By Adam Cooper
September 15th 2008 @ 9:54pm
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‘Cat empire’ sounds good to Thompson
Geelong coach Mark Thompson is focused on creating a dynasty at the AFL club, but says it’s premature to bestow greatness on it yet.
Thompson admitted building an era of success at Geelong had been his plan since 1999, when he joined the club.
After steering the Cats to last year’s drought-breaking premiership and dropping only one [...]
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![Last Friday, the Melbourne Knights announced Mark Viduka would be the team’s number one ticket holder for the new Victorian Premier League season.
In an article on the Knights’ website, the former NSL club also revealed that former Socceroo Danny Tiatto would be joining the club for two games as a guest player.
Interesting news that mostly [...] Davidde Corran: Viduka shows the way to embrace football’s roots](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/ACT-government-shoots-viduka-th.jpg)
![Despite their reality check overnight, the Socceroos, for so long the underachievers and forgotten Australian national team, are making a strong case for being the countries premier sporting entity, the most marketable and the biggest drawcard.
Since their long awaited World Cup qualification in 2005, they have threatened the domination of the Wallabies and [...] Adrian Musolino: Socceroos are now Australia’s premier national team](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/socceroos-australias-premier-national-viduka-th.jpg)
![There are are two ways to punctuate the question: how good were the expert picks for the Melbourne Cup!? The exclamation punctuation suggests that the experts were spot on. But the question mark punctuation, which goes with this Roar, suggests that they were mug punters (like you and me) rather than gurus of the turf.
I [...] Spiro Zavos: How Shocking that the experts got it so wrong](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/how-shocking-melbourne-cup-th.jpg)
![Expansion hasn’t been the golden ticket to significantly better crowd figures with a below 10,000 average crowd for the last round highlighting the complexities of drawing punters at this time of the year. But rather than being the ticket to better crowds, expansion is partly the reason for the deplorable crowds in Brisbane.
Brisbane came into [...] Adrian Musolino: FFA needs to reconsider expansion plans for 2010/11](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ffa-needs-reconsider-th.jpg)
![The doomsayers are preparing the obituary. Tennis in this country is dying – as evidenced by the mammoth drop in television ratings for the Australian Open that shows a 40 per cent decrease in viewers from last year.
The magnitude of such a drop cannot be ignored. And there must be an underlying fault somewhere to [...] Adrian Musolino: Channel 7 has stifled this year’s Australian Open](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/federer-courier-seven-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)
![It’s a hotly contested Top 5 this week as we take a look at sportspeople who have lost the plot during their careers to such an extent that they’ve landed themselves in jail. There are many unworthy candidates, so I’ve stuck to one per sport. I welcome your additions and suggestions.
1. Greg Bird (c)
Demonstrated [...] Andrew Jones: The Top 5 Jailbirds In Sport](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/top-5-jailbirds-greg-bird-th.jpg)
![The seven ODI series between Australia and India was considered as a test not only of who the top ODI nation is, but also of the health of Fifty50 cricket in general.
The series is currently locked at 2-all, Australia is three points ahead of challengers India in ODIs, and the spectator interest at a [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: Test cricket struggling, but Fifty50 thriving in India](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/test-cricket-struggling-fifty50-india-ponting-th.jpg)
![Last year was an annus horribilis for rugby, particularly in Australia. The 2010 season is shaping up to be a cracker, in my opinion.
Many of the factors that soured the rugby world for players and supporters last season have been resolved. And, in addition, there have been some interesting initiatives put in place for the [...] Spiro Zavos: The 2010 rugby season is shaping up to be a cracker](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/great-super-14-round-david-pocock-th.jpg)
![One of the more common criticisms of the state of Australian rugby is that there’s no depth, or even that there’s not enough quality to cater for four Super rugby teams, let alone one more with the arrival of the Melbourne Rebels in 2011.
These criticisms place Australian rugby in the classic catch-22; without the four [...] Brett McKay: Four of Australia’s new breed make their mark](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/dave-dennis-waratahs-th.jpg)
![I’m still shaking my head in disbelief at the astonishing attack on Football Federation Australia made in New Zealand’s Sunday Times yesterday. In the article, writer Simon Plumb implores readers not to “hold your breath waiting for an annual Socceroos-All Whites clash – the arrogant Aussies don’t want to know about it.”
“Despite agreeing to a [...] Davidde Corran: Arrogant, irritating Aussies are New Zealand’s best hope](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/new-zealand-all-whites-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)



