Tag Archives: chris-from-barwon-heads

Friday musing – Socceroos, Asian Cup……

February 6, 2015 sportzfan Leave a comment

Like a lot of other people around Australia I watched the Asian Cup Final from Sydney on Saturday night.

What a great game!

I think we can now say that this team has created it’s own history and we can start to move on from the achievements of the 2006 World Cup squad. I am not suggesting they are as good as that team, but they have definitely established themselves as a team on the rise. Perhaps on Saturday night they were not as technically good as a the South Koreans, but they defended as well as I have seen an Australian team defend and created enough chances to win the game. It was also good to see a number of A League players playing key roles in the win.

Ange Postecoglou has consistently requested that the team be judged on their performance in the Asian Cup on home soil and not on their lead up form overseas. As most of the pundits have observed, he has been vindicated.

The Asian Federation is not strong compared to other federations around the world so the friendly coming up in Germany later this year may well give an indication of how far the team has progressed.

Have a great weekend!

Sports

Friday musing – Cobalt in the feed?, Darts, Taylor Walker….

January 16, 2015 sportzfan Leave a comment

The big story this week was the three horse racing trainers possibly facing charges for traces of cobalt being found in their horses. This has the capacity to damage a sport that is already damaged so it will be interesting to see which way it goes. My gut feel is that the racing industry cannot afford to have three of the biggest trainers in the state suspended and this will be a shot across their bows as a warning to everyone else. The suggestion at the moment is that the horses that tested positive were well over the prescribed limit which would negate any assertion that it was bad feed, but it is difficult to accept that these trainers, who know the rules have allowed their horses to be administered cobalt to a level which is banned. These guys have teams of vets working for them and need to keep very detailed records of feed and supplements/medications which are administered, so what went wrong? There is more to this than the Essendon supplements saga, but it won’t attract as much attention because horse racing just doesn’t have the profile save for the Spring Carnival.

I didn’t go to the darts at Etihad stadium last week, however, I did see the news on Sunday and the behaviour of the crowd was deplorable. If it was a higher profile sport the examination of the episode would have continued all week. The reports from the event last year were that it was a great success, but now any future tournament will be highly scrutinised. Imagine if you attended on Saturday night and had your night ruined in that fashion, you would not be very happy. Perhaps they need to breathalyse patrons as they enter the stadium!

I was interested to see that Adelaide had named Taylor Walker as their captain for next year and for me, it raised the concerns about full forwards as captains. There is no doubt you can captain the side from full forward. The AFL’s longest serving captain, Stephen Kernahan, spent more time at full forward than centre half forward and I think the same could be said about Wayne Carey. Jason Dunstall was a genuine full forward who was captain and his influence was difficult to assess as Hawthorn were on the slide when he took over. My question mark about full forwards as captains is they have a limited opportunity to influence the game from that position, unless, like Carey, they can be swung onto the ball. I think the main reason Patrick Dangerfield didn’t get the position is not because he may return to Victoria, but his lack of popularity with his team mates which emerged late last year. It will be interesting to see how Walker goes.

Have a great weekend!

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Friday musing is back – Test Cricket, Big Bash, Asian Cup & more

January 9, 2015 sportzfan Leave a comment

Happy New Year!

Well it is all about the cricket at this time of the year and my first observation relates to the standard of pitches that have been produced for the series against India. For as well as Virat Kohli and Steve Smith have played, there has been a lot of runs and not many wickets.

A lot of the Australian wickets have gone in the chase for quick runs. I wonder if the Indian authorities warned their Australian counterparts about preparing wickets to suit Mitchell Johnson. Johnson has struggled on these pitches with only one session in Brisbane where has been truly dangerous. It is hard to be too critical when there has been two results from the first three tests, with Australia batting India out of the Melbourne test to ensure they won the series.

However, I am sure if these pitches had been presented to the English last year there is no way we could have won 5-0. Nathan Lyon will be the number one bowler for the series and who would have predicted that at the start? I think in many ways for as well as the Indians have played, their fielding and catching has been sub-standard and you can’t keep dropping catches and win matches.

I hark back to one of those ill fated series in the 1980s against the West Indies when the Aussies dropped at least 30 catches. When you are playing one of the best teams in the world you have to limit their scoring not let them off the hook.

Continuing the cricket theme I have a comment about the Phil Hughes tributes. When does it all get too much? I understand the test team has been truly rocked by what happened and it is quite unparalleled in cricket, however, I think we are getting very close to putting a lid on the tributes. His family have been decidedly absent from the public eye and I now think it is time for the players pay their respects in private.

Finally on the cricket, I have watched a little of the Big Bash and it is great to sit down and watch a bit of sport at night time and see a result. I am sure Channel 10 are rapt they have the rights. My accolade goes out to Brad Hogg playing for the Perth Scorchers. At 43 years of age he came on the other night and landed his spinners perfectly and essentially set up the win for Perth. Amazing!

The Asian Cup starts tonight and I must say my enthusiasm has yet to be piqued. Perhaps once it gets going I will be more interested, but at this stage the jury is out.

Continuing the World Game theme, I went to the Melbourne Victory v Perth Glory game last week in Geelong and while the result was not so good and it was still very hot, the crowd and the atmosphere were very good. I think of the AFL venues, Kardinia Park lends itself to soccer because it has narrow wings. The Victory have two more games at the venue in the next two years and my guess is the experiment will be continued or even expanded.

Have a great weekend!

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Friday musing – cricket, Nathan Lyon, Shane Warne, Michael Clarke…

December 19, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

When Nathan Lyon bowled Australia to victory in Adelaide last weekend with a twelve wicket haul it got me thinking about Shane Warne’s record against the Indians. Warne who is Australia’s best ever spinner only had one five wicket haul in an innings against the Indians (6/125) and no ten wicket hauls for the match. In addition, his bowling average against the Indians was 47.19 which is way over his career average of 25.41. His average was probably not assisted by his first test results against a rampaging Ravi Shastri, but even when his career developed he didn’t get good results against the Indians. Maybe Lyon deserves more credit for his bowling than he is currently afforded.

Another thing to come out of the Adelaide test was the vulnerability of Michael Clarke to injury. First he injures his back swaying out of the way of a bouncer and then he does his hamstring when jogging to pick up a ball. Both pretty innocuous incidents that would occur several times in a game. If I was him I would be concerned sneezing! In some ways he has been lucky to last into his thirties given how injury prone he has been throughout his career. The sporting world is littered with talented sports men and women who have had their careers abbreviated due to injury.

Have a great weekend!

Sports

Friday musing – Golf, Jordan Spieth, cricket, Sean Abbott….

December 12, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

Well Jordan Spieth proved that his Australian Open success was no fluke by returning to the US and taking out a quality restricted event and beating the world number two by 10 strokes! As I suggested last week this guy looks to be the next superstar of world golf and to put away a quality field the way he did was nothing short of spectacular. He will be a very big drawcard next year when he returns to defend his Aussie Open title.

I was amazed to see Sean Abbott return to the fray so quickly after the unfortunate events of a few weeks ago. As I stated in an earlier “musing”, if it was me I would have considered giving the game away or at least having some time off, but he has got right back on the horse. Good on him and it must be a testament to his mental toughness that he can get back to bowling so quickly. That sort of resilience should make him a good test player if his bowling makes the grade.

Have a great weekend!

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Friday musing – cricket, golf, Jordan Spieth…..

December 5, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

Last weeks Musing was devoted to Phil Hughes and I must say the despite not knowing the guy, it continued to affect me through the week. Now that we have had the funeral we can move on.

In my opinion the big thing from last weekend was the performance of the 21yo American, Jordan Spieth in the Australian Open. Currently ranked at number 158 in the world, he shot a 63, which was poignant in itself, to win the open easily was an amazing performance. The course was probably at its most difficult when he played and I understand the best score from earlier in the day was 67. So he shot a score to win the tournament that no one else got close to during the day. And he is only 21! This is the guy that almost became the youngest US Masters winner, so he is no slouch and he could be the next world wide super star in golf now that Tiger Woods cannot seem to re-capture his former brilliance.

I know I have made this observation before, but Peter Donegan was one of the commentators doing the golf telecast and he is one of the best all round sports commentators in Australia. He does the golf, he does the horse racing, he does the VFL football, the Olympics, is there any sport he cannot do? I struggle to think of any one better. Tim Lane and Bruce McAvaney have a higher profile, but PD is the ultimate support act.

Have a great weekend!

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Friday musing – vale Phil Hughes

November 28, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

Well I think yesterday must have been one of the saddest days in Australian sport that I can remember with the passing of Phil Hughes.

I got home and my daughter asked about my day and I replied that I was feeling numb, shocked and saddened about the young man that lost his life that day. Cricket is not a dangerous sport, yes there is the risk of injury, but you don’t pad up thinking your life is on the line.

This is a tragic accident and the prevailing mood these days when there is a tragic accident is to look for someone or something to blame. It was an accident pure and simple no blame should be levelled in any direction and there is no need to make any rule changes.

If it was a lower order batsman, then there may be some justification to look at the rules, however, with the level of protection batsmen have at their disposal these days the physical threat of a bouncer is not what it used to be.

I wonder how this will affect the bowler, Sean Abbott. It will be interesting to see how it impacts his career. I think if it was me I might consider giving the game away or at least take a break from the game for a while.

Sport has its highs and lows, but grief should not be part of a recreation.

Vale Phil Hughes

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Friday musing – Socceroos, Tim Cahill, Asian Cup……..

November 21, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

I was watching the friendly between the Socceroos and Japan during the week and I considered that Australia created the best of the chances in the first half, but didn’t have sufficient strike power or effectiveness to take advantage of those chances.

It would seem that if Tim Cahill is not on the park, we can’t score. I did hear one “expert” suggest that reason was related to the Dutch system of total football which does not produce strikers. I felt like ringing up and offering the names of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben. I think that as a the A League improves and it is improving, more strikers will come to the fore. I raised the name of Tommy Juric last year and I still think he has the most potential of the younger brigade. Watching the game also got to me to thinking about how many of the current national squad would make it into the 2006 World Cup squad. Putting aside Tim Cahill, I think perhaps only Mile Jedinak could justify inclusion.

The next big test is the Asian Cup and it is on home soil so there will be no excuses.

Have a great weekend!

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Friday musing – Golf, Cricket, Spring Carnival…….

November 14, 2014 @packers4 Leave a comment

The thing that really piqued my interest in the sporting arena this week was the story about Phil Mickelson calling 16 year old US born Australian Ryan Rufflels (the son of former tennis player Ray Ruffels) to try and get him to Arizona State University on a golfing scholarship. Apparently Ryan plays off plus 6 and in a recent monthly medal at the Victoria Club shot rounds of 10, 9, 7 & 9 under. Wow! Golf seems to be producing some real prodigies at the moment and hopefully Ryan can go on and create a name for himself. Which country would have the bragging rights? I think that while he was born in the US, he grew up in Australia and took up golf in Australia, I consider that to be enough to claim him as an Aussie.

It was interesting to see that less than 25,000 people for the International T20 match against South Africa last Friday at the MCG. That is a disappointing crowd and casts a bit of doubt about the overall interest in the cricket coming into a summer where Australia will be hosting the One Day World Cup. Apart from the Ashes that is always well patronised, the cricket does seem to be losing its mojo. I have mentioned this in the past and in my opinion, it has a lot to do with the year round coverage of cricket throughout the world. The football is played over a period of six-seven months and then there is the build up and anticipation for the following season which is all very well staged managed by the AFL. The international cricket season has started with very little sense of anticipation and not helped by the recent test flogging at the hands of the Pakistanis. Time will tell if they can build some momentum into the World Cup.

The major races of the spring have now been completed and there was a number of notable performances, however, I do not think that any horse stamped its authority on the spring. There was not a dominant sprinter, there was not a dominant weight for age performer and there was not a dominant stayer. Having said that the “one off” performances of Terravista, Adelaide and Protectionist (you could also add in Admire Rakti in the Caulfield Cup) where truly great performances.

Have a great weekend!

Sports

Friday musing – Melbourne Cup, Cricket, West Sydney Wanderers…

November 7, 2014 sportzfan Leave a comment

Well the big three races of the Melbourne spring have been run and won by international horses. The Japanese took out the Caulfield Cup, the Irish the Cox Plate and now the Germans have the Melbourne Cup. If Adelaide had been owned by Italian interests you may have questioned who won the war! There has been a lot of discussion about the influx of international horses and whether there should be a quota placed on them, particularly for the Melbourne Cup. Bunkum I say. If the locals want to win these races they should adjust their breeding and training regimes and start to focus on middle distance and staying races and not just breeding and training for sprinter/milers. For too long getting a horse to produce early in it’s career has been the focus instead of looking to the future. I think we should keep bringing in the international horses as not only are they better than the locals, they add plenty to the discussions at this time of the year. With Slade Power running in the Darley Classic tomorrow, the pain for the locals may not be over and we may be beaten at our own game.

I remarked last week about the pitches that had been produced in the recent test series against Pakistan and that may have been disrespectful to the Pakistanis’ as each of their second innings were better than our first in each test. The Australian’s were completed outplayed and any pretensions they had for being number one in the world has taken a severe blow. To be number one you have to be able to win in all conditions, not just those that suit your best players. Some of the selections have to be questioned as well. Bringing Glenn Maxwell in and playing him as a number three seemed as strange as the puzzling decisions in dropping Alex Doolan and Steve O’Keefe after one test. I can understand the theory of playing to your strength, but clearly the pitch blunted even the best fast bowlers, let alone the likes of Mitchell Starc. The batsmen need to learn how to play spin and the spinners need to learn how to bowl in those conditions.

What an amazing performance by the West Sydney Wanderers in the Asian Champions League final. For a club that has only been in existence for just over two years, they have played in two grand finals and won the premier club competition in Asia. Admittedly the A-League has only been going for a short time, but for a start up club to have achieved that much in such a short space of time is unprecedented. I think it even out-strips the Melbourne Storm’s win in the 1999 NRL grand final. It must say something about Tony Popovic’s coaching and he must be high on the radar for the national team or something substantial overseas.

Have a great weekend!