured that bulldog spirit and absolute sense of family in every word.
To finish (and no truer words have ever been spoken): 'In Bevo We Trust.'
March 9, 2018
Disclaimer: I am a Western Bulldogs “tragic”. The first part of this book is my story. For most of my life I have longed for a premiership win with great hope but little expectation.
The 2016 season was like the others. We sneaked into the finals…just….and then came the best four weeks of football I can remember.
Spoiler Alert!! The Doggies won the flag…
Martin Flanagan is one of my favourite writers. He writes with soul. In this work he taps into the culture and history of the club.
Luke Beveridge, Bob Murphy, John Shultz are the lead players in this drama but the doctors the psychologist, the bloke who wrote the wonderful banners and the players of course all starred. I loved the access to Bevo’s notes and the supporters’ stories interwoven into the drama of the whole season.
It taught me a lot about the pastoral importance in any leader’s role.
A GREAT Book. I would give it 6 stars if I could.
After reading it I have a very good feeling about 2018!!.
The 2016 season was like the others. We sneaked into the finals…just….and then came the best four weeks of football I can remember.
Spoiler Alert!! The Doggies won the flag…
Martin Flanagan is one of my favourite writers. He writes with soul. In this work he taps into the culture and history of the club.
Luke Beveridge, Bob Murphy, John Shultz are the lead players in this drama but the doctors the psychologist, the bloke who wrote the wonderful banners and the players of course all starred. I loved the access to Bevo’s notes and the supporters’ stories interwoven into the drama of the whole season.
It taught me a lot about the pastoral importance in any leader’s role.
A GREAT Book. I would give it 6 stars if I could.
After reading it I have a very good feeling about 2018!!.
March 10, 2018
What a bright note to start the 2018 season with. I smiled, laughed, cried. Beautiful tale told with poetry. The stories of the players, the doctors, the coach, the supporters all interwoven to remind us how special the Premiership of 2016 truly was. From its beginnings in Martin Flanagan thinking he wouldn’t have time to write it to Luke Beveridge telling him he had faith he’d do our tale justice. And yes it is our tale. Everyone made to feel a part of it and this book is a reminder. Martin went out and found everyone to whom the journey had meaning. And gave the last word to Jordan Roughead. Western Bulldog Premiership player. Bravo.
June 13, 2018
2.5* or 5/10, just a pass
Not my usual genre, a sports book. Most sports books are biographies though, that follow a formula -a little bit about the subjects childhood, then essentially moving on to a list of their career achievements. Rarely do they give you any real insight or even an authentic feel for the subject matter. This book, at least, is not really like that, as it is about a single season of a perennially unsuccessful football club that goes on to win a premiership, its first in 62 years, and for only the second time in its history. It’s a club I happen to barrack for, along with my dad and brother, so it made sense that I received it as a present from my dad this year (now two years after the glorious triumph which we were lucky enough to be there for).
Although it is a little different, in many ways it is still similar with regards to the formula - start off with some club history (the childhood) then move on to talk about the players, then describe the regular season, and finish with the finals. The main problem with this book though, is the same as most sports books - it doesn’t really give you anything the average fan doesn’t already know about the club or the premiership year. It did, however, recreate some of the excitement of that magical finals series, which elevated it to just a pass overall
Unfortunately, this premiership did not herald the dawn of a new era of dominance for the Doggies - missing the finals last year and now this year looking as bad as any the club has endured in recent times.
Overall, can’t really recommend- not much in it for those who don’t support the club, and for those who do, then they already know it all - it will make you want to rewatch the finals games though! Go Doggies!
Not my usual genre, a sports book. Most sports books are biographies though, that follow a formula -a little bit about the subjects childhood, then essentially moving on to a list of their career achievements. Rarely do they give you any real insight or even an authentic feel for the subject matter. This book, at least, is not really like that, as it is about a single season of a perennially unsuccessful football club that goes on to win a premiership, its first in 62 years, and for only the second time in its history. It’s a club I happen to barrack for, along with my dad and brother, so it made sense that I received it as a present from my dad this year (now two years after the glorious triumph which we were lucky enough to be there for).
Although it is a little different, in many ways it is still similar with regards to the formula - start off with some club history (the childhood) then move on to talk about the players, then describe the regular season, and finish with the finals. The main problem with this book though, is the same as most sports books - it doesn’t really give you anything the average fan doesn’t already know about the club or the premiership year. It did, however, recreate some of the excitement of that magical finals series, which elevated it to just a pass overall
Unfortunately, this premiership did not herald the dawn of a new era of dominance for the Doggies - missing the finals last year and now this year looking as bad as any the club has endured in recent times.
Overall, can’t really recommend- not much in it for those who don’t support the club, and for those who do, then they already know it all - it will make you want to rewatch the finals games though! Go Doggies!
April 25, 2018
He'd travelled from Canberra to watch his beloved team that day at Etihad. He was passionate and I enjoyed watching him as much as I relished watching the game itself. I was seated next to him and it was a terrific seat, almost at ground level, where the match proved to be a totally different beast to observing it from higher up or on tele. It was a sensational conflict from two very different teams – enthralling. By the end my new found pal was quite hoarse from all his vociferous barracking – at each break he had needed lubrication from the bar to keep him going. His wife was only mildly interested in the jousting out on the field and we had good chats while he was away. She was a teacher in the capital so we had common ground and she gave me their back story, little of which I recall as it was a few years ago now. Her hubby had grown up a western suburbs lad so his connection with the ultimately victorious team was strong. During his lifetime his lads had never made the big dance at season's end, but they'd been in the semis a few times, not progressing once, to his disappointment. He told me he had a feeling in his bones about 2016 and on that day they certainly looked the goods. But it was only Round 11 – much could still happen. And it did. Their journey was a rough one. Boy, was my footy mate in for a ride.
In my view this decade, so far, has been a special one for our indigenous sport. Firstly my blokes, the mighty Hawks, stamped themselves as the greatest team of the new century with a three-peat. That, coupled with 2008, put them just above the Brisbane Lions (2001-2003). Then there's been the introduction of AFLW and I love to watch it. What a revelation that has been – the girls' massive determination and their hardness at the ball making it such a spectacle. Then last year, 2017, the long suffering, volatile Tiger Army finally had their reward with their team's precise demolition of the Crows. It occurred due to a forward line innovation of one tall – Jumpin' Jack – and a mosquito fleet around his feet. But, as footy stories go, 2016 outshone even that. A team that hadn't won a grand final since 1954 rose from seventh position at the end of the home and away to score at the big one – unheard of till that date. During the end of year games they played a pulsating brand and had us all gasping at their audacity. They defied the footy gods, receiving their very own 'wink from the universe'.
More joy, for this punter, has been added by the cajoling of an initially reluctant Martin Flanagan to tell this story in print for posterity. He's been sorely missed since his retirement from The Age. Flanagan's been the best writer on AFL for decades. It is therefore perhaps fitting that another legend has revived his association with that newspaper, one who was also closely involved in the tale of the Western Bulldogs' 2016 surge to victory - the Doggies' captain, Bob Murphy. Dramatically the man who was the heartbeat of the team, never took a mark or had a kick in that rollicking finals series. In the end, for Flanagan, it was too good a story to pass up, so he set about chronicling it – and all lovers of the game should be pleased he did.
Martin F's book is akin to a footy season itself. The pre-season always gives a foretaste to what lies ahead. In this publication's introduction the wordsmith sets the scene with an interesting history of the area of Yarra City that the Bulldogs eventually emerged from. Then there follows a pen picture of both the coach and captain that made for great reading, followed by one for each the other players of the premiership year. Then the season proper gets underway. Of course it takes a while for things to take shape and for the contenders to emerge. The author takes us on the journey that was the home and away rounds. We have summaries of each Doggie's game and the coach's input into proceedings. Also mixed in are tales of the club's staff and its fan base. It's the least successful part of the book with, for the reader, like no doubt for a player, it at times feeling a bit of a slog. Ultimately, though, MF is a spinner of yarns. There are many in this section related of the team and its followers through the tough winter months into spring. Sometimes events occurred that made it difficult to keep the faith, such as the tragedy that occurred very early on in Round 3 against my team. As Flanagan states, 'Only Hawthorn wanted Hawthorn to win...' It was a classic encounter, but an incident happened that took the shine off the quality of the play and even the most diehard of Hawk's follower would have been devastated at the cost of the game to the opposition. Just as the Dogs were mounting a challenge there came an excruciating to watch injury which forced Captain Bob out for the rest of the year. You would expect that to knock the stuffing out of the cohort; for it to be season defining in the negative – but, if anything, it only made them stronger and more determined. Flanagan weaves into this the effect of the injury on a prominent fan, comedian Wil Anderson. He had to go on stage that night and make funny as his heart was crying for his team and its captain – a player respected by all.
The long season and an equally long injury list, by the last round, had taken its toll and the magic had dissolved from the play of the team once known as Footscray. Their finals campaign looked done and dusted. They clung onto a top 8 position by their fingernails. The last roster appearance was in the West and they were thumped, with gutsy backman Dale Morris, essential in holding the defence together, badly hurt. The first elimination final would see them fly back to the West to take on the Eagles, who would be red hot favourites. Then came the eponymous 'wink from the universe' – and the rest is history. For the first time the AFL inserted a bye the weekend before the finals. The 'Scray boys had breathing space – time to regroup, sore bodies to mend and injuries overcome. And it negated the late season impetus of some of the other fancies for the flag. But Morris and others would be fit to play on.
With the playoffs Flanagan's tome really comes alive. His writing is as pulsating as the four matches the Dogs had to win to take the urn. It's great sports writing. I loved him on that amazing campaign from the 'Sons of the West'.
The first one across the Nullabor was against the same team I had seen play earlier in the season at Etihad. In that match, yet again, even given the travel, one sensed the home outfit would be, well, underdogs. Acting captain Easton Wood was a late withdrawal and young gun Marcus Bontempelli would step up. The Eagles had a couple of power forwards, a tall backline and a more than worthy midfield to add to their perceived domination. I couldn't see any way the Doggies could beat this mob. Coach Beveridge knew the answer though – his side would have a chance if the match was played below the knees, so he issued orders accordingly. I'd never witnessed a game like this one as the ball zapped up and down the ground at lightning speed once it was in the hands of the players in red, white and blue. There was no long bombing of it as the Eagles were doing, giving time for the backs to swarm all over the taller visitors' forwards. But it was the kicking of the home side that really caught my attention – how close to the ground they were directed. Kicks skimmed through the air, seemingly inches from the surface, so the advantage in size and height of the opposition was eliminated. And to the excitable cheers of my new found friend, they narrowly won the day He and I parted with a hand shake and I assured him that, if they made the GF against anyone other than the Hawks, I would be on their side – so much so that come the end I couldn't watch it live so keenly did I want them to be victors. But, no doubt, come the final siren there would have been a watcher in Canberra – or maybe he'd scored tickets to the 'G that day – beside himself. He'd celebrate for the ages, as many did.
The book also features many images from the season, including the iconic moment when the coach presented his Grand Final Medal to his captain.
Since then the tale of the Dogs hasn't been so magical. The mother of all hangovers seemed to afflict them all through '17 and this year it is only at time of writing that the Western Bulldogs are starting to display a modicum of promise. Captain Bob is now retired, but he's back filing a weekly column for the Age. He has as deft a touch with the language as he had with the Sherrin. One day he may be the chronicler of another Doggies' premiership.
In my view this decade, so far, has been a special one for our indigenous sport. Firstly my blokes, the mighty Hawks, stamped themselves as the greatest team of the new century with a three-peat. That, coupled with 2008, put them just above the Brisbane Lions (2001-2003). Then there's been the introduction of AFLW and I love to watch it. What a revelation that has been – the girls' massive determination and their hardness at the ball making it such a spectacle. Then last year, 2017, the long suffering, volatile Tiger Army finally had their reward with their team's precise demolition of the Crows. It occurred due to a forward line innovation of one tall – Jumpin' Jack – and a mosquito fleet around his feet. But, as footy stories go, 2016 outshone even that. A team that hadn't won a grand final since 1954 rose from seventh position at the end of the home and away to score at the big one – unheard of till that date. During the end of year games they played a pulsating brand and had us all gasping at their audacity. They defied the footy gods, receiving their very own 'wink from the universe'.
More joy, for this punter, has been added by the cajoling of an initially reluctant Martin Flanagan to tell this story in print for posterity. He's been sorely missed since his retirement from The Age. Flanagan's been the best writer on AFL for decades. It is therefore perhaps fitting that another legend has revived his association with that newspaper, one who was also closely involved in the tale of the Western Bulldogs' 2016 surge to victory - the Doggies' captain, Bob Murphy. Dramatically the man who was the heartbeat of the team, never took a mark or had a kick in that rollicking finals series. In the end, for Flanagan, it was too good a story to pass up, so he set about chronicling it – and all lovers of the game should be pleased he did.
Martin F's book is akin to a footy season itself. The pre-season always gives a foretaste to what lies ahead. In this publication's introduction the wordsmith sets the scene with an interesting history of the area of Yarra City that the Bulldogs eventually emerged from. Then there follows a pen picture of both the coach and captain that made for great reading, followed by one for each the other players of the premiership year. Then the season proper gets underway. Of course it takes a while for things to take shape and for the contenders to emerge. The author takes us on the journey that was the home and away rounds. We have summaries of each Doggie's game and the coach's input into proceedings. Also mixed in are tales of the club's staff and its fan base. It's the least successful part of the book with, for the reader, like no doubt for a player, it at times feeling a bit of a slog. Ultimately, though, MF is a spinner of yarns. There are many in this section related of the team and its followers through the tough winter months into spring. Sometimes events occurred that made it difficult to keep the faith, such as the tragedy that occurred very early on in Round 3 against my team. As Flanagan states, 'Only Hawthorn wanted Hawthorn to win...' It was a classic encounter, but an incident happened that took the shine off the quality of the play and even the most diehard of Hawk's follower would have been devastated at the cost of the game to the opposition. Just as the Dogs were mounting a challenge there came an excruciating to watch injury which forced Captain Bob out for the rest of the year. You would expect that to knock the stuffing out of the cohort; for it to be season defining in the negative – but, if anything, it only made them stronger and more determined. Flanagan weaves into this the effect of the injury on a prominent fan, comedian Wil Anderson. He had to go on stage that night and make funny as his heart was crying for his team and its captain – a player respected by all.
The long season and an equally long injury list, by the last round, had taken its toll and the magic had dissolved from the play of the team once known as Footscray. Their finals campaign looked done and dusted. They clung onto a top 8 position by their fingernails. The last roster appearance was in the West and they were thumped, with gutsy backman Dale Morris, essential in holding the defence together, badly hurt. The first elimination final would see them fly back to the West to take on the Eagles, who would be red hot favourites. Then came the eponymous 'wink from the universe' – and the rest is history. For the first time the AFL inserted a bye the weekend before the finals. The 'Scray boys had breathing space – time to regroup, sore bodies to mend and injuries overcome. And it negated the late season impetus of some of the other fancies for the flag. But Morris and others would be fit to play on.
With the playoffs Flanagan's tome really comes alive. His writing is as pulsating as the four matches the Dogs had to win to take the urn. It's great sports writing. I loved him on that amazing campaign from the 'Sons of the West'.
The first one across the Nullabor was against the same team I had seen play earlier in the season at Etihad. In that match, yet again, even given the travel, one sensed the home outfit would be, well, underdogs. Acting captain Easton Wood was a late withdrawal and young gun Marcus Bontempelli would step up. The Eagles had a couple of power forwards, a tall backline and a more than worthy midfield to add to their perceived domination. I couldn't see any way the Doggies could beat this mob. Coach Beveridge knew the answer though – his side would have a chance if the match was played below the knees, so he issued orders accordingly. I'd never witnessed a game like this one as the ball zapped up and down the ground at lightning speed once it was in the hands of the players in red, white and blue. There was no long bombing of it as the Eagles were doing, giving time for the backs to swarm all over the taller visitors' forwards. But it was the kicking of the home side that really caught my attention – how close to the ground they were directed. Kicks skimmed through the air, seemingly inches from the surface, so the advantage in size and height of the opposition was eliminated. And to the excitable cheers of my new found friend, they narrowly won the day He and I parted with a hand shake and I assured him that, if they made the GF against anyone other than the Hawks, I would be on their side – so much so that come the end I couldn't watch it live so keenly did I want them to be victors. But, no doubt, come the final siren there would have been a watcher in Canberra – or maybe he'd scored tickets to the 'G that day – beside himself. He'd celebrate for the ages, as many did.
The book also features many images from the season, including the iconic moment when the coach presented his Grand Final Medal to his captain.
Since then the tale of the Dogs hasn't been so magical. The mother of all hangovers seemed to afflict them all through '17 and this year it is only at time of writing that the Western Bulldogs are starting to display a modicum of promise. Captain Bob is now retired, but he's back filing a weekly column for the Age. He has as deft a touch with the language as he had with the Sherrin. One day he may be the chronicler of another Doggies' premiership.
October 13, 2021
A great account of a unique sporting event that captured the heart of most of Australia. Real insights into the character's and inner sanctum of an AFL club. It is the closest literary depiction of capturing lightning in a bottle in a sporting sense. Loved every minute of reading this book.
June 28, 2018
This is the first, and probably the last, sports-writing book I've ever read. I picked it up because I'm fascinated by this impossible tale - the AFL footy club that, beyond all expectations and reason, wins the ultimate game - an AFL grand final. I wanted to understand THAT game.
After working for six months on the book, Flanagan told Bob Murphy that he 'had no more idea now than when (he) started about how the Bulldogs won the flag'. Bob replies, 'non-one at the club knew why the Bulldogs won the flag'.
This book is an exploration of the question, an uncovering of the many elements that came together, some of them physiological, others psychological or sociological, and yet others even spiritual or mystical. I found myself laughing and crying (sometimes both together) in places, and yet in other places, impatient with what seemed to me to be superfluous detail.
Al up, however, a good read, one that I'm already recommending to anyone who will listen.
After working for six months on the book, Flanagan told Bob Murphy that he 'had no more idea now than when (he) started about how the Bulldogs won the flag'. Bob replies, 'non-one at the club knew why the Bulldogs won the flag'.
This book is an exploration of the question, an uncovering of the many elements that came together, some of them physiological, others psychological or sociological, and yet others even spiritual or mystical. I found myself laughing and crying (sometimes both together) in places, and yet in other places, impatient with what seemed to me to be superfluous detail.
Al up, however, a good read, one that I'm already recommending to anyone who will listen.
April 16, 2018
There is a lot of love in the book of the 2016 AFL season which saw the Western Bulldogs win their first premiership in 62 years. There's a bit about each player and each game. The players love the coach. The fan loves the coach. The coach lovers everyone, unless you don't do the team thing.
The good bits came from the coach's game notes and the interviews with long standing fans and club stalwarts. A book to treasure until the next premiership (hopefully not in another 62 years).
The good bits came from the coach's game notes and the interviews with long standing fans and club stalwarts. A book to treasure until the next premiership (hopefully not in another 62 years).
May 9, 2018
Words can’t describe how much I loved this book. I love my team, and the highs and lows of our 2016 season are well documented. What sets this book apart is the human stories. The people. My people. Martin Flanagan took us through the journey in a way we had not travelled it before. I was left feeling so much more part of the Club than before.
My only sticking point is that Wil Anderson is from Heyfield. Not Heywood. (And it’s Heywood, not Haywood).
My only sticking point is that Wil Anderson is from Heyfield. Not Heywood. (And it’s Heywood, not Haywood).
May 5, 2018
Read this - the PERFECT SPORT BOOK
Yes - it’s Aussie Rules. BUT - It’s so much more. FLANAGAN details the intersection of sport and life and passion. You’ll never forget reading WINk ... you’ll compare every book about sport you read in the future to WINK! An amazing tale so well told.
Yes - it’s Aussie Rules. BUT - It’s so much more. FLANAGAN details the intersection of sport and life and passion. You’ll never forget reading WINk ... you’ll compare every book about sport you read in the future to WINK! An amazing tale so well told.
March 25, 2018
What a joy to revisit one of the happiest times in my community’s story
March 31, 2018
A glorious account of the 2016 Western Bulldogs 2016 AFL season. Told by the coach the captain players supporters and others. Culminating in a fairy tale grand final win.
April 30, 2018
Loved it. Very interesting and entertaining. A great read.
January 3, 2019
A great look back at the 2016 for the Bulldogs. Easy to read and makes me want to go back and watch the whole season again!!
December 4, 2023
(4/10) I loved the 2016 Bulldogs, but I am not an actual Dogs supporter, so maybe that's why I like this book so much less than everyone else on Goodreads, apparently. I came away thinking there was really just not enough content to this story to fill out a book - is that my fault for not identifying I actually wouldn't be that interested in the season? Or is there an obligation on the author to prove to me the story was actually there? Idk.
I just didn't think it was very good on a technical level. The structure and editing of it makes no distinction whatsoever between important and unimportant information - the result is an unbelievably long section introducing every Dogs player individually, massive slabs of copy+pasted sections from Bevo's notes that are not super meaningful, and descriptions of games that meander from player to player but don't stitch a player's note into any sort of coherent narrative (which, you would think, would be the job of an author writing this book). Funnily enough, these shortcomings remind me strongly of the book written by Flanagan's great mate, Bob Murphy.
I also am not super convinced that Martin Flanagan is the 'lyricist' that everyone seems to think he is. Andrew Mueller's 'Carn' was a superb example of verbose, metaphor-filled Australian sportswriting, to which this feels like a somewhat hollow imitation. I maybe wouldn't have been so disinterested in the 'introducing the players' section if it had really brought any of them to life, but my overriding memory is of half the characters in the book - including Bevo, the main one - being described as 'ineffable' or 'intangible' or 'indefinable' or 'full of je ne sais quoi' or something. He describes by not describing, a lot, and it's unhelpful.
The section on the prelim and the grand final, and some of the portraits of the supporters (the interesting ones), delivered what I wanted from this book, and again, I felt that the author didn't manage to successfully weave the broader narrative into the rest of the chronology the way he wanted to.
I just didn't think it was very good on a technical level. The structure and editing of it makes no distinction whatsoever between important and unimportant information - the result is an unbelievably long section introducing every Dogs player individually, massive slabs of copy+pasted sections from Bevo's notes that are not super meaningful, and descriptions of games that meander from player to player but don't stitch a player's note into any sort of coherent narrative (which, you would think, would be the job of an author writing this book). Funnily enough, these shortcomings remind me strongly of the book written by Flanagan's great mate, Bob Murphy.
I also am not super convinced that Martin Flanagan is the 'lyricist' that everyone seems to think he is. Andrew Mueller's 'Carn' was a superb example of verbose, metaphor-filled Australian sportswriting, to which this feels like a somewhat hollow imitation. I maybe wouldn't have been so disinterested in the 'introducing the players' section if it had really brought any of them to life, but my overriding memory is of half the characters in the book - including Bevo, the main one - being described as 'ineffable' or 'intangible' or 'indefinable' or 'full of je ne sais quoi' or something. He describes by not describing, a lot, and it's unhelpful.
The section on the prelim and the grand final, and some of the portraits of the supporters (the interesting ones), delivered what I wanted from this book, and again, I felt that the author didn't manage to successfully weave the broader narrative into the rest of the chronology the way he wanted to.
November 6, 2024
There’s a lot of craft in this book, and I think it’s an interesting companion to Southern Sky, Western Oval, written by the same author and about the same club. That time there was a sense of there being a story at the Bulldogs that needed telling and Martin Flanagan spent time to get it.
This time there obviously was the time investment, but it was made to catch a story after the making, when the Dogs came from seventh to win the flag. I always remember the sporting part of that story differently- I forget the doggies were right up there most of the year, had a lot of injuries, and in coming seventh only finished two games from the top. In saying that, I think their finals series still stands up as legendary, but it makes it sound like they just scraped in, rather than being part of a pretty even year.
I love a Martin Flanagan book, and when he’s got time, and time to reflect, he can bring threads of complexity together to make a satisfying human story, and maybe tell us something deeper about human nature, or the nature of sport. In this one, there are elements of that, and some really nice ones, my personal favourites being his look at Libba, the fan story of Carmen, and his take on Bob Murphy. Some of the other players (both on field and within the club) are met after the story is complete and pieced together backwards from interviews and recollections and Bevo’s match diary. To not miss out on a certain player at all, there is a section where everyone gets a look in as a player, and another where every game gets a look in. This wouldn’t happen normally, these sections would have been blended and distilled more, but they are problems that are owned up to pretty much from the introduction!
For comparison, this reminds me a bit of Richo, where I felt a bit of incompletness in the arc of the hero- how to sum up a legend without a flag or a browlow- this time the win is there, but the project feels a little bit incomplete.
This time there obviously was the time investment, but it was made to catch a story after the making, when the Dogs came from seventh to win the flag. I always remember the sporting part of that story differently- I forget the doggies were right up there most of the year, had a lot of injuries, and in coming seventh only finished two games from the top. In saying that, I think their finals series still stands up as legendary, but it makes it sound like they just scraped in, rather than being part of a pretty even year.
I love a Martin Flanagan book, and when he’s got time, and time to reflect, he can bring threads of complexity together to make a satisfying human story, and maybe tell us something deeper about human nature, or the nature of sport. In this one, there are elements of that, and some really nice ones, my personal favourites being his look at Libba, the fan story of Carmen, and his take on Bob Murphy. Some of the other players (both on field and within the club) are met after the story is complete and pieced together backwards from interviews and recollections and Bevo’s match diary. To not miss out on a certain player at all, there is a section where everyone gets a look in as a player, and another where every game gets a look in. This wouldn’t happen normally, these sections would have been blended and distilled more, but they are problems that are owned up to pretty much from the introduction!
For comparison, this reminds me a bit of Richo, where I felt a bit of incompletness in the arc of the hero- how to sum up a legend without a flag or a browlow- this time the win is there, but the project feels a little bit incomplete.
December 30, 2021
It's difficult to capture the events on the page but Flanagan does an exceptional job. I found it emotional, well compiled and that it got better as it ramped up to the AFL GF. It was sort of scatter gun at times, trying to include alot of smaller stories within a larger narrative. It works sometimes, but not always. The book serves as a great tribute to the year the Bulldogs had and is an inspiring work.
December 30, 2021
A great read about an amazing sporting success
The Dogs were the second team for so many people and seeing them win meant a lot to their die hard fans
One flag was enough so good it gets a proper write up
The Dogs were the second team for so many people and seeing them win meant a lot to their die hard fans
One flag was enough so good it gets a proper write up
January 15, 2022
Magnificent. Martin is a fabulous writer - and it is terrific to read a well written sports book.
2016 was an amazing year in AFL history and Martin's account of the Bulldogs season and premiership is pretty special.
Most of all I enjoyed the stories behind the "main game" - of the diehard supporters, the staff and of course the intriguing relationship between the coach (Bevo) and the captain (Bob).
2016 was an amazing year in AFL history and Martin's account of the Bulldogs season and premiership is pretty special.
Most of all I enjoyed the stories behind the "main game" - of the diehard supporters, the staff and of course the intriguing relationship between the coach (Bevo) and the captain (Bob).
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