For The Love Of The Game

Picking your footy team is a big decision, a life-long commitment. Are you a Pies supporter or a Sea Eagle? (Hopefully, neither!) Melbourne vendor and Richmond Tigers fan Stephen B has long pondered how people pick their footy side. It’s an idea we’ve turned into an edition that celebrates footy tragics, across the codes, across the country.

Plus: writer Helen Garner shares the moment that made her a Western Bulldog; Tim Winton muses on a multi-generational wait for a Freo flag; actor Brendan Cowell devises a new fan chant for his Cronulla Sharks; You Am I’s Tim Rogers reveals his North Melbourne Kangaroos good luck charm. And writer James Colley revels, nervously, in the winning feeling of being a Penrith Panthers supporter.

More highlights in this edition:

• • It’s a beautiful game indeed – meet The Big Issue’s Street Socceroos ahead of their trip to Norway to represent Australia at the Homeless World Cup from 23 August. You can follow the Street Socceroos on their journey on our socials and we’ll also be live streaming every Australian game on our Facebook #Oslo2025HWC #MoreThanAGame
  • Matildas midfielder Katrina Gorry appreciates the small moments as she looks back on her time on and off the football field in her Letter to My Younger Self.
  • New mystery series Playing Gracie Darling is a spooky 90s time capsule. Its star Morgana O’Reilly takes us back to her own encounter with the paranormal.
  • Author Sophie Quick tells us why she loved dabbling in the dubious world of blackmailers, scammers and life coaches in her debut novel The Confidence Woman.
  • Mehak Kansal elevates the humble cheese toastie to something bold, tangy and decadent with her Bombay Cheese Toast in Tastes Like Home. Read the full recipe here.
  • From blackouts to burn outs, we tackle some of the more iconic footy final entertainment shows, Meat Loaf and all, in Ozzities.

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