Roar Rookie
Joined June 2023
15.2k
Views
10
Published
108
Comments
Former sports historian who enjoys writing with a bit more flair. Have published one book, Not Playing the Game: Sport and Australia's Great War (2021). Almost finished the next one, The Football War: the VFA and VFLs Battle for Football Supremacy (2024). A Carlton fan despite my best intentions.
Published
Comments
On Tuesday night, former Hawthorn great Jordan Lewis threw down a challenge to young Western Bulldog midfielder Bailey Smith. Having burst onto the scene…
With the eyes of the nation locked onto the Matildas' World Cup semi-final last Wednesday, a seemingly immaterial cricket story slipped quietly through the…
Nationhood is an illusionary concept. Nation-states, rather than being made up of homogenous populations, are divided internally by varying social groups, whose fault lines…
'Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone; silence the pianos and with muffled drum,…
Most of football’s greats are forgotten, the passage of time being the primary culprit. If most current fans have never seen Bob Pratt leap…
While several trivial incidents have penetrated the zeitgeist during this year’s Ashes series, perhaps the most important moment barely caused a ripple. On the…
Could the AFL’s monopoly over Australian rules football be overthrown? I know, it sounds absurd. The AFL is the dominant sporting competition in Australia.…
The Indian cricket team had just skittled England for 81 runs to complete a 10 wicket win at Modi Stadium in February 2021. Ravichandran…
By the age of forty my father had seen his beloved Carlton win eight VFL/AFL premierships. I am currently 33, and I have seen…
Whether watching from the press box at Edgbaston or their sitting in their loungerooms at home, Pat Cummins was sending the cricket world into…
Thanks rowdy. Really enjoy the angle you have taken and I think there is some substance to it. I am not sure a team can be defined solely by its captain and their qualities, but it’s a damn good start
They hold the Ashes and are World Test Champions, but how will this Australian cricket team be remembered?
Can’t add much to that. I think they’re the team of our time. I think their Achilles heal has been tournament play, where England, Australia and even New Zealand have been superior. But with the WC approaching I’d have my money in India for sure!
They hold the Ashes and are World Test Champions, but how will this Australian cricket team be remembered?
Highly recommend the grade cricketer podcast. They have have articulated many of these themes and more in a very funny way
They hold the Ashes and are World Test Champions, but how will this Australian cricket team be remembered?
Cheers David. Haha yes I look forward to the day when I can finally say “back in my day”
They hold the Ashes and are World Test Champions, but how will this Australian cricket team be remembered?
Haha from what I’ve read they were quite the outfit. Winning 4-0 in England you’ve gotta be good !
They hold the Ashes and are World Test Champions, but how will this Australian cricket team be remembered?
Thanks Astro. Yeah I think we can begin to assess this team and its performance, especially the core of 6-7 payers who have been together for more than half a decade. I caught myself wondering that as I was writing the article, what if sandpaper had never happened? In one universe the stability might have netted better results, in another that boorish streak might still be running hot and eventually led to a self-destruction moment like sandpaper regardless. Anyway, the journey has been a ‘rollercoaster’ no doubt!
They hold the Ashes and are World Test Champions, but how will this Australian cricket team be remembered?
Hey Big Gordon thanks for your comments I think you have raised some interesting (and worthy) points. No doubt it is too early to truly define this teams legacy, especially when they are as of today still a playing unit. In reality legacy’s shift and change as our perception of what is good or great changes, so who knows how we will look at them in 10, 30 or 50 years. I personally don’t think you can judge a team’s greatness on one series alone. In order to be truly great you need sustain success over a long period, in all conditions home and away. Finally, I think the current lot are a really solid team, but not sure I would put them in with the greatest. That is no shame on them by the way, West Indies (1980-95) did not lose a series for 15 years, Australia (1999-2007) won 3 consecutive World Cups. They aren’t exactly up against slouches. But I do really enjoy this team and think they’re a cracking bunch of cricketers (and I think) people.
They hold the Ashes and are World Test Champions, but how will this Australian cricket team be remembered?
A fair summation Nathan. It’s a team I really enjoy watching.
They hold the Ashes and are World Test Champions, but how will this Australian cricket team be remembered?
Maybe one of the smartest comments I’ve read sports lover. Nostalgia is such a massive part of the cricketing landscape, and it’s what makes our game so important to us. But as you said we can get a bit stuck in the past also. Well said!
They hold the Ashes and are World Test Champions, but how will this Australian cricket team be remembered?
Good article Cameron. I feel like the narrative around these Sydney, Richmond and Geelong has been “no one will want to play them in finals”. But that is predicated on the memory of what they were, not what they are now. For Richmond and Geelong in particular we see the jumper and think they are still the same team as they were 2-5 years ago. But they have aged and changed, and are not now the force they once were.
They've faded too far in 2023 - where to now for Geelong?
Cheers junk. Speaking of great players bob Pratt sounds amazing! Bunton, Reynolds, Coventry, Nash, Fothergill and many more from that era deserve a bit more attention.
Banned by the game, shunned by Collingwood but still standing strong: The forgotten story of Ron Todd
Hey George, thanks for this. I’ll admit my editing skills still have a way to go. But I hope you can look past this and get something out of the article itself. And please don’t blame my school, I probably didn’t listen intently enough haha. Cheers
Banned by the game, shunned by Collingwood but still standing strong: The forgotten story of Ron Todd
Hey lang yeah it’s an interesting power imbalance. No doubt many of the administrators thought footballs money was their own. I guess in fairness many of them were amateurs themselves, who didn’t profit directly from the game despite giving their time and resources. Perhaps they felt the players should do likewise. But no doubt they exploited the players who risked their physical health . Thanks for your interest!
Banned by the game, shunned by Collingwood but still standing strong: The forgotten story of Ron Todd
Thanks Chris. Fascinating history.
Banned by the game, shunned by Collingwood but still standing strong: The forgotten story of Ron Todd
Thanks Hammertech! Much appreciated. Australia has such a rich tapestry of sports history, and a great way for tap into wider Australian history !
Banned by the game, shunned by Collingwood but still standing strong: The forgotten story of Ron Todd
Can’t disagree with any of this. The 1920s and 1930s cemented Collingwoods position as the most feared, hated, and successful club in the VFL. Their rivalries with Richmond, Carlton and Geelong are fantastic reading. Richard Stemski’s Kill For Collingwood is a great account.
Banned by the game, shunned by Collingwood but still standing strong: The forgotten story of Ron Todd
Thanks Kevo. Much appreciated. Yeah the Collingwood committee were brutal, but also highly successful. Just another interesting chapter in the games history.
Banned by the game, shunned by Collingwood but still standing strong: The forgotten story of Ron Todd
Thanks AJ. Feel fortunate to tell it.
Banned by the game, shunned by Collingwood but still standing strong: The forgotten story of Ron Todd
Hey clay thanks for the kind words. An amazing story and an amazing player. I am currently writing a book on the schism as we speak, a fascinating topic that is under researched given its impact on football
Banned by the game, shunned by Collingwood but still standing strong: The forgotten story of Ron Todd
Reasonable criticisms of their game plan. Which deserve reasonable analysis as do their achievements which are also fantastic. But this refusal to acknowledge their opponents or engage in personal reflection is strange. Must be some post brexit, empire lost complex
Northern View: It's not whingeing if it's true - this Ashes anti-climax was completely avoidable
I think it is important to credit Australia’s retention of the Urn not just as a product of England’s failures, but also Australia’s actions. For example, Engand batted recklessly at Lord’s, but it also took the skill of Australia’s fast bowlers to apply pinpoint short bowling to force them into false shots. Too often this series the discourse is framed through a Bazball and its strengths and weaknesses, rather than the meeting of two different teams.
Weather they like it or not, England only have themselves to blame for Australia being raining Ashes champs
I think this piece suffers from what England writers, fans and the team itself have struggled with all series, and which negatively impacted both on their play and image: narcissism and entitlement. They believe that everything revolves around them. When they lose it is self-error or bad luck. When they win it re-affirms their own superiority. England are the gatekeepers of cricket’s moral code of ethics and laws, which should be bent and snapped to meet their story. Because they play at a fast run-rate they are saving the game, and we are yet to be enlightened. Australia are simply a projection in England’s consciousness, not an agent in their own story. But here is some facts:
1. You lose because your opponent is better for longer than you.
2. You are but one half of the narrative. Your actions alone do not determine the course of events.
3. Moral and aesthetic judgements are subjective according to their purveyors.
4. Test cricket is not dying because there isn’t enough 4s and 6s, it is because you underfund it and deny the majority of the population access to it
Northern View: It's not whingeing if it's true - this Ashes anti-climax was completely avoidable
No worries Rabbitz. I hope you can appreciate some people do like to engage with sport and it’s relationship with politics.
Just Stop Oil or just stop cricket: What price will the game pay for refusing to heed warnings?
Unfortunately, it is a difficult conversation for everyone. Some people are scared, others don’t like being told what to do given they feel disenfranchised or disempowered. And we often blame the people pointing out the problem, rather than those actually creating the problem. But it is manageable if we combine proactive leadership at the top with grassroots participation at the bottom. I for one need to do better too!
Just Stop Oil or just stop cricket: What price will the game pay for refusing to heed warnings?
I am actually so interested to see how England and Bazball go in India. My aggressive, irrational, anti-colonial masters reflex says they will struggle when Ashwin is turning the ball a mile and they have no identifiable spinner to capitalise when bowling themselves. I will surely giggle when the inevitable complaint of “India are doctoring the pitches” comes out of the English dressing room and press box. But I was massively impressed by their batters. Pope, Crawley, Duckett have something about them. Hopefully it is a cracking series.
'I'd have shaken your arm off for 2-2': The Pommy and the Aussie on ties, moral victories and who'll be left in 2025-26