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Joined July 2017
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In the time of chimpanzees, I was a monkey.
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Having lost a few wisdom teeth, and gained a few days on the couch, I’ve stumbled across ‘The Running Game’ on Stan Sport. It’s…
In the prophetic words of the Finn brothers – history never repeats, I tell myself before I go to sleep. Understood as a vain…
It sounds like the NRL season is back on from May 28th. Back slaps all around. But while there’s an ambitious restart date, the…
It was Aesop who first said, "united we stand, divided we fall" – and fall we did. While there’s a myriad of factors that…
Cooper Cronk was better than Andrew Johns. There, I said it. After you wiped up the Blend 43 from your table and chin, let's…
Verbs are doing words. They’re words that just get in there and make it happen. And that, it seems, is what the Australian cricket…
Stand up if you're familiar with ice hockey? Ok, a few of you. Now sit down if you can’t jive with probability theory. For…
While watching the Big Bash, I was forced to make some obligatory small talk. My sundry relative was from Byron Bay, and he refers…
India have never won a Test series in Australia, which is surely a sore point for the world’s premier cricketing nation. In recent memory,…
The Australian cricket team will get belted this summer, but they’re sure to shake hands afterwards. Rightly or wrongly, I’m told there was a…
Reds, please sit down, we need to talk. I think you know what this is about – it’s been coming for a while now.…
Despite the initial debate and controversy, most folk agree that banning the shoulder charge is sane. The cost-benefit assessment is damning - a minor…
Wait. Breathe. Count to three. Take a minute to cool down before you mash out a comment. Hey, feeling loose, maybe even read a…
Every good hero needs a strong villain. They're a yin to our yang. Seemingly opposite forces are in fact complementary, interconnected, and nay, inseparable.…
I've been called a lot of things in my time – a sundry, a ham-fisted lover, a glam rock apologist – but, proudly, I've…
Sports administration is a dog eat dog world. Now, I’m not here to argue that the Cape Town Three were in the right. On…
It's dark out here beyond the circle. There air is sweet with smoke and sweat. Angry eyes all wet and vacant. Teeth glint off…
Aussie winter sport is a dysfunctional family. Of course this fractured landscape is a symptom of our colonial past, but what if these schisms…
A single decision can't decide a result. Craig Joubert gets it, and Jerome Garces gets it. Now, why can't we? Until the 77th minute…
Thanks mate. It’s a decent side without being brilliant. Maybe consider Oats. Hasn’t been playing well but his height is a weapon.
There’s some good hard working second rowers available too like Horsborough, Guerra, and Capewell. Glasby wouldn’t let anyone down either.
Shame about Keary deciding to be loser!
The team Queensland must pick to compete with NSW
Agree that’s it’s not a great look. But all the criticism these guys have received is unfair. Roarers tend to miss the breathtaking hypocrisy of (a) condemning them for standing firm on one hand, while (b) never having taken a massive pay cut to ostensibly save their employer on the other. Most would walk – and rightly so.
Good on them. Just because other employees have bent over doesn’t mean you have to. The bottom line is you have to pay people what they’re worth. If these guys feel they’re on unders then it’s their responsibility to test that.
I’m a long suffering Reds member and these guys owe me nothing. Good luck to them.
It's time for Rugby Australia to cut players some slack
Do you not feel that the 25 rounds is driven by broadcaster volume rather than quality of matches? I’d argue that, at present, no team needs to be anywhere near their best for the majority of the season. You can lose more than you win and still be two games from the grand final. If you make every game important – do you not get a winner that has done it consistently “when it matters”?
Zen and the art of premiership maintenance
Thanks Paul. Reducing the number of teams may have come across as random, but I assure you that it wasn’t arbitrary. It speaks directly to distilling the competition and concentrating the talent. Less teams equals higher quality matches. I’d argue that all attempts at expansion have lead to poor quality outcomes for the competition. The obvious exception is the Storm – but that a whole different thread.
What got me thinking was seeing a doco on Don Shula and the ’72 Miami Dolphins. They’re the only NFL team with a perfect season – going 14 and 0 on the way to winning the Superbowl. After 14 games of NRL we’d be barely half way to the finals. And, for mine, that’s the difference. Every game in the NFL carries weight. And this is the quality that the NRL can strive for.
Zen and the art of premiership maintenance
Thanks Simon. Certainly a lot to unpack there.
I’m certainly no employment lawyer, so I’d like someone to check if this is consistent with IR law and legally enforceable: “there would be a requirement whereby the contracted players would have to pay back the funds invested in them… should they wish to leave Australian rugby to take up a more lucrative offer”.
Even if a structure like that were in play – there’s no way I’d ever sign up to anything like that.
A model for stronger and more sustainable rugby
Thanks for your feedback. The point was that the excuses that get offered up aren’t quite valid. And there’s no reason we should settle for mediocrity.
I wasn’t trying to present a roadmap solution, rather, I was trying to highlight the underlying and systemic issue of disunity.
Australian rugby needs to stand united
Thanks for the comment.
I don’t have a silver bullet – but here are some key points that often come up, and seem to have merit.
Suggested solution: (1) stop with the excuses, tribalism, scapegoating, and finger pointing (2) ARU to engage with all stakeholders (esp. the fans and clubs) and conduct a thorough review (3) appoint a high quality coach/ technical director (e.g., Jones) and give them the mandate to shape the way rugby is played and coached at all levels (4) state unions to cede some power to a central cause (5) lower the giteau threshold (6) everyone, once adequately consulted, gets on board
Australian rugby needs to stand united
Why don’t we let Cheika sign off with one last spurious selection – and let him choose his replacement?
On a serous note – how long does Nucifora have left in Ireland?
VOTE: Who should be the next Wallabies coach?
Thanks. I guess it depends on your criteria for judging halfbacks. You might say creativity outweighs game management, and others might not. Someone might weight “not getting belted about by Jamie Goddard” even higher, for example.
Cooper Cronk, the undisputed No. 7 king
Thanks. So you’re saying that Cronk gets marked down because he played in, ostensibly, what was considered better company? And despite his better record at all levels of the game?
That’s a slippery slope. You could then argue the best halfback played in a bush league because, weighted by the quality of his peers, he was relatively that much better.
And I have to disagree that winning record is not a criteria for success. Rather, it’s the ultimate one. Maybe head to head johns would have outplayed Cronk – who knows. But if Cronks team ended up winning – then he arguably had played his role better, and winning is the goal.
Cooper Cronk, the undisputed No. 7 king
Re: “I think rugby league, more than any other sport is a true team effort. So to point to team results as an indicator of greatness has some limitations” – isn’t statement this inconsistent within itself? If it’s a team effort, then by definition, shouldn’t individual results be judged in context of the team?
I argue that if Cronk was from NSW he’d have a lot more individual accolades
Cooper Cronk, the undisputed No. 7 king
What? You mean because Qld will have a less flashy team on paper they won’t be right in it. Agree. If history has taught us anything, it’s that it can never repeat…and repeat…and repeat…
VOTE: Pick your Queensland Maroons team for Origin 1
Thanks for your contribution – but I feel you’ve framed the discussion wrong.
No-one is claiming that his employment is under threat because he is “exercising his right to free speech”. The line is (a) whether he acted in breach of his contract, and if so, (b) whether the relevant conditions are consistent with, and enforceable within, commonwealth employment law. That’s what they’re trying to sort out.
It’s an interesting case – as, on the surface, it appears that RA are trying to enforce a particular editorial line on their employees. For arguments sake, what happens if that line isn’t consistent with mainstream community values? Consider this – if RA were sponsored by Adani, would they be in their rights to censure Dave Pocock online?
A pastor preaches, and a teacher teaches. So, in your analogies, they would be failing to meet the basic criteria for fulfilling their positions. Your comparisons would be closer to the mark if IF insisted on playing waterpolo while representing the WBs. He’s not employed to tweet.
FWIW – I’m a drunken fornicating atheist. But i’d hate to see him go.
The Folau freedom of speech double standard
Ha! Welcome to the roar James Sutherland. I agree. Let’s extend the most petty and patently unfair penalties in the history of Australian sport. And keep a captain who’se not even close to our best keeer batsman at the moment. Cheers for the article mate. But I couldn’t disagree more
A golden opportunity: Don't pick Smith and Warner
Thanks. Glad you liked it. The standard “X talking points from Y match” gets a bit stale.
Cook, BJ and Root: My all-time greatest verb eleven
Cheers. Good suggestions. Guess I’m just a present-perfect kind of guy. Each to their own.
Cook, BJ and Root: My all-time greatest verb eleven
In order, our innings durations were:
1st test: 98.4, 119.5
2nd test: 108.3, 93.2
3rd test: 66.5, 89.3,
4th test: 104.5
Based on this worst-ever series batting results, and assuming a Normal distribution, the probability of surviving less than 100 overs is around 55%. But this is (a) with 6 batsmen and not 11, (b) not just batting for time, and (c) losing the toss three times.
Pulling the goalie: why Australia should play eleven batsmen in every Test
Cheers. This is how I see it…
If your opponent bats for 250 overs there would be a maximum of 200 of overs left in the match. Assuming you don’t make the follow on, and they enforce it, each of your batsmen would need to survive around 55 balls per innings for earn a draw. This is a fair bit less than the expected value. The probability of all your batsmen surviving less than their long term average, and twice each in a match, is very low. And that’s not even considering the low probability of any team batting for 250 overs to start with – regardless of opposition or pitch condition.
Pulling the goalie: why Australia should play eleven batsmen in every Test
At least you’d have a mandatory defence against a worthy challenger. India are clearly gaming the current system – either consciously or not
The Lineal Test Cricket Championship: Get on board!
To continue the boxing analogy – how about treat all non-title-belt series as qualifiers. Teams could play for the right to host Championship series, with all the financial incentive that brings.
Playing on doctored pitches is a problem for all systems, so no loss there. At least it ensures the batton gets handed around a bit. Turns out even Zimbabwe would have held it a few years ago.
The Lineal Test Cricket Championship: Get on board!
Well said. I’m not a huge fan of Kohli as a personality, but love to watch him bat.
I have no issue whatsoever with him carrying on. Good on him. He looks like a bit of a tool, but that’s his business.
If he wasn’t any good no one would even be talking about this.
All this double speak like “we’re australian and we’re above all that, but all power to the rest of them” is sanctimonious post colonial rubbish. One rule for all. Either it’s ok across the board or it isn’t.
The double standard: If Virat Kohli can show passion, Australia can too
Ignoring, or choosing not to compete in, the sharp mental side of the game is a disadvantage. To deny its importance it is akin to ignoring leg spin, or the cut shot, or not training players to dive in the field.
Granted, there is a line between being competitive and being abusive, and that line is pretty pretty clearly defined in general life – don’t use vulgar profanity, and don’t make personal attacks. The rest is fair game.
The author points out that “good hard cricket” has been difficult to define. Well the same argument applies to “good polite cricket”. If the way the team conducts themselves isn’t the sole responsibility of the team and management, then how is it anyone else’s business?
Australian greats can't see the 'good hard cricket' lie
Thanks for the feedback.
My point is that the behaviour of the Australian team was entirely consistent with our national culture and values.
To hold them to higher account than any of other cultural reference points – be they national sporting teams, personalities, institutions, or otherwise – is unfounded.
Our hubris and fake outrage at the ball tampering incident speaks more to our misplaced self image than to anything else.
The culture within our cricket team was a microcosm for our wider national identity. Like it or loathe it.
Aspirations versus reality: Cricket and our national culture wars
Thanks. Well constructed and entertaining. However, I have to disagree with your main thesis – and suggest that attempting to intellectualise both (a) a largely irrelevant boxing match, and (b) Anthony Mundine, is a bit rich.
Re: “The fight certainly will encapsulate not only a great sporting event but one that will challenge the very social fabric of a nation which is still to reconcile its history”.
That maxed out my histrionics gauge. Suggest you could submit this on The Conversation.
Good read though.
Anthony Mundine agitates 'the man' and leaves them on the Horn of a dilemma
Looks like the reds got a new coach. So I googled Lez Kiss. Got some pretty promising images but my phone has a virus now
Revealed: Another former State of Origin star to replace Thorn as Queensland Reds get their man