Best VFL journo other than Paul Amy

Lots of mistakes in Howard Leigh's articles. Last Sunday readers were advised to go to Princes Park instead of Cramer St for the Bullants/Port match. At least six people indicated to me that they went to the wrong ground. Alright they may not be staunch VFL supporters but it's still a big blew to have the wrong ground listed on the day of the match.

Guys, I'm embarrassed at this thread. I'm just like everyone else, trying to pay the bills on the fridge. As a kid I always read Howard Leigh's column in Inside Footy and it was never less than entertaining. I admire the way he's still out there chasing stories. Here's a piece we ran on him a couple of years ago HEADLINE HOWIE By: PAUL AMY Click here for full page image in PDF format IF VETERAN sports reporter Howard Leigh has written a million stories, he has told three times as many. Yarns involving footballers, cricketers, boxers and journos trip off his tongue and are accompanied with witty asides and the occasional gust of laughter. He steers the conversation this way, then that. He could talk a dog into giving up a bone. Leigh, a long-time Elsternwick resident, is coy about his age but he's been in the game for almost 40 years. He has a nose for news and records it in a racy style. He is a tabloids man to his fingertips; some have called him ``Headline Howie'', according to Steve Milne, one of his journalistic buddies. Reflecting on his long and colourful career, Leigh is most proud he has written ``the tough stories''. ``I've never been afraid to write them. Plenty of people sit on the fence. That's Easy Street,'' he said. ``I like journos who are fearless and go for the jugular. ``Trevor Grant is one. He's written some tough stories, same as Caroline Wilson.'' He learned to ``go hard'' on the old Sunday Observer. They used to say go for it, rough it up. The Observer is one of a long list of publications and organisations for which he's worked. ``The biggest scoop that paper had was when Michelle Downs was Miss Australia. The week she won it the Observer had nude photos of her when she was a rising star,'' he chortled. Leigh has covered everything from council to courts to police, but is best known for his coverage of VFA/VFL and District/Sub-District cricket. His recall of people and incidents and scandals is sharp. Like the time Sandringham player Terry Wilkins jumped the fence and popped a reporter who'd been giving him lip. And when Geelong West Under-19 players couldn't face going out in the second half against Williamstown. They locked themselves in the changerooms. These days Leigh writes for the Western Times, competing with Milne for stories. They are rivals, but friends; whenever they attend the same function they invariably get together and chatter like schoolboys. ``I love the guy,'' Milne said. He likes to get Leigh's paper and see what stories he has played up. After Williamstown's heavy loss to Werribee in round two this year, Leigh approached Willy general manager Brendan Curry and asked if the club would hold a crisis meeting. ``No,'' Curry replied. So, just as Curry predicted, Leigh took the angle that Willy would hold off from calling a crisis meeting. Curry said: ``He loves a bit of controversy, a bit of muck-raking, but that's Howard. ``Over the journey his reporting has upset club officials and players, myself included, but the one thing that is unquestioned is his love of VFA/VFL football.'' Leigh is also the Sunday Herald Sun's VFL scribe. After each game he wanders into the rooms and pulls out a tape recorder as big a shoe box. It looks cumbersome, but it is effective; Leigh explained that it picked up voices far better than the pocket-sized versions. During his interviews he has a tendency to repeat key words from answers. An example: this season VFL coach Mark Williams called the Vics' loss to SA ``heartbreaking''. ``Heartbreaking, was it?'' Leigh asked again, inviting Williams to expand on the point. Milne also noted Leigh's fancy for knowing if a footballer is a bachelor and his outrageous dress sense. Leigh has worn loud bow ties and sports coats for as long as anyone can remember. ``I'm a bit of a lair. I like to be colourful,'' he said. It all began for him in newspapers in 1968, on the Waverley Gazette. At the same time he was an around-the-groundsman for the old 3XY. Then it was off to the Sunday Observer and then the Truth. Scot Palmer got him across to the Sunday Press, whose staff transferred to the Sunday Herald Sun when the paper was established in 1989. There were also stints as Victorian correspondent for Cricketer magazine and Inside Football's VFA man. In both publications he liked to give players nicknames. The appearance of 14-year-old Ron James in Williamstown's team for the 1985 VFA grand final against Sandringham was a sensation. Leigh came out in the Sunday Observer with news of the selection, declaring the teenager would be making his debut. He regards it as one of his best scoops. There are a few other stories he recalls with pride. Wayne Johnstone declaring he was innocent after he was reported for striking a Geelong player in a final. The player who accepted a bet to belt an umpire. And then there was the Jimmy Krakouer ``back-page exclusive''. From the press box at the old Moorabbin ground he noticed Krakouer clash with a spectator as he came off the ground. He went into the rooms and snatched an interview with the North Melbourne rover, who gave a blow-by-blow account of the incident. ``I got him a beauty,'' Krakouer said. Kangaroos officials hustled Leigh out of the rooms but he had what he wanted. His Sunday Press competitor couldn't get near Krakouer. The next time he saw Leigh, the Press man said: ``That was a great story you got there.'' Howard Leigh enjoyed that very much. ``I'm old-timer now,'' he said. But give him the whiff of a good story and watch him go.

Finn the Dolphin's not bad! Writes for the Frankston Independent and seems to know the players pretty well...

I need time to think about this. Too many of them just name drop AFL listed players.

The shining Diamond - Brent Diamond - is full of exclusives in the Werribee Banner. I get it every week. Some of the stuff I don't agree with, but you can't agree with it all. I think he took out the VFL media award last year.

He did take out the media award last year. I am happy enough to count him as a media associate and friend of mine.

``The shining Diamond - Brent Diamond - is full of exclusives in the Werribee Banner. I get it every week. Some of the stuff I don't agree with, but you can't agree with it all. I think he took out the VFL media award last year.'' Well to the site Brent!

i do know brent yes...just backing him up on this debate. i'm tom and new to VFL footy, great site though. but back on to the debate. i read howard leigh's leader stuff and he's been great too. if you lived in werribee, you'd say the Banner is the best read here though for vfl. I'm guessing not too many ppl here are from the west??

Excellent article in the age by Michael Sharkie about port v bendigo.