'The Temple Down The Road' is Brian Matthew's characteristically idiosyncratic and lateral evocation of the Melbourne Cricket Ground down the years, and an anatomy of its place in the hearts and imaginations of Australians.
On a cold, foggy Melbourne night, Tom Wills - one of the architects of Australian Rules football and a pivotal figure in the history of the MCG - makes a ghostly return to the famous ground. Like a magic circus-master, he stands in the centre circle and conjures up the resonant past and the celebrated figures and events that have made the "G" such a compelling presence in the city.
Brian Matthews approaches his subject from all directions: the story unfolds through anecdote, personal recollection, history, the ebb and flow of famous and infamous lives, social, spiritual and political currents, glorious and inglorious feats and great sporting encounters. It is framed by the 2002 Grand Final between Collingwood and Brisbane, a watershed game after which the MCG would begin an unprecedented transformation.
