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December 18th 2009 @ 2:32am
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Baptism of fire awaits Reds convert Chambers
A baptism of fire awaits rugby-convert Will Chambers after new Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie confirmed the ex-Melbourne Storm flyer would feature in their first trial next month – against the Reds’ bitter rival NSW.
In a welcome hit out ahead of their season opener against the Waratahs at Suncorp Stadium in February, the Reds announced on [...]
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![It’s a hard life being a die-hard fan. The disappointments far outweigh the triumphs, even though any fan will tell you on the day of victory that it was all worth it. Still, it all got too much for one Hawthorn fan on Saturday night.
Perhaps with the final hopes of a Hawk dynasty disappearing [...] Paddy Higgs: Despite fan’s frustration, Mitchell’s attitude refreshing](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/despite-fan-frustration-sam-mitchell-th.jpg)
![Queensland rugby going broke. Melbourne struggling to find players. The ARU hemming and hawing over requests for the Force to bring in replacements for their staggering injury toll. The Waratahs losing ugly.
And all four provinces out of the five on the Super 14 table.
It seems that there’s nothing but bad news in rugby at the [...] Andrew Logan: Winning grassroots gold at Mudgee Rugby Festival](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/mudgee-rugby-th.jpg)
![I’ve been amazed by the football noise that’s been coming out of New Zealand over recent weeks. While I suppose it all started with that fateful match against Bahrain in November, since almost 20,000 fans stumped up in Christchurch to see the Phoenix defeat Adelaide United 1-0 almost four weeks ago, I’ve started to believe.
Not [...] Davidde Corran: The Phoenix can help the game rise up](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/wellington-phoenix-tim-brown-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)
![This time last year, St Kilda didn’t have it in them to take a punt on Ben Cousins. They met with him more than once, they researched thoroughly – all part of what was labelled a “five-month process” – and at the end of it decided he was too big a risk.
Fast forward twelve months [...] Michael DiFabrizio: You can’t blame St Kilda for punting on Lovett](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/andrew-lovett-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)
![Following my recent post on international cricketers who played rugby, today I’ve listed Test cricketers who have proudly worn their country’s colours in football (soccer), hockey, tennis, baseball and badminton.
FOOTBALL
For England: CB Fry, Andy Ducat, RE ‘Tip’ Foster, Harry Makepeace, Hon. Alfred Lyttelton, Leslie Gay, Harold ‘Wally’ Hardinge, Albert Knight, Jack Arnold, William Gunn, [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: Test cricketers who have represented in other sports](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/test-cricketers-represented-waugh-th.jpg)
![Has FIFA President Sepp Blatter confirmed what we all should have expected? In a press conference in Madrid, Blatter has given his strongest hint yet that the World Cup is destined for a return to Europe in 2018, which would leave Australia with only 2022 as a possibility.
“From what I’ve discussed with the president of [...] Adrian Musolino: Europe set for 2018 World Cup, Australia eyes 2022](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/players-no-benefit-doubt-sepp-blatter-th.jpg)
![Any CEO will tell you that a major risk factor for an organization or industry is the loss of talent. Talent costs money to find and develop, and if you lose it, you not only lose the original investment, but also the knowledge and experience.
It’s a concept that Australian rugby is finding out about the [...] Andrew Logan: Where are all the good coaches? Somewhere else](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/where-are-all-the-good-coaches-ewen-mckenzie-th.jpg)
![As the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games are consigned to history, the Australian public’s brief fascination with winter sports comes to an end, relieving us of yet another free-to-air sports coverage disaster.
Just like Channel 7 managed during the Beijing Summer Olympics and recent Australian Opens, Channel 9’s Winter Olympic coverage became a major talking point [...] Adrian Musolino: Winter Olympics brings out our sporting ignorance](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/winter-olympics-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)
![The Fox Sports effects microphone has become a fair barometer of an A-League match’s excitement level. When you can hear the players and coaches cussing, it’s a fair indicator that the crowd isn’t really into the match. Sadly, it’s a common occurrence.
Aside from the raucous at Etihad Stadium caused by Melbourne’s passionate and large supporter [...] Adrian Musolino: Lack of atmosphere stifles A-League games](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/33-or-22-rounds-a-league-ryall-th.jpg)



