Comments on: What is The Roar’s Australian sporting team of 2009?

By: roo101

roo101 — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:12:52 +0000

Socceroos!!!

By: factos incorrectos

factos incorrectos — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:40:38 +0000

St Kilda lost 2 home and away games in 2009, they didn’t equal any record. Essendon lost 1 in 2000, as did Geelong in 2008. The Socceroos shouldn’t be rewarded for being average in the past.

By: unnamed sauces

unnamed sauces — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:56:36 +0000

You spelt that wrong Pieter, I think you mean Yawnion

By: Pieter

Pieter — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:35:12 +0000

WTF there is no rugby union team on the list !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How can this be a serious poll without it including some Union teams.

By: macavity

macavity — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:59:28 +0000

I used to play Sjoelen all the time as a kid – Dutch grandparents.

good fun.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 04:03:02 +0000

They withdrew from the league for this season and there are efforts to revive them (see http://www.saveourdragons.com)

Even if they are extinct, that doesn’t mean their achievements never occurred.

Ever heard of a posthumous award? Do Heath Ledger or Michael Jackson ring a bell?

And of course their wooden spoon of the previous season should be considered. It gives context to their incredible efforts – context greater than any of the other teams listed.

By: AndyRoo

AndyRoo — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:56:39 +0000

Aren’t they extinct though…. that would be abit morbid to give them the award.

Also I don’t think being crap the year before gets you extra points

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:54:26 +0000

How can we take this poll seriously when the South Dragons weren’t even mentioned?

They went from wooden spoon to champions in the space of just one season.

What more could they do?

Fairfax’s Sports Performer Awards made the same mistake of overlooking them. The profile and perception of basketball is irrelevant if you are trying to run a credible and worthwhile sports poll.

Neither the Storm nor the Cats were the best team in the comp for the majority of the season, they simply peaked on the day that mattered most. The Dragons did that, as well as dominating the regular season.

By: Crazy Dave

Crazy Dave — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:55:48 +0000

Beating any other country, no matter how big or small, always fills me with pride; mainly because you are only as good as your last game, and anything can happen once it is game on.

But beating NZ is always good… Mainly because they are the little brother and need to be kept in their place.

By: Robbos

Robbos — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:42:07 +0000

But a strong rivalry against another tiny country, New Zealand, fills you with pride.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:30:54 +0000

Actually I’m a Rugby Union fan. But I’m very much against the notion that “international = good” when it comes to team sports. You might as well go start a church of globalisation if you think that’s the case.

By: AndyRoo

AndyRoo — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:15:22 +0000

In regards to QLD the first name that came to mind was Martin Love as an example of the “Bulls for Life scheme”.

By: Michael C

Michael C — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:59:36 +0000

I loved the reports on Chan 9 this morning of the NSW FRC loss to WA yesterday, talking about the understrength NSW side missing it’s stars……

….and, horses for courses, they may be entering a One dayers without Katich and Clarke, but, they’ve got their short form specialist opener Warner (Aust rep), Hughes (Aust Rep), Jacques (Aust Rep), etc etc through Henriques, S.Smith and bowlers like S.Clark and Cockley and there’s far, far more Aust reps there than the WA side (S. Marsh, Voges and Ronchi)……so, which is the young inexperienced team?

btw – QLD did hold onto Bichel and Kaspa for an eternity, but, they’ve certainly started reloading now, as illustrated by Noffke heading to WA. WA is actually the oddity, with so many recycled/resettled bowlers in Knowles, Magoffin, Noffke and Hogan……to name a few.

By: AndyRoo

AndyRoo — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:40:30 +0000

Vic and QLD are the two states that would be effected most by any rules forcing them to pick young players.

They love to keep their loyal stalwarts that have no chance of a test recall and this means they win domestic trophies while WA and NSW provide the bulk of the Australian team (despite slection bias in favor of Vics). The Vic players that called up for the national team are by and large very ordinary, the nSW players are potential stars.

Perhaps untrue but that is my story and I am sticking to it until someone writes a really good Roar article to suggest otherwise.

By: Brett McKay

Brett McKay — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:18:22 +0000

well it’s complete then, T20 has taken over the world….

this whole “if NSW were actually allowed to play their full strength team” arguement is little tired now, you make it sound like being picked for Australia is a punishment. Either way, at different points last year Victoria lost D.Hussey, Siddle, White, McDonald, and McGain as well, so it’s not even that valid any more.

As it turns out, Victoria fell in a heap in last years FRC and lost the final in Melbourne to Qld….

By: Billo

Billo — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:01:38 +0000

It has to be the Kangaroos.
I travelled up to Leeds to see their Four Nations win, and they gave a great performance, combining clinical organization and great instinctive play to beat probably the best England league team they’ve had for a while.
League may not have many nations playing at that level, but if you judge on quality you would have to go with them.
I fervently hope the Wallabies can show something of the same quality against Wales on Saturday.

By: OldManEmu

OldManEmu — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:47:46 +0000

How does the Orange Emus RUFC Second Grade team not get a mention. Achievements of the season included having a second rower who did not shave or wash his hair all season and participated in a ceremonial Mad Monday “wash and shave” (maybe Mark Chisholm could take a leaf from his book) and undergoing and surviving a gruelling return trip from Dubbo after the elimination semi final via Guerie, Mumbil, Ironbark, Molong, and then OldManEmu’s back shed.

By: KB

KB — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:30:06 +0000

Dan,
if you are an AFL supporter then that’s better than what you have at present…

By: davelee

davelee — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:23:01 +0000

the cats did pretty well to fend off st kilda & WB to win the premiership again. gotta be the cats.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:00:22 +0000

So your central point is that we should value a team’s achievement based on its ability to encourage nationalism? In any case, personally the 0-0 draw against the tiny nation of Oman didn’t exactly fill me with pride…

By: Robbos

Robbos — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:55:08 +0000

Actually AndyRoo it was 30K, a players cousin & his pet dog. wink.

By: AndyRoo

AndyRoo — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:49:52 +0000

Crowd was 30k Chris

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:41:23 +0000

In front of three people, a players cousin and his pet dog.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:38:52 +0000

Victoria – Australian champions. New South Wales – World Champions.

and don’t pretend that Victoria is better than NSW because they won the FRC and Sheild – because if NSW were actually allowed to play their full strength team they would win those in a canter.

By: KB

KB — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:23:07 +0000

Yep, he could have played for the Irish as well… I did read that story somewhere… However, his father is a Pommy who married a Samoan lass and that’s why he turned out for the Samoan under 14′s national team whilst he and his parents were in Samoa on holidays; with the assurance from the Samoans that it would not affect his Australian eligibility, so the story goes… After a hard long battle to get his case heard, through the assistance of the FFA; FIFA reinstated his eligibility and his love for the country he calls home, Australia… And rightly so, as you would all obviously know… Glad to have him as one of ours … one of our most cherished sons…

By: GaryGnu

GaryGnu — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:39:17 +0000

2002 was the year of the Bulldogs salary cap scandal. They were technically last but on football merrit Souths came last with 14 points, in their first year back. Penrith 12th or (13th on merit) with 18 points.

By: Pippinu

Pippinu — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:34:00 +0000

Just having a quick look, after a bit of a break, and noticed that the Sainters have come up from 0 votes to now be in 2nd place – someone has been doing some behind the scenes spruiking!!

By: Crazy Dave

Crazy Dave — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:24:54 +0000

I voted for the Qld State of Origin Team, cause I put my state pride before my national pride…
However, the question is the which team is the team of the year…

Past glories do not count!!!! Which team has performed better this year, not cumulatively over the last two or three years…

In that respect… all votes have to be for the Socceroos, qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, as one of the Asian representatives, in the only truly global sport, and also putting themselves very close to qualification for the 2011 Asian Cup.

By: Brett McKay

Brett McKay — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:17:07 +0000

Stanley, didn’t Penrith do that in 2003??

By: Crazy Dave

Crazy Dave — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:16:23 +0000

LOL!!!!