I was the same when I first found the Roar. I love sports opinion and being able to discuss it. Before I found the site I had ideas for articles I could write, but there was no point given it would have only been me reading them.

Inglis won premierships that were stripped, so technically he isn’t recognised as premiership winner.

I agree the Cowboys do have a very balanced squad – its a pity Tate, Coote and King are injured, they could have made it even stronger. However given Thurston’s stats regarding try assists, line break assists and other stats it not his fault the Cowboys have been inconsistent. Having a better hooker would help although I think the Cowboys best hooker is King (and it frustrates me to no end seeing Segeyaro killing it with the Panthers!). Admittedly however Thurston does sometimes produce too many errors and sometimes tries to do it all himself.

I wouldn’t say his achievements are limited to rep level. Yes most of his success has been there, however he is the only player besides Johns to win two Dally M’s. I’m pretty sure he came second in 2009 as well, despite the Cowboys missing the finals. And like you said, he carried the team at times with Bowen.

I agree I’m a massive Thurston. He’s great for the game. I’ll never forget after their 2012 loss to Manly seeing Thurston, Bowen and other Cowboys out in Townsville. Despite drinking heavily and being swamped by fans Thurston smiled and greeted the endless fans. It’s also awesome the way he gives away his headgear and kicking tees during match. He was also the one who came up with idea of wearing 16 in the Rise for Alex round – other clubs followed suit.

Hi Sam, welcome to the Roar! It’s nice to see a fan article about the Cowboys.

Personally I don’t believe a player has to win a grand final to be a great player. Having one successful year does not improve or diminish all their other years of achievement. Hayne and Inglis have never won a premiership but no one criticises them for it. There were players who made the team of the century, despite not winning a premiership.

With exception of Johns the halfbacks you listed all played in teams laden with rep players, before the salary cap came in. I’m certain Thurston could have won a premiership in those sides. I also believe this is the reason he is so good at rep level – he has better players around him.

Everyone talks about how Boyd benefits from Inglis inside, I’d argue, to a lesser extent, Inglis has benefited for Thurston inside him. He also has in incredible ability to lift when the team needs him to. I’ll never forget the break he made from inside his own half in an Origin decider – QLD were struggling to he took it upon himself to get over on the right side. I remember in 2006 everyone praised Locky for scoring the match winner in the Tri-nations, but Thurston put it on a platter for him.

You’re right his defence is shocking at times, however his missed tackles are amplified by the fact he sometimes comes out of the line trying to make one on one tackles, trusting his teammates to cover if he misses. If he makes the tackle it takes momentum away from the opposition. Locky was never a great defender either, a fact that was sometimes hidden because the Broncos did such a good job protecting him, particularly with Carrol (people also never seem to be critical of Locky for it much either). Also his ability to get back in cover defence is second to none. He has an incredible ability to anticipate the play, often coming from the opposite side of the field to tackle a player who has broken the line. Sometimes when a player breaks the line on the Cowboys right side, even if the defenders from the side get back to him in time, you’ll see Thurston in the corner of the screen getting back there in case.

Peeeko, the last few weeks he’s been playing halfback again. I don’t actually think he needed to move for the Cowboys when Locky retired – he plays left side, Cronk plays right side. Also he already showed he could play six at Origin when he played outside Prince. I actually wrote in an article at the start of last season that I thought his best position is halfback – and that Morgan should be his halves partner.

David, nice article. It would be great to see Watson and Bailey both get some runs today. Shane Watson is a bit of an issue for Australia. We need a consistent first drop. If Watson were to fail, but Australia still win, (hypothetically speaking) it would be a great opportunity to blood a new batsmen (coming into a winning, stable side). Someone such as Alex Doolan could slot in at number three. Or when/if Macus North returns to cricket if he can continue his run scoring feats he slot in at number 3 as temporary fix allowing players such Silk and Hughes to continue developing in first class.

Realistically, if I was in charge selections I would stick with Watson for now. If he is still under preforming after the South African series, they could either drop him or use him as a genuine allrounder at number 6.

Very jealous! There is a lot of historical sights I’d love to visit. I’d also love to visit dixie. Hadn’t heard about the Bonus Army killings, I quickly googled it. Very interesting, one of those topics due to its dark nature doesn’t get the recognition of ‘heroic’ events.

Im a bit of a history nut as well. I love docos and learning the real story about movies. Also is that the reason for your user name?…a bit of a joke because there hasn’t been a Pope Paul the seventh (if I remember religion correct!)

I agree the Alamo makes a great story being heroic and men dying whilst armed, but Goliad is just tragic.

American, like a lot of countries, has done some terrible things. I hadn’t heard about those two incidences, but I had heard some terrible accounts of entire tribes of Indians being massacred, including children, because they didn’t leave their land. It’s also startling the number of men killed in the civil war – a lot more than the revolution the Americans are so proud of.

I know very little about history in South African (except what I learned reading the Power of One!). Although now you brought it to my attention I feel I can waste a lot of time researching it!

Will, a few broken arms wouldn’t go astray either.

Ronan, it was interesting in the last Ashes series in Australia, Cook’s comments regarding having pitches to favour the home side. When Australia were criticised because of the green MCG wicket, when asked about it Cook said something along the lines of, theres nothing wrong with that, its common practise in England for ‘county’ side to tailor pitches to suit them. Personally I think he nearly admitted that England do it as well.

I love that Australian wickets are so diverse, but for this series I give the groundsmen some instructions. I’d like to see the MCG a bit greener than normal and the SCG a bit flatter than normal.

Also I 100% agree that last series it was a mental thing (partially why I wrote my article about Cook is a better captain). But a key difference was also Ian Bell, who had an outstanding series. If say Michael Hussey had done a similar role at number 6 for Australia, the series could have been a lot closer (or if Bell hadn’t batted so well).

Pope, you obviously have a very good general knowledge about this! Or did you google it?

I guess its one of those things where Mexico had an established government saw Texas as officially part of their land, but the Texans saw it as their to claim. Also Santa Anna (or his government) pasted legislation saying all those who claimed Texas land as their own were land pirates, meaning they were outside the laws of war and could be executed without trial.

When I first researched this topic, long before this article, I read about the Goliad massacre. It was truly terrible, so many men who had surrendered peacefully were killed in cold blood. Like at the Alamo, generals pleaded for mercy of the prisoners, but to no avail. Obviously executing that number of prisoners has risks, especially without the proper cells and irons. Apparently it was planned very carefully and then the prisoners were marched out in single file, told they were marching somewhere, only to have the soldiers walking along side them suddenly commanded to shoot them.

And yes great comeback by the Aussies, but its important to finish the job!

Declan, interesting premise. I had actually thought it wouldn’t be a bad option to play a second spinner (O’Keefe or Zampa), especially if Watson can get through about 10 overs a day. The only reason I would rotate one of the quicks is to play a spinner.

Also dropping/resting Johnson isn’t without its merits. If he goes for say 2/150 he may lose confidence for Perth, where he always loomed as a great threat. He was dropped for the 2nd test last Ashes series, but returned to destroy the Poms at Perth. I also think playing Harris is a must, given he was the only bowler to be at all threatening there last series. I would try and get Harris to play the first three tests, then if he needs a rest hopefully Pattinson, Bird or Starc will be fit to take his place.

Unless the pitch really looks like crumbling, I would stick with the attack we have and rely on Smith and maybe Clarke to support Lyon. Besides, a spinner should have been called in by now if he were going to play.

I understand the ‘keep the foot on the throat’ mentality but to me its ridiculous to drop Watson, a batting all rounder, for Johnson. The batting isn’t convincing, and your weakening a weakness to strengthen a strength. Also who bats at 3?

Lachlan, as a Queenslander it was hard watching Forrest’s demise from ODI cricket to not being able to make the Bulls one day squad. When he was selected for Australia it was on the back of outstanding form in first class cricket, not list A. When he came in and played so well, I though heres a bloke who thrives in the international arena, and given his runs came in the longer form of the game he will be great in test cricket. I think the selectors always picked him for the ODI team with the intention of him becoming a test batsmen.

Sadly it wasn’t to be. After that outstanding run, he couldn’t buy a run. He had to be dropped from the ODI team but worse still he was eventually dropped by the Bulls.

On the plus side he has scored a 50, 100 and 90 for the Bulls so far this year in first class. Unlikely as it is, it is possible that if he averaged 50 plus for the next two years, he could be picked for Australia in similar manner to Cowan or Bailey.

100% agree. We can’t expect everyone to have a personal insight, but surely everyone has seen the campaigns and should understand how serious it is.

Personally, I think its ok. If someone is in a state of mind where the can’t cope with that, than they should probably take time off, like Trott. Athletes are going to get stick from fans and media, and need to be able to deal with it. Of course in saying that the last thing we need is idiots like Billy Slater who made a derogatory comment to Corey Patterison about his depression or people who take sledging too far.

Cameron, wonderful facts. I think the main point is that some mild stress is normal, we all suffer from it. In fact sometimes it helps, for instance if no us care what time we got to work, we’d all be late everyday. People who don’t stress about uni, generally don’t get the marks they are capable of.

One of points I think Red Kev is missing, is that people in the right frame of mind deal with mild stress. Or they don’t get overly stressed over small things.

In Trott’s case it may be he started to struggle with stress and as a result his performances dipped. To say stress is an excuse, to me, is like saying depression is an excuse. Just because you can’t measure it, doesn’t mean it isn’t affecting someone.

Glenn, wonderful piece and well done for not only managing your condition but also helping others. It is also great to see so many mature, educated comments particularly when many of the writers are the likely the ‘manly’ type targeted by campaigns.

Glenn I think it may be a different ABC reporter, as I thought they travelled locally, who did a talk in Roma last year about mental health/suicide. I didn’t attend the talk, but his perspective on the radio was excellent. Just from memory, I heard him say suicide is not only the leading cause of preventable death in rural Australia but also kills more men under 25 in rural areas than car crashes. Considering how often we hear of young men involved in car crashes, that is a terrifying statistic. It also highlights just how important the work is you do.

Personally I was diagnosed in 2011, ironically not long before you likely were. I was told to take time off from uni and return home. The last thing I wanted to was leave uni, although I realised by then I needed help. Although everyone is different, I wonder if Jonathan Trott shares the same sediments. In hindsight, there was no choice, as it would have only gotten worse if I had stayed.

Another thing I found, and later I learned this is very common, is that it works in a vicious cycle. For me I wasn’t getting the marks I once did, wasn’t attending lectures and struggled with due dates. This only made my condition worse, which in turn affected my performance and made my results at uni worse. Again I wonder if Trott is the same, in that he is already struggling with stress, then doesn’t preform. As a result he stresses even worse and that makes performances even worse.

Best of luck to Jonathan Trott and well done again on the great work Glenn.

AussiKiwi, I agree with everything you say, but from personal experience even if there is no stigma it is extremely hard to tell people. One of the things I was worried about wasn’t people seeing it as a weakness, especially my friends and family, but rather people ‘walking on ice’ around me and trying to be overly nice.

I love to give my mates a bit of stick, and they return the favour, but I was worried they might stop if I told them. I also don’t need to get my way all the time, I’d rather people be honest, instead of protecting my feeling which I thought they might if they knew.

Above all what I wanted was to just be myself again and return to way things were. Whilst at my worst however I wanted my life to be as normal and regular as possible.

Brendon, I said Warner could potentially destroy, given the situation. Never said he was the bigger threat, nor that Clarke wasn’t a massive threat. Warner could have potentially scored a big century at a strike rate of well better than a run ball. I doubt Clarke could have matched his strike rate, if Warner got going.

As I’ve said Clarke is better tactically. Cook maybe too defensive, but his style has had success. Also Warne said today in commentary “when a player gets dropped back said away like that, I can’t agree with the captain/coach”. It highlights the role of the coach in tactics.

Again I’ll claim captaincy is more just tactics. Its about off field as well. Its why Ricky was captain instead of Warne, when Warne was the far superior tactician.

As far as the off field aspect, do you think Clarke could improve his off field aspect of captaincy? Or is it as good as we can reasonably expect from him?

As far as a Clarke having a poor team, is it any worse than Allan Border’s team? Border is praised as a wonderful captain, despite having a poor team riddled with controversy. Clarke is a good captain, but he could improve.

So brendon, its all a myth than? The rumours just keep coming, yet were simply made up. Also Ricky has claimed Clarke could have been a better vice captain. Are you saying the team culture is perfect and couldn’t be improved?

Did I say I’m expert? Did I say my word are any more accurate? No I presented my opinion, using my interpretation of facts. Rather being a sheep and following the popular view I developed my own opinion. Besides isn’t The Roar about everyone having their opinion? Or do you only like people writing what you agree with?

I never said player all need to be friends, nor get along all the time. But they should be united in their cause and respect their captain. Do you think all players under Allan Border all thought of him as a friend? If Allan Border was captain do you think he would tolerate ‘sources’ being leaked to the media?

You claim these assertions are just myth. Yes there in no primary source. But they have been around a long time, coming from different sources and sometimes Clarke when asked about them has failed to deny them.

Seriously I’m not a professional journalist, yet you expect me to interview a number of players. I based this article based on the information available to me. I never said all players don’t want to play for Clarke, but certain players don’t. Besides even if I asked the players, chances are they would give a diplomatic answer, neither confirming nor denying it.

Yes its easier to captain a winning side. But I’m not convinced this is a truly great England side. Read Geoff Lemon’s article from yesterday, it supports this. Part of the reason they are as good as they are, is because of the way the respond to adversity, partly attributed to Cook.

Beside like I’ve said, if you don’t have a great team, isn’t that all the more reason to have a positive culture? Or do you think Clarke is doing everything to ensure the right culture?

I never said Clark is a poor captain. Tactically he is better than Cook, no doubt. He’s the best, and possibly only, opinion we have. Does that mean he perfect or expected to be? Of course not, but I think he could improve his off field captaincy.

Do you think Cook or Clarke is the better captain? Also where do you think Clarke’s captaincy should improve, or do you think he is doing everything realistically possible?

Two wrongs don’t make a right. Clarke was officially a selector when Xavier Dohety was chosen, over SOK, for the tour of India. Did Clarke fight to have SOK included?

Yes say apparently doesn’t mean it’s fact. But these rumours have been around a long time and haven’t gone away. Where there’s smoke there’s generally fire.

If these are fiction, isn’t it partly Clarke’s responsibly to put an end to them? Do you think Allan Border would have sat by idly, if there were rumours of discontent?

Like I’ve said. Clarke is a wonderful tactician. He is also the best (only?) choice Australia has as captain, and a good one at that. That doesn’t mean he is flawless and can’t improve team culture.

Vas, lets not forget when Cook saves a match using dour tactics, he earns praise. Like I said, I tried to give logic to his tactics, rather than people who just say he is a rubbish captain. Like I said in the article that doesn’t mean the tactics were right.

I agree with what your saying though. Cook made so very questionable decisions.

Just on Clarke using Johnson. I wasn’t watching but maybe it was because Johnson is in such good form and had troubled Trott.

I also agree, few poor days don’t make you a terrible captain – media and fans jump the gun. Some people just read what everyone else says and believe its fact.

Like I’ve said though, looking overall at their captaincy Clarke is no doubt the better tactician. But overall I would still prefer Cook as captain.

The article is about who is the better captain. Tactically Clarke is better and more positive. But captaincy is much more than that, and overall I think Cook is the better captain.

Thanks Geoff

Blaze, do you have evidence to suggest the players don’t respect Cook. England are notorious for knifing captains, yet there have been no such rumours about Cook. Players genuinely seem happy under him.

Never said the Katich incident was reason to knock his captaincy, but rather it highlights how even a win can’t make players get along. Hussey maybe be partially to blame, but so to Katich and Clarke. If Clarke and Katich got along, do you think it would have happened?

Also Clarke was a selector when certain players were dropped/overlooked. Steven O’Keefe apparently doesn’t get a long well with Clarke. Not saying it the cause of him being overlooked, but can’t imagine it helped either.