The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

2010: That was the year that was in Australian sport

Roar Guru
23rd December, 2010
Advertisement
Roar Guru
23rd December, 2010
23
1130 Reads

“And so this is Christmas. And what have we done? Another year over,” sang John Lennon and Yoko Ono in their famous song. As the year draws to a close, what has the Australian sporting scene done in 2010?

How will this year be remembered?

Here’s my top 10 sports stories of the year:

1. Australia’s 2022 World Cup bid

No issue polarised the Australian sporting community like the bid to host the 2022 World Cup. A look through The Roar’s archives for 2010 showed the servers went into meltdown whenever a World Cup bid article was submitted.

The bid was fodder for a code war like we’ve never seen before. While other code’s expansions may have looked to build one code’s market share, this event would have denied other codes access to their grounds and potentially the right to exist for two months. And there was scandal in the final result, with suggestion of Qatar engaging in dodgy dealings.

Why did the bid go through with when Blind Freddie could see it had no hope of success? And would it have been better for the round-ball football code had the bid never gone ahead?

2. Melbourne Storm salary cap breach

Advertisement

We’d seen the Storm take part in the last four NRL grand finals, taking the ultimate prize twice. With an impressive lineup of names such as Slater, Inglis, Cronk and Smith, they were an imposing side.

As it turned out, too imposing. NRL investigations uncovered systematic cheating of the salary cap over several years. NRL action was quick and decisive. The Storm was stripped of their 2007 and 2009 titles, three minor premierships, and all premiership points for 2010.

Heads rolled in the club’s administration, and now the club are forced to offload players to become legal again. The Storm’s credibility is in tatters, and there’s work to be done to rebuild the club’s reputation.

Who knew what was going on? Could the players have known a rort was on? How did the NRL not uncover this earlier?

3. The drawn AFL grand final

It didn’t look likely when Collingwood led by four goals at half-time, but a strong comeback by St Kilda saw scores deadlocked at full time in the AFL grand final. Everyone knew the rules; that the game would be replayed next week.

Is it a fair rule? Is it a good tradition? There’d be a lot of supporters severely out of pocket if a non-Victorian side ever played a drawn grand final and their fans had to shell out for another set of return airfares and accommodation the next week.

Advertisement

It’s an unlikely event. The nature of Aussie Rules, with the scoreboard constantly ticking over, makes a draw much less likely than in lower-scoring codes; so it’s a rule that is rarely invoked.

But after a review, the AFL decided not to change the rule.

4. The fall of one-day and the rise of Twenty20

For the last 30 years, one-day internationals have been cricket’s cash cow while domestic cricket has rarely drawn more than two men and a dog.

But in 2010 the T20 Big Bash has captured the public’s imagination, the short domestic game pulling bigger crowds than sparsely-attended ODI series against West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It’s a similar story in India, where the IPL attracts the fans who are staying away from international games.

Is this a flash in the pan, or a structural change in cricket support? Is one-day cricket dying and T20 taking over? Is there a power shift to “clubs” rather than country?

5. The Delhi Commonwealth Games

Advertisement

The media were scathing of India’s preparations for the Commonwealth Games. Fears abounded that athletes would be living in squalor, competing in construction sites before getting blown up.

But it all turned out okay in the end, with India putting on a credible Games. Poor media coverage and security fears kept the fans away, but such fears were unrealised as athletes competed safely in world-class facilities. Was the western media too harsh on the Indian organisers?

6. End of the premiership droughts

Collingwood hadn’t won a title since 1990. St George-Illawarra had never won as a merged entity, and St George hadn’t won since 1979. But the October long weekend saw both premiership droughts brought to an end.

The days of “Colliwobbles” and “Dragon chokers” ended emphatically. Both clubs polarise opinion, having huge numbers of passionate supporters. But there was no disputing that both clubs were clearly the best team in their competition all season and were worthy winners.

7. Football leagues expanding

The AFL’s new clubs continued to take shape. Gold Coast Suns and Greater Western Sydney Giants now have their identities and are signing up sponsors and members in preparation for their debuts in 2011 and 2012. Rugby’s Super 14 becomes the Super 15 when the Melbourne Rebels enter the competition. The NRL looks set to return to Perth in 2013 and possibly bring the Bears out of hibernation in the Central Coast.

Advertisement

All have lofty ambitions, but the A-League experience shows the reality can fall short of expectation; with Gold Coast capping their crowds at 5000, North Queensland struggling to remain solvent, and Sydney Rovers never kicking a ball in anger before their demise. Will other codes learn from the A-League’s mistakes?

8. Cricket corruption and gambling

Cricket, like many other sports, has plenty of gambling promotion in its media coverage and the opportunities for a flutter at the game. But can gambling corrupt the sport?

Questions were asked when Pakistan let Australia off the hook on that fateful final day of the SCG Test, with suspicions a fix was on. Questions which gained in intensity when Pakistani bowlers were caught out in England doing spot-fixes on deliberate no-balls.

9. Wallabies continue to struggle

Robbie Deans’ record with the Crusaders in the Super 14 was second to none, but his record since taking over the Wallabies has been less impressive. A win on the road against South Africa was impressive, but it was a rare highlight. A loss to England, and a clean sweep by New Zealand in the Tri-Nations, kept the Wallabies in the doldrums.

The Wallabies finally broke their 10-game losing streak against New Zealand in a post-season exhibition game in Hong Kong, but losses away to England and Ireland showed they still have plenty of work to do with the World Cup less than a year away.

Advertisement

10. Socceroos crash out of 2010 World Cup

There were doubts that Pim Verbeek’s Socceroos lineup of 2010 would be as good as Guus Hiddink’s 2006 side; and it didn’t take long for those fears to be realised. The Socceroos were out of their depth against Germany, going down 4-0 in a dismal display. To make matters worse, Tim Cahill was red-carded.

2006 was a one-off, but it created unrealistic expectations; and the game against Germany was a harsh reality check. Although the Socceroos bounced back to draw with Ghana and defeat Serbia, the damage was done and the Socceroos failed to progress past the group stage. And with an ageing team, and the next generation of players not looking as good, even qualifying for the next World Cup is no sure thing.

So what will 2011 bring? We’ll have to wait and see. But it will be fascinating to see how the new sporting year unfolds.

close