The Suns trailed by six goals at the first change, yet held their composure to rally for a stirring 12.13 (85) to 9.16 (70) win in front of a sellout 10,832 crowd.

The Suns’ third victory lifts them off the bottom of the ladder and puts them in the right frame of mind to take on the competition’s benchmark Collingwood next Saturday night at Metricon Stadium.

Richmond kicked six goals in the opening term with a howling wind at their backs and managed only three majors for the rest of the game.

They struggled to come to terms with the conditions, fumbling the ball, making basic skill errors and were left befuddled when the Suns kicked six goals in the second term.

The Tigers were also guilty of playing an indoor style in outdoor conditions.

Instead of pumping the ball long and running hard with the wind at their backs, they seemed more intent on retaining possession at times and switching play with a number of short kicks across the last line of defence.

It’s the style of play you would expect under the roof at Etihad Stadium but not when you are kicking with the aid of a five to six goal breeze and need to amass a lead.

The telling point in the match was after halftime when Richmond kicked a miserable two goals in the third quarter and held only a 13-point lead at the last change.

Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna said the third quarter was pivotal to the outcome and particularly noted the work of defenders Nathan Bock, Campbell Brown and rookie Rory Thompson.

“They kicked 2.7 and we kicked 5.4 in the last quarter and that was probably the difference in the end,” McKenna said.

“It gives us a little confidence that we can play a style of football that can actually win games.”

Bock worked tirelessly to restrict Richmond’s gun forward Jack Riewoldt to one goal and Brown and Thompson kept Tyrone Vickery and Ben Griffiths in check.

Suns’ skipper Gary Ablett and his young offsider David Swallow led the fightback in the midfield and veteran ruckman Josh Fraser was a key factor in several goals.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick acknowledged his side neither used the wind enough to their advantage and their forwards struggled with both the elements and the Suns’ tight defence.

“We were kicking with a fair wind and we went in with a wind to combat that and it didn’t work out,” Hardwick said.

“The windy conditions made it difficult because anytime you got within 60 or 70 metres it was a shot on goal.

“We didn’t move the ball the way we wanted to in that second quarter and it cost us a couple of goals.

“We needed to kick seven goals in the third quarter, we really needed to kick 7.2 to take control of the game and it didn’t happen.”

It’s the second interstate “home” match this year the Tigers have lost after defeat in May to Port Adelaide in Darwin.

Their decision to transfer home matches for financial reasons will not sit well with their supporters.

Roaring Hot

Yesterday’s most commented articles

• The real story of how John O’Neill turned Manchester City down [66 comments]
• Australian teams at Super disadvantage [57 comments]
• Does the A-League need an injection of humour? [42 comments]

Most read articles last 3 days

• India vs Sri Lanka, Perth ODI: cricket live scores, commentary
• Sonny Bill Williams vs Clarence Tillman III: Live updates, blog [video]
• Young pitcher signs big deal with Red Sox

Article link: Suns win first AFL clash in Cairns. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

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Anyone who grew up in the 80s will remember this classic Tooheys ad. As a kid I dreamed of being Mike Whitney and hitting the winning runs against the Windies at their peak. This was a ‘big ad’ before the days of the big ads…and it sure makes me thirsty!

Article link: Classic 80s Tooheys ad. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Olyroos coach Graham Arnold has recalled in-form Adelaide United striker Nathan Burns and rewarded Central Coast defender Nigel Boogaard for his A-League form with a call-up for the Olympic Games qualifier against Lebanon in Beirut later this month.

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Resident The Roar columnist, Garth Hamilton, talks to the new Queensland Reds coach, Phil Mooney.

Mooney was previously the coach of the Australian Under 19 team and inherits a team that struggled badly in last year’s Super 14.

In this interview, Garth tackles the challenges ahead for the Reds, the perceived lack of junior talent coming through the ranks, and questions where the ARC sits in junior development in Australian rugby.

Mooney’s comments on the potential for international players to be involved in the Super 14 are well worth listening to.

Listen here [~15 mins]:
[audio:http://www.theroar.com.au/audio/Roar-Phil-Mooney.mp3]

[pic via QLD Rugby]

Article link: New Reds coach, Phil Mooney, talks to The Roar. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

In this chat, they delve into the weekend’s upset win by Scotland over Ireland, the England v France match, and the implications of the results of these matches on the Cup. There’s also an interesting discussion on the weekend’s ARC competition – with some insights into the new Laws being used.

Listen here [~15 mins]:
[audio:http://www.theroar.com.au/audio/spiro-zavos-2.mp3]

(You can listen to the first interview here )

Article link: Spiro Zavos on the Rugby World Cup [2]. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Daniel is a great supporter of The Roar and we’ve heard really good things about the events that he runs. Read More...

In this far ranging interview, they discuss the impact that South Africa fielding a B-team in the TriNations will have on their Cup chances, the potential for the All Blacks to field a ‘revoluationary’ new lineout, and the Wallabies’ chances to win the Cup.

Listen here [~20 mins]:
[audio:http://www.theroar.com.au/audio/spiro-zavos-1a.mp3]

Article link: Spiro Zavos discusses the Rugby World Cup. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Article link: Johns set to help Wallabies at the RWC. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Daniel Herbert, former Wallaby and Rugby World Cup winner, is currently based in Montpellier, France. In the lead up to the World Cup, we spoke to him about the upcoming tournament.

In the interview, Daniel discusses why Montpellier is a wise location for the Wallabies’ base, the events he’ll be running during the World Cup, how he’s helping the Wallabies prepare for the French conditions, his views on the Gregan / Giteau debate, and Australia’s chances of winning.

It’s interesting to note that he rates Ireland as being his pick to take the title. Daniel is organising a series of events in Montpellier during the Cup, including a Pete Murray concert. Details and booking via his website.

Listen here [~14 mins]:

[audio:daniel-herbert-theroar.mp3]

(Found this interview interesting? Why not forward it to your friends / colleagues?)

Article link: Daniel Herbert speaks to The Roar. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

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On 20th May 2007, after weeks of negative comments about the state of Australian rugby, The Roar ran an article titled: Let The Roar of the crowd fix up rugby. In this article, we asked our readers to tell us the three main problems facing rugby, and three solutions to the problems, for submission to the Australian Rugby Union (ARU).

We received 36 coherent and well informed comments. These comments were compiled and analysed by The Roar’s columnist, Garth Hamilton.

Yesterday I met with the new CEO and Managing Director of the ARU, John O’Neill, to present this document (see photo above of John receiving the report).

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The singing of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ coincided with the first win against the All Blacks in 4 years. The Roar spoke to John about the impact the song has on the Wallabies, why he stopped singing it, and Australia’s chances at the Rugby World Cup.

“The thing is to get out and sing the bloody song…”

Listen here [~5 mins]:
[audio:john-williamson2.mp3]

Article link: John Williamson talks to The Roar. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

There’s been a lot of talk about the London 2012 logo. Some say it’s a fresh, creative logo that reflects the dynamism of the great city of London. Others describe it as ‘most unpopular logo in British marketing history’.

Then there’s the fact that Wolff Olins, a brand consultancy, was paid £400,000 for designing the logo which resulted in an online petition with 50,000 + signatures to change it, motions from MPs, and the embarrassing withdrawal of a promotional video that caused seizures among epilepsy sufferers. Is this great marketing, or another example of creativity gone mad?

Article link: London 2012 – the logo. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

One of the surprise packages from the 2007 Cricket World Cup was the success of the Ireland in reaching the “super eight” stage of the tournament. This is a remarkable achievement for a nation where cricket is a marginal sport, at best.

Dave Langford-Smith was a club cricketer for University of NSW before moving to Ireland to play cricket. He was one of the better performers in the team during the cup, taking seven wickets at an economy rate of 41.57 – great going given the quality of the opposition. He was best known, though, for the Irish jig he danced each time he snared a wicket, as this video shows.

Article link: The Langford-Smith jig. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

In the past, because some of these were short, or didn’t fit with our current articles, we weren’t always able to run them in the main section of The Roar….which frustrated us.

So, we’ve enabled a new feature which will allow you to publish your articles in The Roar. These will appear on the homepage in the right column under the heading The Roar of the crowd. You will be able to discuss these in the same way as you can the main sporting articles.

We invite you to write an article in the near future. We welcome pieces on all sports.

To submit an article, please use the contact form. We look forward to hearing your theories soon!

Article link: Let your opinions be heard. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Rod Macqueen, the most successful Wallaby coach ever and the mastermind of the Wallabies 1999 Rugby World Cup triumph, spoke exclusively to The Roar today on the Stellenbosch Laws. Rod has been on the IRB’s The Law project Group which since 2006 and has been driving the assessment and implementation of the Laws which are currently being trialled around the world.

In this interview, he also reflects on what it will take for the Wallabies to win the Rugby World Cup, which he feels boils down to their ability to establish a clear point of advantage over other teams.

Are the Laws taking us in the right direction, and do we have this advantage months out from the tournament?

Listen here [~5 mins]:
[audio:http://www.theroar.com.au/audio/the-roar-interview-rod-macqueen.mp3]

Article link: Rod Macqueen speaks on the new Laws of Rugby. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

At the beginning of the 2004 season Australian rugby was loaded with cash, the Wallabies had almost won the Rugby World Cup, playing numbers, spectator and television viewing numbers were soaring, and the game looked likely to fulfill John O’Neill’s vision of becoming the second largest football code in the country.

Now in 2007, another World Cup year, rugby is at the nadir with falling crowds, poor performances by Australian teams, administrative inertia and grandstanding and the sense that something is wrong inside the Australian rugby commuinity.

There has been a strong discussion of what is going wrong in The Roar over the past few months. What we want to do now is concentrate this discussion. We want readers to tell us the three main problems facing rugby, and three solutions to the problems.

We will collate all the comments and present them to the ARU for a response, and action. Then we will monitor the ARU on how it attempts to get on top of the problems we’ve exposed.

Share this with a friend - and win a copy of Watching The Rugby World Cup.

In order to get the broadest possible view on this issue – we encourage you to send this article to your friends. A winner will be drawn on 1 June and will win a copy of Spiro Zavos’ Watching The Rugby World Cup.

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Every year since 1980, the best players born in NSW clash in a three match series against those from Queensland. The media hype leading into the match is huge – with good reason.

The Origin series is one of the biggest sporting events in Australia, up there with the Melbourne Cup, the Boxing Day Test and the Bledisloe Cup. Perhaps bigger than them all.

What is it about the Origin series that invokes such passion and interest?

There’s undoubtedly great history behind the clash. And the ‘state versus state, mate versus mate’ nature of the game brings out the best (and worst) in the players. Then there’s the record of both teams, which is remarkably even. NSW have won 12 series, compared to Queensland’s 11.

But what makes the Origin series special is the sheer intensity of the match itself. The speed, power and passion of the match is arguably unmatched in all the rugby codes. Is the Origin series the best football of all?

Article link: Origin football – the best of all?. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

We received this email recently from Roger Levey who argues that the quality of world rugby would be improved with a broader representation policy. His argument is below. Interested to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below.

Says Roger Levey: ‘Very few countries have a realistic chance of winning the Rugby World Cup. The top five or maybe six is a virtual given. The initial over riding interest amongst the top teams is whether or not they will make the final four and who will miss out on the semis. In the eyes of both the sporting public and all participating nations outside of the top six, who don’t have a chance, the World Cup is seen primarily as a wonderful rugby carnival. Here is an idea that could both broaden the the interest and also raise the standard of play in smaller rugby nations.

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• Morgan Turinui
• Tatafu Polota-Nau
• Mark Gerrard
• Lote Tuqiri

I’m puzzled as to whether this is a positive step, with the coach finally deciding to get tough on the team; or whether it’s another symptom of the malaise that has permeated the Wallabies all year. Does this represent the start of the end for the Wallabies’ World Cup victory campaign? And are we surprised that Lote failed the test?

Article link: Four unfit Wallabies sent home. Written by Zac Zavos, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion