The AFL Expansion

The AFL has made a lot of noise and heavily promoted it's recent expansion clubs, Gold Coast Suns & Greater Western Sydney. The media has helped promote the AFL with continual positive articles on the clubs rightly or wrongly.

I personally think that it is amazing how much publicity these two clubs get for wat has been very mediocre or poor returns in their short beginning. Many a source has stated that the Brisbane Bears were probably just as bad when they started and the new clubs need to be given a go. Firstly I can state that the Brisbane Bears were never as bad as what the current crop are serving up and even though they went through a bad patch for a period, the basic statistics in their first few years were far more promising.

To start with compare beginning years for all three.

Brisbane Bears (1987) finished 13th (14 teams) with 6 wins, 16 losses, a percentage of 79.3. They won their first 2 games, 4 of their first 8 games and won 3 games on the road. 2 wins were over teams that finished in the top 5. All in all a good start for a new club in unchartered territory, playing in a rugby league stronghold and on a ground outside of Brisbane.

Gold Coast Suns (2011) Finished 17th (17) with 3 wins, 19 losses, a percentage of 56.3. All of the Suns wins came against teams in the bottom six and as the percentage indicates, the Suns had almost twice as many goals kicked against them as they scored. 

Greater Western Sydney (2012) Currently 17th (18) with 1 win, 11 losses, a percentage of 49.3. The only win for GWS is over the Suns who have yet to win a game this season. Like the  Suns in their formative year GWS are having double their score put on them.

What is yet to be seen is when these teams will improve, Brisbane finished 10th in their 3rd year before dropping back down the ladder again over the next few years before finally cracking into the top 8 in 1995. Whilst Gold Coast and the Suns may yet turn out to be great teams, it is a long way off on current standards.  One advantage these two teams have is how much money and coverage is being poured into them to ensure that they are a success off the field. With both clubs being set up in areas where AFL is not the number one game and are seen to be Rugby league strong areas, the AFL has a vested interest to ensure these teams survive. A crucial factor to the survival of the clubs though is the fans. Brisbane was not a successful club and highly unpopular club until they finally relocated to Brisbane and played from the Gabba, it was at this point that many from Brisbane actually felt that this was their team. Also by this point Brisbane had started to play finals football and very attractive football. If the Suns and GWS continue to look like it is just a matter of how much they lose by each week they will struggle to not only attract new fans to the game and the clubs but also to retain what they already have.  The biggest worry for the clubs is when some of their promising young players start showing real game breaking potential. Will those players stay loyal to the new clubs or will they chase the dream of playing finals football of for one of the big Melbourne clubs. A player only has so long in the game and a premiership is every players goal. One only has to look at a young Brisbane Bears player, Nathan Buckley, who signed with Collingwood to "Win a premiership". Ironically he never won one as a player and if he stayed would have been around to win 3. 

 Loyalty is what will be the test of the new clubs, both of the players and the fans. Once these start to dwindle, it may be a very expensive expansion exercise.

State of Origin Origin Debate

Every year it seems the debate on how the "origin" for State of Origin should be determined. This year has caused one of the biggest debates with the selection of James Tamou for NSW, the continued talk about Greg Inglis and the recent headlines surrounding Sam Kasiano.

When the criteria keeps changing you know that the officials are never going to make everyone happy and always seem to be trying to retrospectively correct a problem that will always be there. Regardless of which way they go there will always be a for and against.

1: State of Birth:  Many want this to be the criteria for which state a player is able to represent. A very simple way and a very flawed process. When we have a country with a very large percentage of our population born overseas, this will only dilute the pool of available players. A child could move to Australia at a very young age, be a citizen, raised and educated and always feel that they are Australian and part of the state in which they live and never be able to play. Yet this same person would be eligible for National selection.  Or with the modern working world, a family born and bred in Queensland might have to move to Sydney for work, stay there 2-3 years and in that time have a child. Then move back to Queensland to raise their family yet their child who only spent a very short period in the Sydney would have to represent NSW even though in their heart they would be a Queenslander. With the mining boom this will also work against NSW. People who live on border town also face the same dilemma if they have to cross the border to go to the closest hospital.  With the code growing bigger and expanding further, which state do the players who are Australian born  but not from Queensland or NSW represent. I would be quite happy for them to miss out, but we know that it won't happen.

2: New Zealand:  The recent selection of players who are eligible to represent New Zealand has many worried it will ruin the game. I see this as the problem New Zealand has due to so many of their players and population moving to Australia for better opportunities and lifestyle. If they are citizens of Australia then I see no problem. I can certainly name a few New Zealand representatives that are born and bred in Australia. With a changing world this will happen more and more.  The only way New Zealand is going to change this situation is by creating a similar Origin concept and making it more lucrative for a player to represent his country.

3: First Game:  Another flawed system. When you have a rule where it is based on a players first senior game, all common sense is gone in the modern sporting world. All clubs sign players very young and there are some very well known high schools that are Rugby League schools of excellence that do what they can to get talented footballers. A child could play all his junior games in one state yet his first senior game is in another.

4:  Grey Areas:  What happens when an import player decides he wants to become an Australian Citizen? After waiting a mandatory representative sitout, he would be eligible to play for Australia.  If they turn their back on their home Country would they then be eligible for Origin? With all but 5 clubs in NSW it is most likely NSW would be their "State of Choice", I cannot see the NSW selectors refusing to pick a high profile player of international standard.

Overall this is a very complicated system that has never been handled with much credibility and the continual changes to the criteria makes it hard to have an argument stating facts from past with current. Both sides have benefited and it will continue regardless of change. What shouldn't be seen though is a situation where players are wanting to play Origin for the "Experience" or the money. If that happens, the passion in the game will slowly disappear and what we know Origin to be will eventually be lost.

NRL Issues of Contention - The year of the Ref

Regardless of how good some of the games are this year, it seems it will long be remembered for not what the players have done on the field but what decisions the officials have made on the field.

There has not been a weekend gone where the major talking points do not evolve around the referees. Even the biggest show piece, State of Origin, has been overshadowed by the referees rather than the players. Teams that have won complain, and teams that lost and never deserved to win have complained about the referees. The worst decisions evolve around the video refs which is more astounding considering they get the benefit of watching the same slow motion replays as everyone else and still make a decision that is against the majority of those watching.  If the video refs are making regular errors week in week out then it shows that there is a problem that can not be glossed over. The system is flawed or the people in the system is flawed, most likely both.  

The first thing that needs to be changed is the benefit of the doubt rule. If the video ref cannot conclusively tell then it should be handed back to the on field ref. If the video ref cannot tell after looking at it 5 times then he cannot tell.  Instead it seems they keep looking at a replay to either find a way to allow it or to disallow it depending on how the game has panned out.

On a harsher stance must be how the errors rate of officials is handled. I know it is their job but I am sure that in most professions, if you keep making mistakes you will find yourself unemployed.  I am not saying that after three errors a referee is sacked, but surely if a referee makes an error bad enough to be demoted then that must be seen as a warning. If the referees in the current crop aren't up to scratch then start looking at the Intrust Cup and Jim Beam Cup along with the Toyota Cup for replacements. 

There are also some other serious issues that need investigating by the NRL. It seems that certain rules are being neglected again.  FLOPS. Has this rule been forgotten, or is it now acceptable for the third man to come in on top after the tackle is made. TURTLING.  It seems that it is now ok to do this again to get into mark. Other issues that need cracking down on are the markers. There seems to be too much leniency on the markers not being square or standing too far back to be a marker, and more often than not the 2nd marker is about 5 metres back. Holding onto the markers, if it is a penalty to hold down the player after the tackle then it should be a penalty if the attacking payer holds down the tackler who is attempting to get up to go to marker. OFFSIDE. I feel this penalty is only found either when the ref wants to of there is a try scored and the ref wants to make sure everything is ok. Yet if a kick is caught by the fullback or wing, rarely will you see a penalty given for offside.

When a game goes to golden point then you can throw out the rule book, as you will rarely see a penalty given unless it is something really blatant or it is a dangerous incident. Everyone wants a game where a referee doesn't decide a game, but if a ref doesn't penalise what is an offence, then they are actually still deciding a game. 

On reflection all that one wants to see from the officials, is consistency. Consistency of good decisions, and very few poor decisions. Referees are human and will make errors, but when they keep making errors that is when it becomes a problem that if not addressed will only get worse. 

Developing Force

What a game by the St Luke's North Bundaberg Under 9 side. The boys should be proud of Saturdays performance. We were short a few players, we beat the rain and we almost beat Moore park. In the end a 3-3 result was not a true reflection how well they played. 

What impresses me more and more everytime I watch the boys is their approach to fair play. Regardless of how we see the different opponents play the boys stick to the way they are trained and today showed great reward. They are passing better each week and today I also was impressed by the dribbling skills of every player. Special note to Dane who is showing more and more confidence in his ability and Riley also showed a great improvement with his speed on the ball. Alistair was a star in goal and made some crucial saves that frustrated the oppostion and can only be desrcibed as a match winning performance. If I recall correctly Jack, Chris and Aiden all scored goals and were well supported by all on the field. Aiden showed great fortitude in defence and his timing in tackles is ever improving. Jack also is showing more determination to cover the whole field and made some excellent covering tackles to force the all out. Sam was an enlightened player and showed defensive qualities that surprised me and knew when to push forward as well. Chris stepped up markedly and his goal was great reward for his continual involvement. Owen lead well at the front and was unfortunate not to score with the many raids he made forward. I cannot go past Hayden though. It always a difficult task to coach your own son and trying not to show favouritism on the field or in reports but today he put in yet again another great defensive effort with piercing attacks down the sideline.

We were also missing Alex, who is one of our solid three in the back and has the great ability to run down and attack with his great speed. Tihan who has found his confidence and is rapidly improving with his foot skills and determination and not to forget Clancy who is an intimidating force in attack and can always be guaranteed for a goal or two with his determination to get to the ball first regardless of what is in his way.

What I am liking is that every week we are not seeing the same player perform the best and more and more it is a team effort. When they start playing competition football is when we will see the fruits of this years development. You only have to take highlights from todays game and past games to see where other boys are being failed by their coaches and it is only good for us.  How often do we see an opposition have a player, usually 2, camped deep in our territory? Although it gets them goals now, imagine how confused these players will be once they are penalised for offside in the future. Then you get the players that still persist in using their hands when the ball is in the air or today we saw examples of a player using his hands when the ball was on the ground. The other worrying trend is unfortunately one that blights the game and that is shirt pulling and pushing in the back. It is hard to eradicate this from the game when it is at the top level, but I am proud of how our boys are not resorting to this tactic. Admittedly it does creep in occassionally but I am on their back to ensure it doesn't become part of their game. 

Today was yet again another performance that the coach is very proud of and hopefully the boys are aware of how happy we all are of their development this year. Half of the team I have only started coaching this year and some of them have never played before, so to see how quickly they are all coming together as a team and building on each others confidence is great reward. They are valuing the need of teamwork and this can be seen on the field. A goal scorer always thanks the players that set them up and many a time a congratulatory message will be given to a defender of the keeper after a great save or tackle. And individually each player is improving more and more every week, there is not much more  could ask for.

State of Origin 2012 Game 2 Preview

The smell of rivalry is rife in the air and in the end all the slanging back and forth will come down to 80 minutes of play.  After Game 1, all the talk has been about the officials and nothing has been mentioned south of the border about the actual game. Regardless of how you look at it, Queensland are 1 game up and NSW are fighting for more than their dignity. With all the dribbling and moaning by Ricky Stuart and his NSW counterparts, all dignity has been squandered and their reputations will be in tatters if as expected Queensland make it seven series in a row.

The biggest change from game one is the appointment of archer to the list of officials, which can be seen as a small victory for NSW. One can only hope the refs do not play an integral part again and leave no reason for either side to complain. But unfortunately we all know that won't be the case. The same way that you never here a side thanking the officials for decisions that go their way.

Here are the squads for Game 2:

Greg Bird, Todd Carney, Ben Creagh, Robbie Farah, Paul Gallen (c), Tim Grant, Jarryd Hayne, Michael Jennings, Luke Lewis, Trent Merrin, Josh Morris, Mitchell Pearce, Brett Stewart, Glenn Stewart, James Tamou,  Akuila Uate, Anthony Watmough

Billy Slater, Darius Boyd, Greg Inglis, Justin Hodges, Brent Tate, Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Matt Scott, Cameron Smith (c), Petero Civoniceva, Nate Myles, David Taylor, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: Matt Gillett, Corey Parker, Ben Hannant, David Shillington. 18th man: Ben Barba.

With little changes to the NSW team it seems like new territory. Maybe they have learnt from days of old and not chopped and changed after every loss. Whilst Queensland named an unchanged side, but due to Thaiday pulling due to injury were forced to make one change.  The only other changes I expect to come are what the actual starting sides will be. I am expecting both sides to change at least one in their starting sides.

The big question though is who will win. Even though NSW are very confident and with all the speculation of the officials after game one, Queensland should still overpower a NSW side that will be given more latitude than other other side has even seen at this level. What is yet to be seen though is whether or not the NSW have the attacking ability to score through general play and not resort to the luck of the bounce off high balls. I also doubt Billy Slater will have another bad game under the high ball and will be back to his blistering best. The Queensland forwards will be on the front foot all night and if allowed to play the ball quickly will have a backline ready to tear strips though blue. At the same time I think NSW will struggle to stop the Queensland forward momentum and in doing so will be sapped of energy when they need it the most.

Where I see Queensland scoring their tries is in the same manner they did in game 1, with a slight change.  Carney is a proven poor defender and has been made to look ordinary by Inglis on more than one occasion. What cost NSW was Carney's insistence on watching and marking Inglis out wide. With Inglis still in top form this will continue. But also watch for Taylor to be run at Carney on the fringe.  Unfortunately though I think we will see a return of previous series where players are deliberately targeted by cheap shots.  There will be more fights and like the last one I challenge you to find a Queenslander actually going in to throw the first punch, let alone a punch at all. All everyone wants is a good contest where the winning team can say they were the best. Instead I think we will see either of the following:

Queensland Victory: Celebrations by the Queensland players and credit given to the NSW players for a great contest. Meanwhile you will see the Ricky Stuart disappear getting ready for his post match spray and Paul Gallen yet again giving the most ungracious poor me speech and yet again failing to congratulate the opposition.

NSW Victory: Just cast yourself back to game 2 last year and watch a team celebrate like they have won the series and really rub it in. At the same time Queensland will acknowledge the opposition and mention about looking to game 3 and ensuring they get things right.

I am backing Queensland in a dirty affair. It will be like game 3 last year where Queensland came out of the block running and had the result assured by half-time. Only this time they won't let NSW get a sniff and put on brace of tries in the second half. Queensland by 20.

What you won't see:  Phil Gould and Ray Warren actually giving good commentary and giving credit to players on both teams.