By AAP
June 28th 2008 @ 1:57am
View The Roar's top writers by sport.
Love new art, fashion, music? Check out Aussie site which unearths all things cool and creative.
Related coverage
ANZ Championship round 13 preview panel
Preview of round 13 of the ANZ Netball Championship (all times AEST).
SATURDAY
ADELAIDE THUNDERBIRDS v QUEENSLAND FIREBIRDS at Etsa Park, Adelaide at 2.30pm
Last met: Round nine, Thunderbirds 47-41
Playing the penultimate round before finals, this is a crucial match for these teams with the T-Birds fifth and Firebirds currently fourth. Adelaide must bounce back from their biggest [...]
This article is over 2000 days old and has been trimmed.
Like this content? Buzz it up!
Free Email updates:
Our daily emails are only sent if there is content for the sport or that author. You can subscribe to multiple daily emails; or get the daily Roar email with all our content in it. We value privacy. More...


![FIFA uses the Confederations Cup as a warm-up for the World Cup, which is good given the problems that have already sprung up. But the off-field issues don’t concern me as much as the on-field ones do.
Egypt is furious after Brazil was awarded a penalty on the basis of a video replay that was screened [...] David Wiseman: FIFA turns a blind eye when it comes to new technology](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/fife-turns-blind-eye-th.jpg)
![Bear with me here, readers, for I’m about to break one of Sheek’s golden rules of citizen sports writing on The Roar: I’m broaching the topic of politics. And by “politics”, I mean “ridiculously stupid political decisions.”
Last week, ACT Sports Minister Andrew Barr declared that Canberra might withdraw its support for a united Australian World [...] Brett McKay: ACT Government shoots itself in the foot](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/ACT-government-shoots-viduka-th.jpg)
![I settled in front of the box late on Sunday night to catch the most recent episode of the Australian cricket team’s trek through Britain. I wanted to check whether the loss of the Ashes (a TEST series) would have any impact on their performance in shorter forms of the game, especially with the captain [...] Geoff Lawson: Twenty20 can be fun, but only if you’re winning](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/twenty20-can-be-fun-th.jpg)
![There’s an issue lingering in the backdrop of tonight’s clash between Collingwood and St Kilda. And like just about everything to do with this game – the marketing, the media attention – Luke Ball is in the middle of it.
His move from the Saints to the black and white has been intrinsically linked to the [...] Michael DiFabrizio: Free agency? Sort out third-party payments first](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/luke-ball-th.jpg)
![It was a good weekend for the underdogs in the Four Nations, and it’s almost beyond comprehension that England finished top of the table after their first forty minutes against France.
Without question the side that most impressed over the weekend was New Zealand.
Hit hard by injuries, the Kiwis showed their World [...] Steve Kaless: Four Nations review: Kiwis look the goods](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/four-nations-kiwis-warriors-th.jpg)
![Groundsmen around the world, please note: bowlers do exist. But the way you are preparing the pitches, they may become extinct. Ditto for Test cricket.
I realise you must be under instructions to prepare a pitch like a billiard table so that it lasts for five days and more spectators turn up to swell the organisers’ [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: There’s too many tall scores and small thinking](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/tall-scores-small-thinking-tendulkar-th.jpg)
![Libby Trickett is considering retirement at the age of 24. Casey Stoner has taken a leave of absence due to extreme fatigue at the age of 23. What’s happening to our star athletes?
It seems as though their lifespan, or ability to sustain a long-term career at the top, is being tested, not just as [...] Adrian Musolino: Sports stars start too young, retire too early](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/sports-stars-start-too-young-th.jpg)
![It’s becoming almost ridiculous now. Refresh your page on any football news site on the net and another Australian player is heading off to north Asia. Sasho Petrovski, Mark Bridge and even that great flop John Aloisi are all rumoured to be mulling over offers to go to the Chinese Super League.
Before you know [...] Jesse Fink: The A-League’s bleeding of players must stop](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/a-league-th2.jpg)
![Quick question, which professional footballer faced court last week with the threat of a custodial sentence? An NRL player? BZZZT! Wycliff Palu of the Waratahs.
The player escaped a jail sentence for being caught driving without licence for the second time but will pay a $1000 fine.
What struck me was the media’s treatment of [...] Steve Kaless: Why NRL players must want to play union](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/why-nrl-want-union-wycliff-palu-naqelevuki-th.jpg)
![Australia start their seven ODI series today in Vadodra, India, but will sorely miss the in-form NSW batsmen Phil Hughes, Simon Katich and David Warner – the success stories behind NSW Blues recent triumph in Champions League T20 final.
Having farewelled the NSW Blues in Sydney last week for the Champions League T20 earlier this [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: Australia will miss Hughes and Katich in India](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/phillip-hughes-bound-for-glory-th.jpg)
![With the NRL season kicking off this weekend, here are The Roar’s tips for the seven young players who will make a big impact on the game in 2010.
Blake Ferguson (Cronulla): Finally a reason for Sharks fans to smile. Plenty of pace, a great leap and a good finisher (scored some great tries last year). [...] Steve Kaless: The magnificent seven to watch this NRL season](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/blake-ferguson-cronulla-th.jpg)
![Four years ago, Glenn McGrath sprained his ankle on a stray ball at Edgbaston, an incident that dramatically altered the course of the 2005 Ashes series. Six weeks ago, Australia had over ten overs at the England last-wicket pairing of Monty Panesar and James Anderson.
Their failure to wrap up what looked to be a certain [...] Alec Swann: Ashes loss comes down to bungled selections](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/ashes-loss-th.jpg)



