Latest news with #HelenGarner
The Guardian
18 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Bulldogs need to lock down Marcus Bontempelli's future above all else
It was a familiar story for Marcus Bontempelli and his team on the weekend. To mine the stats sheet, no player on the ground had more possessions, tackles, clearances, inside 50s and metres gained. It still wasn't enough. The Bulldogs lost to a good side, but remain a decidedly lopsided, occasionally exhilarating and increasingly bewildering team. Leading his team off, the captain had the same look he often gets after losses like that – the wrung-out look of a man asking: 'How much more do I have to do here?' Helen Garner, like half of Melbourne, is currently writing a book about the mushroom killer. Before that, in The Season, it wasn't barristers, jurors and murderers she was jotting notes about, but footballers – her grandson's football team and the Western Bulldogs, specifically. Here she is on Lance Franklin being booed: 'It's a wounded face, with the wiped look of someone who's copped a ringing slap across the cheek – all his expression lines gone.' Or on Rory Lobb: 'I have a soft spot for him because he reminds me of a long-ago boyfriend, a rangy great bunch of bones with a dramatic head and a rare, sweet smile.' Or on Toby Greene: 'Something about the shape of his head, like a tilted olive, and his vain little walk undermines my admiration for him.' On Bontempelli, four words suffice: 'His quiet, faithful brilliance.' The Bulldogs recently uploaded footage of their captain playing footy as a boy and you can see the etchings of the athlete he would become – the swivel and spin, the authoritative left boot, the half-second longer than all the other kids. His first possession at the professional level was something we've seen thousands of times since – scrapping on his knees, stripping the ball off his opponent and handballing to create. Since that moment, there's been no significant fluctuations from week to week, from season to season, even from quarter to quarter. There are exceptions, of course: he was bullied by GWS in the elimination final in 2019 and was strangely subdued in last year's final against Hawthorn. But that's about it. You can be pretty sure he's going to be somewhere near brilliant, every week, every season. What a luxury it must be to coach someone like that. And what a joy it is to support a team with a player of that calibre. Physically, he's perfect for the modern game. He's strong enough through the hips and core to absorb contact, to chop his way out of tackles and to still get his handballs away. The champion midfielders of previous generations were shorter and stockier and distributed lower to the ground. A recurring image of this taller generation of midfielders – of Patrick Cripps, of Tom Green and certainly of Bomtempelli – is of them handballing out of trouble from an upright position. But his size doesn't compromise his ability to run all day and to sprint forward. He's quicker than his gait suggests. He's almost never run down. He's an outstanding endurance athlete and regularly finishes in the Top 3 in their time trials. At stoppages, he's always on his toes, always alert, like a tennis player returning serve. He's never more dangerous than at a stoppage, about 25 metres out, with a bit of space carved out on his left side. He slams the ball on his boot with relish and he almost never misses. His goal in the third quarter of the 2021 grand final, just as he was playing himself into September folklore, is the exemplar – but he does it nearly every week. At just 29, his record is incredible: six-time All-Australian, six-time club champion, and three-time league MVP. The Bont does the lot. He bores in and lopes out. He carries the Dogs when they're no good, he fronts the media when they've pissed away another season and he's the cherry on top when they're on a blitz. Bontempelli and the club are now thrashing out the terms of a new contract: it's impossible to imagine him playing anywhere else. It's hard to think of an individual player who means more to a club and its supporters. The Bulldogs need a lot of things: they need a functional backline. They need to start beating good teams. They need to make the most of a soft draw to secure a double chance. But most of all, they need Bontempelli's signature. He has given them everything. A simple squiggle of the pen would mean the world to this club, and would go a long way to ensuring he's the greatest player to ever pull on the jumper. The Dogs have a perfect record in nine matches against sides in the bottom half of the ladder, but are still to prove their premiership credentials ahead of facing the Lions on Friday night. Bontempelli was 18 and the game was in the balance when he kicked one of the goals of the decade against Melbourne. It showcased everything that would make him great in subsequent years – scrambling on his hands and knees, stripping the ball back one-handed, spinning out of trouble and thrashing the ball on to his non-preferred boot. The situational and spatial awareness belied his 10 games to that point. 'The special ones move differently,' teammate Rob Murphy later wrote about that moment. 'Something in the nuances of their game sets them apart from the rest of us. Playing alongside him, I could hear the appreciation from our own supporters. It was even better from a few feet away. With the ball in his hands, he'd lope away in slow motion, like he was wading through waist-deep water, the sea of stragglers falling away in his wake.' Ahead of his 200th AFL game on Sunday against the Crows, Gold Coast's Daniel Rioli says the team is confident. 'We've built momentum throughout the year. We're mature. I'm just looking forward to where we're going to head in the future.' 'The AFL will need to take a step forward in helping to manage these issues with players, but I'm not forecasting the specific way of dealing with it. It gets tiring for the people who are involved, who are receiving this regularly.' Sign up to From the Pocket: AFL Weekly Jonathan Horn brings expert analysis on the week's biggest AFL stories after newsletter promotion Port Adelaide's football manager, Chris Davies, wants the AFL to do more to support clubs and players in the fight against racism. Port's Jase Burgoyne and Saints young gun Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera shared details of messages they received on social media after their games last weekend. Any thoughts you want to share? Reply to this email or send your views to fromthepocket@ Which club has the longest current winning steak against Geelong – Brisbane, Carlton, GWS Giants or St Kilda? Bonus point if you know how many matches in a row they have won. Answers in next week's newsletter, but if you think you know it, hit reply and let me know. Last week's answer: Which of Brisbane, Fremantle or Port Adelaide had the longest wait to win a first final? Fremantle finally won a final in their 12th season. Congratulations to Brian Loorham, who was first to reply with the right answer. Fremantle and their coach Justin Longmuir are easy targets but deserve respect for hitting back at their critics. West Coast player Jack Graham has been suspended for four matches after using a 'highly offensive' homophobic slur. Reply to this email and drop me a line, or email fromthepocket@ Have a friend who might? Forward this to them, or tell them how to get it.
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Mushroom killer: How 'super sleuth' Erin Patterson became true crime obsession
For years, from behind a computer screen, Erin Patterson built up a reputation in an online true crime community as a "super sleuth".Today, she herself has become a true crime three people died – and another fell gravely ill - after eating toxic-mushroom-laced beef Wellingtons at her home in rural Victoria two years ago, her entire life was put under a have descended from around the world to cover her lengthy murder trial, spectators have queued daily to nab a spot in the courtroom, and thousands of people have picked apart details of the case despite a jury earlier this week finding her guilty on all charges, the frenzy of speculation and depth of fascination has only intensified."It has shades of Macbeth," criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told the BBC. It was in one of Australia's smallest courtrooms that its biggest trial in recent history took 11 weeks, seven documentary-making teams cast their lens on the tiny town of Morwell. Podcasters here were a dime a dozen. Journalists vied for the six seats reserved for media inside the court each day. Even one of Australia's best-loved authors, Helen Garner, frequently dropped by the Latrobe Valley Law Courts, fuelling rumours that she is preparing to write another with the sea of tripods outside the building most mornings of the trial was a queue of camp rain, frost or fog, court watchers – predominantly women, often rugged up in beanies and encased in sleeping bags – watched for the moment the glass doors would inside, they would lay a line of belongings – scarves, water bottles, notepads, bags – outside the courtroom entry to reserve their spot. Tammy Egglestone commuted for more than an hour to reach Morwell most days of the trial. "I'm a bit of a true crime fanatic," she was in court when it heard evidence that Patterson was once just like had been an active member in a Facebook group focussed on the crimes of Keli Lane, a woman who was found guilty of killing her two-day-old daughter in one of Australia's most notorious cases. In 2018, Lane became the subject of a major podcast after writing to a journalist claiming to have been wrongly convicted and begging her to Patterson's trial, one of her online friends Christine Hunt said she was renowned among her peers for her nimble researching and tech skills."She was a bit of a super sleuth," she said. "She was highly regarded in that group." But as her case unfolded in Morwell, Patterson was also put on trial in the court of public became water-cooler talk in workplaces around the country, gossip among friend groups, and the ultimate topic of debate of people theorised over a motive for the crime, provided commentary on bits of evidence, and even alleged corrupt forces were behind the case – much of the discussion unfounded, almost all of it in breach of laws designed to give defendants a fair filled social media feeds. On Google Maps, someone created a restaurant listing at Patterson's home address. Others shared trial bingo cards they had created for those following it closely. Throughout the week the jury was considering their verdict, sequestered in a hotel to protect them from the maelstrom, the question everyone had was: what were they thinking?"What are they doing in there?" one lawyer was overheard asking in a Morwell café on day four of deliberations. With jury members bound by strict secrecy requirements, we will never know."In the US, they can interview jurors after a trial," criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told the BBC. "We can't get into the heads of jurors in Australia… so it's really hard to know what they're thinking has been and why they've come to that conclusion."That leaves a massive vacuum for members of the public to fill with their speculation. People like Ms Egglestone pondered: if the poisoning was intended to kill, wouldn't Patterson have planned and executed it better?"I've come in here [as] Switzerland," Ms Egglestone clarified, calling the discourse around the case "very pitchforky"."You know, [it's] she's guilty, she's guilty, she's guilty."And a lot of them are using hindsight reasoning. 'If I was in that situation, I wouldn't do this, this and this.' Well, you don't know what you would do in that situation."But people like her were drowned out by the hordes proclaiming Patterson said it was her lies that convinced them. Some claimed the evidence showed a clear lack of empathy and concern for those who died."What really gave her away was wearing white pants when she had 'gastro' and needed to go to hospital for it!" one person posted, referring to CCTV footage of her movements in the days after the lunch, which was played at the trial. Already, the case has inspired a television special, a silver screen drama series, a bevy of podcasts, several documentaries and a handful of books."It has those typical cliché things that make true crime sell," Ms Egglestone said, explaining why she and flocks of others have become obsessed with the case."The fact that she did take out family members... [she's] white, female, financially stable, you know. And they're all church people."For David Peters, seemingly benign circumstances surrounding the crime – and the fact it was in his local area – drew him in: "The fact that it was a family sitting down to do something you would consider to be safe - have a meal - and then the consequences of that meal..."Several people tell the BBC the case reminds them of the frenzy over Lindy Chamberlain's notorious trial in 1982. She was falsely convicted of murder after her infant daughter Azaria was taken from an outback campsite by a no coincidence that both of those cases centre around women, criminology researcher Brandy Cochrane tells the world has long been fascinated by women who kill – in no small part because it contradicts their traditional "caring" gender role, they explain. Those stereotypes also cast a shadow on Patterson's time in court. "She's expected to act in a particular way, and she's not," says Dr Cochrane, a lecturer at Victoria University."It's like, 'Oh, obviously she's guilty, she's not crying the whole time' or 'Obviously she's guilty, she's lied about this'. The legal system in and of itself treats women very differently."Away from the ghoulish spectre of the trial, there's anger – albeit dwindling – among the communities where the victims are from over the way the case has been dissected, local councillor Nathan Hersey tells the and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson were respected and adored by many in the South Gippsland region, he says, but it feels like they've been forgotten."This has been an extremely high-profile case that's brought a lot of attention, often unwanted through to our local community."[And] some people haven't had that humanity… they've certainly lost focus that for people, there is a loss, there is grief."
RNZ News
02-07-2025
- RNZ News
Visitors queue for public gallery seats in mushroom trial courtroom
By Bec Symons , ABC Mykey O'Halloran's style has been a colourful addition to the courtroom. (Supplied: Adam Kamien) Photo: Supplied: Adam Kamien A line has been seen forming outside the Latrobe Valley law courts from the crack of dawn. People from as far away as Melbourne have been travelling to Morwell for each day of the trial of Erin Patterson . Ms Patterson is charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in relation to a beef Wellington meal which contained death cap mushrooms. She has always maintained her innocence and her defence team says the inclusion of the mushrooms was a tragic accident. The case has drawn international interest, with journalists travelling from across the globe to be in the court room. On the ground, people with no association to the case have tried not to miss a moment in the trial. School groups, aspiring authors and internationally renowned authors such as Helen Garner have even attended. ] Michelle Wilson who lives 10 minutes from the courtroom, said she rang ahead to find out how she could watch the trial when she found out it would be sitting in Morwell. The casual worker said she turned down many shifts and put her social life on hold to make sure she did not miss a day. "I went along and then I was just addicted," Ms Wilson said. "You want to watch the next bit, even if you're tired. "You want to come back the next day and see how it's going to play out and what the next piece of evidence is that's presented." Ms Wilson said it was the first time she had been to court and she had become interested in courtroom dynamics and characters. "I actually really love listening to the different approaches of the prosecution versus the defence," Ms Wilson said. "I really like both of them and they draw me in." She said she "absolutely" loved prosecution barrister Nanette Rogers. "I love what she wears," she said. "And then of course [there is defence barrister] Colin Mandy. "He's very likeable and he engages with the people." ] She said she and about 10 other regulars had struck up friendships, texting each other to keep tabs and to debrief afterwards. "We text each other in the mornings, asking 'how many people in line', because of course I've got cows to feed and things to do," she said. They have even come up with remedies to brave the cold mornings. "We go and get a coffee, we wear scarves and we've actually got those little hand warmer things," she said. Donna Robinson homeschools her son Ruben. She took him to court early in the case for an educational opportunity. The 10-year-old observed court for the first time in his life and even tried his hand at a courtroom sketch. An impression of Erin Patterson by a student in the courtroom. Photo: Supplied: Ruben Robinson Mykey O'Halloran, who lives between Phillip Island and Melbourne, said he had not spent as much time in court as Ms Wilson, but had dedicated five full days. He has been waking up at 3.30am to make it to Morwell in time to jump in line. "It drew me in because it was local to South Gippsland, happening in my backyard basically," he said. He said he was initially unsure if his usual rainbow attire would be too much for a sombre setting. "I'm a really colourful person so I thought 'Would it be inappropriate if I'm there?'" Mr O'Halloran said. "One of the Wilkinson family spoke to me and said 'I love your hair' and they noticed my beard and said 'You didn't have a beard last week, did you?'" Mykey O'Halloran has been fitting court sitting days between his hairdressing clients. Photo: Adam Kamien He decided to travel to court after listening to the ABC's Mushroom Case Daily. "Every detail that's been coming out on Mushroom Case Daily just intrigued me so much that I needed to be in the room," he said. "I needed to see her tears and feel the emotion in the room as it was happening." But he said the seriousness of the case was not lost on him. "It feels tense, very serious," he said. "You feel the reality that people have lost family members, you feel the grief and especially having Ian [Wilkinson] in the room. "He lived through this and almost lost his life." - ABC
ABC News
02-07-2025
- ABC News
Visitors queue for public gallery seats in mushroom trial courtroom
A line has been seen forming outside the Latrobe Valley law courts from the crack of dawn. People from as far away as Melbourne have been travelling to Morwell for each day of the trial of Erin Patterson. Ms Patterson is charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in relation to a beef Wellington meal which contained death cap mushrooms. She has always maintained her innocence and her defence team says the inclusion of the mushrooms was a tragic accident. The case has drawn international interest, with journalists travelling from across the globe to be in the court room. On the ground, people with no association to the case have tried not to miss a moment in the trial. School groups, aspiring authors and internationally renowned authors such as Helen Garner have even attended. Michelle Wilson who lives 10 minutes from the courtroom, said she rang ahead to find out how she could watch the trial when she found out it would be sitting in Morwell. The casual worker said she turned down many shifts and put her social life on hold to make sure she did not miss a day. "I went along and then I was just addicted," Ms Wilson said. "You want to watch the next bit, even if you're tired. Ms Wilson said it was the first time she had been to court and she had become interested in courtroom dynamics and characters. "I actually really love listening to the different approaches of the prosecution versus the defence," Ms Wilson said. "I really like both of them and they draw me in. She said she "absolutely" loved prosecution barrister Nanette Rogers. "I love what she wears," she said. "And then of course [there is defence barrister] Colin Mandy. "He's very likeable and he engages with the people." She said and about 10 other regulars had struck up friendships, texting each other to keep tabs and to debrief afterwards. "We text each other in the mornings, asking 'how many people in line', because of course I've got cows to feed and things to do," she said. They have even come up with remedies to brave the cold mornings. "We go and get a coffee, we wear scarves and we've actually got those little hand warmer things," she said. Donna Robinson homeschools her son Ruben. She took him to court early in the case for an educational opportunity. The 10-year-old observed court for the first time in his life and even tried his hand at a courtroom sketch. Mykey O'Halloran, who lives between Phillip Island and Melbourne, said he had not spent as much time in court as Ms Wilson, but had dedicated five full days. He has been waking up at 3.30am to make it to Morwell in time to jump in line. "It drew me in because it was local to South Gippsland, happening in my backyard basically," he said. He said he was initially unsure if his usual rainbow attire would be too much for a sombre setting. "I'm a really colourful person so I thought 'Would it be inappropriate if I'm there?'" Mr O'Halloran said. "One of the Wilkinson family spoke to me and said 'I love your hair' and they noticed my beard and said 'You didn't have a beard last week, did you?'" He decided to travel to court after listening to the ABC's Mushroom Case Daily. "Every detail that's been coming out on Mushroom Case Daily just intrigued me so much that I needed to be in the room," he said. "I needed to see her tears and feel the emotion in the room as it was happening." But he said the seriousness of the case was not lost on him. "It feels tense, very serious," he said. "You feel the reality that people have lost family members, you feel the grief and especially having Ian [Wilkinson] in the room. "He lived through this and almost lost his life."
The Guardian
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Helen Garner reflects on the ‘three worst weeks of my life' caring for a dying friend
When Helen Garner arrived at Sydney's Belvoir St theatre last Wednesday, she was worried the next two hours were 'going to be gruesome'. It was opening night of the adaptation of her 2008 novel, The Spare Room, based on her experience caring for a dying friend who came to stay with her. 'They were the three worst weeks of my life, they were just unforgettably dreadful,' Garner said in conversation with Jennifer Byrne at Belvoir on Monday evening. 'I came along [to opening night] feeling that I would find it unbearable to live those three weeks again.' After the show, she crawled into bed 'exhausted'. 'I don't sleep very well now, since I got old, but I got into bed and I slept without moving for nine hours,' Garner said. 'Seeing those three weeks played out on stage resolved something in me.' In The Spare Room, the narrator, Helen, gamely agrees to host her old friend Nicola when she flies from Sydney to Melbourne to attend a cancer clinic, without realising how close to death she is. As the novel opens, Helen is preparing her spare room for her friend – fresh sheets, plumped pillows, a new rug, flowers – confident in her capabilities as a hostess and carer. This is quickly punctured by Nicola's shocking frailty and poor health, and her irrational optimism about her prognosis and the clinic's dubious treatment protocol – which turns out to be Vitamin C injections and 'ozone baths'. There follows a power struggle: Helen's fierce love for her friend gives way to excoriating rage at her delusional positivity and refusal to admit she's dying, while Nicola stubbornly resists Helen's attempts to arrange proper pain medication and palliative care. 'I was cruel to her,' Garner confessed, reflecting on her experience with her friend (Jenya Osborne, who died in 2006), adding: 'When somebody's in a trance of craziness, you want to snap them out of it – and that can make you cruel, harsh.' Belvoir's artistic director, Eamon Flack, who adapted the novel for stage, said it was Garner's frank depiction of an older woman's rage that drew him to it. Garner said she was criticised for precisely this aspect of her novel when it was first published. 'Quite a few older men criticised it because they said it was too full of anger … I was kind of shocked, actually, [because] we rage against death; there's a lot of anger in us when death is in the room.' These criticisms upset her, she admitted. 'You don't want to [be seen as] 'Oh, you're so angry.' 'Why are you so angry, Helen? You're always angry' – that's something people [have said]. Even my grandson said this to me the other day: 'Hel, you're full of anger,'' she said, rearing back in mock rage: 'I said, 'How dare you!'' Not a single woman has criticised The Spare Room for its anger, Garner said; instead, many older women thanked her for depicting the carer's experience. One full-time carer told her: 'Helen, we all feel that anger. We're all tormented by it. Don't be ashamed of it. It's part of the whole thing. You have to go there.' In Belvoir's adaptation, Helen is portrayed by stage and screen veteran Judy Davis – a performance that Garner said she found 'shattering' to watch. 'But it took me a moment to get used to it,' she said. 'I don't go to the theatre much any more. I used to go a lot – I even used to be a theatre critic in the 80s – but now I just look at movies and stuff on TV. And I'd forgotten how actory [theatre] actors are. There's such a lot of big gestures, big movements, and I thought, 'Oh my God, could you just stand still for a moment?' … I kept saying 'I would never do that. I would never run across the room like that'.' Garner said she is not generally a fan of adaptations of her work – but neither does she feel the need to be heavily involved. 'I'm happy to hand stuff over,' she said. 'I wouldn't have wanted to have anything to do with this production … I would feel that I was useless.' One exception was Ken Cameron's 1982 film adaptation of her 1977 novel, Monkey Grip, where she happened to be on set the day they were filming a scene between Noni Hazlehurst and Colin Friels after his character had overdosed. 'He says 'Sorry, Nora', and in the book she says, 'You don't have to say that' – and so Noni [said the line] and I said, 'CUT! That's so wrong. She's in a rage.' But they were going to play it in this soppy, wet [way],' Garner said. 'I'm always glad that I was there.' When Byrne said she would like to see all of Garner's books adapted for stage, Garner retorted with characteristic frankness: 'I'm telling you now, I would hate that. I mean, God, there's so much shit in there.' The audience laughed appreciatively – but the author fixed us with a gimlet eye. 'And when I die, don't think anybody's gonna get in it then, either.' The Spare Room is at Belvoir St theatre, Sydney until 13 July
