The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 14
It was a tough week of tipping in Round 13, with no better than three correct selections achieved by the panel. There's a whole…
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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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Well, Lando right royal buggered that up! Checo and Sainz had Hamilton’s measure but Alonso fought hard for a long, long time! Nice drive from Oscar ‘The Pastry Chef’ on used tires.
'Welcome back': Reliving the last Chinese Grand Prix ahead of its much-anticipated return five years later
If Max can’t squeeze past Fernando straight away, I think Lando might be able to establish a small gap. Short race with a pretty darn fast car, I reckon he might be able to hang on. Daughter and I will be cheering on ‘Speed Merchant’ Logan and ‘Crash Bandicoot’ Albon. Funniest team on the grid.
'Welcome back': Reliving the last Chinese Grand Prix ahead of its much-anticipated return five years later
Cracking opening day, complete with grass fires and all. I’m thinking the sparks reacted with the chemicals/colour that was sprayed on the grass. There is no way grass that green would burn, especially after a wet day only 24 hours before. Crofty’s explanation was comical.
That surface looked mighty slippery. Yuki blowing up was funny, first time Daniel has showed some teeth this season and he didn’t like it at all.
Race tips
1st Norris
2nd Verstappen
3rd Alonso
'Welcome back': Reliving the last Chinese Grand Prix ahead of its much-anticipated return five years later
Not sure there could ever be a more multi-sport watcher than me and I am criticised every week by football fans telling me I am a sell-out due to my enjoyment of the AFL and rugby league, which is the game I was first exposed to. I’d suggest when you are across all you probably have the right to comment fairly and draw conclusions, far from an attempt to compare and contrast.
Forget those bringing down the game, what if we embraced the A-League and Australian football cups are actually half-full?
‘Shocker’ is your word not mine. Took advantage of a dominant first half and contributed. Defensively, was rubbish, again.
Don't believe the hype: Why did Bulldogs fork out big bucks for the most overrated player in the NRL?
Amazing how a player can miss four tackles, at an efficiency of 73.91% and be considered to have a ‘blinder’. He sits 4th on the missed tackle stat, alongside a group of much smaller men who we expect to see there. Two sides of the ball. On one, Kikau is performing inconsistently, on the other, he is the worst in the NRL for big men. Respectfully, I disagree.
Don't believe the hype: Why did Bulldogs fork out big bucks for the most overrated player in the NRL?
I would have thought the definition of cherry picking was to narrow stats down to position: sometimes relevant and sometimes not. Also pretty insulting to ask if I’ve watched any games this year. You are far better than that and we should be able to discuss an issue without adopting Trump-like tactics. 👍
Let’s look at a few of these in isolation.
* 1st for try involvements with 5. One try, three assists and a try contribution? However they assess that. At $800,000, I’d EXPECT him involved in a try a week. He is actually 38th if you remove the positional aspect.
* 2 line breaks in 5 weeks. Mmmmm. Certainly nothing to write home about.
* 58th for total run metres and the 17th ranked forward. Again, for the price tag people could expect more.
* 51st for tackle breaks with 13, in fairness, decent.
* Average of one off-load per week, ranked 34th, with a heck of a lot of lesser paid forwards above him.
* Add these contextual alterations to the appalling defensive stats and penalty concessions, which you’ve ignored and the picture becomes far fuller.
Simply no attempt to kick the Bulldogs while they are down, more a case of calling what I see and there were similar concerns at the Panthers. Pay Kikau $450,000 and you get some value. Overrating is reflected in the money a club has been hoodwinked into offering players without the so-called runs on the board.
We saw it first hand with Tony Williams and I’ll stand by the view on Kikau.
Don't believe the hype: Why did Bulldogs fork out big bucks for the most overrated player in the NRL?
Nicely done Sarah. 100 per cent agree about Hamilton. He is being exposed for the rather lucky driver he was in what was essentially an unbeatable car over a long period of time. Once forced to race in the pack, his true talent is exposed. Compare that to Max and his early stuff as a teenager and the chasm between the two becomes obvious.
Surely there is a cooling off period on the Ferrari contract. If I were them, I’d be acting on it immediately!
Lewis Hamilton lacked, Ferrari fought and Perez impressed: Japanese GP exceeded expectations in earlier calendar spot
But should FIFA accept it? They have nudged it quite a bit over the years but I would like to see them nudge far more firmly.
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
Punter, rugby competitions in France, Argentina and Italy are so far distant from the success of football that it is an unfair comparison. Australia’s two major codes dominate. A little simulation in ruggers in those countries would not even make the papers.
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
Shakespeare!
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
And therein lies the problem. FIFA’s stronghold is in countries without two or three other codes competing for market share. They sort of giggle at simulation as part of the game, but probably do not understand the damage that does in some countries where people actually have other options.
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
This is a more than fair response but you left out the homophobia!
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
Agreed. All sports have simulation as an issue and professionalism guarantees it, but football’s issue is undoubtedly more in focus than any other.
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
Absolutely mad. One week for simply gesturing, “I’m sick of this, get away from me.” The definition of a clumsy accident.
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
How about audio of what is said between the trainer and the player on the ground? One can only imagine.
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
You’ve hit on a key point there, a casual observer sees what happens in football and simply cannot embrace the game. Football hurts itself with the nonsense.
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
As I said, important not to have Cancar take the fall for all the others, yet it does enunciate the point.
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
Sadly, I think we all know that they would have had a little chuckle about it after the game.
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
100 per cent agree. ANY players who rushes towards a referee should be booked. I’ve been working on an idea that sees referees retreat to the nearest area, ie centre circle, penalty box, goal mouth when VAR is deliberating. No-one should be near the referee.
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
No-one. It still astonishes me that football have never chosen to seriously punish cowards who fake injury. Parts of sport are courage and integrity, it appears many are happy to forgo both at times and that is really sad.
Simulation crackdown: If they like the spotlight so much, put A-League actors up before the Match Review Panel
Didn’t watch mate. My mum is losing her sense of reality and needed assistance at the nursing home. Maybe I’ll catch the replay.
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That’s the trick I think. He builds the incredible relationships within the inner sanctum, once he departs or that link is broken, the next relationship is formed and people are cast aside. Certainly does have a record severing, as I wrote back in 2022. Yet within that sanctum, he magically convinces the players to buy in. Coaching genius really.
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It was something we reflected on a lot way back when I was in the education game. A guy I worked for came up with what I thought was a brilliant way of thinking about culture….”The way we do things around here.” A little like the old Peter Moore style of thinking and the Bulldog way. It does over simplify, but I often think of it.
Pinching talent from other clubs only goes so far - building culture is far more important
Goodness me, just caught this replay this morning. The errors! Not a fun watch at all, even the Blues looked a little surprised as things unfolded.
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