By Justin Davis
July 11th 2009 @ 2:37am
Love new art, fashion, music? Check out Aussie site which unearths all things cool and creative.
View The Roar's top writers by sport.
Related coverage
Contador attacks yellow as Feillu wins in mountains
Italian Rinaldo Nocentini took over the Tour de France yellow jersey as Spaniard Alberto Contador dramatically replaced Astana teammate Lance Armstrong in second place overall on Friday.
On the first of three consecutive days in the Pyrenees mountains, Frenchman Brice Feillu upset the form book to claim an impressive victory after 224km of racing from Barcelona.
However, [...]
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...


![Now that the beer coaster that I had used to write on has dried out, it’s time to reveal the Roar’s NRL Team of 2009. By way of introduction, it is worth mentioning that there were a number of debates that centered around a few different areas.
First, what is better, consistent effort or explosive [...] Steve Kaless: The 2009 Roar NRL Team of the Year](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/nrl-make-move-benjimarshall-th.jpg)
![Seventy-odd years ago, former Surrey and England captain Percy Fender noticed Don Bradman step away from a short pitched ball on a news reel. It was footage from Australia’s 1930 tour of England. Word got around to Douglas Jardine, that this Bradman may not be perfect afterall.
And so Bodyline was born.
Today, that ‘news reel’ [...] Benjamin Conkey: Phil Hughes treated like Bradman by the English](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/phil-hughes-treated-like-bradman-th.jpg)
![Dear Sonny Bill, or perhaps that should be Bonjour! I’m writing to you to congratulate you on achieving what your manager Khoder Nassar proclaimed was your goal when you left rugby league: to “transcend sport”.
Judging by the papers I think we can down tools and say ‘job well done.’
The single minded obsession that burdens [...] Steve Kaless: An open letter to Sonny Bill Williams](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/an-open-letter-sonny-bill-williams-th.jpg)
![The Sports Minister, Kate Ellis, who famously did not know the difference between rugby league and rugby union, is floating the proposition that successful athletes should pay back part of their expenses incurred training at the Austalian Institute of Sports and other similar institutions.
The Minister, in the great tradition of the Rudd Government’s penchant for [...] Spiro Zavos: Should successful athletes pay back their AIS costs?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/should-successful-athlete-pay-back-th.jpg)
![In just about any rugby conversation you come across these days, the talk turns to kicking, particularly kicking for goal. “There are too many penalties!” the naysayers argue.
Metronome-boots like Dan Carter and Morne Steyne are apparently spoiling the spectacle. After all, we opine, rugby was meant to be a running game.
This is not entirely [...] Andrew Logan: Limit kicks at goal to just one per player](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/limit-kicking-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)
![AFL stars and fans are declaring war on Channel 7. And for good reason. The network has confirmed it won’t be showing Friday night AFL matches live, as it’s committed instead to Better Homes and Gardens.
The continuation of delayed coverage has the AFL world fuming and has already sparked discussion over the AFL’s [...] Adrian Musolino: Battlelines drawn over live Friday night footy](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/grant-birchall-hawthorn-th.jpg)
![It’s time again to take off your club colours and slap on the green and gold. Another FIFA international date is upon us, and thankfully even the A-League is stepping aside for a week – though not the National Youth or Women’s Leagues.
There probably hasn’t been as important a FIFA international date since this [...] Davidde Corran: Verbeek experiments but Socceroos lack depth](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/verbeek-experiments-socceroos-th.jpg)
![There’s been much debate on David Gallop’s handling of the Sonny Bill Williams affair. And we hear loud rumblings that rugby league is in poor shape in Australia and that change is needed. So I invited Roar editor, Zolton Zavos, to put his thoughts forward on why he thinks Gus Gould might provide the solution, [...] Steve Kaless: Should Gus Gould replace David Gallop?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/gus-gould-th.jpg)
![At the beginning of October, Cricket Australia announced that the old state second XI competition would be replaced by a new Under-23 competition focussing on the development of spin bowlers. What was formerly known as the CA Cup would henceforth be known as the Futures League.
The Futures League will promote aggressive cricket by default, [...] Brett McKay: Australia’s spin future in a league of its own](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/australias-spin-future-hauritz-th.jpg)
![Earlier this year I attended a conference of sports historians talking about the history and future of rugby union.
The main speech was delivered by an English academic, Dr Tony Collins, an expert and passionate supporter of rugby league, and currently writing a history of rugby union in the 20th century.
Dr Collins’ main theme [...] Spiro Zavos: Does rugby league need a dose of the ELVs?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/eels-roosters-th.jpg)
![Michael Tuck medallist Barry Hall couldn’t have started life at the Western Bulldogs any better, prompting many pundits to believe the Dogs have solved their ‘power forward’ problem and are now 2010 Premiership favourites. But some maintain it’s a matter of time before ‘Big Bad Barry’ has another brain-snap.
The 33-year-old, who controversially ended his time [...] Ben Somerford: Is it a matter of time before Barry Hall snaps again?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/swans-story-barry-hall-th.jpg)



