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Joined January 2012
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too much sport is not enough
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Every code has it weaknesses. Those little chinks in its game that people don't like, but exist all the same. For all the things…
Did anybody happen to see Riley McGree's goal on Friday night? The insane 'scorpion kick' in front of a boisterous home crowd propelled the…
Moves by the FFA to expand the A-League have a lot of fans buzzing about the future of football in this country. Many would…
People are listing seemingly never-ending lists of problems with the A-League of late, so here are some solutions. Fan engagement How do we turn…
The excitement and demand for new teams to enter Australian football has reached a tipping point, however we must proceed with caution, for there…
The A-League has finished for the season but the chatter among fans about where to take the beautiful game is never ending. The talk…
With the AFL's sights set on going international, now is the perfect time for the A-League and professional football to take centre stage in…
While replying to an excellent Jay Croucher article discussing Fremantle's woes, I asked in the comments section whether Matthew Pavlich can be considered a…
The whole of the AFL community and wider Australian sporting public is celebrating the landmark $2.5 billion media rights deal the league secured. It…
An interesting article written by Tony Tannous on the fate of two newly formed franchises in Western Sydney was fermenting debate yesterday on The…
An interesting article written by The Roar columnist Janek Speight led to a spirited debate on this very website. In the article he thought…
Could the A-League ever match the two dominant winter codes in this country and secure a $1 billion TV rights deal? Every successful sporting…
In his regular weekly sports column journalist Peter FitzSimons went on a usual rant about why "football" should be called "soccer" in Australia. This…
An initiative I would like to throw open to fellow Roarers is the idea of an A-League Cup replacing the finals system. Unlike the…
As we inch closer to the milestone of ten years of pro football in this country, I think the time is ripe to discuss…
The FFA Cup has been a welcomed and long awaited announcement. Although ignored by a lot of mainstream media, it is another block in…
Roarers have often talked about the style of football played on the park, but how do we feel about the style of the overall…
A popular debate in the comments section of football stories on The Roar is the notion the A-League or the FFA in general should…
The new reports of fan violence blasting across mainstream media and internet news sites should have every genuine football fan worried. Once again Australian…
A calculated 'cut-through' comment from FFA boss David Gallop has had journalists and bloggers buzzing with responses. Like an over-tanned Baywatch actor, Gallop has…
I don’t see why the AFL can’t fund his medical care, they have the money.
While you can’t eliminate risk, you can minimise it through the protocols currently in place.
Like it or not…when you play a contact sport , you must expect injury.
However medical science being what it is might find a cure in the future for anyone ( let alone athletes) suffering from concussion related symptoms….or humans will watch VR sport.
AFL News: Caminiti, Merrett, Adams learn tribunal fate, Ablett begins legal action on concussions, Swans won't rush Buddy
Thanks for that very level headed non biased report on how Adelaide is faring.
Footy Fix: The AFL's best kick has turned the Crows from pretenders to contenders - any chance of tagging him?
No one outside of SA cares about the showdown. No matter how good the game is..it doesn’t rate and it never will be bigger than the traditional VIC clubs. Harsh but true.
Footy Fix: Just one thing wrong with latest Showdown classic - the time it was played
It’s not surprising if you really think about it Mike. The vast majority of football spectators in this country are historically from Britain and Europe. Even though Asian migration has been increasing, we have always been an Anglo-Euro centric nation. It’s a bit like saying why don’t we watch Asian films over Hollywood films. Also on that note, the EPL, Serie A, La Liga etc are like Hollywood films…. They have established a very strong cultural sway over the footballing world ( a bit like ‘soft power ). We see it in Australia all the time with people wearing Premier League football shirts over ALeague Merch.
Big in Japan, unloved in Australia: Will we ever respect Asian football?
It is the easiest marker of competition health as a full stadium of fans always looks good. But remember the NRL equals and even eclipses the AFL in TV ratings. Also football’s participation numbers means access to more athletes which increase quality.
But the author is essentially right, the easiest way to measure popularity is through ratings, although it doesn’t give the full picture of a codes health.
I would be worried about football’s junior numbers if I were the AFL. In time those junior will turn into adults who will support the a-league.
Why are we so worried about attendances?
Regarding the ruck people seem to forget Pyke had a breakout year in 2012 and was on par if not better than Mumford. He is naturally fitter and a better mark. True he has no ground game and can’t tackle and scrap like Mumford did but why does the team need that when we have Kennedy, jack, hanners, Parker etc who can do it better?
Seven untold stories from Sydney in 2015
haha..you got me there…i just read it and it didn’t make sense. What I meant to say is that Kieran is a lot smaller than his dad who was a good league player and in reference to a typical AFL player he is short. He has more heart than most i’ll give you that!
Franklin’s giant effect on western Sydney
Not really Dalgety…every person has their own dreams desires and talents. Keiran Jack is actually quite small for his size and probably wouldn’t of been given a second look as a league recruit. He and his brother took up AFL in their teens and loved the game…just because he dad played League doesn’t mean he is wedded to the notion of only playing that.
The whole father-son tradition is not as strong in NRL as it is in the AFL….sure there is Wayne Peirce – a Balmain Tigers legend and his son who plays for the Roosters but its not as prevalent as in the AFL.
Kieran Jack loves watching rugby league as his tweets testify he was passionately barracking for NSW in the latest origin series
Franklin’s giant effect on western Sydney
schools don’t allow tackle..but if they did thats what they would be playing.
Franklin’s giant effect on western Sydney
my thoughts exactly Josh. I teach in Western Sydney and have a lot of contact with the same kids GWS are trying to convert the game. I like watching AFL…but people have rocks in their heads if they think any kid wishes to be like Jeremy Cameron or Jonothon Patton. Kids may of heard of the name ‘Buddy’ and know he plays for the Swans, but during lunch and recess they are playing touch football and soccer and talking about Jarryd Hayne.
Franklin’s giant effect on western Sydney
Franklin to me still is the lynchpin of how the new swans work.
By hiring him they finally solve their forward line issues. Goodes could never carry the forward line on his own and Sam Reid has shown his kicking will always be erratic. Last year teams had worked out to double team Kurt Tippet had the swans forward line came to a standstill and became very predictable. Even at the start of the year they would double team Franklin and the Swans struggled as Tippet had yet to come into the team.
Now with Franklin on the field it has freed up Tippet and to a larger extent Goodes, as he becomes a credible 3rd forward option. He has always been a big strong body who can take a mark. This will be his role from now on as his speed is slowly starting to go.
Adam Goodes still crucial for the Swans
the swans seem to get all sloppy with their disposals when facing a weaker opposition. If they were sharp like they were for the last ten minutes of the 1st quarter when they showed the difference in class between the teams then they would of hammered them.
They let Melbourne off the hook with some sloppy attempts at goal and some indecision in their inner 50/ goal area.
Swans reach 3-3 with scrappy win over Melbourne
Money talks Vince.
Football in this country has had an unrivalled history of organisational incompetence. For all talk of the beautiful game and playing numbers and such…no other sport in our country has had as many false dawns as professional/ topflight football. The game is only now beginning to professionalise the way it runs itself… aside from innovations on the pitch.
Any chance to improve the game’s war chest needs to be taken for now. Like you said, the A League itself is not yet in a position to uphold any decision that won’t maximise profits. The small and crowded sporting market in Australia attests to that.
Good article anyway.
Ratings and cash shouldn't be FFA's only priorities
Well I proposed the idea as a cup competition. There would be knockout stages with everyone involved regardless of where you finished in the table.
Should we replace the finals with an A-League Cup?
Well the FFA Cup will handle the semi pro teams mixing with the pro teams
Should we replace the finals with an A-League Cup?
People have short memories..or are not Swans fans.
Mumford did contribute a lot to the club but last year his form was starting to slide. He contributed nothing to the GF win and was subbed out. Mike Pyke took over his role and in 2013 was quite comfortably winning over Mumford in the first choice ruck/ 3rd forward option role. Pyke has proven to be much more durable and athletic than Mumford…yet Mumford is the better tackler.
Time will tell whether Mumford leaving was a bad Swans mistake…was he simply fired up to prove the Swans wrong? who knows but i watched the game and although Mumford did lay some great hits (one i feel was a body slam) He didnt outplay Pyke in terms of hitouts to a great degree.
Have the Sydney Swans become too greedy?
well technically stratford….west ham ground was a 10 min bus ride but the suburb was all West Ham supporters.
Faux media outrage is driven by prejudice, not hooliganism
The drug issue in other sports in no way comprehends to the mess of professional cycling. Lance has become the fall guy due to the fact for many people he came to represent the sport to the entire world, so his fall was bound to cast a long shadow over cycling.
What most people seem to forget is that the people who came 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc during the LA era have all been found to have doped as well. It seems close to 20 years of systematic doping by virtually every top rider has infected cycling. This situation does not exist in any other sport (at least it hasn’t been found out).
It would be the equivalent of every team in a league (NRL, AFL, A League and O/S – take your pick) taking bribes to fix matches. There isn’t a comparison that even come close to the drug issue in cycling, period. Many riders are still under a drug cloud and those that have been found out are still involved in the sport, plus there is the issue of how much the UCI knew about all of this.
Cycling will just have to wear this for several years until it is sorted out
Cycling: A sport in crisis or on the mend?
The reason why they couldn’t fund it forever is that it would put the other team noses out of joint. They would be guaranteed to survive and would always have the help of the FFA with other clubs left to struggle themselves. Fans would start saying “why can’t they buy my club as its struggling?” etc
Also the FFA aren’t in the business of running clubs…they are in the business of running the whole sport in Australia.
All fine in the West, but let's not get carried away with Wanderers
Then isn’t what you are saying the same thing? except its like a kind of a reverse cultural cringe?? where everything ‘Strayan’ is to be mocked and only the Euro model of football should operate?
I find it funny that some football fans practically beg the public to notice and watch the Ad League (even those who naturally follow football) and call those who don’t Euro snobs, yet want a European model place onto the A League. Example; most ‘active’ fans chant versions English songs at games, names like ‘United this ‘ or simply ‘name of city FC’ or ‘Wanderers’, promotion/relegation, a Cup comp involving all football teams.
To want a sport that relates to how we see football is not insular. If football wants to be accepted by mainstream Australia (for that i mean the HAL with viewing figures, attendance, tv money etc not participation) it has to be made Aussie!
.
A-League finals and FFA Cup are key to the future
You are right on the emerging power and wealth of Asia. For the true believers it will be exciting football as Asian teams are giving very little attention. But how does watching a game of football correlate with making business deals? Trade and business deals are actually done in stuffy boring APEC style meetings and embassies.
And more importantly the question that no one here is asking…do Aussies (football fans or not) actually see themselves as Asian?…and more importantly….do you actually think our geographical neighbours ’embrace’ us as you put it as fellow Asians? I think the answer to both of these questions is no.
Asian Cup is massive for Australia: Lowy
It because football has always had this mentality of “build it and they will come”. Aussie Football fans aren’t mugs. Simply putting a team on the park wont suffice.
Do you always notice those self-promotion stories about league players getting into school’s and helping kids read or doing work with the disabled? where are all the footballers when it comes to this community work?….and I don’t mean one off clinics. Real in depth community work the kind that the Panthers, Swans and even the awful GWS excel at. Where is the constant message out there that this team is Western Sydney’s Team??
There is no community engagement by the players. That’s why the fans aren’t flocking in…the club doesnt really belong to them yet. It belongs to the all the sports mad fans who go on websites like this to argue about the minutate of the game.
also…as everyone knows…Sydney doesn’t follow sport…they follow success. Watch them start winning a title or two and the crowds will come.
Hard work lies ahead for the Wanderers
I’m with ol’ Benitez on this point. I hate to be rude on this site as so many are….but Dan seems incredibly naive with his head in the clouds.
belief??? hope???? why would you look to this man for any of those…i love sport but i don’t tie up my self worth in athletes. THIS MAN CONNED YOU DAN!!!!! HE CONNED THE ENTIRE WORLD and is paying for it. Believe in what you can do.
An open letter to Lance Armstrong
Yes…and they will or players will sign a waiver protecting the afl from any potential injuries
AFL News: Caminiti, Merrett, Adams learn tribunal fate, Ablett begins legal action on concussions, Swans won't rush Buddy