Tag Archives: afl

Friday musing – AFL, Match Review Panel, Nathan Fyffe…..

August 8, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

It has been a busy couple of weeks and I must say sport has probably been a long way from my thoughts.

One of the bigger AFL issues rearing it’s head at the moment is the prospect of Nathan Fyffe getting the most votes in the Brownlow, but being ineligible. I must say he was most unfortunate to be suspended for the incident that was in essence a head clash, but because of the change in rules and because he opted to bump, he was suspended. If the same thing happened last year he would not have been suspended and if the jungle drums are correct, the rule may be clarified next year which may not result in a suspension which would then not preclude a player from winning the Brownlow medal. So we may have the farcical situation where he misses out on the Brownlow on the basis of a rule which existed for one year. How ludicrous would that be!

You think of the other 2 “winners” who missed out on the Brownlow due to suspensions – Corey McKernan and Chris Grant. Both their incidents under the current Match Review Panel system, would probably only result in a reprimand due to lack of force. The AFL has amended rules in the past to allow winners who lost on a count back to be awarded medals and perhaps it is time that McKernan & Grant’s incidents were reviewed in light of current assessments. In McKernan’s case it would not jeopardise the actual winners as James Hird & Michael Voss had the same number of votes as McKernan, but Robert Harvey polled less votes than Grant and that may be an issue.

As an aside, Corey McKernan also missed out on the Rising Star award because of a suspension which was also lacking in force, but let us leave than one alone.

Have a great weekend!

Sports

Friday musing – Essendon FC, James Hird, Father/Son rule……

July 25, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

There have been a few Essendon issues popping up this week and I thought I would provide the perspective of a footy fan:

1) Should Dustin Fletcher play on? The question came up after a poor game against the Bulldogs and being left out of the team that beat Port Adelaide. I think he should play on next year, his form generally this year has been good, his game against Collingwood the previous week could not be faulted and I think you will find at the end of the year, in the previous game against the Bulldogs he will probably be in the umpire’s votes. If he plays on next year he will get to 400 games which is a significant milestone and even worth putting him on the list as a mature age rookie to try and get him over the line next year.

2) Should James Hird return to the coaches box once his suspension has been served? I think he should be able to return to the club, but he should stay away from the coaches box until the club has completed the 2014 campaign. Leave the match day coaching to Bomber and his assistants, but get involved behind closed doors as he will need to be across the list as soon as the season has been completed to prepare for the draft etc.

There has also been discussions about the Father/Son rule and the northern states academies. With regard to the Father/Son rule I think it should remain as it is as it is a great part of our game that a player has the option to play for his father’s ex-team in certain circumstances. I actually think there should be a brother/brother rule, particularly with regard to twins. I thought it was harsh when the Selwood twins ended up in Brisbane and Perth respectively, not only for them, but their parents as well. Then Joel ends up at Geelong! There is also the Brown twins, where Nathan ended up at Collingwood and Mitchell at West Coast, again harsh for them and their parents. Who do you barrack for?

With the northern states academies, I think if they have put the time and energy into preparing the players and that was the basis on which the academies were set up, then I don’t think there should be an issue. Having said that, perhaps the academies should be run by both clubs in that state, ie. Sydney and GWS and whichever team has first choice in the draft has the right of first refusal for that player.

Anyhow we have an interesting season panning out with five or six clubs vying for three or four spots in the final eight which should maintain the interest for those positions right until the end of the season.

Have a great weekend!

News, Sports

Friday musing – World Cup, Tour de France………

July 18, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

Well the biggest sporting event in the world, the World Cup has now concluded and I got it wrong with Argentina and Messi failing to ignite. Germany deserved to win in my opinion and the goal from Gotze was an absolute ripper.

We then move towards one of the more low key events being the Commonwealth Games. To me the Commonwealth Games can be equated to the old AFL pre-season competition. It is relevant, but not the main game.

With the impending retirement of Lenny Hayes, the question becomes who will now be a lot of people’s favourite player from an opposition team. Well I have always admired Hayes for the same reasons I admire Jimmy Bartel. They are both extremely skilful players who do not seek out the accolades for themselves and do not try and help the umpires umpire the game. My nomination therefore is Bartel, but I probably had him as my favourite player from another team anyway.

The final comment for the week would be the potential for Richie Porte to “do a Bradbury”. With all the retirements due to injury it would appear that Porte has a very good chance of taking out the Tour de France if he can get over Vincenzo Nibali. For someone who was supposed to be the second man to Chris Froome he has been given the chance and I will be keeping my fingers crossed for him.

Have a great weekend!

News, Sports

Friday musing – World Cup, Brazil, Germany, Argentina & more….

July 11, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

Well the World Cup is coming to a conclusion and my predictions for the quarter finals got the result wrong with the Brazil versus Chile game, but I am betting that Brazil are now thinking they should have lost that game and not faced the humiliation of being trounced 7-1 by Germany. My son’s U12 team lost 5-0 on Sunday and I thought their defence was poor! Well Brazil took it to a new low. I saw the first two goals and went to brush my teeth and missed the next two! An amazing result. Were the Germans that good or the Brazilians that bad? I favour the latter, the goals they conceded were from very poor defence more that inspired play from the Germans. Germany executed very well, but if you take the first goal, how could the Brazilians allow Mueller to sit in the box unattended with no one between him and the goals? The Brazilians are still trying to answer that question.

Now we move onto the final and while Germany will probably start favourite on the back of the rout of Brazil, I think the Argentinians will win with some inspired brilliance from Messi.

As a Bomber supporter I was rapt with the win over Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval last Saturday night, but I was very disappointed that Brendon Goddard was cited by the Match Review Panel and then agreed to take the week on the sidelines. Yes, it was a cheap shot to bump Kane Cornes well off the ball, but he didn’t hit him high and Cornes continued to play the game. Pt Adelaide got the free kick and that is where it should have ended. How many times in games is there bumping, pushing and shoving off the ball with players going to ground trying to milk a free kick? Every game you go to, there is some of this byplay. Will this be set as a precedent? I doubt it, but this decision has certainly robbed the Sunday afternoon fixture against Collingwood of some interest. Goddard has been in great form since Jobe Watson went down and he has shown some real leadership. I can only think he is carrying an injury and thought the week off would do him good, otherwise why would he and the club not challenge the decision?

Speaking of Kane Cornes have you ever noticed that his christian name and surname are both agricultural crops?

Have a great weekend!

News, Sports

Friday musing – World Cup, Wimbledon, Kyrgios & more…..

July 4, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

Well the World Cup continues to dominate the world sporting landscape with the quarter finals coming up this weekend. It is interesting to note that former winners in Germany, Brazil, Argentina and France comprise four of the eight places available and the Dutch are three time finalists, so there is a familiarity about the remaining participants. The real interest may come from those outside the usual suspects with Colombia given a real chance of knocking off the hosts, Costa Rica not without a chance against the Netherlands and Belgium were considered a good outsiders chance coming into the tournament. My tips for the quarter finals are Colombia, Germany, Netherlands and Argentina.

Turning to Wimbledon, I have said in the past that I am not a great fan of watching tennis, but I had to watch the abbreviated replay of Nick Kyrgios knocking off Rafael Nadal. I must say it was pretty exciting to see a young Aussie do that on the world stage and it was a bit of a shame that the scheduling meant he had to front up the next day to play again. After taking the first set he tired and fell away, but it would appear we finally have a junior star translating to the adult stage. It reminded me of Mark Philippoussis knocking off Pete Sampras at the Australian Open, but then losing the next round match. Philippoussis went on to produce some pretty good tennis, but probably did not go as far as his talent suggested he should.

I was bemused during the week to hear Eddie Maguire call for compensation for Collingwood due to the poor drawing fixture against Carlton last Sunday night. He has often trumpeted that Collingwood fans would turn up any time any place to see their team play, but in the space of three weeks they have had two poor drawing matches. The other game against the Bulldogs at Etihad stadium three weeks ago failed to get 28,000 spectators and that was an afternoon fixture under cover! Given Collingwood gets a lot of scheduling favours due to their supporter base, I do not think Eddie would have gleaned much sympathy from any of the other clubs.

Have a great weekend!

News, Sports

Friday musing – World Cup soccer & hockey, AFL…..

June 20, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

Well what a big week in sport!

Starting with the soccer World Cup, I must say my prognostication from about a month ago concerning Australia’s chances have come to fruition. I did suggest that while the Socceroos were unlikely to win a game, they would acquit themselves a lot better than most of the pundits and the public were expecting. As it stands after two games we have been highly competitive and very unlucky not to have secured a point from either game. The table for Group B at the moment has the 59th ranked Australian team ahead of the 1st ranked Spanish team. Not a bad result in that group. Save for Tim Cahill, who is not really a striker, we have lacked a world class finisher with several chances not being put in the back of the net. It is a bit of a shame that Robbie Kruse has been injured, while not being top shelf, he is still probably Australia’s best man up front. Hopefully he will be fit for the Asian Cup. It would be great to secure a draw or better against Spain.

Great to see Patty Mills and Aaron Baynes being a part of the NBA championship winning San Antonio Spurs. Mills really made a contribution and is now on the radar for several big NBA franchises. I read during the week that he only secured an AIS scholarship when Scott Pendelbury knocked it back. Who knows what might have happened if he did not get that opportunity. He could be playing for the Sydney Swans!

Other Australians to be successful at the highest level this week were the Kookaburras, who beat the Netherlands easily in the World Cup of hockey. I am not a big hockey fan, but those that love the sport, really love it. It always good to see Aussies successful even if it is an area that you don’t have a great deal of interest.

The Essendon supplements saga is dominating the airwaves again and while I do not want to spend too much time on it, there was one comment that I could not resist responding to. On Saturday night Sam Lane confirmed that she had seen one of the show cause notices served on the Essendon players. Luke Darcy then asked her if she would take the six months that was offered. She responded in the affirmative. How can she possibly put herself in the shoes of the Essendon players and make judgement based on a “show cause” notice! It beggars belief. When asked the same question by Bryan Taylor later in the show she was a bit more circumspect, but if this type of dribble continues how are the Essendon players and the club going to get a decent hearing in the court of public opinion. Don’t forget that last year Jobe Watson was persecuted for his revelation that he may have been administered AOD9604. ASADA have now confirmed that this preparation only became banned after April 2013. Have any of his persecutors like Tim Lane (Sam’s father) apologised to him? I think not.

I was also bemused that Collingwood played the Western Bulldogs at Etihad as a home game and conversely, Essendon played Melbourne at the MCG as their home game. As fate would have it, both “home” sides lost. I am not suggesting that this issue cost Essendon the game on Sunday evening, the Dees did very well and how the Bombers let the last goal through means that their lapse against Hawthorn earlier in the year has not improved their capacity to think under pressure.

Have a great weekend.

News, Sports

Friday musing is back……..Bolton, Ricciardo, Malthouse, Grand Prix….

June 13, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

I saw the Hawthorn ‘fill in’ coach Brendan Bolton interviewed on television last weekend. Have you ever seen or heard a more enthusiastic coach in your life! The way he looked and sounded, if you didn’t know he was an interim coach you would have sworn that he had just ridden the last winner at Elwick. He must be one of the luckiest interim coaches of all time, most interim coaches come in because of the side losing, but he has done a Chris Scott and inherited a great team.

Contrast his presentation with that of Mick Malthouse!!

Great to see Daniel Ricciardo salute in the Canadian Grand Prix last week. I am not much into motor sports, but I always keep an eye on how the Aussies are going and those that do understand the caper have suggested that he has been given Sebastian Vettel’s car and Vettle got the one that Mark Webber had last year. Clearly the Red Bull team are giving Daniel more of a chance than they gave Webber, perhaps it is that infectious smile.

It was good to see that Hadyn Ballantyne’s bump was dismissed by the tribunal and good to see the Match Review Panel did not apply their usual formula. The bump was a legitimate approach in that contest and you would not like to see anyone suspended for what is part of the game.

News, Sports

Friday musing – EPL, Champions League, Cricket, AFL……

May 2, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

Well we’re back to Fridays after two consecutive Thursday Musings.

The big interest this week was the state of the EPL. With two games still to go everything is still up for grabs. No team has sewn up the title, no team has been definitely relegated and while the Gunners looked to have solidified fourth position, the last Champions League position has also yet to be decided. That is what you want in a competition. Hopefully everything is still up for grabs on the last day of competition when they all play at the same time.

It must also be said that with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid both qualifying for the Champions League final and Valencia and Sevilla vying for a position in the final of the Europa League, that Spanish soccer is in a lot better shape than the Spanish economy!

I was somewhat bemused to hear that the Australian Cricket team had gone back to the top of the world Test rankings. While they did well against England in Australia and beat South Africa away, the two previous series they went down to England 3-0 and lost to India 4-0, both away. You have got to question a table or a rankings system in which you can turn things around so quickly or does beating the rankings leader on their home turf carry that much weight? It does confirm that bowlers win test matches and with Australia’s fast bowling stocks looking healthy going into the future, perhaps we are in for another period of success.

The recently completed horse racing “championships” in Sydney also require some comment. They have tried to emulate the Melbourne Spring Carnival by drastically increasing the prize money. Well judging from afar, I think the standard of horse racing was right up there, however, the crowds must have been a disappointment to the administrators. Yes, they had problems with the weather, but I am sure they would have gotten similar crowds without the increase in prize money. The big advantages the Melbourne Spring Carnival has over Sydney is first the tradition and secondly, the timing. The Spring Carnival does not have to compete with the football codes.

In the AFL all the games look quite straightforward this week, but rest assured there will be a couple of upsets and it is a matter of trying to pick which ones. I think Essendon will be vulnerable to the Western Bulldogs and I think Richmond will put in an improved performance against Geelong. That being said I am picking the favourites.

News, Sports

Thursday musing – EPL, Moyes, Man Utd, Stawell Gift……

April 24, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

Well the big, but perhaps not surprising news this week, was the sacking of David Moyes at Manchester United. I usually would not feel sorry for anyone associated with that club, however, Moyes seems to have been on a hiding to nothing taking on the position after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson. He was cursed with injuries to key players like Van Persie and he did not have the opportunity to make any significant player purchases. Ferguson’s support for him seems to have not translated to any form of assistance within the club. Having said that, by all reports, he has not assisted his position by making changes to the coaching staff which appear to have been unpopular with the players and it would also appear he hasn’t engaged the players on an interpersonal level. It is ironic that his demise followed a second loss to his old side Everton, who, with largely the team he established, are pushing for a Champions League position. It will be interesting to see if he gets another major position as a manager. I think based on his time at Everton he at least deserves another chance.

The big issue in the AFL at the moment seems to be the congestion prevalent in games and the game suffering as a spectacle as a result. Well I went to the Essendon -v- St Kilda game last Saturday night and it was not necessarily the congestion that was the problem, it was the pointless kicking backwards and sideways by both clubs, particularly Essendon. This led to what I felt was one of the most boring games of football I have ever attended where the scores were relatively close. I didn’t check the stats, but in the first half there would have been around twenty tackles between the two sides. It was like watching circle work at training or like soccer getting a team on the break. The second half was a bit of an improvement, but not by much. I think if coaches serve up too many games like that then the game will lose spectators and the TV audience. Having said all of that, I watched the latest instalment in the Hawthorn v Geelong rivalry on Monday and while there was some congestion in that game, what a great game in a long line of great games between these two clubs.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning the Stawell Gift. Has there ever been a closer Gift? I doubt it, all of the participants going over the line within two tenths of a second, amazing!

Have a great long weekend!

News, Sports

Thursday musing – AFL, Arsenal, FA Cup, Premier League…..

April 17, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

Due to coming public holidays this is the first in a series of two Thursday musings!

With Good Friday tomorrow, the attention turns to the AFL and the “will they/won’t they” sanction a game for next year. I must say that I used to be against it on the basis that the day was always sport free. However, now that other sports are cashing in on the day, I would be happy to be able to sit down on Good Friday night and watch a game of football. Having said that, I would prefer that my team was not playing.

Sticking to football, this one is slightly out of left field. Since Dale “Daisy” Thomas cut off his hair he has hardly played a good game having previously been one of the better players in the AFL. My solution is that he grows his hair back. ou take away someone’s trademark and they are not the player they used to be. I also cite the historical reference to Stephen “strawbs” O’Dwyer who used to play for Melbourne, he had very prominent ears, but as soon as he had his ears pinned back he hardly played a good game. I am sure there other ones as well, like Keith Greig’s ankle bandages, although I doubt he ever removed them.

Better news for the Arsenal fans over the last couple of days. They scraped into the FA Cup final and then in the Premier League they beat West Ham and Everton lose to Crystal Palace to allow the Gunners to reclaim the all important 4th position. They now have their destiny in their own hands and it would be a great finish to the year to take out the first bit of silver wear for 9 years and qualify again for the Champions League. It also looks like Liverpool are favourite to now take out the League title with Man City only getting a draw against Sunderland. What an amazing turnaround from last year when I think they finished 7th.

Have a great Easter!