By Sam Lienert
July 16th 2009 @ 12:57am
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Saints can’t afford to ease off, says Lyon
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon says his unbeaten AFL side risks a quick slide into mediocrity if they start flirting with their relentless approach.
Lyon is predicting an enormous challenge against Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, rating the Crows’ recent run of results as superior to the Saints’.
But he welcomes another tough clash, coming after [...]
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![Football is increasingly becoming more and more defensive. The distance between lines has been shortened, space is becoming more and more squeezed, and 4-2-4 has become 4-5-1.
At the 1954 World Cup, an average of 5.38 goals were scored per match. Fifty-two years later at Germany 2006, that had dropped to 2.31.
The financial imbalance [...] Davidde Corran: Football isn’t a red card game](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/rename-epl-gpl-patrice-evra-th.jpg)
![The race for Bradford Bulls forward Sam Burgess looks no clearer if the buzz of the press room is anything to go by.
I was in London last week following the Challenge Cup final for a certain paymaster and in the media filled bars following various events, my antipodean twang often resulted in discussions about the [...] Steve Kaless: Crowe, Sea Eagles fighting to sign UK star Burgess](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/crowe-sea-eagles-th.jpg)
![At the end of the Year 2000, Sydney looked at its reflection with a cocksure grin and felt with some justification that it held a reputation as one of the world’s great sporting cities.
The Olympics had been an absolute triumph and the Harbour city no doubt felt keen to tackle Melbourne for the crown of [...] Steve Kaless: Sydney is no longer one of the great sporting cities](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/nrl.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)
![Ahead of our first match of the 2010 Super 14 season against the Western Force in Perth, there is a real sense of excitement building amongst the group as we embark on our three month journey.
After a shorter pre-season then previous years, which included a three day bike ride from Canberra to Mt Kosciusko and [...] Ben Hand: Brumbies fired up to start Super 14 on winning note](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/patrick-phibbs-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)
![Losing may not have been an option according to the marketers, but for much of the first half last night, Omani attacking midfielder Fawzi Basheer threatened to shift Australia’s planning post-South Africa from Qatar to Brazil.
Had Hassan Rabea taken the chance that Basheer delightfully teed up for him midway through the half, and had [...] Tony Tannous: Qatar dream alive, but much to do ahead of South Africa](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/qatar-dream-alive-kewell-th.jpg)
![Pick one of the egg-shaped ball sports. A player has a kick for goal after the siren. If he makes it, they win, if he misses they lose. He misses and all and sundry do their best to say that the loss had nothing to do with this one kick.
There were plenty of opportunities [...] David Wiseman: Crunch plays separate the great from the good](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/crunchplays-tiger-woods-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)
![The pieces of the jigsaw seem to falling into their perfect positions, and each day it seems more likely that Geelong’s Gary Ablett Jr will move to the AFL’s new Gold Coast team. Consider this: his father, Gary Ablett Sr, one of the greatest players of all time, has moved to the Gold Coast.
His brother, [...] Luke D'Anello: Gary Ablett Jr looks to be heading to a warmer place](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/gary-ablett-th.jpg)



