Rugby League - State of Origin My Blues Side

State of Origin, the on and off field pinnacle of our game, is fast approaching. The NSW Blues will be looking to end a 7 year losing streak to the Queensland Maroons. Last year under Ricky Stuart we came closer to a winning series than we had in the previous 6 attempts. Now under the coaching of Laurie Daley we look to improve on that with a series win. The following blog will contain the Blues team I would select and why.

Fullback - Brett Stewart

He is the incumbent from last years series, and although he is not in the same class as the two Maroon fullbacks Billy Slater and Greg Inglis he did a fine job last year and there are no other NSW fullbacks in better form.

Wingers - Jarryd Hayne and Brett Morris

I know I know, no Nathan Merrit again? Yes he is the form winger in the comp but he still does not deserve to be selected ahead of these two. Brett Morris was is the incumbent for both NSW and Australia, did a good job of replacing Akuila Uate in last years series. Whilst Jarryd Hayne is a proven performer for NSW on the wing and has been an institution of the NSW side for many years. Sorry Nathan but to quote the line from Happy Gilmore "Better luck next year".

Centres - Michael Jennings and Blake Ferguson

In the centres I have the incumbent Michael Jennings who is in great form for his new club the Sydney Roosters and has the attacking game which can really trouble the Maroons defence. Whilst my other centre is unlikely to be selected, he should be. Josh Morris, although a great centre, doesn't quite have the x-factor of the Raiders' Ferguson. Blake has been in career best form in a struggling team and paired with Michael Jennings could create the attacking centre pairing NSW has been waiting for,

Five Eighth - Todd Carney

Firstly I'll tell you why his rivals missed out. Josh Reynolds missed the city country game which hurts his chances but also compared to Todd Carney and James Maloney he is too inexperienced in games of this magnitude. He did not set the world on fire during his grand final appearance last year. James Maloney had a shocker in the city country game and has only been able to put his foot forward when his team is running a muck on a low down rival. Todd Carney is the incumbent, and he showed on the weekend in the Sharks golden point win over Newcastle that he is over his injury and he's still got it.

Halfback - Mitchell Pearce

This was a two horse race between Pearce and Adam Reynolds. Mitchell won out due to his experience in the Blues team and his proven combination with both Todd Carney and the hooker (to be revealed in the next blog). Adam although talented needs to prove his worth in a struggling team to be chosen over Pearce who can shine whether his team is up by 20 or down by 40.


Well that's the 1-7 of the Blues team, in the next installment the forward pack, bench and a prediction on this years series will be revealed.

- William Le Messurier -

Expansion - When, Where and How

Let's face it, 10 teams for the A-league is not sufficient.

Yes, the 10 teams we have are competitive and there is no superpower dominating the league a la the norm in Spain, England and Germany. Yes, the salary cap works and is necessary to ensure equality within the league. 

But 10 teams are simply not enough to allow the domestic league be taken seriously as one of the top 20 leagues in the world, let alone Asia.

Simply put, we need more teams. Ideally, for a market like Australia 14-16 teams is the viable amount.

More importantly, we need to make sure that new teams added in are competitive and receive the same treatment and concessions provided to the Western Sydney Wanderers from this season. We need to assist the growth of the game by capturing the minds of new markets and demographics, so be it bandwagoners.

In addition, the administrative body must ensure that no more cases of North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast United are to happen again. That would only set the A-League back 10 steps from the 3 steps it has taken this season.

Expansion should only be conceptualized within the next 5 years if, and that's a big IF (capitalisation and everything), regular season crowd averages are hovering around the 13.5-15k region and the league progresses from the competitiveness that has been seen in the 2012/13 season.

If that is to occur, the most vital element to the success of an expansion club is meaningful community engagement, especially in areas if soccer is not the favoured football code. Meaningful community engagement includes school appearances, local soccer club apperances (especially with the youth), seeking sponsorship from local businesses and etc. This is what separates expansion clubs from being seen as a franchise a la NBA style or establishments seeking integrity and dignity.

A good example that the A-league can follow is the MLS. Similar to the A-league, in America the MLS is influenced by the sporting norms that dominate other American sports. Both A-league and MLS have a finals series popular in other sports. The MLS carefully assesses which markets are viable, looking into the participation levels of soccer within the region and viability for rivalries with other clubs and whether the area have rectangular fields. Two good examples of expansion teams in the MLS are the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders, two areas steeped in soccer traditions and with vociferous fanbases.

Without further ado, here are my recommendations for potential expansion.

• Canberra - it perplexes me how the nation's capital has not received a team considering the popularity of the W-league team and the pedigree of Australian soccer stars. The infrastructure is more than available.
• Tasmania - the continued neglect of the AFL to tap into Tassie can be taken advantage of by the FFA. Similar to the NRL's overlooking of Central Coast, the FFA can slowly penetrate Tasmania and provided the team achieved consistent success, Tasmania has the potential for success.
• South Coast/Wollongong - anyone who has followed the NSL prior to the establishment of the A-league can never forget the epic 2000 Grand Final. Down 3-0 at half time, clawing back the lead and eventually winning in one of the longest penalty shootouts I've witnessed. This is another region steeped in soccer history and with legends such as Scott Chipperfield, the South Coast has the potential to be a force.
• Auckland/Christchurch - the FFA could do no wrong by tapping into the North/South Island rivalry that exists. NZ soccer is currently experiencing a golden generation; future prospects such as Marco Rojas and seasoned veterans such as Winston Reid plying their trade in the premier league. The FFA must capitalize on this.
• Another Adelaide team - it is said that many reasons behind the lack of Adelaide United's support lies behind the grudge held by old Adelaide City fans after the demist of the NSL. Adelaide has a proud soccer history in Australia and an Adelaide derby would further fuel interest towards the game.

Stop this scurrilous mongering: Demetriou

The CEO of the AFL, Andrew Demetriou, has today come out in defence for the Essendon Bombers. The embattled club has been at the centre of an investigation by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) into allegations that its players have been using illegal supplements.

Andrew Demetriou
(Source: afl.com.au)

Media attention has lately been focused on an admission from the club's former sports scientist, Stephen Dark, that players had been given now banned anti-obesity drugs. The club is said to have approved the use of the drug based on a document supposedly from the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) which approved of the substance’s usage. The problem is, the drug was never approved and Dark appeared to ignore WADA’s request for him to consult Australia’s own anti-doping authority (ASADA) for more information on the drug.

Even if you haven’t been following the saga, chances are that you have at least heard about it on the news bulletins. The Bombers undefeated start to the season has been mostly overshadowed by the ASADA investigation. However, Demetriou suggests that some of this commentary is in fact being generated by Essendon’s rivals in what appears to be an attempt to further demean the club.

"The sooner some of our clubs, not all, but a small few, stop this sort of scurrilous mongering, the better. Because it's not doing anybody any good at all," he said.

"I remind people, they are fully co-operating. They came forward. They are not running away. They are part of this and they know it's going to take a while and we need to let it run its course."

Listen to the interview on radio 3AW here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iSDOoPSCdkk

The Bombers are likely to claim their sixth straight victory against winless Western Sydney tomorrow afternoon.

Enjoy the weekend of footy!

-          Lachlan Lewis

Super Rugby 2013 - The Reds Revival Has Arrived!

Many people - including myself - doubted that the Queensland Reds could mount a challenge for this seasons Super Rugby title.

The bar has been set extremely high at the Suncorp Stadium ever since the Reds maiden Super Rugby triumph in 2011 with Reds fans expecting their side to be at the very least in the top 4 sides in the competition and the 2013 season was no exception. However, after losing to both the Brumbies and Force in the opening 5 rounds of the season and recording somewhat unimpressive victories against the Waratahs and Hurricanes many suspected that the 2013 season would be the end of the Reds domination of the Australian conference.

In addition to their struggles on the pitch, the Reds also had to deal with a lot of off field troubles at the start of the season. Quade Cooper was still not 100% fit and his falling out with the ARU was a considerable distraction, captain James Horwill had also been plagued by injuries for almost a whole year and was also not 100% fit, key back rower Scott Higginbotham had left the Reds for the Rebels and there were also hints that key man Will Genia was becoming discontent about how the club was being run.

No Higginbotham? No Problem!

The round 5 loss to the Force in Brisbane ironically marked a turning point in the Reds season thus far. Since round 5 the Reds have been undefeated, recording 4 wins and a draw against the leaders of the Australian conference, The Brumbies. Some may say that 4 wins and a draw is not all that impressive but once you examine the nature of these results one can see that the Reds are truly back on their horse!

To reverse a 24-6 belting they received at the hands of the Brumbies in round 1 to draw 19-19 in Brisbane - a match they were unlucky not to win - was their worse result after all! A first ever clean sweep over the New Zealand conference is the pick of the Reds revival with home wins over the Hurricanes and the Blues and impressive away wins over the defending champions the Chiefs and the Highlanders. Add to that a win at home to the South African conference leading Bulls and there is not much that stands in the way of the Reds repeating their 2011 triumph in this vain of form.

It is not as if the off-field soap opera has stopped at the Reds either. Head coach Ewen McKenzie has officially announced that he will step down at the end of the season and Digby Ioane's future for next season looks like it lies in France, yet these factors were not enough to affect the Reds performances in recent weeks.

So with 37 points seeing them comfortably sitting in 4th spot, a mere 3 points behind the conference leading Brumbies, it looks like the Reds have yet again established themselves as a serious contender for the Super Rugby title in 2013.

- Vladimir Aleksov

Rugby League - The English are Coming!

Lee Mossop, Gareth Hock and Mike Cooper

These are three names the average Australian Rugby League fan has never heard of. But in England they are three of the best forwards in the European Super League. What they all have in common however is that they have all signed with National Rugby League clubs in the past week. Hock and Mossop have signed for the bottom dwelling Parramatta Eels and Cooper has signed for the St George Illawarra Dragons.

In doing so these players have signaled the start of the English exodus to the NRL. With the increased NRL salary cap the trend of Australian players leaving the NRL for Super League are fast becoming over. Top English players will now be chasing the cash found in NRL contracts. England's best player Sam Tomkins is expected to be the next to join the exodus with the Warriors, Titans and Roosters all chasing his signature.

But was are the consequences in this?

Well the standard of the Australian game will only get stronger with the best Australian, New Zealand and English players all plying their trade in the down under in the NRL. This will lead to more fringe first graders getting less game time as NRL clubs look to bolster their squads with seasoned English players rather than fringe first graders. In England the local game will suffer as England's best leave. However in the long run, this will lead to English clubs developing more first graders for the English game, thus improving their depth.

The English National Rugby League team may benefit the most from the exodus. As their best players ply their trade in the NRL they will become battle hardened and will bring that experience back to the national side as they try to compete with Australia and New Zealand.

William Le Messurier

Marquees - Are They Worth The Money?

The 2012-13 season of the A-league has widely been acclaimed as the best season since the the inaugural season in 2005-06. Crowds have soared dramatically, atmosphere within grounds is feverish and most importantly, the game is starting to get relative positive mainstream coverage (shock, horror !). 

I could be diplomatic and say that the administrative capabilities of David Gallop taking over from Ben Buckley was a highly instrumental factor. But let's be serious here.

It was all about the marquees this season. So in answer to the question in the title, yes, a resounding yes but only under certain circumstances however. One just has to look at the dynamic impact of Alessandro Del Piero, Emile Heskey and Shinji Ono this season. 

The impact of ADP is just staggering for Sydney FC. Despite being signed on a two-year contract worth 2 million per season, the matter of fact that he has been excelling despite playing in an under-performing squad has seen SFC see a monetary return. 

• Approx. 500k AUD in SFC merchandise was purchased on the first home match against Newcastle Jets
• Reported that SFC have accrued AUD 5 Million in revenue, selling the past 3 seasons worth of merchandise in 1 season
• Tallying the highest home figures on their away games for every side bar Melbourne Victory, Melbourne Heart and Newcastle Jets.
• SFC are responsible for 42% of the A-league's total viewership
• A lucrative broadcasting deal with RAI in Italy to broadcast all SFC matches - such is the appeal of Del Piero.
• 18.5k average for season crowds in 12/13, an increase of approx 6k.

Heskey definitely drew in those interested in the EPL whilst Ono displayed his technical qualities to gain himself credibility.

But have all marquees been successful in the history of the A-league? Quite frankly, no.

Let's cut to the chase, despite the improved quality of the A-league we will always hold the European leagues in higher regard. Those are the superstars, we only have potential superstars and even then that's not even certain. Hence when the seasoned pro's come over, many will be interested. Dwight Yorke, Juninho and Robbie Fowler are great examples.

But for every Yorke, there is a Mario Jardel. Unfit, overpaid and goal-less. Not exactly the best example of a marquee in a fledgling competition. Even with Juninho, he struggled with injuries that limited his appearances. Romario should have been an excellent marquee, if the a league existed in the 1990s. Signed at 40 purely for the gimmick of getting his '1000th' goal, which possessed none of the aesthetics of his famed goals in his peak.

But why did clubs go back to marquees if there was a risk of producing another Jardel or Romario? Simply put, many of the fans of soccer in Australia can be described as 'eurosnobs'. As in, fanatical about the European leagues and will outlandishly claim some sort of superficial link to their clubs (the best are the Man United fans) but refuse to provide any support to the domestic league, when their attendance would truly be appreciated. Especially in a league where some teams need to hit 15k to break even (the league average for this season is 12.5k, only two clubs averaged OVER 15k.) Unfortunately, if the games wanted to broaden its appeal, it has to cater to as many demographics as possible and the eurosnobs are one of many subgroups.

However, due to the success of this season, many former-eurosnobs that I keep regularly contact with have grown to accept the flaws of the A-league and appreciate its charm, many thanks to the marquees of course.

Despite my personal insistence on developing and nurturing local talent before they (eventually) head off to one of the many European leagues, marquees are vital in attracting higher crowds (hell, us soccer nuts are giving the NRL a chase at times, again if only Johnny Warren was still here to see this...). I've compiled a short list of marquees which I think are worth pursuing:

• Park Ji-Sung - the popularity of the man in both Korea and Korean expatriates is staggering. Sign him up and you will get almost every Korean possible in any of the towns/cities where an A-league team is situated inside the stadium.
• Marcus Tulio Tanaka - This one falls under the Ono category. Obviously not a well-known name, only those interested in Asian soccer. After Keisuke Honda, the stand-out performer in the Japanese team in the 2010 World Cup. Great tackler, composed and a powerful header, a nuisance in set pieces.
• Frank Lampard - Wishful thinking I know, but despite the age of the bloke he is still in pristine form (13 goals this season!). If you though ADP brought people in, expect whatever he club signed with to exceed the levels of pandemonium ADP brought along.

The marquees are here to stay. But the most important thing is that they help the game progress instead of widening their paychecks. And hopefully the eurosnobs stick around for a just a little longer.

- Aaron Wong

AFL in New Zealand?

Australian Rules football in New Zealand dates back to the late 19^th century and was quite popular at the time. 1908 saw a touring New Zealand team defeat teams from both New South Wales and Queensland in Melbourne. The growth of the game was healthy until the First World War when sport in the country grinded to a halt. Aussie Rules never recovered after the war with the whole country fixated on Rugby Union

However, its popularity in the last decade or so has significantly increased in New Zealand. For example, Kiwikick was recently established as the kiwi equivalent of Auskick in Australia, the AFL’s development program for children.

A future for AFL in New Zealand?
(Source: AFLNZ)

ANZAC Day 2013 marked the first competitive game of AFL played outside of Australia.

Prior to the Swan’s sixteen point victory in the game against St Kilda, forward Adam Goodes drew on similarities between his team and the beloved All Blacks at a press conference in Wellington.

“I think if people are coming to watch the Swannies play for the first time and they’ve never seen us or didn’t see the grand final last year, we like to play our game like the All Blacks, which is hard and tough and for the full 90 minutes - which in our game is 120 minutes,” he said

However, Goodes stated that he doesn’t want conflict with Union lovers caused by the game being played in New Zealand, but rather showcasing and sharing the sport with Australia’s neighbours across the Tasman.

In reference again to All Black players, Goods said “it’s one thing that quite scares me to be honest, is to have one of those boys tackle me, but we’re not over here to poach players or anything like that, we just want to share our great game that we love in Australia and that we play so proudly, like the All Blacks play rugby union over here.”

Divided Opinion - Can the AFL coexist with Rugby Union in NZ?
(Source: The Age)

Just like the A-League and the NRL, could we see a team from New Zealand playing in the AFL in the near future?

With over 50 countries having clubs or leagues which play regularly, the game certainly has an international appeal.

- Lachlan Lewis