Tag Archives: mick-malthouse

Weekend musing – Essendon FC and the #1 draft pick, US Open, Jason Day

Chris Barwin HillsThere has been heated discussion over recent weeks as to whether Essendon should get the number one draft pick should they finish on the bottom of the ladder. Speaking from a purely one eyed position, surely if they finish last they get the number one pick. Hasn’t the Unknownteam been punished enough? three years of investigations combined with the most severe penalties ever dished out to a club….and all this when the Tribunal could not establish clearly that banned substances had been administered. Personally, I would prefer they didn’t justify the number one pick as the club has not won the wooden spoon since 1933 which is well before I was born, so in my life time I have not experienced the ignominy of finishing last. In 1933 there was only twelve teams, so they would be finishing six places lower this time!

I also noted with interest the comments from Mark Thompson during the week regarding the Essendon style of play. Bomber is watsonpart of the media and certainly entitled to his opinion, but I must say apart from the last two weeks I think their progress has been quite good. Even in the big loss to Fremantle, the Bombers won the last quarter. The loss to Hawthorn was certainly on the cards and I picked the Hawks to win by 100pts so I was not far off. One thing I will say about Mark Thompson’s comments is that they weren’t vindictive like Mick Malthouse’s continued comments about Collingwood. I think Bomber’s comments at least showed that he still cared.

OK, Essendon rant over for now.

The US Open is on at the fearsome Oakmont course. I was surprised to hear that Jason Day is feeling weighed down by the number one 1363998228672tag. That is unfortunate as surely that is what every sportsman strives for. His form has certainly dropped off since getting to the number one spot. I can’t get excited about the Aussie contingent this time around. Adam Scott is talking a good talk but his confidence seems to be lacking. I think the most likely winner is the home grown Jordan Spieth.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend musing – Eddie Maguire, Collingwood FC, Nathan Buckley, Mick Malthouse

Chris Barwin HillsIt was interesting to hear Eddie Maguire had considered giving up the Collingwood presidency after last weeks loss to Carlton. I am maguireglad he didn’t resign and while I am quite prepared to criticise Eddie, I must say he is not only good for Collingwood, I think he is also good for football. He has a profile which goes beyond Melbourne and beyond football. Once he does give up the Collingwood presidency, the AFL should have a think about how they could use him to promote football. A bit like getting Kevin Sheedy to be the inaugural coach of GWS, there would be a role somewhere there for “Eddie Everywhere”.

Sticking to the Collingwood theme it was also interesting to hear Unknown-3Mick Malthouse suggest that he thought that Collingwood was on the verge of a mini-dynasty when he left. From what I have heard there has been no support for this assertion. While I consider that they may have Unknown-2done better in 2012 with Mick than Bucks, that does not constitute a mini-dynasty. Mick obviously subscribed to the Richmond/Hafey/Sheedy philosophy that every team needs a few mavericks and it just a matter of how you manage them. Buckley obviously does not subscribe to that philosophy and got rid of some of the players that would have kept them up there longer.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend musing – Fremantle Dockers demise, A-League finals fixturing & Alex Rance

Chris Barwin HillsThis time last year the Fremantle Football Club were the only undefeated team in the AFL, this year they are the only team not to win a game. What has happened? One of the reasons is personnel, they are an aging list and some of their key players are injured, but thefyffe main issue looks to be a change of game plan. It would seem they are trying to play more in the Hawthorn style, but unfortunately they don’t have the skill to execute that type of play. Their negative, lock down style of play got them to a Grand Final and save for a bout of stage fright and poor umpiring, they could easily have won that game, why change? I think they should revert to the style of football that made them successful. It may not be pretty, but it worked.

I have also got to have a say about the scheduling in the A-League. Melbourne City were scheduled to play after a five day break and while the best team on the night won the match, the fatigue factor Melb citycertainly influenced the margin. Then you had Brisbane who had played on the previous Friday playing on the Sunday. Why didn’t Brisbane play on the Friday and Melbourne on the Sunday which would have been the fairest outcome. To compound the issue, the grand finalists have also been mismatched by the schedule with Adelaide playing at home on an eight day break playing the Wanderers on a six day break. At least in the AFL each side gets a seven day break leading into the final match of the season. How do you take a competition seriously with scheduling like that for a marquee game? By the way, I don’t care who wins this final.

I know that a lot of other people have commented on Mick Malthouse’s comment that Alex Rance should have been let off by the AFL Match Review Panel on the basis of his good character, but IUnknown-2 could not let it pass without comment. What Rance did may have been out of character, however, he still did it and it was intentional. To excuse someone in that situation would be a total miscarriage of justice. Did it deserve 2 weeks? Maybe one would have been sufficient on the basis of impact/injury, but a suspension was definitely required. Good character may lead to a reduced sentence, but guilt is guilt.

Have a great weekend!

Friday musing – AFL, Malthouse, NRL, State of Origin, FIFA, Sepp Blatter & more

Chris Barwin HillsWell the Carlton/Malthouse issue was finally brought to a close this week with Mick challenging the board to make a decision which they duly did. While I have not been a supporter of Malthouse, it is sad that the coaching games record holder should go out in such an inglorious fashion. I also have an antipathy towards Carlton built up over many years, but watching them play Geelong last Friday nightUnknown was quite painful and I must say I felt sorry for them (a first). I didn’t think Geelong played all that well, but Carlton did not punish them for their plentiful mistakes. Something had to give and it is always the coach in that situation, but not usually so early in the season. With Carlton playing again tonight I think I might watch a movie as you would anticipate that the Swans will show no mercy.

I also watched the rugby league State of Origin game during the Dalligan & Gordieweek and while the game was close, I must say I found it rather boring. It did not have any real highlights and Queensland’s
experience in the end got them over line.

The FIFA situation with a number of delegates being arrested was probably the biggest issue in world sport and if every country was honest, Sepp Blatter should not be re-elected president. The problem will be that the delegates, who have been involved in the untoward activities, will probably feel safer with the existing regime that has propagated the issues that are under scrutiny now.

Well we have the dream final in the NBA with Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, so we should have an Australian on the Unknownwinning team again. As stated last week I would like to see Andrew Bogut salute. He has been around for a long time and suffered a number of injuries, and not only that, he is an Essendon supporter!

Speaking of Essendon I cannot let the week go by without congratulating Dustin Fletcher on his 400th game. In his 23rd season at the age of 40 he has missed over 100 games through injury and suspension which makes his milestone all the more remarkable.

Have a great weekend!

Friday musing – A-League final, AFL, Mick Malthouse, NBA Playoffs, Andrew Bogut…..

Chris Barwin HillsThe biggest thing in local sport in the last week was the A-League grand final and what a comprehensive result for the Melbourne Victory. They were aggressive and positive from the start and played almost the complete game. Sydney FC only had two real shots on goal and both went straight to the keeper. Speaking of the keeper, Lawrence Thomas, in my far from expert opinion, he is better than
the injured Nathan Coe so they didn’t lose anything there. I think in Unknown-4the previous week Melbourne City put more pressure on the Victory defence for the same score line. This is perhaps the most complete side to take out the title and while they lost and drew a few games during the year that they should have won, it was evident that if they clicked no other side in the competition could beat them. Mark Milligan was a deserved winner of the Joe Marston Medal and it is surprising that he has not find greater success overseas.

In the AFL it is interesting to see the issue about the head high tackles and the tactics employed by the likes of Lindsay Thomas in drawing free kicks. I raised this issue earlier in the year and players Unknown-3that drop their knees and dip/raise their shoulders are almost impossible for the umpires to detect even though it is the equivalent of ducking the head. I think it is unfair to be critical of the likes of Thomas, the Selwoods, Shoey and Puopolo when coaches from all teams should be teaching the players the same tricks. Every supporter hates when these frees are paid against them, but delight when they go in their favour.

The heat on Mick Malthouse continues and it reminded me of when Ron Barassi went back to Melbourne. He had been successful at two clubs, but could not work his magic a third time. I think the main issue at Carlton is their atrocious disposal. They win the ball in Unknown-2contested situations and then give it straight back to the opposition. I think they could be a sneaky chance tonight against Geelong, but I am still not prepared to pick them. My upset for the round is the Saints to topple West Coast.

The NBA finals are entering the final phases and wouldn’t it be great Unknownif the Golden State Warriors played off against the Cleveland Cavaliers so we could be guaranteed an Australian was on the winning side. Andrew Bogut v Matthew Dellavadova. From a personal point of view I Unknown-1would like to see the Golden State Warriors win the title for Andrew Bogut given his constant battles with injury he deserves the reward.

Have a great weekend!

Friday musing is back talking Mick Malthouse, Jock McHale, soccer….

Chris Barwin HillsWell this weekend we have one of the longest running records in VFL/AFL football broken. Mick Malthouse becomes the coaching games record holder and he breaks a record that has stood for 66 years.

There are a few points that are worth making when contrasting the careers of both men. The McHale record included five seasons as a Unknownplaying coach which at the time was not uncommon. This bolstered his record, but it should also be considered that he also coached in an era when the seasons extended to only 18 games (plus finals).

Unknown-1Without trying to denigrate Malthouse’s achievement, three premierships and a winning percentage of 57% pales a bit compared
to the McHale record of eight premierships and a winning percentage of 66%. To get to the record on the back of one premiership every ten years is a remarkable performance and I cannot see this record being broken in my lifetime.

It is also remarkable when you consider that two North Ballarat boys have broken two of the longest standing records in VFL/AFLUnknown-2 history with Malthouse taking the coaching record and Tony Lockett taking the goal kicking record from Collingwood’s Gordon Coventry.

While I am on the AFL, I watched the Anzac Day game and again the Essendon side has fallen into the trap of trying to play dry weather football in the wet. Everyone knows that when you get the ball you kick it as long as you can and get to the next contest. I blame the coaches.

I know there is little chance of any further representative games being added to the very busy international soccer calendar, but I was Unknown-3thinking the other day that it would be great to see a team representing the EPL playing a team representing the Spanish Primera Liga or the Bundesliga or Serie A. There is always a bit of chest thumping as to who has the best league so why not have a competition where they play each other. Imagine the Spanish team with Messi & Ronaldo in the same team. Who wouldn’t pay money to go and see that?

Have a great weekend!

Friday musing – Cricket, World Cup, Essendon FC…..

Chris Barwin HillsWell the Cricket World Cup is about to begin and I note that Australia is drawn play a game against New Zealand in New Zealand, so much for the home World Cup. With 2 pools the Australians and the New Zealanders should have been placed into different pools so that there was no away game for either team. In the previous World Cup in 1992 the same thing happened with Australia drawn to play New Zealand in New Zealand (and we lost!). With the 2 pools it is unlikely that either side would miss the next stage, however, I do have an issue with that type of fixturing.

It will be interesting to see how the World Cup goes. It would appear that some games will be very popular, like the opening game of the tournament tomorrow with Australia v England and the India v Pakistan game in Adelaide which was apparently sold out some months ago. However, many of the others could be television games only. The tournament is scheduled to go over seven weeks which to me is way too long and there is a big risk that the interest in the game will wain over that length of time. I think a compressed format of 4-5 weeks would have been more appealing. The Big Bash was played over a period of a month and I think they got that right.

I was bemused to hear Mick Malthouse and Nathan Buckley’s comments about the Essendon players and their stance regarding the NAB Challenge series. I think the club should field a team for the series, however, I also agree with the approach that the entire list from 2012 should not play to at least try and preserve the anonymity of the players to which they are entitled. There should be enough players that have come onto the list since 2012 and I wonder what Malthouse & Buckley’s views would be if the boot was on the other foot and it was their players that had to bear the brunt of this continued saga.

Have a great weekend!

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

Chris Barwin HillsI 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.

Sportzfan Radio #182.2

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!5 December 2010 182.2 – Daniel and the Professor talk ABL and in particular the ‘rivalry’ round and ask how you can have a rivalry after three weeks of a new league. The Panel talk about whether the ABL will be a success. Stan is not so sure as there have been six or so attempts at starting a league over the years. The Professor believes with the MLB putting money and young talent in, it has its best chance. Some of the up and coming players include Quincey Latimore.

The Panel also discuss emails including the Gabba’s entry restrictions for bags.  Daniel wants to know how Wayne Bennett won the coach of the year award over Mick Malthouse.  Paul Dalligan weighs in with his opinion and believes Wayne Bennett is not only head and shoulders above all other coaches in the NRL, but he also gives his team an ‘x’ factor, so much so that he would love Wayne to coach the Rabbitohs.  Paul believes that Benji Marshall deserved his Golden Boot award and whilst the Professor queries whether the NRL are serious about arranging a World Club challenge in Las Vegas Paul thinks it is a good idea.  Although Paul yet to get to a Melbourne Aces game due to wash outs, he thinks it is a bit early for a rivalry round in ABL. 

Dr Leslie follows Paul’s segment this week and leads into a discussion of the NBA by the Professor and Daniel.  The Professor is amazed that the Knicks are 11-9 and struggles to remember the last time they started a season so well.   Axel is a huge fan of David Robinson…the General….no make that the Admiral.  Daniel believes the Knicks may make the playoffs but it depends on whether they go after Carmelo Anthony.  Daniel finds a way of bringing his team the Clippers into the discussion even though they are on the bottom of their division.

Sean Callanan looks at how social media was used in the World Cup bid and whether Australia used it effectively.  He believes it worked engaging fans but not in getting votes.  Sean reveals he did the ‘shimmy’ at the U2 concert and was rcognised as ‘the shimmy guy’.  The twitter handle ‘the Ashes’, is owned by a US woman who doesn’t know anything about cricket and she is getting cross about people tweeting her about cricket.  Sean will pluck the best three or four tweets he sees over the coming weeks to talk about on Sportzfan Radio.  He is considering bringing out a ‘how to’ shimmy dvd for Christmas.

Sportzfan Radio #181.2

@SportzfanRadio now available on iTunes!28 November 2010 181.2 – Daniel wants the Tigers to get rid of their white alternate strip. Stan adds that the Tigers are hopeless at 1-7.  Mark Fiorenti talks up Australia’s chances for the 2022 World Cup and thinks the bid looks a lot better than it did three or four months ago. He also thinks the USA are favourites.  Daniel believes if Julia Gillard writes a letter of support that will sink the bid. The Professor thinks Bob Hawke should have been asked to write a letter.  Mark also wraps up A League and Premier League matches of interest.  He thinks it is Chelsea’s title to lose.  Dr Leslie’s CSA returns to the show after a few weeks off.  Daniel is not happy that the Professor signed off with “We all hope we get the 2022 World Cup”…this then promotes a discussion as to who actually wants the World Cup.  Stan and Daniel don’t want it.  The Gelding hopes we do get it.  Suitably chastened, the Professor re-announces “The Gelding and I both hope we get it, Daniel and Stan definitely don’t”.   The Panel then discuss emails about the Australian Test selections.  The Gelding thinks the role of wicketkeeper has changed over the years as we now pick a wicketkeeper that is an allrounder.  Stan believes it is no good trying to make a batsman into a wicketkeeper.  Paul Dalligan is back to talk rugby league….didn’t the season finish eight weeks ago?  He talks about Russell Crowe leaking details of Greg Inglis’ contract on a US talk show.  The NRL are now looking more closely at the deal.  The Professor asks why this deal is different to the Mark Gasnier deal.  Daniel thinks it would be good for Crow to team up with Inglis at the Rabbitohs.  Paul then goes on to talk baseball and the ABL.  Unfortunately, the Melbourne Aces first three home games have been rained out.  We give a shout out to a new listener…Lisa Haye’s husband.  The Panel talk about Mark “Choco” Williams appointment as Kevin Sheedy’s assistant at Greater Western Sydney.  This leads into a discussion of whether Sheedy will actually coach the team in 2012.  Stan decides to swing the axe and believes Mick Malthouse and Kevin Sheedy have reached their use by date and should retire as the old guys are keeping the younger coaches out of jobs.  Sean Callanan comes on to talk social media and discusses the Dallas Cowboys forgetting to renew their domain name so they were left without a website and thinks the IT man at the Cowboys may be out of a job.  The Denver Broncos have been fined $100,000 for filming the 49ers at practice.  Sean talks about Vince Young apologising to his coach Jeff Fisher by text and says it is probably not the most effective means of doing that.  A listener queries why Young didn’t call Fisher as he had the phone in his hand sending the text.