All posts by @packers4

Friday musing – football, AFL umpires, golf, Spieth, soccer…..

April 18, 2015 @packers4 Leave a comment

After watching the first couple of rounds of football I must say I think the umpiring has been okay. However, I have a couple of observations regarding interpretations. Firstly, there are high tackles, usually umpires won’t pay a free kick for a high tackle if the offended player has ducked his head. What is the difference when the player drops his knees to influence the high tackle. Luke Shuey, the Sellwoods and Paul Puopolo seem to be masters of this tactic and it seems the umpires fall for it all the time. It is certainly more difficult to adjudicate than a player dropping his head, but to my mind no different. The other issue is the sling tackle. I thought the sling tackle had been banned and yet two weeks in a row we have Hawthorn players execute the sling tackle. Firstly we had Duryea on Bartel, which resulted in a concussion and then last week McEvoy on Melksham and Baguley in separate incidents. Has this rule been shelved?

Last week I raised the issue of the Scott brothers both losing by big margins in round one. Well North bounced back for Brad, but Geelong suffered their worst defeat for sometime at home and they are still in last position. Geelong have played Hawthorn and Freo, so it is no disgrace to lose to those sides, but the way they have lost would worry the hierarchy at Geelong. I am certainly not ruling Geelong out for the season based on two bad loses, but I doubt they will be good enough to make the top 4-6 this year. Having said that, they will win this week and could easily win the following three.

I must also give myself a pat on the back picking Jordan Speith to win the Masters. Very rarely does a player lead the first round of a major and take out the title, but with a chasing pack of major winners he maintained a four stroke buffer over the last two days and don’t forget he is only 21. Two starts at the Masters have delivered a second and a first. This guy is clearly a special talent who now sits at number two in the world and with the way he has played you wonder how long it will take before he displaces Rory McIlroy as number one. What world golf does have at the moment is a number of quality golfers who can put pressure on each other, rather than a Tiger Woods or a Greg Norman being number 1 for an extended period of time. It has to be good for golf.

In the Champions League I was extremely surprised to see Bayern Munich lose to FC Porto. Bayern are a team absolutely chock full of stars although a few of these were missing and I would expect them to bounce back in the return leg, however, they do have a two goal deficit to overcome.

Have a great weekend!

Sports

AFL’s fan engagement strategy not working for me

April 11, 2015 @packers4 1 Comment

Having attended an AFL match last weekend, I can categorically say that the AFL’s fan engagement strategy did not do it for me!

Recorded music that was too loud, boring highlights of a match from last year and annoying interviews during the ritual singing of the Club song after a long awaited win was on offer from my Club.

From my perspective, it was a waste of time and money. I don’t want to hear music I can hear everyday on 101.1 or 104.3 nor do I want to listen to a breathless player ‘congratulate the boys’ while I am basking in the glow of a hard fought win.

Questions – who decides the fan engagement strategy and better still, as a member of the Club, why wasn’t I polled about what I would like as entertainment before, during and after the match?

Why not bring back the reserves playing before the seniors – a far cheaper and better option…..perhaps some live music between games too.

The engagement is not working with this fan.

Sports

Friday musing – AFL is back, the US Masters & Sydney’s Autumn carnival

April 10, 2015 @packers4 Leave a comment

Well the football season is back and everyone has something to talk about. It was strange in an opening round that included five games where the result was two goals or less but with two big blow outs being the Adelaide v Nth Melbourne and Hawthorn v Geelong games. The coaches on the receiving end were the Scott brothers. As usual you cannot get too carried away with the results from the first round of the season and I would not be writing off either North or Geelong. North were belted by the Bombers in round one last year and made the Preliminary Final and Geelong played the best team in the competition who were primed and ready to go.

The Masters started this morning and my tip before it started was Jordan Spieth and he is currently in the lead. Last year I predicted that Jason Day would win a Major, however, his body let him down and he failed to fulfil my prediction. This year he is fit and is also well placed and if Spieth does not win, I would be more than happy to see Day salute. It is always difficult for a golfer to lead a tournament from start to finish, so I will be monitoring the scores over the next three days with interest.

Sydney’s fickle weather again played havoc with their Autumn carnival with day one of the Championships postponed from last Saturday to the following Monday. It is a shame that these good races with good fields are run on wet tracks, so sometimes the best horse does not salute. One horse that could not blame the state of the track was Lankan Rupee. I had been concerned after his run in the Newmarket and my concerns weren’t allayed by hearing Mick Price give a cautious appraisal of his recovery before last weeks T J Smith Stakes. I was not surprised to see him finish out of the places again. He is clearly not right and should be tipped out for a spell.

Have a great weekend!

Sports

AFL needs to re-think ‘illicit’ drugs policy

April 9, 2015 @packers4 Leave a comment

It is about time that the AFL amended its illicit drugs policy.

Sportzfan Radio has been calling for this for a considerable period of time. This week Melbourne Football Club coach, Paul Roos and Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley have added their voices to this call. Buckley went as far as to say ‘if it’s a battle, we’re not winning it’ and wanted players to be held accountable for their behaviour.

The drugs policy indicates that the AFL does not condone the use of illicit substances and aims to identify AFL players who have substance abuse issues and place the necessary support around them to protect their health and wellbeing with a focus on education of the player. The policy includes a ‘three strikes’ component that means a player’s identity does not become public knowledge until he has been detected three times with illicit substances in his body.

First off let’s look at the word ‘illicit’. It means ‘forbidden by law, rules or customs’. In other words the policy can be described as the AFL’s illegal drug policy.

Interestingly, the AFL Player Code of Conduct that is incorporated into the standard AFL playing contract, is intended to ‘educate players on the importance of maintaining appropriate standards….’ and requires them to conduct themselves in a manner so as not to bring the game of Australian Rules into disrepute. The Code also indicates that AFL players must refrain from taking illicit and/or performance enhancing substances.

There are provisions in the Code that allow Clubs to penalise players where there has been a serious breach of the Code and, in cases of wilful misconduct, termination of the playing contract is open to the Club. I would argue that taking illegal drugs is a serious breach of the Code.

The problem with the current illicit drugs policy is that when a player is detected, he has already breached his playing contract with the Club. However, the Club is unaware of this until the third strike and is powerless to take any action it may deem appropriate. It is arguable that after a first strike and certainly after a second, the player comes within the ‘wilful misconduct’ provisions and could have his playing contract terminated. Without that knowledge of course, the Club is unable to act notwithstanding the player is engaged in illegal conduct.

Paul Roos’ analogy of ignoring motor car theft three times before taking action hopefully focusses those at AFL headquarters and the AFLPA on the problem of the current illicit drugs policy.

Time for a rethink!

Sports

Saturday’s Randwick race meeting abandoned – re-scheduled for 6 April 2015

April 5, 2015 @packers4 Leave a comment

With all the rain that fell in Sydney on Friday and Saturday morning and the weather forecast predicting even more rain, the Randwick Derby-Doncaster meeting was abandoned and re-scheduled for Easter Monday 6 April 2015.

The good news is that the Gelding’s tips, posted on 3 April will not be wasted and be useful tomorrow.

Good luck and good, water logged punting!

The Gelding

Sports

Gelding’s tips for Randwick on 4 April 2015

April 3, 2015 @packers4 Leave a comment

The Gelding’s attention this week is on a rain affected track at Randwick. He has been in great form of recent time with 6 winners and a placing from 9 selections.

As always the bets are on an each way and all up basis.

Randwick

Race 2 Horse 2 – Kermadec
Race 6 Horse 1 – Pride of Dubai
Race 7 Horse 5 – Hauraki (for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 8 Horse 2 – Terravista (also for the ladies for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 9 Horse 10 – Hallowed Crown

Good luck and good punting!

The Gelding

Sports

Round one should be compulsory for all fans!

April 3, 2015 @packers4 Leave a comment

My mother believed any footy fan should always go to their team’s first game of the season, even if they missed all the others for the year. She reasoned that round one was the only time where hope and expectation collided.

As a long suffering Melbourne supporter, I have over the last ten or so years realised just how right my mother was. 2006 was the last occasion on which the Dees made the final eight (even beating St Kilda in an elimination final). As of 2007, after round one, all hope for Demon supporters is pretty much gone and expectations have been for a cold and long football season.

I don’t know how Melbourne will fare in 2015. I hope they improve and that Paul Roos has moulded a team that can be defensive as well as having attacking flair. Expectation is that the new signings will add some class and ability to the team.

Whatever may happen during the game, there is one thing certain and that is before the first bounce of the ball I will be filled with hope and expectation of good things to come. I am sure all sports fans have similar feelings on the opening day of the season.

It certainly is the one game of the season a fan shouldn’t miss!

Sports

3 thoughts on Thursday

April 2, 2015 @packers4 Leave a comment

With the Easter weekend looming, sport is definitely in the headlines!

Sitting in fourth spot on the A League table, Perth Heat are facing allegations that they have ‘significantly’ exceeded the salary cap due to the Club paying $150,000.00 into a bank account held by a family member for striker Andy Keogh. The payment was found after a forensic examination of the Heat’s accounts by Football Federation Australia. At present the Club is one point off the lead and if it loses points because of this that will be the end of thoughts of playing in the finals.

There is nothing to gain and everything to lose by not complying with the rules.

ASADA indicate there is a possibility it will appeal the decision by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal in the Essendon supplements scandal. They have twenty-one days to make that decision and until it is decided, one way or the other, the whole of the football world will continue to be fixated on the topic. Regrettably, it has shifted the spotlight off the AFL’s opening round.

If ASADA proceed with an appeal, I hope Ben McDevitt has more evidence than was produced to the Tribunal.

The incoming Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board is looking at reducing the number of days in a Test match from five to four with play starting at 10.30am on each day and the bowling side being required to bowl 105 overs per day. The rationale is to save on costs. What is left unsaid is that today’s society doesn’t have the concentration span to grapple with a five day event. Reducing the time of play by only one day won’t cure that.

Another example of less is more this week (see also AFL players looking at a 17 game season). Where can I get a job where I get paid the same or more for less work?

Sports

Drugs in Sport……what a mess!

April 1, 2015 @packers4 Leave a comment

So Essendon players were injected with substances, but it appears no-one knows what was injected due to a ‘deplorable absence of records in the program relating to its administration’ (the AFL’s Anti-Doping Tribunal’s words not mine). Hardly a satisfactory conclusion to the matter but without the ability to compel witnesses to give evidence, there was always a high probability that this would be the outcome. Proof of the offence was ASADA’s Achilles’ heel.

Sportzfan Radio commentator, John O’Callaghan said after the announcement by ASADA at the outset of the supplement scandal, that no AFL player would be suspended. He was proved to be correct. He also called for drug offences in sport to be the subject of criminal proceedings so that investigations could be undertaken by the Police and proceedings be brought before the Courts. It appears in retrospect that his comments were prescient.

Timing is everything…….and I’ll bet that the AFL is also stunned at the exquisite timing of the ASADA announcement that two Collingwood FC player’s ‘A’ samples have tested positive to the drug Clenbuterol on the day before the AFL anti-doping Tribunal’s was to announce its verdict regarding the case involving Essendon FC players.

Clenbuterol is a ‘beta-2 agonist’ that can be used alone and in conjunction with other substances to promote growth of skeletal muscle and to reduce body fat. It is not approved for human use and is a banned class of drug under the World Anti-Doping Code. Athletes commonly use the drug to define muscle. Its best known user is Spanish cyclist, Alberto Contador, who was stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title after testing positive to the drug.

With the ‘B’ samples yet to be tested, it is too early to pass judgment, however, the announcement by ASADA has certainly focussed even more attention on the drug cheats issue at a time when the AFL would like the subject to fall out of the headlines, especially with the opening game of the season less than 48 hours away.

Sports

Gelding’s red hot tips for Rosehill on 28 March 2015

March 27, 2015 @packers4 Leave a comment

The Gelding’s attention is on Rosehill tomorrow as the Melbourne metropolitan meeting is at Moonee Valley tonight with a major provincial meeting at Mornington tomorrow.

The Gelding is in top form as he tipped three winners and a third for the Professor at the first meeting at the new Pakenham racecourse yesterday.

As always the bets are on an each way and all up basis.

Rosehill

Race 4 Horse 1 – Catkins (for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 5 Horse 1 – Decision Time (also for the ladies at the Tennis club)
Race 6 Horse 2 – Set Square
Race 7 Horse 8 – Hartnell
Race 8 Horse 3 – Hauraki

Good luck and good punting!

The Gelding