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October 7th 2008 @ 12:48am
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Jets fail to launch in draw
Newcastle have squandered a golden opportunity to close the gap on the A-League top four, allowing two penalty goals as Wellington escaped with a 2-2 draw at EnergyAustralia Stadium today.
The defending A-League champions seemed set for just their second win of the season before busy Phoenix import Leilei Gao fell dramatically after a Matt Thompson [...]
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![The Expert Determination Panel, otherwise known as Barry Paterson QC, a former New Zealand High Court judge, and David Kirk, former All Black captain, lived up to its grandiose title in allocating the fifth Australian Super Rugby to Melbourne.
The decision was a determined one, in that the madcap South African bid was rejected, and [...] Spiro Zavos: SANZAR finally gets it right on Melbourne](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/next-five-things-john-oneill-th.jpg)
![They dominated the inside 50s. They had more scoring shots. They’d had the better season, but couldn’t get it done on the big stage. And even though I could be talking about St Kilda here, I’m not. I’m talking about Geelong in last year’s grand final.
The Cats had 20 more inside 50s than Hawthorn last [...] Michael DiFabrizio: Premiership the sweetest form of redemption for Cats](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Paul-Chapman-th.jpg)
![First of all, let’s get something straight: FIFA’s apparent back flip on who can bid for the 2018 World Cup hosting rights has nothing to do with Australia and everything to do with Europe.
The world governing body aren’t just shafting Football Federation Australia, they are leaving everyone outside of the European power base in the [...] Davidde Corran: Time to get serious about our floundering World Cup bid](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/malaysian-fly-ointment-rudd-salisbury-mccallum-th.jpg)
![It was Karl Marx who claimed that religion is the opiate of the masses, but in this day and age, he may as well have been referring to sport. No matter the catastrophes that befall us, from financial crises to terrible acts of nature, many of us perk up when the topic returns to sporting [...] Mike Tuckerman: What do we want from our Socceroos?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/What-do-we-want-from-our-Socceroos.jpg)
![February has proved to be a fabulous month for cricket in all forms. We had a spine-tingling Test in Kolkata, followed by a nail-biting One-day International at Jaipur, and a landmark double century by the evergreen Sachin Tendulkar in the second ODI in Gwalior on Wednesday.
On 21 February, New Zealand defeated Australia by 2 runs [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: Tendulkar stakes his claim as best batsman in all forms](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ipl-dog-sachin-tendulkar-th.jpg)
![I’ve been amazed by the football noise that’s been coming out of New Zealand over recent weeks. While I suppose it all started with that fateful match against Bahrain in November, since almost 20,000 fans stumped up in Christchurch to see the Phoenix defeat Adelaide United 1-0 almost four weeks ago, I’ve started to believe.
Not [...] Davidde Corran: The Phoenix can help the game rise up](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/wellington-phoenix-tim-brown-th.jpg)
![As we draw closer to the start of season 2010, we look at the big questions being asked in the AFL, including the most important of them all.
Does Geelong need to win this year’s premiership to be rated with the best sides of all time?
They do. Three in four years will put the Cats right [...] Luke D'Anello: The big questions this season, Part Two](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/premiership-geelong-cats-paul-chapman-th.jpg)
![Am I the only person writing on Test cricket these days? After seven One-Day Internationals in England, the ICC Champions Trophy starts the South Africa today, then the Airtel Champions Twenty20 in India starts on October 8, followed by more Fifty50 ODIs between Australia and India in India.
Test matches will recommence in November.
But [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: Short history of foreign-born Australian Test cricketers](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ipl-mutant-symonds-th.jpg)
![I understand Phil Gould’s suggestion that extreme measures may be necessary to ban players from drinking alcohol. But what about the copious amount of alcohol advertising and sponsorship in the game?
Surely this would need to be banned as well.
When Brett Stewart returns to league and eventually wins his first man-of-the match award, it is [...] Benjamin Conkey: Ban alcohol advertising in rugby league first](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/ban-alcohol-ads-brett-stewart-th.jpg)
![While Matthew Lloyd’s reckless hit on Brad Sewell has inevitably received plenty of attention this week in the midst of the debate about ‘the bump’, the Essendon forward’s act should also initiate discussion about the need for a send-off rule in AFL footy.
With his side trailing by 22 points at the main break, the Bombers [...] Ben Somerford: Lloyd’s hit raises the question of the send-off rule](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/lloyds-hit-raises-th.jpg)



