A house divided

By Lia Bichel
FRIENDS of 68-year-old Leni Falconer may have to give her some space on Grand Final Day – she admits she can get “a little nasty” when cheering for her beloved Cats.
While the Pies and the Cats battle it out at the MCG on the weekend, the Berwick resident and her Collingwood supporting husband Laurie, 67, will be in a friendly competition of their own.
“Laurie’s been a Collingwood supporter all his life,” Mrs Falconer said.
“I was Dutch-born and my parents weren’t into the footy, but we moved to Australia when I was six and I choose to cheer for Geelong as a young girl and I always watched them on television.”
The couple have decorated their unit at their Kangan Drive retirement village but will be donning their team colours at a friend’s house in Phillip Island on Saturday.
“I told my friend I would probably prefer to watch the game myself because I can get a little nasty,” she laughed.
“But if there are a lot of people at the house I will try not to get too loud!”
Mrs Falconer said their friends were Carlton supporters but had a feeling they would help her back her favourite team.
“My friends are Carlton supporters- and Carlton people do hate Collingwood,” she laughed.
“But either way, there won’t be any tension between me and Laurie. It’s all good fun.”