Tag Archives: st-george

Sportzfan Radio #189.2

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!13 February 2011 189.2 – Daniel asks the Gelding why Richmond didn’t put a side in that had a chance of beating Carlton in the NAB Cup so that they could get at least try and get through to the next round. The Gelding didn’t like the alternate jumper and says the Tigers shouldn’t have taken away the yellow sash. The Professor says that the lid is definitely off with Melbourne winning the first two pre-season games. Daniel thinks the NAB Cup is a circus with teams having to wait to play a second game. It can’t be good for the game especially with the introduction of new rules – Daniel says whoever introduced them should be sacked.  Mark Fiorenti comes on to discuss soccer and he takes positives out of the defeat in the final of the Asian Cup.  He is definitely right behind Holger Osieck as coach of the team as he has emphasised team unity.  He discusses the A League which is coming to the crunch time of the season and also thinks it may be North Queensland Fury’s last game.  In Premier League, Mark looks at the Man Utd & Man City derby.  Paul Dalligan is looking forward to the Charity Shield later tonight between St George and South Sydney.  He says Wayne Bennett is on fire as a coach and he won’t tip against him in the game, the Newcastle Knights are all cashed up behind Nathan Tinkler and are chasing players and the new NRL Commission needs to be appointed by 30 April 2011 as that is when New Limited intends to step away from the NRL.  Paul then looks at the ABL championship games between Perth Heat and Adelaide Bite.  Daniel says Tom Walter the basketball coach of Wake Forest donated a kidney to save one of his players, Kevin Jordan but the College had to first check with the NCAA to make sure it didn’t break any rules. The Professor says that is taking rules too far.  Sean Callanan comments on Super Bowl XLV and the effect social media had on the event.  He also discusses Sportzfan Radio’s attempt to get Aaron Rodgers on the program.  Finally, the Panel differ as to whether Shane Warne and Liz Hurley are a worthy story or not.

Australian cricket needs a revamp and quickly!

I often listen to Stan (@sportzfanstan) on Sportzfan Radio calling for underperforming sports administrators and coaches to be sacked. Recently, he has been critical of the Australian Test team’s performance in the Ashes series against England and I would say with good reason.

If I compare how the successful teams from other codes behave – Collingwood in the AFL and St George in the NRL, there are hallmarks that lead to that success. Discipline, elite training regimes centred around world class training facilities, an astute and experienced coach, forward planning for filling the gaps that regularly occur in the playing ranks over time, investment (money and time) in drafting replacements and succession planning.

These hallmarks are not apparent in the Australian cricket team. I am continually surprised at Australian players making comments in the media regarding team selection, injuries and batting order. At best this shows an amateurish approach by those in charge of Australian cricket. Can you imagine for one moment that Alan Didak would suggest that a fellow Collingwood team mate should be playing in place of another?…or that he should be playing on a half forward flank as opposed to the wing? It just would not happen. Please take note James Sutherland.

Australian cricket was once at the forefront of all cricketing nations in all forms of the game. Well out in front of the pack with the rest struggling to remain a respectable distance behind, let alone catch up. Instead of building and laying solid foundations for the future, leading Australian cricket administrators have taken their eye off the road ahead and it has been left to deteriorate to the shambles that it is today.

There is one thing for certain. In this crowded sporting marketplace, it takes little time to lose relevance with the sporting public….just ask the NBL. Professionalism of a high order needs to be injected into Australian cricket and quickly and this means more than changing captains, players, coaches or selectors. An attitude change is required and quickly to reverse the trend.

Sportzfan Radio #174.2

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!10 October 2010 174.2 – Paul tells the story of a Yankees pitcher who made his displeaure known by taking all his gear out on to the field and setting it on fire.  The Professor poses the question – Is this the end of the Commonwealth Games? with attendances non existent, star athletes staying away and TV ratings down.  Paul believes the organisers should be building on it for the coming 2014 games in Glasgow.  The Gelding believes that athletes are more interested in World Championships.  Paul wraps the 2010 NRL season, talks about his experience at the NRL Grand Final and the great second half by eventual premiers St George.  He thinks the Sydney Roosters panicked in the second half.  He also highlights an NRL match being investigated with players allegedly betting on a penalty goal to start the game.  Dr Leslie comes along and cleans up after the NRL segment.  Mark Fiorenti talks soccer and chats about the Heart v Victory local derby and the Socceroos great 1-0 win over Paraguay.

Sportzfan Radio #173.2

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!03 October 2010 173.2 – Mark Fiorenti tells the Panel that he has deserted Melbourne Heart and is jumping back on the Melbourne Victory bandwagon. Via twitter, our US listeners indicated they had not caught up with the change to daylight saving in Australia and missed the start of the show. Daniel talks about the NBL pre-season matches being played in Darwin and the Panel query why the games are hidden so far away from the rest of the population. He also talks about NBL games being over 40 minutes instead of 48 minutes and gives an example to prove his point that less is less when people want more. Stan thinks the NBL is on its last legs. Paul Dalligan is in Sydney to watch the NRL Grand Final and is pleased it is an all Sydney affair. He also gets to see his beloved Rabbitohs play in the Under 20’s. The Professor says that if St George score more than 15 then that might be curtains for the Roosters. The Panel talks to Lisa Szatsznajder from the VIS about VIS athletes who will be competing at the Delhi Commonwealth Games. She thinks the Aussies will go well and should win at least as many medals as they did in Melbourne four years ago. Daniel thinks Richmond’s player list is better than Essendon’s whilst Stan thinks James Hird has the job ahead of him as coach of Essendon. Daniel “tries” to sing the Collingwood theme song and Sean talks about his shimmy versus the Didak shimmy. He also thinks Julie Anthony should be wheeled out each year to sing the National Anthem.

Sportzfan Radio #172.2

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!26 September 2010 172.2 – Mordiboy thinks this is a great chance for the AFL to play a night Grand Final. The Professor suggests the AFL could use Mark Seymour for entertainment at the GF replay. Paul says if they used INXS again, ‘New Sensation’ would be ‘Old Sensation’. The ‘F’ word is worried that the first A-League Melbourne soccer derby between Victory and Hearts is going up against the AFL Grand Final replay. He thinks 20,000 will be there to see the game and tips a draw. Mark has jumped off the Heart bandwagon and is heading back to the Victory. In Premier League Mark was surprised Arsenal lost at home to West Brom, shocked Liverpool lost mid week in the Carling Cup and doesn’t look good for Everton on the bottom of the League. Paul talks NRL with the preliminary finals having been completed with the Sydney Roosters belting the Gold Coast Titans and St George getting over Wests Tigers. He will be at the Grand Final next week via a ticket from a friend from another team. Sean joins in from the Royal Show and discusses the problems created for Collingwood and St Kilda by the Grand Final replay and was thrilled to be at his first ‘live’ Grand Final. He also discusses the Commonwealth Games problems in Delhi. Daniel believes if security can’t be improved they should be called off. Paul worries that Todd Carney may miss the Grand Final due to a high tackle. Stan thinks he will get off though as contact was first in the chest region.

Sportzfan Radio #166.2

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!8 August 2010 166.2 –The Panel say it’s all very well to have a baseball league but where will Melbourne Aces play their home games.  No decision made on that as yet as we understand it, but hopefully not Altona as both Daniel and Trav say they won’t go to that venue.  Nick Tedeschi talks NRL and believes Canterbury Bulldogs are the bet of the weekend v Newcastle.  We catch him before he heads out to the SCG to watch the Roosters play St George and felt it would be nostalgic to see League played at the SCG again.  He says Israel Folau will defintely come back to rugby league after his flirtation with the AFL.  We get Dr Leslie’s CSA in earlier this week so we can do more stool gazing before the end of the show.  Daniel says Brett Favre can’t be @packers4 on twitter as the Professor already has that handle.  Daniel reviews the Melbourne Tigers tour of ‘the world’ and notes that they beat England but lost to the University of Pittsburgh.  Stan wonders whether the Tigers should be investing more in players than spending it on a bonding tour.  Sean Callanan joins the discussion and says Stan’s point is fair enough, but he guesses the Tigers are looking at getting advantage from sharing knowledge with other teams aound the world.  The Professor finds it funny that the Tigers are playing the “Irish All Stars”.  The Panel discusses whether there should be a Hall of Fame for the players who actually help the stars into the Hall of Fame by doing the blocks or opening the running lanes.  Sean thinks that a Brett Favre reality show on his “Decision” to comeback (or not) would be a weekly program not a one off.  The Panel gets a tweet from @BrisbaneNBL announcing an attempt to revive the Brisbane Bullets franchise.  Sean thinks sports fans would struggle to name five NBL players.  He doesn’t know when the Tigers will appear on twitter and fires in a record number of sports cliches on Collingwood’s run to the finals.