A Swallow
Norm Smith Medallist
Greetings plebs & plebettes,
As you all know, an icon of the SFA is reaching a remarkable milestone when he plays in the Dragons' inevitable victory over the Roys this weekend.
As such, here is a media piece to mark the ridiculous effort:
Monumental things that have occurred since LjP86 debuted in the SFA:
- We lost the Ashes, won the Ashes, lost the Ashes, won the Ashes, lost the Ashes & won the Ashes again
- Donald Trump went from being the boss on The Apprentice to leading the most powerful democracy in the modern world
- Usain Bolt ran really fast a sh*t-tonne of times
- James Blunt released “You’re Beautiful”
- We’ve seen Howard, Kevin07, Gillard, Kevin07 Remastered, Onion Abbott, Malcolm & Scomo
- Kobe dropped 81 on the Raptors. He then played another decade
- Several Bombers posters were born (I assume)
- Tom Brady ceased aging and played in ~17 Super Bowls
- Phelps won a gold medal in each of the 8 events he entered, all whilst baked
- Essendon went off-site in unmarked vans twice a week for unknown injections that they kept no record of, but definitely didn’t cheat
- Liverpool won two UEFA Champions League trophies, 14 years apart
Anyway it’s been ages; heaps of sh*t has occurred.
The man of the week was good enough to sit down with me for an intimate chat in Crocodile Drunkees over a couple of beers. Here’s how it went:
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AS: Firstly, what made you join the SFA to begin with?
LJP: I was playing in the BigFooty Fantasy Cricket League (BFFCL) at the time which is the cricket equivalent of the SFA. I had only been there a short while when Pie 4 Life approached me to play in the SFA, Pie was forming a team called the Dragons who were going to be a new club competing in Season 05. I was fairly reluctant to play at the time but after some further conversations, Pie explained that this was similar to the cricket competition in that it was the footy version so I eventually decided to join the club. Being a defender, I decided to fill a spot in defence, mainly as a back pocket which is where I lined up in my first game.
AS: If you could sum up the difference in the league between then and now, how would you do so?
LJP: The SFA was a lot different back then to how it is now. Back when I first began, most match threads wouldn't go past three or four pages, some would barely get onto the second page. There was also virtually zero banter, most players would simply post "go team" or something to that effect before the game and after the game was generally a few comments about the result. There was no media or anything like that with most clubs having probably 10 or less active posters with some having not more than six or seven at times. The SFA was also a lot less stable club wise back then, clubs would come and go from season to season and there were a quite a few who were only around for a season or two before folding which is most unlike what we have at the moment.
AS: Interesting. On that, do you think the way the SFA has changed and evolved is for the best?
LJP: I think the SFA has definitely changed and evolved for the better, it sort of had to considering the position it was in about 20 seasons ago. I'm not a fan of spamming threads and never will be, I've always been a quality over quantity type person and less can certainly mean more in some cases.
AS: Is there anything you would like to see done like it used to be, or just differently to how it is done now?
LJP: There's a few things I'd like to see done differently, moving All-SFA to mostly sim performance and dedicating other awards for posting (perhaps All-SFA posting) would be something I'd like to see done although I realise I'm probably in the minority on that view. Removing the committee from ruling on penalties and appeals and setting up an independent rules, tribunal, disputes and appeals sub-committee made up of members outside the current committee is something I'd like to see introduced. More common sense when it comes to rules, particularly around team submission is something I'd like to see as well, I feel the competition has gone too far with this in recent seasons to the point we've now got some captains worried that they've misspelled someone's name or miscapitalised a letter on a weekly basis. When something like that is happening, it's probably time for some change.
AS: What is your fondest memory from your time in the SFA?
LJP: My fondest memory is the Season 28 premiership. The flag was a fantastic reward for that particular group of people as there had been a number of players who had contributed to the club over the past few seasons before then. The position the club was in after seven rounds, being 2-5 and on the bottom of the ladder, then finishing the home and away season in seventh place and having to win three away games in a row plus the Grand Final from a position where no club had won the premiership from before adds to the story of just how good it was. It wasn't as if the club fell over the line either, we belted three of our four opponents in those games which only further highlights how good the premiership was really. The club overall was very tight knit back then (and still is to this day) with a strong camaraderie so for a lot of those players to claim their first flag was pretty special and it's something I think everyone who was part of that premiership looks back on fairly fondly.
AS: Who is your favourite opposition player from a posting perspective?
LJP: My favourite opposition player would be Tarkyn_24. I've played against Tarks for a long time in the SFA and he is someone that is fun to post against, quite a few times in the our match threads over the last number of seasons he'll make a beeline for me generally on Monday night right after the match threads have been posted. We'll spend the next few days duking it out in the thread with a few jibes and general banter which is what the competition is all about really. It's also great to play alongside Tarks in the State of Origin series, he has led Western Australia well in the last couple of series and the team is a lot of fun to be a part of with so many good people having been part of the side in recent editions. The variety it provides and the elite nature of the competition along with the state/area pride adds to the concept and I think that's why it has been well received since it was reintroduced a few years ago.
AS: Totally agree regarding some of the ridiculously pedantic rulings on teams being posted, it can and will detract from the enjoyment of the game. But I digress, this is about you.
LJP: It's over the top, not sure what has instigated the need to be this pedantic on team submissions but that's the way it is at the moment I guess.
AS: With the recent comments from Tarkyn_24 imploring you to retire, do you have a follow-up response for him that you'd like to air publicly here?
LJP: I'll retire when Tarks doesn't sh*t the bed in a Grand Final. Given recent history, I might reach 1,000 games before that happens.
AS: In the interest of not turning this into a TL;DR type OP, I'll conduct one final line of questioning: How long do you see yourself hanging around in the league?
LJP: I've always maintained that I'll keep going in my roles with the competition's ladder/statistics and also my commitments as a player for the Dragons as long as I can commit 100% to both roles but also that both still remain enjoyable for me personally. For the last number of seasons, I've been committing to the ladder/stats stuff season by season so I'm happy to keep going with that arrangement until my situation changes. If it does change, then I'll have some decisions to make as to my involvement within the SFA.
AS: Could you see yourself handing the ladder/statistics torch on to someone else in the future?
LJP: With regards to the ladder and stats stuff, I can definitely see myself handing it over as someone will need to continue that function going forward. When that is will be dictated by stuff commitments for me personally outside of the game, it could be soon but it could be later down the track depending on how busy I am and other engagements outside of the site.
AS: Anything else you want to add for all your fans out there?
LJP: I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who has taken time to express some kind words and wishes this week. I've been quite surprised at the amount of tags and recognition I've got during the week and how much people actually enjoy the work I do so to see so many appreciative of that and offer congratulations has been great actually and I'm really appreciative of that.
The SFA is a lot of fun and I hope that all of us can keep the fun and enjoyment going within the competition, not just for the current crop of players right now but for many future players that the competition will have in the seasons and years to come.
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There was actually a lot more discussion after this, but I have no recollection of it, therefore it is lost to the annals of time.
In all seriousness, congratulations to a cornerstone of the SFA. Thank you Ljp86 for all you have done – and continue to do – for the league.
Go Dragons.
