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Joined August 2018
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Craig Cameron, the Suns list manager, has been reported as saying that the Suns have not received any offers from other clubs to trade…
Pathetic headline, and a tiresome, nothing piece on Stewie – pick up your game Roar.
AFL NEWS: Sloane, Rioli get off but Robinson banned, Axe hovering over coach despite win, Aliir out
I suspect that I may be biased here, but I feel that when the Suns are up, the umps subconsciously think that this is not part of the script and start pinging them for very iffy and even imagined things.
'If it was let go, no one would notice': Have the umps been too whistle-happy in the pre-season?
True, many runs were scored, but the next highest score was about 180 runs less.
I essentially agree with your thesis about the innings though; and was just making the broader point that this innings helped keep his test position safe longer than his other late career performances warranted.
Time for some real perspective about Taylor's triple ton
That innings of Tubby’s on the ‘road’ saved his bacon for a bit longer, and meant his average over his last three or so years was 38 instead of 35. Good batsman in his early years, great captain but he hung around too long. But to give him credit, he still had to score the runs, which others didn’t.
Time for some real perspective about Taylor's triple ton
Notwithstanding practice match and all that, there are still some things to be encouraged by. I like Weller doing the kick-ins with his speed off the mark – that looks a winner. Rowell now looks like a bull, and played like a bull. And the number of games now in the younger cohort of Powell, Sharp, Ballard, Rankine, Anderson, Fiorini, Rowell and Ainsworth gives the team a more mature appearance and should make the team more resilient over the 2022 season. Of course, progress often looks like two steps forward followed by one step back.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
I agree completely that Kawaja deserves to play in Hobart. I reckon he deserved to play in Brisbane, and it has been my view that he should have played many more tests prior to that. Since his debut ten years ago, the selectors have tried Wade, Bancroft, Handscomb, Harris, Burns, Henriques, Maddison, Marsh x 2, Ferguson, Maxwell, Patterson, Renshaw and Voges – none of whom are as classy at test cricket than Ussie.
Khawaja deserves his chance in Hobart
Haha, good one Rusty – we had a fast-bowling captain back in the day who was given a scalpel at the end-of-season presentation, to help get the ball out of his hand.
The real reason why the majority don’t want fast bowling captains
Agree fully George. I quite enjoyed the article, apart from the Suns component which is definitely not what the Suns need for Christmas 2021.
My wish for the Suns, is that the media calls for Clarkson to coach stops – as it will mean that their on-field performance has improved significantly.
Injury-free stars, a new captain and Alastair Clarkson: What your team wants Santa to bring this Christmas
Ian Chappell was very poor on ABC radio today. I quite liked him a few years back, but now he just whinges about everyone – administrators, umpires, captains – and today even wanted to talk about his exploits 50 years ago. He’s well past his use-by date now. Ch7 are ok, with Tim Lane, Ali Mitchell (is that her name? ) and Punter all very good. I hope Hayden is only engaged for Brisbane though.
UK View: English media rips into 'grisly self-sabotage', hammers Warnie and Junior's 'inane drivel'
I agree with this. Harris has failed in three of his four bats this shield season, and was a walking wicket last time we played the poms (admittedly in England).
Ashes shootout: Khawaja responds to Head's ton with blazing fifty
Suns opened up salary space and a list spot, converted picks they won’t use into future pick currency and got a big guy they needed in Chol. Could they have got more value with the picks they had? Probably, but they achieved their basic strategy. I think the rating of C+ is fair enough. They addressed the poor salary (or contract length) decision of a few years ago.
The Roar's AFL trade period report card: Every club's performance rated
I’m pretty stoked about this – it helps fill a glaring hole in the Sun’s list. I’ve seen bits and pieces of Chol’s work and it has generally impressed. Though I think there is a general tendency for supporters to note the good play of opposition players, and the poor play of their own players.
Another Tiger becomes a Sun
Excellent summary – well done. My only quibble is the Clarko slant, where speculation became rumour and then almost accepted fact. Maybe its true, but I think it is still in the speculative realm.
Another issue for the Suns is that they often have to pay overs to get or retain players. Many players are happy to take less $s with the big southern clubs than they would at the Suns. Goes with the lowly position of course, but still puts them at a disadvantage.
Gold Coast Suns season review: The gang’s seventh heaven
Yeah, I agree with that JD. Suns can least afford to lose their quality KP guys, as they have limited backup.
The five players your team can least afford to lose: Gold Coast Suns
5 of the 8 Dog goals to 3/4 time were frees, and they were all 50/50 IMO. Arguably, they were ducking the shoulder to draw a high free, falling over mayo on a very light touch, walking under a tall man’s shoulder with some mayo thrown in, skill error on out-of-bounds kick and the one highlighted here. Dogs ran over them, but umps could have been better.
'What is that for?' Everyone baffled as Dog goals from mystifying free kick
Good effort Dingo. I disagree with Ziebell in the team though. He’s been ok, but Stewart is probably B&F for the Cats in a very strong year for them. He has been much more damaging and deserves that spot IMO. I’d also have Miller or Steele ahead of Walsh on the bench – that’s more of a line ball call though, and a couple of good mids will inevitably have to miss out. Also, I wouldn’t have Dangerfield in the squad. But overall, I reckon you’ll be close to the mark.
My 2021 All Australian side
Not convinced about that, Don. Weller has been ok, but not Pick 2 ok. For example, I’d be very surprised if he could hold a mid spot in your current Freo team. And the improved Sun’s culture has come mainly from Miller, Ellis, Swallow, Collins, Greenwood, Witts and Dew – and the drafting of solid youngsters like Powell, Ballard, Rowell, Anderson, Fiorini, Bowes, Ainsworth and Lukosius.
Re Lukosius, I read elsewhere that he has recently forked out $1.4m for an Adelaide property, so he may be looking to jump ship, which would be disappointing for Suns supporters. I have no inside knowledge though.
Adelaide should go all out for Jack Lukosius
Of course scoring quickly better places a team to win a test match, but some of the best test match innings have been rearguard defensive batting to save matches. Your fusion formula penalises these innings. Equally a quicker strike rate, when batting to win a match with plenty of time in hand, does not materially increase the likelihood of victory – safe, steady batting may be the order of the day.
Because scoring quickly is not always a necessary component of good test match batting, I can’t agree that we should give “scoring speed equal importance to runs scored per dismissal” – in test matches anyway.
A better than average rating system for assessing great batsmen
Could be a useful addition for limited overs cricket, but I don’t buy it for test cricket. Test cricket is won by the number of runs, not the speed of run scoring – so it introduces a largely irrelevant factor into assessing overall test batting performance.
Let me give you an example from the most recent test innings in the test championship final to demonstrate. By ‘fusing’ runs scored with strike rates, Kyle Jamieson’s score of 21 at 1.31 strike rate rates at 28; while Williamson’s 49 at 0.27 and Conway’s 54 at 0.35 rate at 13 and 14 respectively. No-one in their right mind would rate Jamieson’s performance (while handy) so much ahead of Williamson’s and Conway’s.
A better than average rating system for assessing great batsmen
Its unclear whether Hartlett said or did anything, so maybe the remonstrations were warranted. This implies that teams that are losing should not remonstrate with the opposition – a preposterous suggestion. In any case the Suns were not as bad as some have suggested on the weekend – they matched or outdid Port at stoppages, for inside 50s, for tackles and for 1 per centers. The Suns just lack big men and were comprehensively beaten inside the arcs. Caleb Graham, Sam Day, Zak Smith and Chris Burgess are below AFL average standard, and Ben King and Charlie Ballard are still developing. Fortunately, Ned Moyles showed a little in the weekend’s VFL game, but they need to recruit some tough big guys in the off-season.
Suns decide to get stuck into Port veteran despite being thrashed
I’m not sure I’d cite the Sun’s 2017 trades as ‘knowing a bit about recruitment’. Didn’t we trade picks 21, 26 and 37 to the Eagles for Pick 50 and their 2018 1st round pick? And then chose Powell at 19, ahead of Oscar Allen, Tim Kelly, Liam Ryan, Noah Balta and Bailey Fritsch (who all went in the next dozen or so). No knock on Wil, but some of those other guys have delivered a bit more so far. Admittedly, we had too many picks that year to use them all, but we still used another three picks after pick 40.
Cause for optimism as injured Suns finally rise
I also have had confidence in Dew, but it is starting to wear thin. I think he is too soft with the players and is molly-coddling them a bit. Touk Miller recently said that their best and most intense training ever was the week before beating Sydney, which co-incidently was the week that Neil Craig arrived to mentor the coaches. Dew needs to start expecting top-end performance from these top-end players, both on the training track, and on game day – and ditch the convenient excuses.
Hawks in ruins, a victim of hubris
Interesting article Arnab, but using Sydney grade cricket as a pathway for the better Bangladeshi players may be counter-productive, as it would weaken the Bangladeshi domestic competition because the seasons overlap. Many Poms come out to play Australian grade cricket, but that is in their off-season. It may work in isolated cases, but ultimately Bangladeshi cricket will rise and fall on the strength (or otherwise) of their domestic competition.
Could Sydney grade cricket revive Bangladesh?
I had high expectations of Freo this year, and while they are still in the mid-ladder jam, they looked insipid and listless yesterday. They need to turn that around quick.
Six talking points from AFL Round 7
Weller rising? We must have watched different games. He butchered the ball, even when under no pressure.
AFL stock market: Round 3