By Guy Hand
September 5th 2008 @ 12:47am
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Coast must trade smartly, says ex-Bears boss
The man who helped save AFL’s first disastrous foray to the Gold Coast says the region’s new club must trade high draft picks for “stronger bodies” to survive and thrive in a tough market.
Former Brisbane Bears chief Andrew Ireland, who guided the club from near-extinction in 1990 to eventual success and acceptance as the Brisbane [...]
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![The keen interest shown by Roar readers on my last week’s article, Foreign-born England’s Test Cricketers, has encouraged me to research on overseas-born South African Test cricketers.
South Africa selected their first ever player of Asian origin in their Test team in 2004. Born in Durban, Hashim Amla is a member of the Durban and Kwazulu [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: Foreign-born South African Test cricketers](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/foreign-born-south-african-cricket-hashim-amla-graeme-smith-th.jpg)
![As a rugby league fan who has often been frustrated by the small-minded nature of many of the game’s club bosses and administrators in the past, I had to applaud the stance of Parramatta CEO Paul Osborne this week.
Osborne, spying a monster crowd for his team’s season opener against the well supported Dragons, has made [...] Steve Kaless: Eels’ Homebush gambit positive move for NRL](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/bulldogs-eels-th.jpg)
![For the second consecutive weekend, a major motorsport event was halted due to freak storms. Both the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Qatar MotoGP couldn’t continue in the circumstances.
But as they were twilight and night races respectively, to better cater for television, there was no more room for manoeuvrability.
Motorsport has [...] Adrian Musolino: Catering for television can cost a sport dearly](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/catering-for-tv-cortese-th.jpg)
![The brutal execution of John Howard’s hope to be the Chief Commissioner for a new independent Rugby League Commission by the Labor Left hard man, the Federal MP Anthony Albanese, was totally predictable.
Rugby league, traditionally, has been the Labor Party in NSW and Queensland at play. There is no way the party is going to [...] Spiro Zavos: Why John Howard is out of his league](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/why-john-howard-league-th.jpg)
![Mick Malthouse managed to take his young Magpies side further than many expected in 2009. Indeed, Collingwood over-achieved this year. But in the end they lacked the quality required to go further. So you wonder, can Collingwood do any better in 2010?
The finals defeats to St Kilda and Geelong and the Round 22 loss to [...] Ben Somerford: Can Collingwood go one step further in 2010?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/st-kilda-geelong-audience-th.jpg)
![As 2009 draws to a close, so will end one of the most controversy laden years for NRL off the field. Barely a week seemed to go by without another player being splashed all over the papers for “all the wrong reasons.”
The NRL has steeled itself to get tough on players and clubs in 2010 [...] Steve Kaless: Gambling on matches a risky bet for the NRL](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/nrl-roosters-storm-th.jpg)
![It is early days, but on the evidence of a number of the matches in the first round of the Super 14 tournament, the new rulings have been a great success.
We need the referees, especially those in South Africa, a rugby nation that has a history of assaulting referees, to stick with their convictions and [...] Spiro Zavos: The new Super 14 rulings should be worldwide](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mark-gerrard-th.jpg)
![Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse has been campaigning for the introduction of some form of increase to the number of players on the bench for some time. He got his wish in the NAB Cup, if only in the form of a trial.
The pre-season rule allowed for an additional two players, known as substitutes, on the [...] Michael DiFabrizio: Bench the current system, bring in the substitutes](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/bench-current-system-th.jpg)
![The AFL’s expansion to 18 teams means the talent pool will become more diluted and clubs are reacting to this by seeking new ways to find players. It presents a new challenge for footy clubs and it’s interesting to observe their different methods.
When the Gold Coast and West Sydney clubs do arrive on the AFL [...] Ben Somerford: AFL clubs beginning to think outside the square](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/AFL-clubs-think-outside-square-karmichael-hunt-broncos-th.jpg)
![It’s hard to believe, but finally common sense has prevailed. An umpire reversed the decision of a goal umpire after watching the replay on the big screen. The move has now inadvertently highlighted the benefits of a video review system in one of the greatest pieces of umpiring I’ve ever seen.
Leaving no doubt in my [...] Justin Rodski: It’s time to roll out video technology in the AFL](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/jared-brennan-lions-th.jpg)
![As a contributor to SBS website The World Game, I often find myself perusing the site’s long-standing and mildly infamous forum. A hodge-podge of nationalist flag-waving and juvenile humour, it can be a diverting way to spend a couple of hours.
They’re an unforgiving lot on the forum, quick to highlight mistakes, ready to pounce on [...] Mike Tuckerman: Time to unite ‘new dawners’ and ‘bitters’ supporters](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/time-to-unite-socceroos-th.jpg)
![“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games,” said Ernest Hemingway. He obviously wasn’t adverse to blood and guts in his sporting tastes, and he certainly would have been a fan of MotoGP.
Yesterday the world’s greatest riders hit speeds in excess of 320km/h as they [...] Adrian Musolino: Motorbike racing is the only remaining gladiatorial sport](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/motorbike-racing-valentino-rossi-th.jpg)



