Who hurt you Daniel? Did you go down to an Eels training session and someone didn’t sign your cap? Because this is the greatest amount of dribble I’ve ever read.

Let’s start with your assertion about Parramatta’s recruitment. Apparently you can no longer recruit players from outside the top eight even if they are decent players. Matto was in the NSW squad last year. Waqa Blake was a more than solid contributor for the side last year despite joining in the middle of the year. RCG, before his broken cheekbone, was one of the premier props in the game and has the talent to get back there. I might also remind you that Penrith are paying part of the freight on both Blake and RCG, and in RCG’s case it equates to $1 million over four years. Seems like decent recruitment there.

Now your point about Moses is hilarious. Sure, his 2018 was sub-par. His 2019 however saw him net the Dally M Halfback of the Year Award.

Your point about Bankwest not being their home ground. It’s built in Parramatta Park. It’s next to Parra Leagues. It’s on the site of the old Parramatta Stadium. You can’t get much more Parramatta than that. You’ve also overlooked that VenuesNSW technically owns the stadium so it’s up to them who tenants the ground. As for teams getting used to playing at Bankwest. It’s not about teams getting used to the ground, it’s about getting used to the atmosphere, which only occurs when they play Parramatta there.

It’s pretty clear you have little to no knowledge of the changes the club has undergone in the past few years. When BA took over we had an incredibly unstable boardroom and he inherited a basket case of a squad that *checks notes* finished equal 8th after netting the wooden spoon the year before. Including the 2012 season for BA is just downright stupid. He was a caretaker coach for six games. In BA’s tenure he’s lost Jarryd Hayne at the height of his powers to the NFL, had his team stripped of 12 points, lost three of his best players at the time in Paulo, Peats and Foran, seen his board removed by the state government and had to rebuild his squad following 2016.

Just recently the club members voted to endorse a new constitution endorsed by ILGA in order to allow for brand new board elections later this year. The new constitution also prevents the board room scuffles of previous years. The club is also developing a centre of excellence in Kellyville with the first stage already complete.

Your point about the 2019 season not getting them into the 2018 finals is dumb. It doesn’t matter what happens the year before in that respect. The cut off is different virtually every year.

BA was re-signed for a number of reasons. Firstly, there was a clear position from the board that the team needed stability after previous years. Secondly, he had built a competitive side that would be undermined should a new coach come in. Thirdly, he’s the only Eels coach since Brian Smith to have made multiple finals series.

Are the Eels the best side in the competition? No. But they have the makings of a top four team and that should be their aim this season. You’re basically saying Parramatta can’t improve on last season so just write them off.

A few years ago their off-field was disastrous. They turned that around over 3.5 years and now have the most modern constitution in the game, government funding for a centre of excellence, a new board and competent off-field staff.

I find it funny that on recruitment you single out a couple of players but you don’t mention the purchases of Shaun Lane, Maika Sivo, Blake Ferguson or Junior Paulo. Their performances last year should indicate that Parramatta’s recruitment team know a hell of a lot more about NRL players than you do.

I also find it funny that you don’t mention the development work the Eels have done. Reed Mahoney will likely be in the QLD squad this year. Dylan Brown is one of the brightest young halves in the game. You also have Oregon Kaufusi who is beginning to settle into the NRL and Marata Niukore who has been of the team’s most consistent players.

This article reads like sour grapes, like you’ve hardly watched the Eels at all, nor taken any actual notice of anything the club has done then come here and wrote the laziest piece of rubbish you could.

Of course Marsh has a better Test record than Pucovski, the kid hasn’t played a Test yet. Although young Will’s FC record is stronger than Marsh’s with four 100s and four 50s at an average of 46 in 16 FC matches compared with Marsh’s average of 41 with 27 centuries across 160 FC matches.
BTW, there’s never been a debate about Marsh’s talent. It’s that at Test level there is a massive gulf between his best and his worst. When he’s on, he scores centuries, when he’s off he’s averaging 2 against India in Australia.

I mean, you are ignoring Maxwell’s FC record there. 3,864 runs at 41.10 with seven centuries and 21 fifties. You’ve had selectors say there aren’t enough batsmen averaging high enough yet they’ve picked players in Labuschagne, Finch, Handscomb and M.Marsh who all have FC averages below 40. Maxwell was shafted last year when he was told by CA that he’d be selected for the Australia A tour of India and possibly the Pakistan series, so he turned down County offers and was then left out of the squad. How can a player make a case when the powers that be shaft him like that? Since 2015/16 Maxwell has averaged 40 or more in a Shield season in 3/4 seasons, with the season falling below 40 seeing him average 38.6. Are you forgetting he scored 707 runs at 50.50 in the 2017/18 summer? There’s your evidence for knuckling down, scoring runs and not being picked. In fact, as I point out above, they shafted him in the Australian winter.

Actually, if memory serves me correct, the Parramatta Stadium hadn’t been confirmed before Eels fans razed Cumberland Oval, instead it actually forced the state government to build the ground. And if it weren’t for the Friends of Parramatta Park, the original Parramatta Stadium would’ve had seating around 40,000 and an entertainment precinct.

That’s my point. We put 16 crosses into the box against Denmark but didn’t have a really good aerial threat. I honestly don’t care how we score against Peru, so long as we do.

Given the way Van Marwijk has worked his substitutions, Rogic may not even be on the pitch if Cahill comes on.

Timmy absolutely had to come on. Risdon and Behich kept bombing the ball into the box but there was no one in there to really pose an aerial threat.

The thing that rankles with me and I’ve found with a lot of supporters is Tony Archer coming out and saying “The refs will be focusing on such and such area this season.” That directive lasts all of 3 weeks and it’s ignored the rest of the season. The other thing is the gutless approach to sending players off. You have blokes clearly tripping opponents and yet all they get is put on report. The rulebook hasn’t changed, so why aren’t referees sending players off? They’re happy to referee to the letter of the law on something like an obstruction but come a send-off offence and they’re too hesitant to back themselves and follow through with what the rulebook states.

I think you’ve really understated the fitness of rugby league players. Regardless of where the ball is on the field you’re always moving. In defence you’re constantly coming off the line and then going backwards, once the kick is put in both sides are chasing to either get behind the ball and work it forward or to set a defensive line. Rugby league requires a great mix of both anaerobic and aerobic endurance.

You’ve also got the case of only 8 changes per match for rugby league and 3 for football. Whereas AFL has in excess of 100 with no limit.

I also think the fact you see so many NRL players make a go of it in other sports shows you just how athletic they are.

See Karmichael Hunt in AFL, SBW, Brad Thorn, Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuqiri, Mat Rogers, Ben Te’o, Israel Folau and Craig Gower in Union, Jarryd Hayne in NFL. I think a real measure of a code’s athletic prowess is how the athletes from that code can move across to other sports

I was in their extended training squad in 2015 and can’t commend the commitment of these boys enough. To see guys coming from all over NSW for the chance to represent their country is fantastic and the fact they don’t have any of their Malta or England based internationals is further testament to their competitiveness. The coaching staff are as committed as the players and when they played Lebanon in 2015 they played tough and challenged a very strong Cedars side that only truly won the game in the last 15 minutes after the Maltese were hit with injuries all over the park.

Forza Malta!

Was she ever as dominant as Federer though? While Fed was Number One for 302 weeks, Serena was One for 310 weeks. But that’s in total across their careers. Federer holds the record for the longest time period at number one with 237 weeks while Serena notched 186 weeks, tying her with Steffi Graf.

So at their respective peak of their powers the Fed-Express spent 51 weeks – or pretty much an entire year longer as world number one than Serena did.

My sport watching has dropped off a little in the last year due to work, relationship and other commitments but I still fit in enough sport. NFL on a Monday morning in summer is normal for me. BBL in the night and I usually flick between that and tennis during the Aus Open. I also get up early on occasion to catch the EPL. In winter it’s a lot easier as rugby league is pretty much the only sport I’ll watch in winter. However once the Tour rolls around there are some long nights. I thankfully have an amazing fiance who not only puts up with my sporting habits but will often join me on the lounge or in the stadiums. She’s even become a Parramatta member to join me at the games during the season.

I was also previously a sports journalist and the benefit of that is there are TVs all over the office and you’re handed subscriptions to various pay TV channels in order to be across as much as possible so that definitely helps. I basically watched and wrote on sport for 8 hours a day, five days a week

He may have retired in 2004 but what about Darren Berry? A superb wicket keeper. Was obviously around at the wrong time as his career coincided with both Ian Healy and Gilchrist. Bit short in the batting department but probably the most talented keeper never to play for Australia.

Mate that is a ridiculous comment to make. If you want to say Bolt’s doping then say it. Don’t sit on the fence in this way and cast a wide net. If Bolt is doping then he’d better sack the bloke he’s getting the drugs off. Any sports scientist will tell you that the drugs used by sprinters are used to help their explosive start. If you’ve watched any of Bolt’s races you’ll see he’s usually the last out of the blocks and the slowest over the first 30 metres. Not exactly what you’d expect from a bloke who you slyly say is doping.

I’ve Mankadded someone in the past and the umpire stood by my decision. It was a T20 school game and the non-striker was well out of his ground before I’d even reached the pitch. I gave him a warning and two balls later he decided he’d steal more ground so I just stopped, dislodged the bails and told him to start walking. He turned to protest and the umpire (who was his teacher) just told him to keep walking. There should be no controversy with the Mankad. The batsman is trying to take an advantage and the rules of the game state they can be dismissed if they do that.

Go ahead mate

You don’t have to go to war with the media a statement such as: “The FFA does not agree with the publishing of the 198 people implicated in the ban, nor does it support the view that fans are to be equated with terrorists. The FFA will invite the heads of supporter groups to discuss these issues to ensure there is a positive solution for all parties. The association wishes to ensure the safety of all supporters at football games however understands the concerns regarding the current banning system. As such the association will be investigating how best to rework the banning system to ensure only those involved in criminal activity are banned and any fan wishing to challenge the decision will have the right of appeal.” would be sufficient.

In that statement you have done the following:

1. Demonstrated Two-way symmetrical communication
2. Supported the majority of supporter groups
3. You have condemned the act of publishing the names without backing yourself into a corner
4. You re-enforce the notion of safety at events
5. You show how the company is changing

I wrote that in about five minutes and there’s one of me. Surely an organisation as big as the FFA can manage something similar with their comms team.

Yeh nah, I’m staying away from them. They’re almost beyond help by now. Every time they’re in the media they just keep digging a bigger hole. They’re about to have a round with incredibly small crowds and no atmosphere and that is completely avoidable.

I work in communications, more specifically as a media officer. I know from experience how quickly stakeholders can turn on the administration of a company and there’s never one real root cause. Having had to deal with incensed stakeholders as well as analysing how companies have screwed their own communications these steps are what I believe the FFA should be taking.

1. Continue to be seen in the media. I’d personally be looking to Gallop to be in the media more than De Bohun given De Bohun’s current perception among fans.

2. Sit down with the heads of the supporter groups so the supporter groups feel like they’re being heard. Two-way symmetrical communication is the industry standard and the FFA simply isn’t doing that at the moment.

3. Own the mistakes and back the supporters. Number one rule of communications: NEVER BLAME STAKEHOLDERS. The FFA have broken that rule.

4. Actually condemn the reports in the media, or at the very least say they don’t support those views. By not doing that they become associated with those reports.

5. And for all the crap about the FFA not being able to control the media, that’s BS, their comms team simply isn’t trying hard enough. A good comms team can alter the media’s message.

6. Provide proof you are changing your processes. Give a time frame or announce you have a committee set-up to deal with the new appeals process. Simply saying you are changing without proof will create more problems.

Whether or not administrators are available in SEA is irrelevant here. This is Australia and as such these administrators must be held accountable.

He’s definitely ahead of Wade. Wade’s currently sitting on the sidelines with an arm in a sling.

But how many of the possible debutants have the talent of Hughes? It’s a bit different comparing Australians debuting and the English debuting. The Saffa decks can be quite close to Australian decks and the Aussies are brought up on pace and bounce, so playing in South Africa isn’t a massive leap like it is for the English. I would be hesitant to debut a top order batsman in South Africa against Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.

I’ve ticked a few of my events off already:

1. Tour de France: Did that in 2013, following it through the Alps.
2. Liverpool match at Anfield: Did that in 2013 but have plans to return.
3. State of Origin series win: Saw my first series win live in 2013 whilst sitting in Blatchy’s Blues.
4. Test triple century: Fortunate enough to snag member’s tickets on day 3 at the SCG in 2012 when Michael Clarke scored 329*.
5. Ashes Test match: Don’t know if this quite qualified but I worked as an RSA Marshal at the Sydney Ashes Test in 2014 and saw the 5-0 sweep.
6. World Cup qualifier: Went to a qualifier for the 2010 world cup.

Still on the list:
1. Test match at Lord’s
2. Boxing Day Test
3. NRL Grand Final (preferably with a Parramatta premiership)
4. NFL game at Lambeau Field

Greater consistency than Mark Schwarzer? I doubt that. If it wasn’t for Schwarzer’s 2 saves against Uruguay then Cahill would never have played in the 2006 World Cup. Even when Cahill left for the MLS Schwarzer was still playing for Fulham in the Premier League before moving to Chelsea and taking over from Petr Cech when he was injured in 2013/14 and then he moved to Leicester as a replacement keeper and they’re currently sitting in the top four. Even at Schwarzer’s age he’s still got a reputation as a brilliant shot stopper and commander of the 18 yard area.

I think it’s actually unfair you bring Schwarzer into the conversation given they have two different skillsets. But where Cahill has chased a pay packet, Schwarzer continues playing in the EPL.

I find that Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen often point out who is leading the UCI World Tour during the TDF. I recall when both Gilbert and Rodriguez were leading the World Tour, Liggett made a point of acknowledging them.

You’re really splitting hairs there Prof. In the context that he’s presented, ranking the photo finish as the first major technological development in sport would be pretty close to correct.

I really like to read through the cyclists’ power metres and then get on a bike in the gym and find out how hard a mortal such as myself would have to push themselves to even get close to their numbers. I can crunch around 200 watts on a consistent basis in the gym but getting anywhere near what those climbers do in the TDF is nearly super human. I’m red lining when I try to ride at 40km/h for 10 minutes let alone doing it for 4 hours followed by a sprint.