Roar Guru
Joined January 2013
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I cover mostly AFL and tennis, as well as some NRL and other sports.
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It was the result no one saw coming, and in retrospect, shook up the whole 2018 finals series.
Nearly six months have passed since the West Coast Eagles lifted the premiership cup and now this weekend, 17 other clubs will begin their mission to stop them from repeating as premiers in 2019.
After seven jam-packed rounds of action, only four teams are left to fight it out for the right to contest next week’s AFL Women’s grand final.
One round down, 25 to go, and if Round 1 wasn’t big enough, then prepare for what should be a massive Round 2.
There is just one round left in the AFL Women’s season and a lot of the focus will be on who finishes where, as well as whether Collingwood can snatch a late win and sentence the GWS Giants to their second wooden spoon in three seasons.
After what can only be described as the off-season from hell, in which several players and teams made headlines for all the wrong reasons, finally the focus returns to the footy field where 15 teams will set out to stop the Sydney Roosters from repeating as premiers in 2019.
Only two rounds remain in the third season of AFL Women’s and the controversial conference system introduced this year will become a major talking point once the regular portion of the season comes to an end.
With only three rounds of the AFL Women’s season remaining before the finals, time is running out for a number of teams.
We reach the halfway mark of the 2019 AFL Women’s season this weekend, and after three rounds there has been scathing criticism of the fixture, with all the teams in Conference A proving to be stronger than their Conference B counterparts.
After two rounds North Melbourne have set the pace for the competition, but this Friday night they will get a serious test of their credentials when they face the Western Bulldogs in Launceston.
Round 1 of the 2019 AFL Women’s season is in the books, and if that was anything to go by, then Round 2 promises to be just as exciting.
With the Australian Open tennis over for another year, focus now turns to the build-up to the upcoming football seasons.
The Australian Open is over for another year, and for the second consecutive major, it is Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka who are victorious.
The stage is set for what promises to be a climactic end to this year’s Australian Open, with the world’s top two players, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, to duke it out for history in tomorrow night’s men’s final.
A brand new Australian Open women’s champion, and a new women’s world number one, will be anointed tomorrow night when Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova go head-to-head for the first Grand Slam title of 2019.
We are down to the final four men and women at the 2019 Australian Open.
The first week of the 2019 Australian Open has passed us by and there are so many stories to come out of it as we edge closer to crowning our first Grand Slam champions for the year.
This afternoon, Ashleigh Barty will face the biggest test of her career thus far when she comes up against Maria Sharapova in the fourth round of the Australian Open, with a berth in the quarter-finals up for grabs.
Five years after it was supposed to have happened, Serena Williams and Eugenie Bouchard will finally face off at the Australian Open on Thursday.
The men’s and women’s draws for the 2019 Australian Open have been released and it has the potential to produce some must-watch mouth-watering clashes over the next fortnight.
I just have this feeling that the Lions could be up to something special this year, hence the big call.
Also Josh Kennedy won’t feature for the Eagles; I think they’re keeping him in cotton wool for next week.
2019 AFL season: Round 1 preview
no, the game vs the Warriors is not on FTA. The Bulldogs vs Parramatta match earlier in the day will be the game shown on Channel Nine.
Honestly, it could go either way, but crowd support should get the Tigers home IMO.
2019 NRL season: Round 2 preview
CORRECTION: “In positive news for the club, they’ll get Madeleine Boyd back from a two-match suspension for the clash against her former club.”
It is actually Aasta O’Connor who returns. Plus she never represented the Giants.
2019 AFL Women's season: Round 7 preview
CLARIFICATION: “…their 21-6 defeat being their worst in the season decider.”
Add to that “…in a decade.”
2019 NRL season: Round 1 preview
Cheers.
Personally I’m not a fan of the conference system, which creates the major flaw that certain teams don’t face two clubs during the regular season, though you could end up facing them anyway in the finals (for example, GWS won’t play the Western Bulldogs or Fremantle in the regular season, but if they finished on top of their conference, and the Bulldogs or Freo finished second in their conference, the Giants would host one of them in the preliminary final).
With two new clubs (the Geelong Cats and North Melbourne) entering the league, it creates this vibe of excitement and unpredictability across the season, as those two clubs would be keen to make an impact and, unlike in the men’s league when Gold Coast and GWS entered the league in 2011 and 2012 respectively (both clubs finished last in their inaugural seasons), you wouldn’t want to take them lightly at all.
I’m particularly interested to see how much the Giants can improve in 2019. They’ve gone from a team of misfits in 2017 to one that could seriously challenge for the flag this year. The recruitment of Christina Bernardi, the reigning All-Australian full-forward, to their forward line will make them a team no-one will want to face when they are at their best. Also, as it turns out, they’re the only club this season to play both new clubs (Cats and Roos) as home games.
2019 AFL Women's season: Round 1 preview
When Nine picked up the rights to the tennis twelve months earlier than scheduled last June, what they should have done was recruit their own commentators/experts rather than poach those from Seven (namely Jim Courier, Lleyton Hewitt, Todd Woodbridge, Sam Smith etc.).
I don’t know if Mark Philippoussis ever did any commentary work but he could’ve been a good pick-up for Nine, as would’ve Darren Cahill (I think he has a contract with ESPN, though), Mat Thompson (NRL commentator) and Pat Rafter, among some suggestions.
I also think Nine should seriously consider trying to get the rights to Wimbledon back as early as next year (Seven’s rights to the event expires at the end of this year, I think), and if they do so, they should treat the event better, because the last time Nine televised the event, coverage wouldn’t start until 10:30pm at the earliest, some two hours after live play has started. Seven, on the other hand, started its coverage on 7TWO at 8:30pm.
Final thoughts on the 2019 Australian Open
CORRECTION: “Both registered first-round victories over Ernests Gulbis and Nick Kyrgios, respectively.”
It’s the other way around.
Serena and Bouchard finally set to meet at Australian Open, as Djokovic and Tsonga gear up for 2008 rematch
I’ve been fortunate to see both sportsmen in the flesh in my lifetime. I saw Cahill play twice for the Socceroos (both times last year as Australia was looking to qualify for the World Cup), while I was lucky enough to be at Lowndes’ 600th race (the 2016 Sydney SuperSprint at Eastern Creek) as well as at the recent Sydney SuperNight 300 in August in which he just missed out on a podium finish.
Will be an emotional week for sure.
A huge week awaits Australian sporting fans with two greats to bow out
And another thing…
* Every team will play a premiership match in Queensland in season 2019.
The matches you must watch in 2019
“They dominated in 2002 and won the minor premiership, but they choked during the decider against a brilliant Brisbane Lions side. In 2001 they finished fifth, and since then the highest the Dons have finished is seventh.”
You got the years mixed up. It was 2001 in which they lost to the Brisbane Lions in the Grand Final (the year after they won the 2000 flag), and 2002 was when they finished fifth.
The Bombers are back, and it’s top four or bust in 2019
I was talking about the Broncos men’s side who won their most recent premiership in 2006.
A look back at the inaugural NRL Women's Premiership season
As you may know, most other women’s leagues (W-League, AFL Women’s etc.) are played as standalone competitions away from their male equivalents (in this case, A-League and AFL respectively), giving those leagues somewhat of its own identity and their own space.
Though I would agree that having matches played as curtain-raisers to men’s matches is one way of attracting supporters and “advertising” the competition, it won’t be long before the NRL Women’s Premiership gets its own exposure (i.e. matches are not played as curtain raisers to men’s matches, etc.), much like the women’s Origin was played at a separate time to the men’s Origin earlier this year.
If it is to be played away from the men’s season in the future, I propose that it could take place either during the men’s pre-season (thus putting it directly head-to-head with the AFLW) or post-season (i.e. October-November). Only when expansion occurs would this then be possible.
A look back at the inaugural NRL Women's Premiership season
So did I, it was great to finally see up to 70-odd women finally realise their dream of playing in a professional women’s rugby league competition this year, something we didn’t think was possible over 18 months ago.
I think that only once the league becomes more competitive can we then think about expansion, because the last thing you want is any team continuing to dominate the competition for a prolonged period of time, as well as some lopsided scores.
I have heard that the Melbourne Storm are looking to get a team in by 2020, but IMO that’s a bit too soon.
A look back at the inaugural NRL Women's Premiership season
What a massive year 2018 was for rugby league. Didn’t think I’d be involved in the sport more than I ever have.
Some of my highlights include:
* Attending the season launch in the city
* Attending the final Anzac Day game at Allianz Stadium and watching the Dragons beat the Roosters by 24-8
* Attending the inaugural women’s Origin and then Origin II two nights later, and watching the Blues win both times
* Meeting and greeting the Dragons’ women’s players outside Kogarah Oval
* Attending the Roosters vs Sharks qualifying final at Allianz Stadium after watching the Giants smash the Swans in the AFL final next door
* Attending the NRLW match between the Dragons and Warriors before the men’s semi-final between the Rabbitohs and Dragons
* Attending the NRL Fan Fest during Grand Final week.
If the inaugural women’s season has taught us anything, it’s that the Brisbane Broncos have clearly set the benchmark for the competition as they went through the whole thing undefeated, culminating in them beating the Sydney Roosters convincingly in the Grand Final. The other three teams are going to have their work cut out trying to dethrone them next year.
It was also great to see so many female players live their dream of playing professional rugby league, something we didn’t think was possible as recently as 18 months ago.
Can’t wait to see what the 2019 season brings us!
My top ten moments of the 2018 NRL season
CORRECTION: “it would clear the decks for the West Coast Eagles to potentially host the grand final rematch at Optus Stadium as early as Round 1”
Should be Round 2.
After a dozen years, the premiership heads back west in style
Thanks for the pick-up. I was rushing to get this article written in time hence the mistake.
2018 NRL grand final: Your ultimate preview to the big day
@IAP – that’s because Spotless has a capacity of 24K whilst the Gabba has a capacity of 42,000. These days, the Lions struggle to get a crowd that is over 50% of the Gabba’s capacity, but that should change in the coming years when their on-field results continue to improve.
What Round 1 of the 2019 AFL season should look like
In that case, I’d have the Giants playing Fremantle at Spotless in round two before the horses take over the ground.
After that their next game at the ground won’t be until at least round eight or nine; in the meantime they’ll have to play two home games in Canberra and also face the Swans at the SCG.
What Round 1 of the 2019 AFL season should look like
The only way that would happen is if you have all the interstate derbies in the opening round, which I can’t see happening.
To date there has never been a Showdown in round one of any season, and I doubt that will change.
What Round 1 of the 2019 AFL season should look like
That is true, but just to point something out, in 2010 and 2011, the Crows didn’t play Collingwood at home. So it is possible at the Pies might face the Crows in Adelaide again next year, and if they do have to face Power there, it’ll be the first time since 2006 that the Pies have travelled to the City of Churches twice in the one season.
Last time the Pies played the Crows in Adelaide in consecutive seasons was in 2005-07.
Also it is not guaranteed that Collingwood will play Port in Adelaide next year. This year West Coast missed out on hosting the Pies for the second straight season, so anything could happen with the fixture.
What Round 1 of the 2019 AFL season should look like
Here in Sydney there was a Sunday twilight Sydney Derby in 2016, but it was still well-attended with 21,541 fans turning up to Spotless Stadium.
What helped was that the following Monday was the Queen’s Birthday public holiday, but if it had been in a standard round (i.e. no public holiday fixtures), it would have been poorly attended, as the start of the working week is just around the corner.
Earlier this year there was also a Sunday twilight QClash, in which the Suns beat the Lions by less than a kick at the Gabba, but it was just after the Queensland school holidays, which had been brought forward due to the Commonwealth Games, had concluded. Not surprisingly, it was poorly attended, with just over 16K attending.
Some people will also be thinking what exactly is the point of the Sunday twilight games, knowing that it is typically the worst-attended timeslot of the round for obvious reasons (one being the short turnaround between full-time and the start of the working week).
I think this is for television broadcasting purposes, as prior to 2007, on most Sundays you’d have the situation where three matches are being played all at once, except if one match was being played in Perth. I know for a fact that, between 2002 and 2006, Channel Nine had the rights to two of the Sunday matches, with the 1:10pm match being telecast live and the 2:10pm match being crammed into a two-hour broadcast window (with half-time being omitted) leading into the news.
It therefore is impossible for the Sunday twilight timeslot to be abolished, sadly.
What Round 1 of the 2019 AFL season should look like
And that was a week after they got beaten by Essendon at Etihad Stadium.
Missing the finals is the wake-up call Adelaide needed
CLARIFICATION: “since the Tigers suffered defeat against a Victorian team”
Add to that “…at the MCG”.
2018 AFL season: Round 23 preview
Also, Stevie J missed the prelim due to suspension. Who knows whether his presence could have been the difference?
Are the battered Giants the most credible threat to Richmond’s crown?
From what I heard, during the Broncos’ match against the Sea Eagles in round 25 last year they (the players) got told by the trainers not to score anymore at 48-16 because it was believed they would’ve had a better shot at beating the Dragons than the Warriors at Suncorp.
Had they scored another point the two elimination finals would’ve been Broncos vs Warriors and Panthers vs Dragons instead of Panthers vs Warriors and Broncos vs Dragons, and the whole finals series would’ve been totally different.
In the end the Broncos paid the price for underestimating the out-of-form Dragons last September and they won’t want to make the same mistake this Thursday night. Perhaps this could prove a turning point in the head-to-head between the two sides.
Broncos out to avenge last year's finals shocker against Dragons