Sixteen years ago the Maroons were aiming for a third straight series win with a coach silencing his doubters while having his first crack at Origin. The Blues had brought in a premiership-winning coach with a fierce reputation for being a hard taskmaster. Queensland had a precocious young fullback with just two prior matches in […]
Don’t get carried away just yet, Swans fans: Some reasons why Sydney won’t soar to victory this year
The Swans have long been a team that commands respect. I’m not disputing they are a well-run machine, and today they are often seen as perennial contenders. Yet, as we pass the halfway mark of another season, the narrative that the Swans are the team to beat is, in my opinion, another misguided one. The […]
The Father-Son equation has been around for decades, but it’s suddenly become a problem because Collingwood is benefiting
So everybody is complaining because father/son selections have advantaged Collingwood. Oooh – Josh and Nick Daicos, as well as Darcy Moore. How important were they to Collingwood’s 2023 premiership campaign? Darcy Moore was the inspirational captain. Nick Daicos would’ve won the Brownlow if he didn’t miss six games with injury. Josh Daicos won Collingwood’s Best […]
‘Super Rugby has become stale’: Here’s one plan to reintroduce local rivalries and make the Australian game strong again
Intense local derbies, high-quality competition for representative positions, raucous local atmospheres, and die-hard fanbases are the hallmarks of great sports leagues. Unfortunately, Super Rugby has been lacking these elements for some time. I remember the glory days of Gandalf, but like in a fantasy epic, what should not have been forgotten was lost. History became […]
The problem with umpiring self-correction is that it happens too inconsistently: Where should we draw the line with howlers?
There’s been a lot of controversy relating to the umpiring and officiating in the North Melbourne vs Collingwood match at Marvel on Sunday – and justifiably so. What is interesting is what has been missed by very many people. An incident happened in the first quarter – and it involved an on-field rollback to fix […]