Stuart isn’t it also the case that rugby could say the same thing? There is a multitude of O/S based players who have come from SR, club rugby, Aus 7s, and coaches, who are plying their trade at the top levels of French or Japanese comps, or in the NRL – and winning. But it hasn’t helped the cause of rugby in Australia; in fact it’s probably doing some profound damage.
I realise I’m comparing apples and oranges, but I don’t see it as axiomatic that success of home-grown talent in other comps and leagues around the world automagically should result in a greater appreciation of our domestic football comps. Sorry if I’ve come across fatalistic or overly negative, but I’m not sure that football’s many profound strengths will ipso facto result in any ‘success’ metric soaring up.

G’day Harry. Apologies up front for being ‘that guy’ …. but Campo & J-B Lafond were equal top try scorers in the 1991 WC – six apiece.

Still doesn’t take away from the incredible efforts of Horan in that tournament.

Great article, thanks for writing it.

The SMH published an anguished letter from me in 1996, which predicted the takeover of rigid corporatism. Frankly, I was right.

Jason Little and John O’Neill fronted a presser in the early days of the Super League / rugby open professionalism era during which Mr O’Neill promised that the (then) ARU would preserve the ethos of the game.

*&#%ing hogwash.

One of the little things that I as a 4th grade subbies player shared with (eg) Jason Little or John Eales or Phil Kearns or Tim Gavin or whoever else was that I could go to training wearing a Sharks jersey, or a France rugby jersey, or some weird Equadorian llama fleece singlet and nobody cared.

Frankly, I celebrate the elite level turning up to training wearing whatever the heck they want. The game has change since 1996 and frankly the marketing spin corporate speak pony-tailed nose ring cocaine-snorting MBA entertainment spin doctors have helped ruin the game. Once upon a time the difference between me and Jeremy Guscott was ability and raffish good looks and nothing else. Now? The utter &@#$ing squeezers who are beholden to being ‘on message’ and delivering shareholder value are more important than I am.

But why wouldn’t those @*&!holes be more important? After all: I am just a bloke who has loved the game my whole life, who has bled and had broken joints, and volunteered as a local jnr club committee member, and AR’d at reps games. It seems I don’t count any more.

Whilst conceding the Aus 1992 tour to RSA was at the end of Gerber’s career … Horan made him look like a fool. I was so looking forward to seeing how awesome Danie Gerber might be (knowing only about him by reputation, due to SA’s exclusion from world sport). But it bordered on embarassing how much better Horan was.
At his peak, Gerber was stupendously good. But Horan “not a patch on Gerber”. Nope, sorry mate, strong disagree from me.

That lateral coverage 60m across field at 42 min 20 is a thing of beauty. The bloke’s ability to find that speed is freakish.

Scott the infringement’s material effect should be a consideration, but not the prime factor in determining the sentence. Flip it around: a red card illegal tackle, way beyond horizontal, tackled player lands head first, extremely dangerous …. but no injury sustained. Does that mean zero penalty for the infringing player?

Neil I messaged the guys at work at half time: “The Sharks’ strategy of taking lots of serapax and heroin before the game isn’t working”.

Congrats to the Bunnies but apart from their defence (which was in part assisted by poorly policed offsides) they didn’t convince me either. Murray’s and Walker’s tries would never have been scored against this Sharks side earlier this season. Fitzy’s improvements to the Sharks defence this year have been immense. It’s almost like Kevvy Walters took over at Kurnell during the week.

Latrell’s kicking was a thing of beauty, not many of them were easy kicks.

Sharks a team that on paper looks unbeatable. But in reality? Bunnies showed them up last night with resolute defence. Sharks haven’t convinced me all season, despite some sublime moments (and I’m a life long Sharks fan).

Congrats Bunnys, a couple of sparkling tries but otherwise also a so-so game. If the officials keep them onside next week their D won’t hold up as well. Latrell’s kicking was brilliant. The intense booing of the bloke a disgrace.

And the new stadium? Food outlets still insufficient. 20 minute queues when the stadium was still only 1/3 full? But as a place to watch footy – GREAT! Picks up all the things that made the old SFS good and brings it up to date.

Worst call in rugby history, or completely justified, or Foley’s fault, or France’s revenge for AUKUS …. what seems to be overlooked is the following: Foley (after taking a stupid amount of time) was STRIDING INTO THE KICK.

If I’ve warned my kids 4 times to clean their bedrooms, do I take their Xbox away from them after they’ve started cleaning their rooms? Or when they ignore me on the 5th warning? Foley was complying with the direction to get on with it.

To pick that specific moment in that specific place on the field to choose to crack down on a player who was IN THAT VERY MOMENT complying with the direction … was appalling judgement.

Like most of us I too want time wasting to be rubbed out. But to pick that time and place to punish a player complying with direction was a monstrous disservice to the game.

Geoff, perhaps Holloway was just channelling his inner Zinzan …. even Matt Dunning did it!

I’m happy to accept that amateur era Subbies isn’t the same as the modern game, but in my old club the most enthusiastic practitioners of drop goal attempts before training were always the forwards.

I wonder how this shapes the political machinations ref Sydney Olympic Stadium refurb? If I were a betting man I’d wager V’landys throwing a massive attack over the next couple of news cycles.

In any case, another positive news story for Australian rugby. Happy days.

Peter Ryan made a pretty handy conversion to rugby after several seasons in the NRL. Similar height and weight to Crichton as well.

And Jim Williams played on the wing for the Rats, before becoming a loosie in the same Brums side as Ryan. So can be done.

Kellaway has impressed in a way I couldn’t have imagined in his earlier SR seasons. But for Australia the stand out was Hooper. The work rate that bloke has is astonishing, and his captaincy has also improved markedly. That chase and tackle against France! Heavens above.

But let’s go back to what started that play: the Woki breakout. This young man is the player of the season.

Agreed about Connor Tracey, he puts in no matter what job he’s given. My only concern is oppositions have started targeting him for 5th tackle kicks. He’s safe under the high ball but is always driven backwards in the subsequent tackle. Other than that he’s a very promising young player.

G’day Stuart, if I were to be mean I would say that only a Bulldogs fan would describe Souffs as Eastern Suburbs elite …. 😛

The Riff and my Sharkies entered the comp at the same time and the memory of Royce Simmons grabbing his brace of meat pies in the ’91 GF is almost as sweet as the ’16 GF. Have always had a soft spot for the Panthers. Will be happily cheering them on this year.

Carlin I thought Kwagga was close to man of the match. Never flashy, but always there, always working, always the bloke on the spot, not giving away penalties like loosies are prone to doing.

I hate to bring up intercepts in light of what we’ve seen over the last few weeks … but the 2nd test at Ballymore in 1993 also featured an intercept. From a WB lineout, Bowen / Horan / Little attempted a pretty standard (for the amateur era) fly half loop … which was read like a book by Joel Stransky, who plucked the ball out of thin air and ran 55m for a try under the posts.

That tour was also very even; if memory serves the first and last tests had identical scorelines but swapped – Bokke won the 1st test and the WBs won the 3rd test and the series.

Brett thanks for your article. I’m not sure there are any quick fixes, but an awareness at least of quick decision making might help. The Wallabies can’t out-play the All Blacks at All Black rugby, but they at least should be examining how the ABs turn the turnovers you mention into scoring opportunities. I hope they are looking at this …. surely?

There was a US Air Force Colonel called John Boyd who developed what became known as the “OODA Loop” aka the “Boyd Cycle”. “OODA” stands for observe–orient–decide–act. If one’s ability to make informed decisions quickly and act, before the adversary can, then one is said to be “inside the adversary’s OODA Loop”. In the rugby setting, this explains how teams with excellence in their decision making speed tend to generate more offensive opportunities than teams with slower decision making.

The Wallabies try just after half time is a great example of quick decision making, getting inside the AB’s OODA Loop, and rendering AB defensive decision making obsolete. Once McDermott’s initial break was made every single subsequent ruck was done at speed (note who was first at the breakdown when McDermott was tackled 15m short: Hooper). Kerevi then made good fast decisions at the next two breakdowns, acting as scrum half: a short pass to Phillip followed by a slightly longer ball to Fainga’a for the score. Three rucks in under 7 seconds. The AB’s defence had no time to realign, to pilfer, to slow the ball.

Yet again and again we see ponderous decision making from the Wallabies. I’m at a loss. I haven’t pulled on a pair of boots for over 25 years, and frankly I was pretty crap. But I help coach juniors and I watch a lot of rugby. For the life of me I can’t work out why Australian teams don’t seek to play with quick decisions. The AB’s do it constantly. I’m not calling for the Wallabies to try to emulate the All Blacks, I just don’t think that’s reasonable. But figuring out when to play attrition and when to switch to high-speed, accurate play should be within the ability of the country’s best elite players?

That rotten Marika, attacking Barrett’s sole with his face. Darstedly.

Take this and Latrell’s disgraceful hit last night. You want to see where the threat to Rugby League is? It’s not some other boogy-man sport. What parents would let their 13 year old kid play the game if “professional” players (and I’m using quotes deliberately) get away with this without ending up in front of a magistrate?

I’ve been a life-long fan and this savagery disgusts me. Will it take a player’s death to break through the apathy?

John Eales’s nickname was “Nobody” … ie “Nobody’s perfect”.

AJ I applaud your intent; the ‘code wars’ are puerile and reflect poorly on those who participate in them. Having said that I fear most responses to your article will be in a ‘code war’ manner.

Talk of any proposed Tassie club costing $45m and taking years …. how much have those clowns thrown at GWS? For what? A club that is pretty much ignored by the good burghers of Sin City?

The AFL smugly proclaims its success gaining eye-watering TV rights; rivers of gold. How about spending some of that solid coin on a Tassie club and stop throwing good money after bad on the deluded ambition of GWS amounting to anything other than a perpetual money pit?

Knock off the stubborn refusal to face reality, wind up GWS and give Tassie a real home team.

Colvin, I don’t agree. Highlights reel at time 35:22. WB throw approx 11.5-12m on the AB side of the half way line. Paisami caught the ball right on the same line: throw as straight as can be. What SHOULD have been called back and penalty awarded to the ABs, was Paisami advancing within the 10m prior to the line out being completed. He was sprinting through the 1-2m line on the AB side of half way prior to the ball leaving the thrower’s hands. Law 18.35.

I acknowledge the opening is tongue in cheek, or at least I hope it is. But frankly NZ’s weather is superior to the constant ‘fry-your-brains’ heat that we suffer under. Their skiing is better. Their scenery is better. Their pinot noir is superior. Bali? Are you kidding? Vacation in Bali surrounded by bogans wearing Bintang singlets and crashing mopeds? I’d take fishing on the beach at Bayly’s Beach or skiing Treble Cone or cruising Doubtful or Milford Sound any day of the week.

I’d even argue that the only things NZ do worse than we do is defence preparedness and Auckland traffic jams. They sure play better rugby….

Rob, some good analysis in this. Unsure if expansion will end up looking like this, but the model you propose has more merit than the financial black holes that Perth, Adelaide or Christchurch would be. Fish where the fish are!!!! That ain’t Adelaide!