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Stirling Coates started out as an AFL crowd contributor, and now is in charge of The Roar's esports section.
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We’re about a week into the brave new world of Hearthstone’s updated metagame, after a surprise round of balance changes made big modifications to popular cards.
For much of the 2018, the AFL season looked to be a one-horse race. But a finals series for the ages ensured football fans around the country got more than their fair share of drama and entertainment.
With the second season of the Gfinity Elite Series done and dusted, it’s almost been a case of deja vu. Melbourne Order snagged another two championships, including a second straight CS:GO title.
Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has revealed the 23-player contingent he’ll be taking to the UAE for the Asian Cup next month, as Australia try to defend their 2015 title.
You work hard. You do a good job. You’re nice to your co-workers, clients and – yes – even the boss.
The NRL has dropped a second bombshell in a whirlwind few hours, with Wests Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe facing deregistration for his role in a player payment scandal.
You’ve probably read somewhere over the years that esports is “the next big thing” in the sporting world.
Australia have levelled the Test series with India at one match apiece, after a blistering second innings with the ball saw the visitors get rolled for 140 and steer the Aussies to a 146-run victory.
Some teams go decades without tasting the ultimate success in sport.
Rumours of Corey Norman’s switch to the St George-Illawarra Dragons have been given a boost, with multiple news outlets reporting that the Parramatta Eels have released the playmaker from the final year of his contract.
India have been dealt a blow ahead of the second Test with Australia in Perth, after Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma were both reportedly ruled out of the second Test with various injuries.
The worst kept secret of the last 24 hours has been officially confirmed, with the FFA today announcing Western Melbourne Group and Macarthur-South West Sydney have had their A-League application bids approved.
The fixture for the 2019 Rugby Championship has almost taken shape, with Rugby Australia today confirming the Wallabies will kick off their 2019 fixture in Johannesburg.
When the Gfinity Elite Series esports competition kicked off in June of this year, it was Melbourne who rose to the summit.
They poached top players from their rivals in the offseason, consistently won matches they looked cooked in – and are now turning it on in the finals.
Victoria’s Marcus Harris will make his Test debut for Australia tomorrow, after coach Justin Langer confirmed his inclusion in the XI to SEN Radio.
It’s not often a reigning triple-champion enters the next season’s playoffs as dark horses – but that’s exactly the position Melbourne Order find themselves in as the second season of the Gfinity Elite Series’ playoffs kick off.
The home-and-away portion of the Gfinity Elite Series’ second season is in the books.
Dominic Wilson – known professionally as Doom – has quickly emerged as one of the most prominent CS:GO players at the Gfinity Elite Series.
Rugby is set to receive a massive shot in the arm in New South Wales, after a $20m investment by the state government was announced in a press release this morning.
They’ve finished in the top four at some Asia-Pacific tournaments – an achievement that can’t be understated – but they’re as much of a victim of Australia’s lack of esports investment as anyone else when it comes to global tournaments.
They have had players poached by top US teams, however.
"Like the All Blacks, Man City and Patriots combined"; The Aussie esports team that can't stop winning
My tip has always been to tell your opponent what you’re going to play in advance, you’d be surprised how often they outthink themselves and your honesty pays off!
English referee suspended after using scissor-paper-rock instead of coin toss
At this stage I think the Swans have their eye on making a big splash next year.
AFL Trade Wrap Day 8: Tom Scully, Steven May, Tim Kelly and more
100% Wayne.
As someone else in the office just suggested, what’s to stop a superior ruckman just grabbing the ball and holding onto it when their team is up by less than a goal with a minute to go?
Flies in the face of the concept of prior opportunity, as well as the third spirit of the law (in that the ball shall be kept in motion).
AFL unveils rule changes for 2019
Going to respectfully disagree with you on this one.
The 6-6-6 set-up is going to see lesser teams get flogged more regularly, the removal of the requirement to kick the ball is totally unnecessary (although I am in favour of the mark being moved to ten metres), the 50-metre penalty and set shot after the siren changes are a complete mess, and the ruck rule change will add to congestion and totally distorts the definition of prior opportunity.
Relaxing hands in the back, and the nine-metres-from-the-boundary mark laws, however, are pretty good.
AFL unveils rule changes for 2019
Thanks for the correction Greg – we’ll amend accordingly.
Billy Slater shoulder charge FAQs: Your complete guide to tonight's judiciary hearing
Aubusson at halfback?! Surely that’s a big ole’ typo Scotty!
NRL team list Tuesday live blog: grand final, State Challenge, NRLW - all teams named
Don’t worry mate, we’ll have a piece up soon helping you all make sense of this. I appreciate your ongoing interest.
World of Warcraft's Jeramy McIntyre explains how the esport has grown
Too true Onside. The lengths to which our players have to go to just to get practice in is outrageous.
How can we use our Overwatch World Cup success to push esports forward in Australia?
It almost defies belief doesn’t it! I can run rings around AI opponents and… that’s about it.
Find esports confusing? Rocket League could be your ticket in
Hope you’re right Alister!
Who will progress to the semi-finals at the FACEIT CS:GO London Major?
Hi Onside,
If this is something at interests you, I’m more than happy to pen a piece like that.
Just promise me you’ll give that one a read too!
The greatest achievement by an Australian national team this year has been in esports - and it happened yesterday
Hi Wayne,
That’s fair enough. I suppose my angle is more in the sense of performance versus expectations.
The Kookaburras are a consistently dominant force in field hockey (although I’m not suggesting that takes any gloss away from Comm games gold) whereas nobody really gave our guys a chance at this world cup and we played out of our skin.
It’d be like if Brazil’s cricket team beat us in a Test match in the same year as winning the FIFA world cup – the world cup is obviously the more prestigious competition, but the theoretical cricket upset would be something else.
The greatest achievement by an Australian national team this year has been in esports - and it happened yesterday
This is such an underexplored topic. There are so many characters, decks, moves, powers etc in games that need nerfing because they’re not fun to play against.
Glad to see someone else writing about it.
Balancing games for fun and profit
The ‘fourth umpire who doesn’t do anything’ is an emergency field umpire and is almost always a vastly lesser experienced umpire than the ones the field. Most emergency field umpires have actually never ‘started’ a match as an umpire.
Not sure that’s the best person to be handing reporting and send-off duties too.
Andrew Gaff: How many weeks, and where will he be next year?
My argument has nothing to do with being scared of change.
My argument is that, given so many reports and suspensions are issued after the match, by officials other than the match day umpires, bringing in a send-off rule would do little to alleviate the injustice we feel when someone is injured by an opponent and, in fact, would create another set of injustices whereby only players who had their reportable offences picked up by the umpires would be marched off.
Nobody has been able to counter my point that, even if the send-off rule existed, Gaff still wouldn’t have been sent off – because none of the umpires saw it – and we’d be sitting here just as outraged that he was allowed to play on.
The send off rule would fix little and create more problems.
The idea that we’d be making decisions post the results of a concussion test seems exceptionally clunky. How would it work exactly? Would the match just stop abruptly when the concussion test concludes and the score review official combs over the footage?
What if the potentially reported player kicked two goals while the test was being completed? A player’s actions should warrant punishment (be it send off or suspension) based on the action itself – not the resultant impact.
While I agree that striking is an abhorrent act and the game isn’t doing enough to wipe it out, lengthier suspensions are the answer – especially for strikes that don’t hit high or cause injury.
The AFL doesn't need a send-off rule
There absolutely should be more consequences for hitting others in the head – my argument is that longer suspensions are the answer.
You cannot tie send-offs to failed concussion tests, because the power to order off is then no longer solely rests with the match officials. Acts should warrant a send-off based on their illegality alone, not the impact they had.
The AFL doesn't need a send-off rule
The premiership has been won by one non-Victorian side in the last 11 years.
Sydney are falling right out of flag contention
Hopefully not too much. We already have one injury-prone key position swingman in Sam Reid.
Maybe a straight swap?
Sydney are falling right out of flag contention
Oliver Florent is getting better with every game – he could be an absolute gun in the near future.
Sydney are falling right out of flag contention
I didn’t say the Swans needed all that in one player, nor did I say there is a player out there who provides both. They already have bullocking inside mids in Josh Kennedy and Luke Parker – Tom Mitchell doesn’t provide what Sydney’s missing.
They need a player who provides class on the outside. Dan Hannebery has been that man in the past, but he’s having a career-worst season.
Sydney are falling right out of flag contention
Tom Mitchell was a bitterly disappointing departure, but is a bullocking inside mid who wins the hard ball but doesn’t have a great deal of class on the outside the kind of player Sydney are missing at the moment? I’d say not.
What Sydney are really missing is a classy outside mid – the role Dan Hannebery is currently struggling to fill.
You raise some good points about the defenders being overworked, and the side not generating enough score – but let’s not forget the Swans were very close to taking the lead in the last quarter of both losses in the last fortnight.
If they’d pulled it off we’d all be lauding their ability to win when the chips are down.
Sydney are falling right out of flag contention
I do think his Adaptive Shield ability will need a nerf before it goes live. The idea he can go up to 1000 HP at the drop of a hat seems pretty powerful.
Overwatch's newest Hero explained
I think he’ll be an absolute menace on Control maps with smaller points – especially Ilios and Nepal – as well as defending on Assault maps.
His survivability and mobility are pretty insane, but I think his primary fire is definitely on the weaker side.
Overwatch's newest Hero explained
Certainly one of the wildest (and worst) moments I’ve witnessed in competitive Overwatch.
The worst part is it proves in the mind of certain folk that women are treated too nicely in esports when, in fact, it proves the direct opposite.
A dark day for women in esports