By Daniel Brettig
November 10th 2009 @ 2:25am
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Watson from problem patient to last man standing
The irony of one of Australia’s most injury-blighted players thriving on a tour that saw five other players sent home for fitness reasons is not lost on Shane Watson.
And there is understandable pride, too, in being among the “last men standing” on Australia’s attritional yet victorious limited overs trip to India.
But it took a visit [...]
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![The ELVs, the experimental law variations being trialled in the 2008 Super 14 tournament, should have been introduced in 1895.
The laws of rugby union were quickly evolving from 1871 to 1895 to turn the game from a predominately scrumming game to a passing game.
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Hetherington has a bit of reputation in the UK as something of a [...] Steve Kaless: An expanded World Club Challenge is in the works](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/expanded-world-cup-keith-senior-th.jpg)
![Whoever wins the Champions Trophy in Centurion today will become the first country to win it twice. New Zealand had won it in Kenya in 2000-01, and Australia in India in 2006-07.
Australia, the likely winners today, will become the first nation in the ten year history of Champions Trophy to win it twice in succession.
But [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: Do we really need the Champions Trophy?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/do-we-need-champions-trophy-hilfenhaus-th.jpg)
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It was the moment they [...] Adrian Musolino: Finally the Melbourne Heart starts pumping](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/melbourne-heart-th.jpg)
![How ironic that on the day Australia formally lodged its bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups proverbial knives were being sharpened in Kuala Lumpur for the head (Neck? Back? Damn, it’s gonna be messy, whatever happens) of the president of the Asian Football Confederation, Mohammed bin Hammam.
As we saw with Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysians [...] Jesse Fink: The Malaysian fly in Australia 2018’s ointment](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/malaysian-fly-ointment-rudd-salisbury-mccallum-th.jpg)
![If you’re still recovering from unwrapping presents and singing Christmas carols, fear not. There is an escape from the boredom of the season: five great documentaries that not only entertain but also enlighten us about what makes sport so great.
1. Once in a Lifetime (2006)
Narrated by actor Matt Dillon and featuring a groovy 70s [...] Adrian Musolino: The Greatest Sports Documentaries](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/m-ali.jpg)
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![Despite the rugby season kicking off on Friday night, and even though all this debate (and I use the word loosely) about the supposed death of the 50 over game is, frankly, boring me to tears, I am determined to press on writing about cricket for the time being.
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![Yesterday’s news that the Western Bulldogs will be seeking two home games at Basin Reserve in the New Zealand city of Wellington, possibly as early as next year, is a positive for the game.
I touched on the topic of teams expanding beyond their existing support bases earlier in the week, and this is a great [...] Michael DiFabrizio: The Western Bulldogs in Wellington is a great idea](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/western-bulldogs-th.jpg)
![While it’s a historic agreement, the AFL’s free agency model is also very complicated and has overlooked its most important function. It still fails to allow big name players to move freely between clubs.
For such a professional sport I would have thought a more professional outcome would have been achieved. How hard is it for [...] Justin Rodski: Restricted free agency in the AFL is a cop out](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/afl-demetriou-rudd-th.jpg)



