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Joined May 2014
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If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools - Kipling
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The Reds vs Sunwolves game shaped as a perfect way to test my wavering faith in rugby. I'd spent winter to-ing and fro-ing over…
I love weekends, they give us time to ponder things. This Sunday was no different, as I was struck by a strange thought as…
Player safety is all the rage at the moment, and rightfully so. Injuries are good for no one, not the advertisers, not the players,…
With a bit of conjecture and debate going on about the make up and balance of the Australian cricket team in it’s various formats,…
The NRL has blocked a planned exhibition match between the Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos in Hawaii. This may not be a bad idea.…
Which athlete do I look up to? Easy, Roger Federer. Not because he has won the most individual grand slam titles of any player.…
Spiro Zavos' recent article, 'The Australian Rugby Union should be stronger' was extremely frustrating, because I agreed wholeheartedly with one sentence and then completely…
This article is partly in response to Mary Kaye's article 'Ratings, or bums on seats'. Today we face the same problems our ancestors did,…
And green may the fields grow and golden may the harvest be. The Waratahs are riding a wave of public enthusiasm following their stellar…
With the upcoming Super Rugby final looming this weekend, I thought I would take a look back at some historical moments in the game…
I don't think many Australians understand just how difficult completing the Tour of France actually is. As the tour undertakes its first serious mountain…
On a cold night way back in 2008, the men gathered in the underbelly of Ballymore. Under the swinging lamp the powerbrokers had converged…
As the World Cup draws to a close the genuine contenders have emerged. Both semi-finals are going to be very close affairs but rather…
After five games in the round of 16 went to extra time, I suspect we'll have definitive results at the end of 90 minutes…
The AFL in its wisdom decided to risk playing a high-profile game on a cold Sunday night and see what the response was like.…
It was inevitable Australia would be eliminated at some stage of the World Cup - only the most one-eyed fan would have predicted Australia…
First off, well done to New South Wales. In a tough, hard fought and niggly battle the Blues won Game 2 of State of…
The simple, short answer is no. The longer, more complicated answer is yes. Having traded kicks, the English made an early line break down…
This article is partly in response to yesterday's piece by fellow Roarer Allanthus. I agree that Super Rugby commentators add precious little to the…
How are the force going? We aren’t getting any advertising for the matches here on the east coast, but the games are being shown on free to air, so that is awesome. I actually saw the last part of the Samoa game last weekend, it looked very wet… It will be interesting to see what happens next year when the competition starts up officially.
Hard truths: I’m still in rugby limbo
Cheers Geoff, I’ll definitely try to get to some NRC matches this spring. I will cover it in another article, but I guess the question of what role super rugby is playing is part of the problem. I feel it is trying to be too many things at once.
Hard truths: I’m still in rugby limbo
Hey Gabbie, yeah they probably need to be rebranded as the Brisbane reds… I know they used to play a game each year up there, but they dropped that what 10 years ago…?
The cowboys are up there every second week, unfortunately, rugby is not. Where does the QLD country team in the NRC play their games?
Hard truths: I’m still in rugby limbo
Club rugby it is – a few people have suggested that. I feel it is a bit of a band aid solution, which is fine for me, but long term, I don’t think the solution to super rugby not being engaging is to send fans off to watch club rugby. There seems to be enough in this idea for a whole article, so I’ll look into it this coming week. Thanks for the suggestion. Link for the Thorn interview? My google foo is letting me down.
Hard truths: I’m still in rugby limbo
Hey Nick, I actually manage to get to quite a few club games (3/4 this year @ Wests), and do prefer them to the super rugby, which is probably a problem in and of itself. I also think the reds have built nicely this season and if they can manage the turnover of players look good for the next one. Will the reds winning solve all the problems though…? Maybe, we will find out next season!
Hard truths: I’m still in rugby limbo
Thanks Mick, I’m personally still working through the game/me changing element of it all. Hopefully the next article, which will look more at the play of the game, will shed some light on it. We shall see.
Hard truths: When I woke up and realised I was a casual fan
Interesting. I’ve always just assumed a virtual saturation of AFL in Melbourne. On the plus side, being a general sports fan in Melbourne must be very convenient.
Hard truths: When I woke up and realised I was a casual fan
I too asked my partner if it was I that had changed or the game, we agreed it is almost certainly both, but I will have a look at a couple of actual games this weekend and write a follow up piece next week. This one was more about the hurdles even to watch the game.
Hard truths: When I woke up and realised I was a casual fan
Just looked up Aubrey Faulkner – seemed like a quality cricketer. Never heard of him before, but he’ll make the next fictional XI probably.
Who would win? The Allrounders XI versus the Traditional XI
Yep, feel free to change up the lists, I tried to make them balanced (in my opinion) and in the spirit of the self inflicted exercise – according to the comments I have failed miserably – but the original thought was just to imagine how it would play out.
Who would win? The Allrounders XI versus the Traditional XI
Bradmans XI is pretty attacking, I like it. Very easy to see them taking 20 wickets, and with those batsmen they could easily put up good scores you would think even without Hammond
Who would win? The Allrounders XI versus the Traditional XI
Yeah, just put him there because of formatting and convention really. I’m pretty sure the Allrounders XI would be pretty blasé about changing the batting lineup.
Who would win? The Allrounders XI versus the Traditional XI
Would be a cracker of a match, A real grind when the traditional XI was batting, I see Kallis and Sobers as being the 5th and 6th bowlers in the team, so I thinks it’s safe to say there wouldn’t be many ‘easy’ runs.
With the Allrounders batting, a real struggle to see off the main bowlers to get into the very, very part timers for an absolute glut of runs. The Glenn McGrath factor might sway the game slightly to the traditional XI by virtue of him being able to bowl virtually all day without a rest. But, Kallis scored runs against the Aussies, so who knows.
Who would win? The Allrounders XI versus the Traditional XI
too good at batting I reckoned
Who would win? The Allrounders XI versus the Traditional XI
Yep, feel free to sub players into the hypothetical teams to your liking.
In a way I thought the omissions were more important than the players that made the teams. I think when we look back at the great teams we tend to realise the incredible contributions from admittedly brilliant players. Players like the Waugh brothers and Viv Richards were fantastic batsmen but I think too good at bowling to make the traditional list, where as Glenn McGrath I think obviously belongs as the quintessential tail ender.
The Proctor/Hadlee decision was probably the one I spent longest over.
Apartheid was/is such a shame. That’s all I have to say about that.
There were too many options for 12th man, I simply couldn’t choose.
Who would win? The Allrounders XI versus the Traditional XI
Woolfe. I know you only as an interweb friend (at this stage), but if what you are suggesting is true (censorship), I will have to leave this website.
'A Wallaby gets arrested' and other good news
It is a completely valid argument to say that it is legal – the mining project in question.
Unfortunately many times in the past perfectly legal ventures have been found to be be not so legal later on. I hate to flame the fires further, but declaring Australia ‘terra nullius’ whilst maybe legal, was surely not fair or just. So, the argument that it has been through “legal procedure” is actually what he is protesting. He is simply stating that the procedure is wrong, and is hoping to halt development to review the procedure leading to it – I think. Ultimately, I judge his concern for the citizens affected to be sincere, and for that I applaud him. He is surely brave, right remains to be seen. The fact he chose to protest this, as opposed to many other mining ventures, must say something.
'A Wallaby gets arrested' and other good news
“Did he live his life with passion?” apparently that was the only question the ancient greeks asked to determine if a man had lived a good life. I know no where near enough about the maules creek mine to have any relevant opinion on the subject, but I love that he is passionate about it. I reckon he is the right person to lead us in the world cup.
'A Wallaby gets arrested' and other good news
My favourite poem. regarding the mining money, probably the section “if all men count among you, but none too much” but yeah, the whole thing.
'A Wallaby gets arrested' and other good news
It must be difficult at times. Imagine being a non-drinker (for moral reasons say) and being sponsored by Tooheys…? Mining is a pretty contentious issue (worthy of entire books of articles), and I think given the crap the ARU has put up with from Beale, how could they turn their back on Pocock.
'A Wallaby gets arrested' and other good news
Yep, he sure was childish at some points, but, then he grew up, and became a man, with honour and all that. Most athletes eventually grow up at some stage. I just happen to think that declining to carry your nations flag at the olympics opening ceremony is quite a personal sacrifice, maybe he wouldn’t have refused in his younger days, but he did after he’d grown up.
'A Wallaby gets arrested' and other good news
Great read Harry, always good to see poetry mixed in with the nuts and bolts rugby chat. Great wins for the Boks and Argies!
An ode to Bok beserker
Good points about television revenues and ground attendances Train w/o station. There is obviously overlap between the two, and is a very detail specific issue that I wrote an article on this specifically a while back. As the only afternoon game this season, does anyone have viewer numbers for the France test in Sydney?
I hate agreeing (and disagreeing) with Spiro Zavos
Had to read your comment a couple of times…
Ewen McKenzie handed winning formula on a platter
Chin up! Things have to get worse before they get even worse.
I assume an announcement is coming that the problem is we haven’t been listening to Cheika enough and now he will assume the mantle of chairman of the board and coach.
The job of a coach