When Jordan shocked the defending Asian Cup champion Socceroos 1-0 last night, coach Graham Arnold joined cricket’s Justin Langer and rugby’s Michael Cheika in the cross-hairs of critics with a genuine beef.
How on earth could the 102nd ranked Jordan topple the 42nd ranked Socceroos?
The same questions have been asked of why the baggy greens have only won one of seven Tests since Langer took over, or the Wallabies winning just four of 13 rugby internationals under Cheika last year.
Not acceptable.
Sure, Arnold can say he was minus Aaron Mooy, Daniel Arzani, Andrew Nabbout, and Mat Leckie on the injured list, and Langer can lament Steve Smith and David Warner are under suspension, but all that proves is there’s no depth in talent.
Cheika has no excuses, the Wallabies just played bloody awful rugby.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
But there’s one key element in all those losses – lack of basics.
The Socceroos had plenty of possession, plenty of territory, but failed to find the net against a minnow nation.
They lacked the basics.
As someone tweeted, the Socceroos should train on a farm so they could hit a barn door, as Australia’s shooting accuracy rate was only 31.6 per cent, while Jordan’s was 60.
Now the Socceroos have to beat both Palestine and Syria, or they won’t progress, and that would be humiliating on the world stage for the defending champions.
Cricket’s basics have been clearly defined since the first Ashes Test at the MCG in 1877.
The batsmen to treat every ball on its merits, the bowlers to concentrate on line and length, and the team to take the catches.
So why has the Australian top order consistently self-destructed with the bat, while the tail has wagged with far less natural ability?
That’s a coaching problem.
Why has Nathan Lyon, and to a lesser extent Pat Cummins, been the only bowler to value line and length?
(AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
That’s a coaching problem, and it’s also a coaching problem that catches haven’t been taken, or the fieldsman has been too slow to react to turn a tough chance into a dismissal.
It’s been the same since 1877, catches win matches.
And there are two more basics the Australians are falling short in: running between wickets, and the bowler standing behind the wicket for the return from a teammate.
The current Australians are all ball-watchers, the non-striker doesn’t react to the call until he sees there’s a run in it, and precious seconds are lost that could result in a run-out.
They should sit down and watch footage of Bobby Simpson and Bill Lawry run between wickets, they turned it into an art form, and are rightfully regarded as the best of all time.
Statisticians lost count of the number of times they turned ones into twos and twos into threes by constantly being switched on and not ball-watching.
Rarely these days do bowlers camp behind the stumps awaiting a return for a run-out possibility, invariably they are either between the fieldsman and the stumps, or not even in the frame.
Poor cricket, a coaching problem.
And that leaves the Wallabies, who throughout 2018 butchered the basics of pass, catch, support, retain possession, and tackle.
The turnover, and missed tackle, counts went through the roof in 2018.
Which begs the question, how did so many of the current Wallabies reach international status when their basics were missing in action?
And who taught them the dreaded “no-look” pass?
Obviously, their previous coaches weren’t up to speed on the basics either, which is a debit mark on the code in general.
But there’s a change in the wind with the appointment of Scott Johnson as the new director of rugby, and a selector.
(Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)
That means Cheika has lost his sole selection role, he’s answerable to Johnson, and there will be a third selector who must be Rod Macqueen, the most successful Wallaby coach of all-time.
And before the naysayers start chirping, believing Macqueen has been out of the mix for 16 years, and therefore out of touch, basics have never changed in nearly 200 years.
If you can’t pass, catch, support, retain possession, and tackle, you can’t win rugby games.
That’s why the Wallabies won four of 13 last year.
So Graham Arnold, Justin Langer, and Michael Cheika, it’s time to raise the basics bar, or there’s only one alternative.
The Joy Of X
Roar Rookie
@ concerned supporter, and your comment of "AFL propaganda". Oh dear.
Evan Askew
Guest
@ Fion - Yes football is copying the small sided games format and has being since 2007 If I recall. And like Tennis there is a hostility among some quarters to it. Notable examples are former national team members and English premier league players Robbie Slater and Mark Bosnich and Former national team member and Top NSL striker John Kosmina all of whom like to see a more physical direct style of play. On the other side of the coin you have former national team member Craig Foster who is a passionate exponent of the more technical approach.
concerned supporter
Guest
Joy of Ox, ''I note you don’t want to discuss the long term decline in male League and Union numbers in NSW, ACT, and Queensland.'' Putting words into my mouth again, what decline? This is your AFL propaganda. There has been a decline in Rugby players, supporters in West Australia & Western Sydney with the culling of the Western Force & Penrith Emus by the rugby establishment guided by FOSUFC. They are the culprits. Don't know about RL. The main thing with the AFL is their huge war chest of monies mainly accrued from their Broadcasting Deals of AUD 2.5 Million over 6 years. Without that, they would be struggling. Will Ch 7 & Foxtel enter into similar deals in the future? Rugby has stuffed up, their Broadcasting Revenue is miles behind AFL & NRL, only AUD 58 Million a year. I notice that you ignored comments on the AFL tab in May about the AFL propaganda for the Shanghai game. Can you really trust what the AFL has to say on anything?As one bloke referred to them as a ''sell out organization who would sell their grandmothers.'' Again I say or ask ''haven't the AFL been attempting to expand to NSW & Qld since the 1860's?
The Joy Of X
Roar Rookie
@ concerned supporter I note you don't want to discuss the long term decline in male League and Union numbers in NSW, ACT, and Queensland. Nor that this decline has, concurrently, seen a huge rise in players into the NRL from the small League outpost of NZ (mainly South Auckland). About 40%+ now of NRL players have a NZ euro/Maori/ pacific Islander heritage. Why is that? Malcolm Knox is only one of many League and Union journalists/commentators/Officials/ex players etc who have written about the strong growth of Australian Football in NSW,ACT, and Queensland. Do you believe they are saying falsehoods? Saying that Sydney Naval FC no longer exists is irrelevant since, as you would know being from Sydney, many more Australian Football Clubs have emerged, for a vastly greater net increase in numbers. http://aflsj.com.au/fixtures-results/ These junior Club competition figures, from 2012-2018, clearly show that Australian Football Team numbers have increased by between 100 -200% since 2012. They cover Sydney Harbour comp., Western Sydney comp., and school comps. I never claimed Australian Football has a significant international presence.
concerned supporter
Guest
Glider, You missed one, RA shill, TWAS, fail.
concerned supporter
Guest
The Joy of X, Are you a politician? Answering questions with questions, trying to deflect. You say, 1/'' can you respond to the assertions and questions I put to Rebel334 at 2.53 pm today? '' I am not interested in replying to your questions to Rebel 334, not one bit. 2/ Malcolm Knox ???? You tell me, as I hardly read the SMH anymore, It has decreased in quality, but increased in price. Another question for you, hasn't AFL (Australian Rules) been expanding since the 1860's? Nauru is the only country where they have been successful, whereas Soccer has brained AR.
The Joy Of X
Roar Rookie
@ concerned supporter Before I respond to your comments, so I can better appreciate your background, can you respond to the assertions and questions I put to Rebel334 at 2.53 pm today? Also, Malcolm Knox is a multiple-award winning, very experienced general, and sports, journalist; and published author. He is now a specialist League and Union writer on the Sydney Morning Herald. Do you consider him an authoritive journalist on Sydney sporting matters?
Glider
Guest
...... all that aside you still have an epic fail from the top down of a business that is supposed to produce a product which creates revenue & profit ! Board Performance - Fail Senior Leadership Team - Fail Engagement with constituents / support base - Fail Ability to message correctly via Media ( team & board) - Fail Ability to outline a solid plan for performance improvement - Fail Major Wins - Fail Revenue - Fail EBITDA - Fail Return on Investments - overblown contracts etc - Fail Go to Market - Fail Game Plan - Fail Attack - Fail Defence - Fail Coaches Performance and Behaviour in box - Fail Development of Talent - Fail Securing Existing Good Talent - Fail Any other organisation in any other vertical market sport or business would have been sacked long long ago. A complete audit & review from external management consultants required immediately.
piru
Roar Rookie
"Cricket – too much T20 which is robbing players of the basics of getting your eye in and building an innings, and being out in the middle for a long time – fielding for only 20 overs – too much emphasis on bash and not enough on finesse – if you go from grade to T20, even if you do play Shield or for Australia, you are likely to be ingrained with that bash and barge mentality" I've been saying this since the BBL started, all fun but what about batting for a day and a half at 2 an over? That's a necessary skill too - the Indians haven't forgotten.
chris
Guest
"League, however, still attracts the best athletes in Qld and NSW" Your comments are embarrassing at best.
chris
Guest
Spot on
Phil
Guest
Interesting debate between you and TWAS,Fionn,but I think you are both right in some ways.Reduced spending and not spending what you have well must contribute greatly to our decline in so many sports. It was depressing reading TWAS' description of 1999/2000,as we were such a powerhouse in most sports but look at us now.We could probably dominate at AFL,but not much else!
concerned supporter
Guest
The Joy of X, What growth of AFL? When I was a kid I would occasionally on a Sunday go and watch East Sydney at Trumper Park, Sydney Naval had a team, where are they? Without the huge amounts of monies given to GWS , they would also not exist, same with Gold Coast. ''AFL payments to clubs revealed, Giants handed $21 million JON RALPH, Herald Sun March 17, 2017 8:27pm GREATER Western Sydney received nearly $11 million more than the AFL’s financial heavyweights in distributions from the league last year. The Giants were handed $21,548,374 by the league in 2016, more than double the $10,553,565 handed to Adelaide. But while the expansion clubs last year were handed over $38 million in AFL distributions, St Kilda was allocated $18,566,589 in AFL cash. The league handed over $255 million of revenue generated by the game to clubs'' Aren't the AFL considering expanding their great game to China? and even India? Joy, you must work for the AFL propaganda dept. Remember the famous AFL sell-out game in Shanghai last year? A few comments from the AFL tab on the Roar. ''I ate pies said | May 20th 2018 @ 10:20am | ! Report 10,689? Hahaha, good old AFL and their propaganda. The count must’ve been done by the people who count the GWS and AFLW crowds." Kangajets said | May 19th 2018 @ 8:09pm | ! Report 4000 at best , still bigger then a Gws crowd On the Ball said | May 20th 2018 @ 7:31am | ! Report As an Australian, I’m very embarrassed at this game being played in China. It’s substandard and does more damage than good for the code. Any local would walk away thinking what are these Aussies smoking. Couldn’t the AFL get a better team than the Suns? Big Fail for the second year in a row AFL! And please stop lying about the crowd numbers!!! Roar Guru Cousin Claudio said | May 21st 2018 @ 3:27pm | ! Report A “sell out” crowd from a “sell out” organisation who would sell their own grandmothers, if it made them money or look better. As a taxpayer, I greatly protest the waste of time and money. Can’t wait to see how much credit the Victorian Rules marketing department will take every time we sell something to China now. Victorian Rules, “the game that made the world.” Can’t wait for the AFLX game in the grounds of Buckingham Palace next. Cousin Claudio said | May 21st 2018 @ 10:57pm | ! Report The Victorian Rules media department have put out a press release to explain. Those weren’t empty seats mate, they were just very small Chinese spectators who don’t wear colourful clothing and are hard to see against the backdrop of the big grey seats, some sitting two or three to a seat. Oh good. That explains the sell out crowd. I believe the merchandise shop at the ground also sold 2 AFL Sherrins and a Suns scarf, which proves what a great money spinner this venture was for Australian taxpayers.''
concerned supporter
Guest
Krassnoff, Glad you can see the powers & control of that ''Knights Templar'' organization called FOSUFC, They together with Murdoch (Foxtel) control Australian Rugby. The only roarer who can't see it is the entity known as TWAS.
The Joy Of X
Roar Rookie
@ Rebel334 2.53pm Your comments are correct, except for one major factual error. There has been a long term decline in junior and adult males playing League in NSW, ACT, and Queensland- so not all the top Qld. athletes "dream of being Brisbane broncos". This partially explains why there are so many NRL players ( about 40%) with a NZ euro, Maori, or Pacific islander background playing in the NRL; and why the NZ national League team is so competitive against the Aust. Kangaroos- even though League only is only popular, in NZ, in South Auckland! League, however, still attracts the best athletes in Qld and NSW (though probably not ACT) . And Union still attracts the best athletes in the "top" NSW and Qld. private schools (though probably not ACT). League journalists Paul Kent, Roy Masters, Phil Rothfield, Phil Gould etc. have stated that Australian Football is showing good growth in NSW and Queensland; and former ARU Chairman John O'Neil, and ex-Union senior players (eg Papworth etc.) have also commented on the growth of Australian Football in Sydney. Your views on the growth of Australian Football in NSW and Queensland, in both participant numbers, and for general support for the AFL? Do you think Australian Football's growth will be at the expense of Union, League, and/or soccer?
Fionn
Guest
It's the same in every country, TWAS. Europe additionally has gone through 10 years of austerity, and the UK almost as long.
krasnoff of noosa
Roar Rookie
Sure coaching is a problem, but you have to look deeper. Ever walked through a pebble-strewn stream and suddenly spotted a flash of brilliance in the clear water? That’s how many of us rugby fanatics see our game: a tiny flash of gold amongst the rubble. It’s a game that offers everything—tactics, agility, strength and innovation. And it also offers the predators—the blue-blazer brigade of Sydney—a ticket to indulge themselves and ultimately suck it dry. Ask Josephine Sukkar, of Buildcorp and husband of Tony Sukkar a member of that organization called Friends of Sydney University Football Club (FOSUFC) and many other people from the big end of town ( Michael Hawker, Cameron Clyne, Roger Davis, David Kirk) about the goose that lays golden eggs. Until this nexus is broken, rugby will never take its proper place in the pantheon of sports. First step is to bring Twiggy Forrest into the tent!
Markie362
Guest
Hooper is being oaid twice what any ab gets
Armchair Sportsfan
Roar Rookie
Unfortunately many aussies (not all) find it much easier to retreat to the comfort of Rugby League and AFL...sports that no one else plays...and sit back and think about how amazing Australia is at everything....
chris
Guest
They must be playing indoors in Sydney as you barely see any AFL being played. But keep peddling your propaganda if it makes you feel good