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Stuart Thomas is a sports writer, freelance journalist and copywriter who made the jump from Roar Guru to Expert in 2017. A former trainee professional golfer, his sporting passions are broad with particular interests in football, AFL and rugby league. His love of sport is only matched by his passion for gardening and self-sustainability. Follow him on Twitter @stuartthomas72, connect with him on Facebook and LinkedIn and see his work at https://www.stuartthomas.com.au
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Recently, as I watched Blacktown City FC and Mount Druitt Town Rangers do battle in the opening round of New South Wales NPL1 action, my ears pricked up thanks to a nearby conversation.
Two massive upsets dominate the A-League water cooler discussion this Monday morning.
Match result: The Parramatta Eels have begun their 2019 NRL season with an unexpected win over the Penrith Panthers, prevailing 20-12 at the foot of the mountains.
Match result: The Central Coast Mariners have won their second match of the 2018/19 A-League season in a dramatic win over their geographical rivals Newcastle Jets.
The National Rugby League competition symbolically begins when the Roosters and the Rabbitohs belt the bejesus out of each other in Sydney on the first weekend of the season.
The A-League enters its run home to the finals, after a split Round 21 that brought much drama and controversy.
India and Australia meet in the fifth and final One Day International in Delhi. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7pm (AEDT).
The fascinating chasm between two of Australian football’s strongest sources of life was well and truly on display on Sunday afternoon when the New South Wales Premier League competition began with its opening round of fixtures.
The team of the week for Round 21 contains players from just five clubs, the most narrow representation for the entire season thus far.
I sincerely hope that Jack de Belin is innocent. There should be no satisfaction for any decent person in seeing a young, successful athlete found guilty of such an alleged, disgusting and offensive act.
There are just two matches on the schedule to complete the split round that is Round 21. Last weekend began as predictably as many felt it would, with a win to Sydney leading into their Asian Cup Champions League fixture.
The Matildas go in search of the Cup of Nations title when they face Argentina in their final match at AAMI Park. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 6pm (AEDT).
India host Australia in the second One Day International at Nagpur. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7pm (AEDT).
It is always a pleasure to blog international football and write on the Matildas’ performances.
Match result: The Matildas have defeated the Korea Republic 4-1 at Suncorp Stadium to put themselves in the box seat to win the Cup of Nations.
Match result: The North Queensland Cowboys have defeated the Melbourne Storm 14-6 in Mackay in what was, at times, a mistake-riddled game of rugby league.
The New Zealand Warriors face the Wests Tigers in pre-season NRL trial action. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 3pm (AEDT).
Race result: Champion mare Winx has extended her winning streak out yet again, winning the Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney to make it 31 consecutive victories.
The Matildas face New Zealand in the opening match of the Cup of Nations at Leichhardt Oval. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:30pm (AEDT).
For the second time in just a few short weeks, the panel and crowd have managed just one correct selection across an entire weekend of A-League football.
Aren’t penalties pulled due to the threat posed by the player and the defenders eagerness to shut them down? I don’t feel either player in question does/did any excessive diving or falling considering the attention on them. Krishna is currently one of the most dangerous running players into the box. He is getting belted from pillar to post and does earn his fair share of frees (not sure about the number of penalties he has earned) some might suggest he has gone down looking for the whistle a few times but the close marking brings plenty of contact. That’s sort of football in a nutshell really.
Why opinions in football are rarely universal
I’ll need some photos to fully understand this difference of bricks.
Why opinions in football are rarely universal
Reynolds is a terrific competitor but after the injury issues I think his time may be up. Hurts me to say as he is a great man and we have the same roots, but I’m not sure that his inclusion adds anything to the Tigers this year. I called his trial performance and whilst limited, it was really poor.
Seven talking points from NRL Round 1
Agree with almost all of that mate. Bar maybe Reynolds. You should have gone for 8 points and labelled one, The Bulldogs were rubbish!
Seven talking points from NRL Round 1
Pay is no fan. Well what a dismal effort that was!
Bennett plucks the Roosters while the Sharks' touch footballers head sideways
Big afternoon The Barry. I’ll have my eyes on Lichaa, Montoya and Holland. Improvement by those three could see the Dogs as a competitive team in 2019.
Bennett plucks the Roosters while the Sharks' touch footballers head sideways
A great win for your boys Steve. Now for the Bulldogs to do something of note this afternoon.
Bennett plucks the Roosters while the Sharks' touch footballers head sideways
That’s right. They see the double dip as unfair. Personally, try and bin doesn’t seem too harsh. If penalty tries are deemed to be ‘certain’ four-pointers that are stopped by foul play, then the awarding of the try merely gives the attacking side what they were going to achieve in the first place. Therefore, using the bin and potentially permitting further try scoring opportunities seems a fair punishment.
Bennett plucks the Roosters while the Sharks' touch footballers head sideways
The talk around Inglis’ weight appeared spot on as well.
Bennett plucks the Roosters while the Sharks' touch footballers head sideways
Any news on the Burgess cheek? He didn’t miss him.
Bennett plucks the Roosters while the Sharks' touch footballers head sideways
Did Dugan look a little more……solid than last season? Fifita has taken hillbilly hair to a new level.
Bennett plucks the Roosters while the Sharks' touch footballers head sideways
From our perspective down here in hippie-ville, there are three certain things in life.
1. Death
2. Jobs
3. Right wing nut job politicians from up north.
Can the NPL and A-League ever be friends?
I agree Barry and can say categorically that the board is 100% behind Pay. They were actually giggling when that nonsense story came to light around the time of the AGM. You know the one, where Chris Anderson takes over as director of football and appoints Jarrad Anderson as head coach? Utterly ridiculous story that was completely fabricated by a certain person whom we all know to be unreliable. After the Dogs finish to last season, one could mount an argument that Pay actually over-achieved considering the disaster he inherited. No pressure whatsoever until next season really. Then some better results will be expected.
Rock solid predictions ahead of the 2019 NRL season: Part 2
I wanted to quote a crowd figure but couldn’t find one anywhere. I’ll call the club today and see if they know. Do you have access to it?
Can the NPL and A-League ever be friends?
That is his name. Looks a decent player. There was a tense moment in the early minutes when a guy in the back of the stand decided to do his own commentary. He said out loud, “Thompson lays it off to Darkoh.” Now knowing the players name, I nearly fell off my seat and was even more stunned when I noticed that the pass had been played to a dark skinned player. Then I looked in the program and saw his name, phew, I seriously thought we had a red neck in the back row.
Can the NPL and A-League ever be friends?
Certainly not and a number of players have made the team throughout the season up against the Mariners. However, would it not be fair to suggest that the 2-8 performance was a little out of the norm, thus making the quality of the Phoenix’s play a little tough to gauge at times?
The A-League team of the week: Round 21
Roy is one of my faves. People would have accused me of having a man crush on the Fijian; so many times have I included him. He played very well yet it is always hard to judge against such poor opposition.
The A-League team of the week: Round 21
I watched the game twice and was torn between Wellington’s play and the Central Coast’s ‘effort’. Just felt that if the Phoenix had beaten the Baulkham Hills under 11’s they wouldn’t have had a player in the team of the week. So therefore the abysmal display of the Mariners made it hard to include any of them. What an awful day for their fans. It was hard to watch.
The A-League team of the week: Round 21
I am also the common man, not sure why you would think I felt otherwise. People have opinions and after looking at the information around the case that has already been presented in court, public perception would undoubtedly be formed. That doesn’t mean guilt, that is the role of the courts to determine, however I think the ‘no-fault stand-down policy’ soon to be implemented by the NRL is specifically designed to stand players down when incidents arise that don’t ‘look good’. Hence the discussion on brand protection. I disagree with your premise that saying something doesn’t look good is akin to a judgement of guilt. If the allegation is accurate it certainly doesn’t look good. If it is false, then the truth will come to light and an innocent man freed. Pretty sure I expressed a hope that that was to be the case in the opening line. Apologies if you find that line of thinking condescending, certainly not intended to be.
De Belin and NRL set for Federal Court showdown yet the Dragons must make the call
Aaahh! Interesting search results. Well there you go, I’ve learnt something today. Breeze Blocks! Are they the bricks used in Bankwest Stadium?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Buildershop-UK-Medium-Density-Breeze/dp/B008H42DZQ
Why opinions in football are rarely universal