By Hannibal Rossi
November 7th 2009 @ 3:50am
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Brisbane rock Adelaide United to end the drought
Two goals from striker Sergio Van Dijk and a crucial penalty save from Griffin McMaster have revived Brisbane’s season after the Roar clinched their first win in six matches with a 2-0 upset of Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Van Dijk stroked home a controversial spot kick in the 35th minute and then bagged his seventh [...]
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![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)
![When Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy announced that Australia were hoping to both host and win the 2018 FIFA World Cup you could almost hear the sniggers echoing around the globe.
The Socceroos squad that made such great inroads in Germany 2006 might have been filled with players of European quality like Viduka, Kewell and [...] Davidde Corran: Socceroos 2018 aspirations to begin in Egypt](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/socceroos-2018-egypt-blatter-lowy-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)
![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)
![I can’t decide whether Oman coach Claude Le Roy looks like Tom Petty or an aged Joni Mitchell, but there’s no doubting he’s one mightily pissed off dude. And for good reason. Not the fact his valiant Omanis fell victim to another one of Tim Cahill’s get-out-of-jail goals, but because Socceroos team manager Gary Moretti [...] Jesse Fink: Moretti’s truculence jeopardises Australia’s standing in Asia](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Moretti-truculence-jeopardises-Australia-standing-Asia.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)
![To coincide with Saturday night’s historic first ever elite-level AFL match at Blacktown, Team GWS launched their search for a nickname and colours on the weekend. You may ask ‘what’s in a name?’, but for the AFL’s 18th club, it is one small part of forming an identity to engage the local community.
Team GWS’s campaign [...] Ben Somerford: Giants, Rangers, Pride, Stallions? GWS’ name game](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/sheedy-gws-th.jpg)
![They may have taken centre stage at Surfers Paradise by default, but it was still a significant moment for the V8 Supercars. Should they convince the Queensland government to retain the event as a V8 Supercar-only weekend, it will be another significant development for the series.
The V8 Supercar calendar has slowly transformed [...] Adrian Musolino: V8 Supercars entering their own crucial phase](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/V8-Supercars-crucial.jpg)
![With the NRL season kicking off this weekend, here are The Roar’s tips for the seven young players who will make a big impact on the game in 2010.
Blake Ferguson (Cronulla): Finally a reason for Sharks fans to smile. Plenty of pace, a great leap and a good finisher (scored some great tries last year). [...] Steve Kaless: The magnificent seven to watch this NRL season](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/blake-ferguson-cronulla-th.jpg)
![Football fans in Australia shouldn’t be alarmed by the absence of Australians from the first round of nominations for the AFC player of the year award.
It’s not a case of Australian football being shunned by its confederation. Nor is it due to some mysterious lack of top-class Australian football players.
Instead, it’s because the [...] Davidde Corran: Asian Player of the Year award is a farce](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/asian-champions-league-masato-yamakazi-th.jpg)
![If 2009 was meant to herald the return to dominance of the little man in rugby league, then to borrow a phrase from our tourism board, “Where the bloody hell are they?”
The game was meant to be faster, meaning we were going to see more players like Matt Bowen carving up tiring forwards.
However, what coaches [...] Steve Kaless: A good big man will always beat a good small man](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/good-big-man-josh-perry-th.jpg)
![I’ve never read the Book of Revelations in which the signs of the coming apocalypse are detailed, however I’m pretty sure that amongst the plagues of locusts and rivers of blood there was no talk of a Queenslander coaching NSW.
Or in correct parlance, a f***ing Queenslander, and I’m sure none of my northern brethren [...] Steve Kaless: Bennett is no Blue in my book](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/bennett-no-blue-th.jpg)



