So the village idiot gets another opportunity to show the youth of Australia how to disrespect everyone, not just the opposition & umps & also exercise hypocrisy (hey ump, tell those people to stop cheering when I’m serving). Really?

The prime knob has a fantastic cheer squad among the media including premier knob Karl Stevonic, ex-players & commentators Sam Groth & Todd Woodbridge (Kygrios’ complaint to the umpire about the crowd yelling was a “bit” hypocritical, he says), & it seems, Tony Harper.

Now we can look forward to maybe 20 years of uncouth Aussie crowds disrespecting everyone. All for the sake of “entertainment”. The media love-in crowd says entertainment is good, like greed is good also.

Don Freo,

I’m just jossing & anyway, my mind is made up.

I don’t mind T20 as an intro for young kids, & a filler for the season, providing an income stream for everyone involved.

But I resent it taking prime time. That’s for tests & Sheffield Shield.

Don Freo,

4 overs? Phffft! That sounds like a marathon… 😂 😁

James,

Yet Kyrgios struts around like he’s the only one on court. I hold the guy in contempt.

Even more so after watching the dignified way Barty won & listening to the speeches of Dylan Alcott & Grace Tame at the AOTY awards. These are our real heroes.

Not this selfish, indulged tennis prat.

Tony,
More of what? More of Kyrgios & his his braindead fanbase showing little or no respect for their opponents?
Kyrgios & his braindead fanbase showing little or no respect for common decency & courtesy?
Entertainment at any price? Give yourself an uppercut.

Slim Pickens – oxygen off.

It would be a shame if Novak is allowed to compete at Roland Garros, but that’s their (France’s) problem. Who cares about Novak, like his ambitions & aspirations are the only thing that matters in this whole world.
The majority of people around the world are trying to do the right thing in a pandemic by vaccinating to protect themselves, their families, their friends & their communities.
Not because they’re sheep, or they fear it’s a conspiracy, but in a virus pandemic that’s what you do. Logically.
Also, Australia is not perfect, but I would rather live here than in just about any other country. Would I want to live in sad Serbia for example? Sorry, what a sad question to ask.
I don’t like Morrison, or Albanese for that matter. And I don’t or didn’t like Shorten, Turnbull, Abbott, Gillard, Rudd or Howard. But I would rather have them than Biden, Trump, Putin, Xi, Mugabe, Kim, Johnson or any other of the world’s buffoonery of leaders.
For those of you bad mouthing Australia, go live in Serbia, or Russia, or Zimbabwe, or North Korea, or China, & see how much rollicking fun you have. Otherwise, give yourself an uppercut, swallow a teaspoon of cement & toughen up.

NH Fan,

Thanks for that.

Rowdy,

I wouldn’t even watch Oz play Afghanistan at test cricket.

There’s only 8 countries that can play test cricket, despite over 100 years of it being around.

That’s why they push T20. Any nincompoop can play an abridged form of a sport, eg rugby 7s, league 9s, etc.

Rowdy,

I’m proud to say I’ve never watched a full game of BBL in my life.

In the early days I watched a bit here & there to get an informed opinion, but its sport’s equivalent of fast food – temporarily satisfying, but with no long-term benefits.

I acknowledge it could possibly be me, but I can’t help but think what an empty-headed, vacuous country Australia has become when we’re supposedly hooked on BBL, Kyrgios, Bachelor/Bachelorette, Married At First Sight, Big Brother, I’M A Celebrity, The Block, & most of those other TV reality shows, etc, etc, etc.

I can’t believe the BBL is even still existing…..

Of course, Jones started his talkback career in 1987, & this had a direct impact on the Wallabies losing their edge.

Jones had a morning show, so changed training to the afternoon, which the players resented having to wait around all day (according to Farr-Jones).

In any case, Jones was distracted & the players were tired of hearing his voice after 4 years. It was sad to see a great team waste away.

Muzzo,

I’m not disagreeing with anything you say about Jones, nor Ella’s greatness. I’m not a fan of Jones. When he was coach of Kings school & I was playing for an East Sydney based school back around the mid-70s, we were coming back to the shed after a pre-match warmup (this is at Kings) & he had his team at the corner of the shed & was yelling profanities about us & our religion (which wasn’t CofE).

We didn’t know who he was then, & we’ve all looked at each other & thought, “who is this goose?”

So I have no reason to like Jones. But I can appreciate his good qualities, & yes, he was a good motivator. He was also smart is getting the right people around him. He had Alec Evans as his assistant coach, & Evans basically made the team what it was.

Jones wasn’t a fool. In fact he was very smart. After losing his first series to the ABs, which the Wallas should have won, he made some astute decisions.

Realising he needed a recognised goal kicker, he dropped Hawker for Lynagh. Then on the GS tour, while Slack remained captain for important decisions like kicking for goal or touch, Ella was given carte blanche free reign for on-field running tactical moves.

Jones & Ella may have occupied the opposite ends of the philosophical spectrum, but Jones was smart enough to give Ella his head. So when Ella says he retired early for fear of being dropped, that’s just nonsense.

Muzzo,
I’m a huge fan of Ella & I met the 3 brothers at a function many, many years ago. But of course, we never got into any in-depth conversation.
I can admire Ella on many levels, but I reckon he dogged it retiring early, whether it was fear of Jones dropping him, or not wanting to do the hard training required.
Let’s apply some logic here. Jones dropped Hawker, a player from his own ‘kind of school’, but not Ella, when he could have made a straight swap with Lynagh.
Jones wasn’t stupid. Ella made him look good as a coach on the grand slam tour, & continuing the Ella-Lynagh combo would have been a smart decision by Jones.
Ella may have been philosophically different to Jones, as was Campese, but Jones was ambitious & wanted to be a winner. So he wasn’t going to drop his best back at the time to spite his face.
It’s nonsense Ella thought Jones might sack him. I reckon Ella just didn’t want to do the tough training.
Anyway, I’m not interested in an argument along “I think, you think” lines. That’s my opinion & I’m sticking to it. But at the same time, I can admire Mark Ella for his genius.

Muzzo,

I’m aware of the ABJ factor, but I reject it as a legit reason to retire. Ella is a coward if he retired because he was frightened Jones would sack him.

Campese outlasted Jones, Ella didn’t, or wouldn’t.

Nick,

How the bloody hell are you?

Having watched sport for over half a century, consistency is key. Every time you line up against your opponent, it’s 0-0.

What happened previously is a clue, the opponent may be the same or different, but a whole new set of variables present themselves. So you have to start over again from scratch.

In the past, Ash Barty has struggled for consistency, putting a brace of good games together. She’s done it twice previously, at the French & Wimbledon, now she must do it at the Oz.

So far so good, but each single game can have its own twists & turns. But if wonderful human beings can succeed, Ash Barty can!

Madkiwi,

There’s one fundamental thing many Aussie rugby fans never get, & that is, rugby starts at the coalface, in the front row.

We’re obsessed with wizardry backline geniuses but conveniently forget it’s the forwards who win possession for them.

Backs may determine the margin of victory, but forwards determine the result.

120 years on, & many Aussie rugby fans still don’t get it. Even in rugby league, you need the tough forwards to lay the platform going forward, so we can’t call it a ‘league’ disease.

It’s a typical Aussie, “she’ll be right, mate” disease.

Thanks Harry,

There was the argument that including Italy would help improve their playing standards quicker.

2022 & still waiting, 20 plus years. Italy should ask themselves if they really care about being a rugby nation. On the evidence of results, apparently not.

There was also Gary, a year younger, who may have been the best of the 3. He did his cruciate knee ligament in a club game at age 18, first year out of school.
The story is that although he recovered to become a Wallaby, he was never quite as dexterous on his feet as before the injury.
On the schoolboys tour of 1977, Gary played all 5 internationals, Glen 4 & Mark 3 (with Wally Lewis playing the other two). Mark Ella & Wally Lewis only played together in non-international matches on tour.
Lewis missed the middle part of the tour when he broke his forearm. Complicating matters was the fact that inside centre (2nd five-eight in NZ), main goalkicker & captain was Tony Melrose, who was possibly the most accomplished player at the time, but was passed by in ability by several others later on.

Madkiwi,

It certainly did. In 1987 the ABs played a 2000s style of rugby, well before their time, the fitness level, contact intensity & ball movement was 20 years ahead of its time.

Us Aussies often wonder if only Mark Ella had played on to the 1987 world cup. No, I doubt Ella would even have made the team, being the lazy trainer he was (which is why he retired at age 25 in the first place).

The increase in fitness levels from 1984 to 1987 was phenomenal. Unless Ella was prepared to significantly lift his fitness level, it was a good thing he retired when he did.

Peter,

Great team. I like all those ABs. Bryan Williams couldn’t tackle to save himself, but then neither could my favourite Wallaby winger, David Campese!

Anyway, here’s my favourite Wallabies to take on your favourite ABs. My running list will be traditional international rather than Kiwi!

Roger Gould
David Campese
Mick O’Connor
Mick Lynagh
Brendan Moon
Mark Ella
John Hipwell
Mark Loane
Ray Price
David Wilson
John Eales
David Hillhouse
Andy McIntyre
Phil Kearns
Topo Rodriguez

Bench:

Jason Little or Tim Horan (3/4s)
Steve Larkham (flyhallf/fullback)
George Gregan (halfback)
Tim Gavin (eightman/lock)
Greg Cornelsen (backrow)
Stan Pilecki (tighthead & comic relief wisecracks)
Tom Lawton (hooker)
Tony D’Arcy (loosehead)

This Wallaby team wouldn’t die wondering…

Personally, I would go with Brian Lochore, whose man-management skills were without peer, complementing his cagey strategic & tactical acumen.
I know Fred Allen is the Kiwi go-to man, but I like the cut of Lochore’s jib. I’m huge on man-management skills. I would say it is the single most important attribute a leader must possess. It means the leader has empathy awareness, a critical human quality.
Lochore was also un-frightened to try something new or different, as he did with his ‘run it from everywhere’ against the Wallabies in 1986. Although the ABs lost, Lochore learnt the lessons & the following year the ABs were unbeatable.
Lochore for me, but this is your team.

Wow. On face value the only holy value Putin possesses is to himself!