Swans having a feather flutter

The reigning premiers, the Sydney Swans, have started the 2013 AFL season in first gear.

A lacklustre pre-season was evident in opening round of the NAB Cup at Blacktown, in an upset against Carlton, let alone the GWS Giants as well. Although the Swans were missing key premiership stars, including Adam Goodes and Josh Kennedy, the other teams were also fielding younger, inexperienced players.

Some of their senior players are yet to overcome the last year's grand final hangover. The best example is Lewis Jetta, who has kicked just two goals and averaged only 9.5 possessions through four games.

Lewis Jetta struggling to find his 2012 form
(Source: News Limited)

However, it is fair to say that there has been noticeable improvement from many players, particularly Canadian rugby union convert Mike Pike.

The Swans have enjoyed easy victories against low ranking teams to begin the season, making last Friday night’s game a real wake-up call with a 21 point loss against a stronger Geelong. Adding to the Swan’s concerns, big ruckman Lewis Roberts-Thomson was left on the sidelines with a right knee injury during the second quarter of the game. This now places him in doubt for several weeks, as he is scheduled for arthroscopic surgery.

In their current form it is questionable whether or not the Swans will be able to come away with a win in this week’s game against a solid St Kilda side. Some media sources are tipping a loss for the historic ANZAC day clash which will be played in New Zealand on Thursday. More to come on this story.


- Lachlan Lewis

Waratahs Season 2013 - Will Cheika's Revolution Be a Success?

Sitting in the grandstands of the Allianz Stadium on Friday night,
watching the Waratahs take on the defending champions the Chiefs, a few thoughts ran through my mind.

Can the Tahs make the play-offs? Can the Tahs play this well week in, week out or was it just a one off win? And do the Tahs have the players to play the attack minded, running rugby that is demanded by head coach Michael Cheika?

Sadly, especially considering that I'm a Waratahs fan, the answer to all three of the above questions was - after a long thought process - no.

In reference to the first two questions its hard to think of an answer other than no. The Tahs have not won an away match thus far this season and they also lost a home match to the all be it impressive Cheetahs. Looking at the schedule, a tour of South Africa to face the Bulls and Kings respectively does provide a rather grim viewing of the table for Tahs fans in the weeks to come. In addition, the win against the Chiefs was the first time the Waratahs have won a game in which they were not heavy favourites. Losses to the Cheetahs, Reds, Brumbies and Hurricanes do not give Tahs fans the confidence that the men in blue can go out every week and put on a performance like they did on Friday night.

Rob Horne - Time for him to get the chop?

Onto the second hot issue i have with the Waratahs, i do not believe that all 15 plus players are on the same page on the field. Under the guidance of newly installed head coach Michael Cheika, the Waratahs are trying to play an attack minded brand of rugby that we have seen the All Blacks have an immense amount of success with. The main problem with this is that the majority of the players that play for the Waratahs were signed by former head coach Michael Foley who was an advocate of a conservative, kick oriented brand of rugby which has been similar to the way Robbie Deans has set up his Wallabies outfit - where the majority of the side is made up of Waratahs players. This leads to a situation where half of the players on the field such as Benn Robinson, Kane Douglas, Rob Horne and Brendan McKibbin, who were Foley-esque players, do not look like they are on the same team as guys like Bernard Foley, Israel Folau, Wycliff Palu and Michael Hooper, who all fit in with Cheika's ideology. The bottom line is that although there is potential to play the style of rugby Cheika wants and be sucessful with it, this will only be achieved if he is given time and full control over the transfer policy at the club as there is plenty of talented Australian rugby players who are well suited to a running style of rugby such as the Force's Kyle Godwin and Nick Cummins as well as a Tah to be in the Rebels no.9 - Nick Phipps.

So where does that leave us with the Super Rugby season of 2013?

Well my prediction is that the Tahs will once again finish around the 10th placed position with the Brumbies and Reds once again leading the way in the Australian conference. However, the potential of Cheika's project should not be looked over lightly as we have seen at the Brumbies - a franchise with much less potential than the Waratahs - that if you bring in the right coaching staff and are prepared to make tough decisions in regards to the playing group, the sky is the limit!

- Vladimir Aleksov

Rugby League - Set of Six

1. Rep Weekend

All of NRL is taking the weekend off as we prepare for the annual Trans Tasman Test between Australia and New Zealand and the maligned NSW City vs Country fixture. We will also have a Tonga vs Samoa Test match at Penrith's Centerbet Stadium and a Under 20s State of Origin fixture. As well as the NRL taking the week off, Holden Cup will have the weekend off too. If you are looking for a game of Footy this weekend you won't be spoiled for choice. If you live in Sydney its either a Test match in the greater west or going down to a traditional ground for some park footy, better known as the NSW Cup. The rep weekend was introduced to limit burnout on our best players but they won't have the weekend off; they will be playing in a one off test match on Friday night in Canberra. So it doesn't help player burnout, so why are there only 4 matches this weekend. A weekend off for footy is bad for fans and the clubs. But what other games could we add to make the weekend mean more?

2. Make it an International Weekend

If we really want this weekend to be taken seriously it should be a worldwide weekend of test matches. The addition of Tonga vs Samoa is a good one. But what about the other test nations? Imagine this lineup for the weekend. Friday night Australia vs New Zealand. Saturday a double header with PNG vs Fiji and Tonga vs Samoa. Then on Sunday we can still have the City Country fixture. How about we get the north involved too; England, France, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Italy could all have Test matches if Super League is willing to follow the NRL and take the weekend off too. We already know we have the best, closet domestic game, but we aren't taken seriously as an International sport and the lack of regular fixtures doesn't help. Treat international football as well as we treat the NRL and it can only improve. Hopefully the Independent Commission will be able to build of this years World Cup and give International Football the exposure it deserves.

3. Does City vs Country have any value anymore?

Robbie Farah, Mitchell Pearce, John Sutton, Aaron Woods, Jarryd Hayne, Brett Stewart, Josh Reynolds and Jarrod Mullen are just some of the names that have pulled out of this weekends game. However there is great doubt that these players wouldn't play this weekend if there club teams were playing. Most of the NSW team is already decided, so this isn't the big selection trial that is used to be. However there are some great young players that could well be the future of the Blues making their first representative appearance this weekend. Wests Tigers duo James Tedesco and Curtis Sironen, the Bulldogs' Josh Jackson and the Roosters Boyd Cordyner are just some of the players being blooded. But Queensland doesn't have a selection trial, so do we need one? Well if you ask the players they love to play in this game, and for now that's good enough for me. 

4. The Great Divide

We are just 6 rounds in to the 2013 NRL season but we are already seeing a divide between the best and the rest. The NRL is widely regarded as the closet competition in Australian sport thanks to the salary cap. This season though, the divide has become evident much faster than normal. Melbourne, Manly, South Sydney, Sydney, Gold Coast, Newcastle and Brisbane all look like contenders early on. St George Illawarra, Canberra, Cronulla, North Queensland, Parramatta, Canterbury, Wests, Penrith and New Zealand look nothing of the sort. But this is the NRL mind you, it lasts 26 rounds, not 6 and I would not be surprised if any bottom team starts to come good and make a real impact on the competition. If so, it would be another example of the infamous salary cap at work.

5. Coaches under pressure

Another coached sacked for the season and we are only 6 weeks in to the NRL. However the both coaches are from the Super League. Australian Ian Millward has been sacked in just his 2nd year in charge of the Castleford Tigers. His replacement is still to be decided upon. In March Salford Reds Coach Phil Veivers was sacked after just one win from the first 5 games of the season. Last week he was replaced with former Bradford, Wigan, Crusaders and Great Britain coach Brian Noble. Noble's successful history as one of England's best modern coaches, international experience and with multiple Super League titles on his resume makes him a perfect fit for a struggling club like Salford. This is not a job for a rookie coach. Back home in the NRL, Matthew Elliot, of the New Zealand Warriors seems to be under pressure with their poor start. Australian Test Coach Tim Sheens has been mentioned as a possible replacement.

6. New South Wales Number 6

All of the key positions for the Blues seem to be settled. Its incumbents that will keep their positions such as Fullback Brett Stewart, Halfback Mitchell Pearce and Hooker Robbie Farah. However with NSW five eighth Todd Carney currently injured it seems to be the only position up for grabs. However contenders Jarrod Mullen, Josh Reynolds and John Sutton have all pulled out of the City Country clash. It seems to be a two horse race between Todd Carney and Roosters pivot James Maloney. Maloney is in great form and has a club partnership with Mitchell Pearce. However if Todd Carney can get back on the field and put some form on the board he will most likely be selected for Game 1. 

-William Le Messurier-

Take Two

Soccer in Australia has had a not so warm welcoming throughout it's history as one of the four football codes. To be rather blunt and succinct, to many the game was for the:

"Sheilas, wogs and poofters."

The three words aptly describe perceptions of soccer within the Australian sporting market. The game that is played by the other. But it is not always all doom and gloom.

The first light in the tunnel came on the 16th of November 2005. After it's routine dispatching of the Oceania qualifiers, Australia had to defeat the 5th placed team of the South American qualifiers. A task that can't exactly be described as a walk in the park. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Montevideo, supported by 83,000 attendees and millions across the nation, Australia ended its 31 year absence from the FIFA World Cup, earning the right to participate in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Not only did this help capture the interest of the mainstream Australian public, but help bring credibility to the code amongst the other three. The success of the national team (nicknamed, the Socceroos) helped generate interest into the newly formed domestic competition, the A-League.

Arising the ashes of the National Soccer League, the A-League commenced in August 2005, striving hard to tackle many of the problems that historically hindered the progression of soccer in Australia. One of the most obvious issues that was addressed was the issue of ethnic-based clubs. Some of the most historic and famed clubs within Australian soccer have been those of ethnic-based foundations. It can be said that these clubs act as proxy embassies for newly-arrived immigrants, many being established as social clubs for those longing the old country. However, many of the old troubles were revisited in Australia, in particular clashes between Balkan based groups such as the Croats and Serbs. For the Football Federation of Australia, it was an utmost priority to eliminate any ethnic tension, in order to appeal to the masses.

Effectively, two main guidelines directed the format of the competition. No ethnic-based links, so clubs such as Marconi Fairfield, Sydney Olympic and Melbourne Knights (each respectively represented by the Italian, Greek and Croatian communities) were barred from entry. And lastly, 1 city, 1 club. The A-League wanted clubs to consolidate support from the entire demographic of their city, emphasizing inter-city rivalries.

This was a successful tactic which saw record crowds of 50,000 for grand finals, 35,000 for regular season matches and an average of 27,000 for the Melbourne Victory in Season II of the competition.

So why the second uprising?

The common consensus within the Australian soccer community is that the FFA's prioritizing Australia hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup saw a neglect towards the A-league. Average crowds since the 2007-08 season, which saw a record average of 14,610, plummet consistently to an all time low of 8,429 in the 2010-11 season. Two expansion clubs, the North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast United were folded within two to three seasons. Both of these aforementioned clubs were established to further 'nationalize' the game. However the markets for soccer that these clubs were situated at were barely or not at all interested towards the game. The A-league was facing the unwanted prospect of having to field a 9-team league for the 2012-13 season. Hastily, a Western Sydney team was created to fill the void of the demise of Gold Coast United. The events that happened next were truly unprecedented or unexpected.

The current 2012-13 season has widely been acclaimed as the greatest A-League season, surpassing the pandemonium of the inaugural season in 2005-06. The success of the season can be attributed to two main factors.

1. The introduction of quality marquee players. The signing of Alessandro Del Piero, Emile Heskey and Shinji Ono was a masterstroke, that not only gave attention to the game domestically but worldwide, such is the stature of the three marquee players.
2. The fairytale season of the Western Sydney Wanderers. A team build hastily, expected to finish bottom has exceeded every single expectation. About to contest for the Grand Final in 2 days time and finishing the regular season 1st.

The success of this season has truly been welcomed for many soccer enthusiasts within the country, such as myself. It is truly something when the game which has been dismissed by so many for so long has captured the attention of every single Free-to-Air broadcaster and newspaper publication. But this is where the challenge begins. It is a true test of administrative capabilities if the FFA can sustain this interest of the domestic game. It is a test to see whether the spectator-seers of Del Piero, Heskey and Ono will remain after they leave. 

It is a test to let the game grow and to never see a regular season crowd average of 8000 ever again.

- Aaron Wong

Australian Rugby - Where Do We Stand?

The likes of Stephen Larkham, George Gregan and Phil Waugh no longer grace the green grasses of the hallowed rugby grounds across Australia. With it, long gone are the days when Australian Rugby and the Wallabies dominated both Super Rugby and the Tri-Nations.

How about this current generation of Australian Rugby players then? Are they too heavily criticised? Is Robbie Deans the right man to coach the Wallabies? Do they have the potential to win a World Cup or become the number one side in the world? Or are we simply stagnating as a Rugby nation on the world stage?

The fact that the Wallabies have not won a Bledisloe Cup since 2002 clearly demonstrates that New Zealand has well and truly taken over Australia in the landscape of international rugby. The only reason why Robbie Deans is still the coach of the Wallabies is thanks to the large turnover of players that South Africa have faced in the last few years leading to mediocre results and meaning that they and not the Wallabies are currently ranked as the number 3 team in the world.

Taking a step backwards, Australian franchises in Super Rugby have also struggled. Lets face it, Australia does not have the depth to field 5 teams in a 15 team competition! The Western Force in particular have been disappointing in not only their failure to improve on results but in the notion that they have been consistently losing their best players year in, year out with the likes of David Pocock, Drew Mitchell, James O'Connor and Matt Giteau all leaving the Perth based outfit. The Melbourne Rebels on the other hand have not fared much better either. Although the Rebels must be given somewhat a benefit of the doubt as they only started playing Super Rugby in 2011, 2013 looms as a big year where expectations at the Rebels will be higher than merely not finishing last. Their performances thus far however have not suggested that the Rebels could improve on their 13th placed finish last season and with disruptions involving key playmaker Kurtley Beale, it looks like it is going to be another grim season. Just by looking at the Super Rugby ladder, the fact that 2 out of the 4 bottom placed teams are Australian says it all! The underperformance of the Waratahs, where the majority of Wallabies are picked from, for several seasons now is also cause for concern for Australian Rugby in general whilst the Reds have shown that although they can make the finals they are no threat to take out the competition, which leaves Australia with only one side which we can hope to bring home the Super Rugby trophy this season - The Brumbies (who are coached by a South African all be it).

What are the positives then?

To sum it up in one word - potential.

Although the Wallabies have a handful of world class players such as Will Genia, Wycliff Palu and David Pocock they simply don't have the resources to put out a team of 15 that will match the All Blacks stride for stride. Where we do have the upper hand on our neighbours across the ditch is that the Wallabies are a much younger side than the current All Blacks and a more experienced side than the Springboks. It is without a doubt that players such as James O'Connor, Kutrley Beale and Quade Cooper have been under performing and need to get their act together both on and off the field because if they do then the Wallabies may once again become the best side in world rugby! Although the 2015 World Cup in England does seem a long way away the upcoming Lions tour of Australia together with another edition of the Rugby Championship may once again put Australia up there as the favourites to take out the title. If it dosen't well then at least it will clarify the future of Robbie Deans who's conservative and defensive style of rugby has been criticised within Australian time and time again.


- Vladimir Aleksov

The Future Blog

Currently we are using the default "Simple" Blogger template but this will change with time.

Here is a rough sketch for the future design of this blog. It has a simple and user-friendly layout but the aim would be to integrate this with a football theme/background. The colour schemes we choose should ensure that the content is easy to read and doesn't hurt your eyes, so preferably pale/light pastels.

Whether or not this design becomes a reality remains to be discovered!