Expert
Joined January 2015
2.94m
Views
1.7k
Published
95.3k
Comments
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
Published
Comments
It is hard to think of a more pointless and less meaningful statistic in football than xG, which, disappointingly, appears to have crept its…
Melbourne City are eyeing off the top six when they face cellar dwellers Western United in Sunday afternoon A-League action. Join The Roar for…
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Western Sydney Wanderers bring a heck of a lot to the A-League competition. Watching 11,382 people making a…
It was a perfect six from six for Texi Smith in Round 10 and the tipping right across the board was solid. The first…
Watching Manchester United trip, stumble and struggle in English Premier League football is compellingly appealing, satisfying and almost comical for those of us who…
The undefeated Melbourne Victory host Adelaide United at AAMI Park in the latest edition of the Original Rivalry. Join The Roar for live scores…
A-League tipping looked easy for some in Round 9, with only the Melbourne Derby draw blotting the copybook for some. It was nice to…
No matter what we may have learnt or decided about the A-League Men’s across the opening three months of the season, Round 10 looms…
After a rain-impacted Boxing Day, Australia and Pakistan will resume hostilities on Day 2 at an earlier than usual time to make up the…
The biggest day on the cricketing calendar arrives at the MCG, with Australia to face Pakistan in a Boxing Day Test set to be…
Top spot is up for grabs when the Wellington Phoenix host the Western Sydney Wanderers to open Saturday’s A-League Men's action. Join The Roar…
Week 9 A-League Men’s action kicks off with a rare Thursday night game when the inconsistent Brisbane Roar host the reigning champions Central Coast…
Round 8 A-League Men’s action proved near impossible to tip correctly and it was slim pickings for both the fans and the panel. Back…
What has Wellington sitting on top of the class and Perth at the bottom? Every club ranked in order of merit for the season so far.
Reigning champions Central Coast Mariners head to Melbourne to take on the improving Melbourne City in Sunday afternoon A-League action. Join The Roar for…
Australia will be looking to build on an excellent Day 2 on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan at Optus Stadium.…
The summer of Test cricket begins when Australia takes on Pakistan at Optus Stadium in Perth. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary…
It was my turn to make a move in the tipping and four successful selections have seen me roar to the top of the…
The breaking news that Socceroo captain Mat Ryan is set to miss multiple weeks after fracturing his jaw during training at his Dutch club…
Two in-form teams meet when Sydney FC hosts Macarthur at Allianz Stadium in a Saturday night A-League Men’s blockbuster. Join The Roar for live…
I’ve always held the view that every finisher should receive points. Bottom driver gets 1, top gets 25 and you stagger it a little more closely on the way down. (Stagger changes based on the number of finishes) Back in the day whilst teaching, we had teachers who would give 2 or 3 out of 20 and a colleague pointed out that there was no need. If the students was at the bottom, and the second to bottom was a 7, give them a five or a six! They are last anyway. I’d like to see the same with F1, just to keep the ladder moving and fluid, rather than a usually last placed car having a great day, coming 12th and getting nothing for it. It seems silly that a guy could finish eleventh every week and Logan could finish last every week and they are on the same points at the end of the season. 😁 😁
It's rewarding mediocrity so every driver wins a prize: Why it should be 'all or nothing' if F1 changes its points system
Great result for me last night. Pulled one back on everyone and my non-tipping of Brisbane has, again, produced a solid year.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
Imagine a Brisbane or McWanderers win. Both need a shot in the arm. Although not really growing the game, more like bringing people back.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
😂 What can we argue about? Perhaps a code war focus? 😂
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
History never to be repeated if it happens.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
Squad looks pretty strong to me.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
Probably need to see how the AFL fiasco plays out and the new government’s final decision on the Tassie stadium. Should it fail, a definite space to fill.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
From his mobile app in prison hopefully.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
Mmmmm, not sure Torres is a good investment right now. 😔
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
He is the best hold-up merchant in the business and should be high on every clubs wish list.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
If Perth ditch Staj they have simply no idea. If he is headed elsewhere, fair enough.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
Tags scores four and wins the Boot. Which I tipped pre-season. Of course, I’d never bet on it.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
I’m an A-League player get me out of here????
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
Ha ha, you have to admit the Lolley send off was a nice touch.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
Ooft, that will fire up the Brisbane X accounts that come for me when they win, which is very rarely.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
Cracking end of the season and seriously little to suggest any team enters the finals as favourites. ANYONE could win this. I’m tipping against Brisbane again.
The Roar's A-League Men tips and predictions: Round 26 - the jostle for finals positions is on in earnest
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.
Brumbies 'systematically taken apart by the Blues' in 'non-contest' as Larkham's men cop huge reality check
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?
He sure did. Would be really interesting to see him in car now as an experienced driver. Surely Red Bull make sure Newey’s gardening leave is applied? I’d be stunned if they didn’t.
Nico Hulkenberg to join Kick Sauber for the 2025 season: Will this be a redemption story for the German?