A poetic celebration of Australian Rules Football in all its glorious incarnations, from the tip of Tasmania to the Tiwi Islands, from the opening bounce of the season through to the seagulls descending onto the G at the conclusion of the Big Dance. Its all in here: the dashing half-back flankers, the crumbing forwards, the desert fl yers and the mongrel punts. Damian Balassone cast his eye on the great Australian game with this quirky collection of quatrains and couplets. I am immediately drawn to a man who writes, To me artists like Dylan, Lancaster and Wilde are no different to Peter Daicos... It is all art to me. Martin Flanagan To paint a picture so powerfully in so few lines is an art not to be underestimated. As a fellow poet, Balassones class and cleverness in eloquently carving out his story is inspiring. Rupert McCall A fabulator whose poetry is a sports field of the four pillars in different ways: Tribal, Home Ground Advantage, Civility and Aesthetics. Ted Hopkins Footy, and the meaning it contains, is at the heart of this book. John Harms A virtuoso. Les Murray
