Three weeks in

Since last I wrote, rather too long ago, the Lions have defeated West Coast, lost to Carlton and returned to the Gabba to despatch the Swans for the first time since my son was a year old.

The signs are all good. Given we won just one quarter against West Coast I found that victory a bit unconvincing, but we put in a fighting performance against the resurgent Blues despite snoozing for a bit over a quarter.

The win over Sydney was most satisfying however. These guys have been touching us up for years now, so to put them behind us was great. The skills shown by the boys was a marked improvement on a month ago, all the more remarkable given the atrociously slippery conditions.

I was shocked however to hear of the passing of Rob Dickson and his son in South Africa. I'd not heard the news prior to the announcement at the game, and I was dumbfounded. He played just the two games for the Bears but he was a major part of the Bears' 1991 reserves premiership (I still have the video) and he seemed to really embrace the Gold Coast/Queensland lifestyle. And of course he'd found a niche in video production which produced some wonderful work; I'm still halfway through watching his The Essence of the Game and am enjoying the way it casts a spotlight on footy at every level.

A dreadful tragedy. Vale Dicko.

But the cycle of life rolls on, the season continues, and Collingwood awaits.