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Joined April 2012
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Write about sport here. Write about music, travel, life and the universe elsewhere. Troll me on Twitter ---> twitter.com/KrisSwales.
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When I first travelled to New Delhi to watch Australia play cricket in 2013, just leaving my hotel to confront the onslaught of this…
As we hurtle headlong towards the business end of the NRL season, coaches at the arse-end of the ladder are no doubt jumping at…
There's the cityscape peaking over the SCG’s heritage-listed grandstands. There's the mountains looming over Cape Town and Dharamshala. And then there's Galle, the cricket…
Kevin Walters has plumped for a blend of experience and even more experience for his first game picking the Maroons team for State of…
When rugby league and music cross paths, hilarity often ensues. But the times, they are a-changin'. Not that it's been all smooth sailing the…
If the hot air being generated in the Sydney press post-Origin 2 is to be believed, the Blues simply need to turn up at…
Injuries, form, and the small matter of restoring state pride at a packed Lang Park have forced Mal Meninga to ring the Queensland Maroons…
June 2, 1987. A night I'll never forget. My first time... at a State of Origin game at Lang Park. I wasn't totally wet…
There's something about rugby league attempting to push beyond its traditional boundaries that causes the collective sphincter of Australian sports fans to involuntarily tighten.…
Mal Meninga may have all but copy/pasted his Queensland Maroons team line-up for Game 1 of the 2015 State of Origin series from last…
It’s an age-old paradox – what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? The two can’t exist together, and in the case…
It was somewhat ironic that on the day Australia collectively mourned the loss of the voice of summer, the voice of two states' winters…
While watching the Sea Eagles and Raiders run around an Australian Rules football field in far-flung Albury on Easter Saturday, the word atop the…
In case you missed it, the MCG earlier this week waved the white flag in its battle with Tullamarine Airport for the title of…
You know a sport's grip on the nation's collective consciousness is tenuous when it only makes the headlines off the back of bad news.…
International rugby league. The most divisive three-word phrase in the greatest game of all this side of ‘Phil Gould monologue'; a concept that inevitably…
My first memory of an English footballer is David Hobbs' elbow setting Greg Conescu's tooth free from its gum at the SCG in 1984.…
In case you missed it, the XXXX Queensland Bulls are now the my FootDr Queensland Bulls. Because the boys presumably spent so much of…
On Saturday night, black wrap still covered the fence surrounding Redfern Oval as a reminder of Michael Maguire's intense grand final preparation. By Monday…
When it comes to grand final day entertainment, both the NRL and the AFL either get it very wrong or very right. Sadly, the…
Don’t know how much of a chance Steve Smith will get to push his WT20 credentials. That Capitals XI is pretty settled and the top 6 is stacked.
Five key questions ahead of the IPL
Indeed. Have already knocked over Dharamshala and Galle, so I reckon Newlands completes the picturesque cricket grounds trilogy.
What events are on your sporting bucket list?
Was hoping to be at Newlands for Australia v South Africa this time next year.
Have revised that down to a Newtown Jets game at Henson Park. Beers on the hill with your beloved and your mates as the autumn sun sets over the King George V grandstand.
It’s the little things you miss, and that’ll signal something vaguely resembling normality has resumed.
What events are on your sporting bucket list?
One of Wolvaardt’s shots where she stepped outside leg and stroked it over cover was pure poetry.
Nerveless Aussies dodge rain on way to World Cup final
Even more glorious – Finch’s off-side boundary spree in the first 10 overs.
Australia smash India in record-breaking win
Sanjay Manjrekar is the James Brayshaw of Indian cricket commentary.
“Virat Kohli strides to the crease like he’s already on 30.”
Next ball, C&B Zampa for 16. Glorious.
Australia smash India in record-breaking win
On that last ODI tour of India we seemed pretty content to just see Bumrah off and take on the other bowlers so would be surprised if there’s been a radical rethink in the interim.
Interested to see how our spinners fare this time round. Lyon keeping it tight at one end so Zamps could attack at the other was pivotal to that last series win.
Kohli, Bumrah and Rohit - the trio that terrify Australia in ODIs
Dane, I don’t think this goes far enough – not that I’m sure how much further things can go, but I’m duty-bound as a rugby league fan to be outraged regardless.
The only logical course of action from here is for Peter V’landys to fall on his sword.
Enough is enough: Time to ban NRL off-season
Right there with ya Matt, but despite the 25-year wait and coming up against the best team since our ‘94 line-up (or maybe Broncos ‘98), I am strangely confident. There is just an indefinable special something about this group of players and I feel like there’s still one more attacking gear left to click into. Raiders by as many as it takes!
Daring to dream for the mighty Green Machine
Poor Broncos – that game was only ever going to go one way the second DCE kicked the field goal in Melbourne last week. Scary thing about the Storm is that they’re only playing their best Halfback/Fullback combo (Hughes at 7, Papenhuyzen Jr at 1) on occasion. If Croft directly loses them a game and gets dropped, their right side and behind-the-ruck will actually get better.
As for the Raiders, there’s a certain unfamiliar ruthlessness about the Green Machine this year. The attack is finally beginning to click into gear, and this is with our two most damaging backs still to return. If we can go 2-1 out of this Roosters/Storm/Sea Eagles stretch, this long-suffering fan might dare to dream.
Seibold and Kearney under fire for Friday failures
And while I remember it, I’d rather watch an Origin match where the refs blow the pea out of the whistle than listen to commentators complain about them doing it.
How about slamming the players for breaking the rules? Two to tango, etc etc.
"Ref's fault" culture ruining rugby league
A big part of the problem is it starts from the top and filters through the fan base.
Some examples from the weekend:
* Braith Anasta on Fox – he is yet to meet a referee’s decision he couldn’t complain about. ‘The refs got it wrong’ is his default position until proven innocent. And he back-pedalled a LOT in Eels-Warriors (who I believe copped the raw end all day, sorry Mary!)
* James Maloney v Ashley Klein – now Klein might not be the best in the business, but the way he put Jimmy back in his box for his constant chipping was commendable. Unfortunately the Panthers continued to play like a team who felt they were being hard done by and were done over by a more professional team (whom I support, full disclosure)
* My Panthers-supporting mate’s first message after the game was “Fkn refs, honestly”, which I believe was influenced by the broadcaster he watched. I watched the other, which by and large stuck up for the refs doing their best in a high-intensity, high-quality contest
One thing I would like to see is players penalised for ‘gamesmanship’ – eg not handing the ball directly to opposition after the last tackle, kicking the ball away when you’ve been penalised. Just a small thing, but would be a sign refs aren’t going to tolerate nonsense.
Otherwise, no easy answers. As said elsewhere in the Comments, it’s easy to blame some rogue ‘other’ in all aspects of life (foreigners, young people, et all) and refs are rugby league’s ‘other’. In the end, they’re human and as fallible as the rest of us. The end.
"Ref's fault" culture ruining rugby league
One of the great post-match quotes and you got it, Tim. How good!
And how good is CNK in general? From the wasteland of Warriors reserves to a rung below Turbo, Teddy, RTS and Ponga in the space of 18 rounds is some story. And his Players Voice story is even better. What a guy.
CNK's honesty makes all the cold pies totally worth it
Giving the Walkers the 20s five years ago with a view to the coaches/players graduating to firsts from there would’ve been some interesting long-term thinking. If they weren’t primed for a tilt by now, they’d at least have an identity and be entertaining to watch.
Brennan had to go, but the Titans' problems run deeper than the coach
After all the wringing of hands about Uzzie batting at 3, both openers finally fail and we see why he’s there. Superb from him, but Carey – wow, just the supreme confidence of the bloke from the moment he takes guard means you know we’re never out of it.
Carey has gone to another level
Zampa’s run of wicket-taking form in India owed a lot to Lyon keeping things tight at the other end as well. If there was a ‘dead rubber’ before the semis to pick them both it surely wouldn’t hurt to take a look.
Lyon and Behrendorff offer Australia better balance
Wallace was doing the same last year and has earned his selection on merit but I feel he’s too sluggish to make any impact against a rushing D, which tends to come and go in NRL but never stops in Origin unless you turn it around with an aggressive running game.
Queensland Maroons player ratings: Origin 2
Wallace and Glasby are solid NRL-standard toilers at best, and Wallace’s lack of impact has been shown up multiple times at this level.
Doesn’t help when your starting props combine for less running metres than the Blues’ Origin rookie Saifiti. Papa playing the James Graham-esque distributor role on his first stint was just weird. Get him running hard Kevvie! Then the offloads will come.
Queensland Maroons player ratings: Origin 2
If it did they would surely sell out Dolphin Oval, though perhaps that’s not thinking big enough?
NSW women make perfect start to Origin weekend
Was interesting to hear so many squeals whenever a half-break occurred, definitely a different energy in the crowd with so many young girls there! Good vibe in the joint last night, and some decent footy in the end after a pretty stodgy opening 20 minutes – Brigginshaw and Studdon are both crafty operators, and Tungai a genuine excitement machine.
NSW women make perfect start to Origin weekend
First it was Bozo pulling the selection strings, now Gus – as a Queenslander, looking forward to the day that Gal steps into the mentoring role and selects himself to ‘do an Alfie’ aged 52.
Did Gus Gould play a hand in Latrell Mitchell's Origin 2 omission?
Australia coming into the tournament with the form ODI batsman (Uzzie) and form IPL batsman (Warner by the length of the straight) is a nice position to be in. Hopefully our bowlers don’t have too many cobwebs to blow out before they hit their stride.
On that front, South Africa look the biggest threat with Rabada single-handedly bowling Delhi into the IPL finals (at last!) and Imran Tahir also on a tear. Think their batting is too shaky to win it though.
Best thing to come out of the endless summer of #AUSvIND is that our bats got a good look at Kuldeep/Chahal and no longer fear them. But Bumrah/Bhuvi/Shami are the form pace trio in the world and will be formidable.
Still, I’m going to lay a short-term investment on the Windies, who have the same bash and barge tactics of England but with none of the pressure facing the hosts. Hopefully England rack up an early loss or two so the press piles on.
Some late nights incoming!
The Cricket World Cup is wide open
Handscomb desperately unlucky.
One good innings aside, Steve Smith has looked very scratchy in the IPL and is struggling to middle them.
Digging the side otherwise. Just need Stoinis to rediscover his mojo.
Australia's 2019 Cricket World Cup squad: Expert reaction
Glaring differences between the “expert” commentary on offer across the AFL and NRL on Saturday.
Daisy Pearce: the occasional interjection of level-headed insight on how each teams’ tactics were shifting across the game.
Michael Ennis: “C’MON PENRITH!”
And then there were two: Talking points from NRL preliminary final weekend