Martin Flanagan
Martin Flanagan is a journalist and author who writes on sport, Australian culture and the relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous Australia.
Leading Bulldog Steph Chiocci won't die wondering
Martin Flanagan Steph Chiocci plays in the manner of Eddie Betts and leads the Western Bulldogs like Bob Murphy.
'Why didn't we learn this at school?' Melbourne footballer taught teammates Indigenous heritage
Martin Flanagan Neville Jetta is standing in front of the 10 players added to Melbourne's list this year.
The joy of the patched-up Bombers
Martin Flanagan Billy Jennings says following the Bombers this year is surreal. He has a name for the experience - Zen footy. "You go to games with no expectations."
Daisy Thomas, Luke Nolen face sporting world of pressure and risk
Martin Flanagan Daisy Thomas played well for Carlton against his old club Collingwood last weekend, and I was glad.
Veterans key part of the growing Greater Western Sydney Giants
Martin Flanagan It was one of those games when the football world changes shape before your eyes. It's not enough to say Greater Western Sydney beat Hawthorn last Saturday – the Giants were superior in every...
AFL 2016: American lessons on Australian rules
Martin Flanagan There's outrageous skill among the organised chaos of Australian football.
Young Bombers learn about the horrors of Pozieres
Martin Flanagan If I am asked to talk to young Australian men about World War I, I get one-third of them to stand in a group. To them I say: "You're the ones who came back with your lives and bodies intact.
AFL season 2016: Bulldogs have arrived, largely thanks to Captain Bob
Martin Flanagan I almost couldn't watch the Bulldogs v Hawks game last weekend. It was too intense.
AFL 2016: Sometimes, it's good to hear from different voices
Martin Flanagan Alicia Sometimes, co-editor of From The Outer: Footy like you've never heard it before, has been one of my favourite footy poets for years.
AFL season 2016: Memorabilia from one of football's most memorable men – Ron Barassi
Martin Flanagan My first pair of football boots were Ron Barassi boots – single-layer leather with reinforced toe-caps and padding over the anklebone, upon which was signed, in gold, Ron Barassi.
Big Max a true Demon believer
Martin Flanagan Max Gawn is tall. Very tall (208 cms). He looks like the middle third of his body was fed through a roller and elongated.
Three days that made their mark
Martin Flanagan Three of the most momentous days of my life occurred in 1987 when I attended a football carnival at Yuendumu on the Warlpiri tribal lands north-west of Alice Springs.
AFL 2016: Top Cat giving Geelong a nudge along a successful path
Martin Flanagan Geelong president Colin Carter grew up in Western Australia following West Perth and putting up with Victoria "pillaging all our good players and then telling us we were no good".
AFL 2016: Can Brendon Goddard keep the Bombers flying?
Martin Flanagan I'll be watching Brendon Goddard this year.
A young man gone too soon
Martin Flanagan Seventeen-year-old Ford Guthrie died on Australia Day when a car in which he was a passenger hit a tree on a red dirt road a few kilometres from his family property, "Thermopylae", outside...
When sport collides with life outside of sport
Martin Flanagan John Harms deserves an award. For the past decade, he has stood steadfastly in the way of all the usual predictions about the print media, the book industry and the way in which sports fans consume...
Grant Hansen displays the courage and energy to get things done
Martin Flanagan Grant Hansen grew up in the western suburbs barracking for the Bulldogs. His father George was a one-eyed Bulldog who worked in pubs and had "the gift of the gab".
AFL grand final: A day of bad omens for the Eagles
Martin Flanagan The CEO of an AFL club said before the 2014 grand final that his club estimated they needed to improve by 10 per cent to win a premiership. That rose to 30 per cent after that grand final. And now?
AFL grand final 2015: Grand finale for a season like no other
Martin Flanagan No one word or phrase could possibly sum up the 2015 AFL season.
Musa Amin and Mohamed Mohamed win 2015 Bachar Houli medal
Martin Flanagan The joint winners of this year's Bachar Houli Leadership Medal are Musa Amin and Mohamed Mohamed.
