The S Files - Episode 84

This week brings lots of talking points and the Tinman & Shabs waste no time getting stuck into the issues.

The NRL & Rugby League 4 Nations are on the radar first and it looks like we still have no time for the fools that run the game, especially David Smith.

The Wallabies lost a close one to France and Shabs has no doubt the referee played a big part. Not that the Wallabies played their best either.

The round ball game is a bit better now that the Brisbane Roar broke the duck this season with a thumping 4-0 win over the Newcastle Jets and with S Files favourite Smeagol snaring a hat-trick it was a good result. With a break in other competitions for the International Break, at least we didn't have to worry if the Tinman would be in tears talking about Liverpool FC.

The up and down form that is the Australian Cricket team is well under way now and after a commanding first up win in the One Dayers it was back to normal for the batsmen as we recorded this episode. Too often the top to middle order of Australia fails and gets out very softly and this game was no exception. As you can tell we do not think Finch is as great as people down south will tell you and yet again he got out to a poor shot to mid on. Is it time for the National Selectors to realise there are more players out there and lots of them play for teams that do not wear blue or are based in the west?

We finish off with a humbled thanks to the Boston 13's Rugby League Club in the USARL for the package we received this week. It was a great pleasure sponsoring the number 13 jersey this season and we will be wearing the gear with pride for years to come. Is it just us or is Tinman's beard out of control?

The S Files - Episode 83

In this installment of the S Files the Tinman & Shabs don;t hold back on their views of the week in sport.

Tendulkar might be able to play cricket but that doesn't mean we have to like him. He let rip in his biography and we return serve. It is going to be a long summer of cricket and with Border also coming out with his opinions it might end up being an interesting season of what is said off the field rather than the actions on it.

This episode also covers the Wallabies Spring tour and touches on the round ball game where it is not good if you support the Brisbane Roar or Liverpool FC. But it is all part of being a true supporter, thick or thin you don't change your support to another team. You won;t find any fair-weather supporters here.

Rugby League is where we finish up and with Channel 9 & Wide World of Sports delaying the broadcast of the Australia v Somoa test in Queensland it sums up the sentiment that the national broadcaster & the NRL/ARL has towards the state. In the end we didn't even end up watching the game, and as a form of protest we are putting on notice the major sponsor of the coverage and national icon, Bundaberg Rum. It is disgraceful that the game the company sponsors is not broadcasted live into the state & home town of the company itself, The call for the head of the NRL, David Smith, is growing and this should be another nail in his coffin. We ask all the listeners of our podcast and readers of the blog to boycott the product of Bundaberg Rum until a formal apology is made by the broadcaster Channel 9.

S Files - Ep 82

A sunday installment of the S Files recording during the controversial test match between Australia & England. The recording may be a little scratchy and of lower quality but we didn't let that deter us (not happy with an update to the program that rendered the mic we use not work).

Cricket started the proceedings and there is not much positive when looking at the national side. Domestic cricket is well under way and with a international twenty/20 on Wednesday just what are Cricket Australia thinking when planning for the summer?

The round ball game is all about WSW after they won the ACL and there are plenty of talking points from this game. Not much positive to talk about with the Roar & Liverpool FC but we still try.

The Wallabies started the spring tour under a new coach and got off to a winning start against the Barbarians. Normally the Barbarians play attack at all cost and penalty kicks are not part of their game but seems they really wanted a win. Rugby really needs to start cracking down on blatant forward passes though as it seems to get worse every year.

NRL just can't stay out of the headlines and it is a shame we wrapped up recording at half time with all the controversy at the end of the game. When a replay has to be slowed down so much to determine if the tip of a finger has touched the ball the game has gone too far with video referrals. A try is scored when the ball is forced not when touched and more emphasis needs to be placed on control at the time. The bigger issue the game needs to address is the obstruction rule. Attacking teams know they can take a defender out with a dummy runner as long as the hit the correct shoulder. Regardless of if the defender has read the play, if the ball is caught behind another play it should always be an obstruction. The other interesting talking point from the game were the numerous reports on players (all of who got off). Tired of players coming up with a poor excuse as to why they do foul acts so finishing off with a song called "Devil Made Me Do It" was quite apt.

The S Files - Ep 81

Another week of sporting controversy and another episode where the Tinman & Shabs get together to talk about it all. In this episode we refrain from dropping the C Bomb but we still find time to call Gallen a C'Nut.

Just what is it with the NRL this year, no matter what is going on the talking points have pretty much all been negative and damaging to the reputation of the game. This time it will be interesting to see how the NRL sanction a grub in the game that they have held on a pedestal. Considering Gallen is also serving a drug suspension, will this latest outburst thrust him into immortal status like another self-confessed drug user in the commentary box?  The international games are on and it is no surprise that the Haka gets a mention this week.

Rugby is also struggling to get good headlines and as we have called it in the past, there was an ulterior motive in the media to get a change in Wallabies coach and it worked. Will be interesting to see if it changes anything on the field,

Just like every other code cricket has it's domestic focus on Sydney and this time everything worked out well to get NSW into the Final. If anyone from Queensland has to put up with a almost complete commentary team of ex-NSW players again, I expect that there may be more than hate mail & trolls on social media. A bit of bias is expected but blatant barracking and insulting comments from the box is un-professional. Don;t expect any change soon but many of the commentators will find time to put the dagger in the back of the national side once the side gets back home.

The round ball game is under full swing now but for the Roar it is not even moving. The Roar have never looked this bad and it is a sign that either the players do not understand what the coach wants or they choose not to follow it. Either way, heads will roll very soon at the club and it would be expected that the manager will be the first to go. It isn't much better for Liverpool either and with another dismal draw at home it is not looking good for a few players and coaching staff there either.

In the wrap up there may be a few serves and we finish off with what many want to do to moronic commentators, bias officials and blatant idiots in the world of sport - Five Finger Death Punch.

The S Files - Episode 80

Recording for the first time at Beach 365, the Tinman & Shabs were proud to show support for the venue after a hectic week for the owners.

The Tusken Raiders may not make any headlines but there are certainly a few big headlines in the sporting world at the moment.

The NRL is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons again with the news that clubs were fined for salary cap breaches and as much as the Sydney media hyped it up for months, the Broncos were not one of the clubs. With another big name player leaving the game for another sport, can the NRL make any positive news again in 2014? The UK Super League certainly didn't help things either with one of the more disgusting dog acts one can see on the streets, let alone on the main stage.

Rugby Union is in damage control over the Beale saga but with news that this goes back over 4 months ago, what is the hidden agenda behind it all? Our guess is the Sydney media are pushing for the Waratahs coach to be installed by the end of the month as the national coach.

The domestic season in cricket is well under way now and yet again the Bulls are entertaining and is Ben Cutting the cleanest and biggest hitter in the game? Imagaine how far this guy could hit a golf ball.

The A-League season is going to be an interesting one, especially for the fans from Sydney and Melbourne as the conspiracy theorists are sprouting that the game & media want a final with only Sydney & Melbourne teams in it.

Thanks for tuning into the recording which was recorded a little earlier in the week than normal and in the future we may provide a short weekly cast to go with the regular one.

The S Files - Episode 79

The NRL season has wrapped up and the summer sport season is under way. In another coffee table installment the Tinman & Shabs were missing as some imperial wannabes filled in cover the topics dominating sport.

The NRL final seems like it was last year but Souths fans will make sure we here about it for years to come. Now it is time for the International season and with 20+ players making themselves unavailable due to injury etc, it may be a close competition. Just a shame that certain media personalities want to have a dig at those who pulled out due to surgery requirements. 

Australian Rugby is in a world of hurt off the field as much as they are on the field. There have been rumours circulating for a long time that Kurtley Beale wants to play league and he has certainly made all the move to never be able to play rugby in Australia again. There is more to the story to come out but it isn't a pretty look for the ARU. There are problems with Australian Rugby and it needs to be sorted out.

The A-League season is under way and great crowds have been seen from the first game. The Wanderers forgot to turn up to the game opener as the Melbourne Victory fresh with new signing Berisha humbled them. Seems the media loves the Albanian now that he is not playing for the Roar but it won't be long until he gets a red card. There is also a few international game going on at the moment but not many will want to talk about Australia after another dismal effort.

Summer means cricket and the Aussies are making easy work of Pakistan at the moment in one day games. England is falling apart and not many reports on the game fail to mention Kevin Pietersen. In the domestic one day competition an example of how media coverage has too much control is playing out. But it is nothing new for Channel 9 to dictate to a sport what it should do.

In the wrap up it is mentioned that the Grey Fox may be returning with some racing tips for the Spring Carnival. We will be recording on Fridays and Saturdays and have tips for Sunday. Always remember to gamble responsibly.

The S Files: Episode 78

The Tinman & Shabs gathered around the coffee table on NRL Grand Final day to talk about the week in sport.

We preview the the NRL Grand Final, cover the controversy during the week. Dissect the moments where grubs were shown to be protected species and much more.

We try not to botch the episode as much as the fat Argentinian stuffed up the Australian National Anthem before the Wallabies game. And how disappointing were they. Lasers aside there is nothing bright on the horizon for Australia in rugby if they keep playing the way they do.

The cricket season has started and to make sure things are normal the Queensland Bulls powered to a convincing win over the Vic Bushrangers in the first game of the Domestic One Day comp. Surely a sign that there will be more Victorians in any Australian side than Queenslanders for years to come.

We also feature a coupe of songs from Army On The Dance Floor. Make sure you check them out as they have a debut album out and might be the next big thing on the dance circuit.

The S Files - Episode 77

After an extended Mad Monday break the Tinman & Shabs are back with another episode of the S Files.

As expected we review the NRL finals games and we maintain the Cowboys got robbed again, the refs are incompetent or bias and the NRL is taking it's game backwards. As much as we love the game, it is quickly turning fans away and if it doesn't improve it is going to struggle.

The Rugby is in it's international stage and there are plenty of talking points, unfortunately not many positives for fans of the Wallabies.

Football is well and truly under way in Europe and with the A-League not far from kicking off it means summer is not far away. Which also means that the cricket season is closing in quickly.

There are no awards this week but we managed to sneak in 2 Carl Wockner tracks that you won't find on any album. It was also announced today that Carl has been nominated for an ARIA award for his album "Crayon Days". Make sure you check it out as well as much more at http://carlwockner.com.au/

Also the 2 Carl Wockner songs on the pubcast can be listened on youtube here - The Beast Inside & Shooting Across Velvet


 

The S Files - Ep 76

In this weeks pubcast the Tinman & Shabs take a swipe at the failing Broncos who are about as reliable for a good performance as the officials that control the game.

This means we also get stuck into the incident with the Eels & Ballboy, another trip and lots more. The Bledisloe Cup was on and if that is what Rugby is wanting to serve up every game, we might not be covering too many more games where it all about penalty goals.

 The EPL season is under way and the Tinman couldn't wait to share his delight with Manchester United's result overnight and even more so the moment where a birds top notch aim was the talking point of the first day of the season.

The cricket season is almost upon us and the Shabs always likes talking about the Calypso game. Awards wrap things up as we finish off with another song from the Unhealthy Sandwich collection.

The S Files Ep 75

With an "Aaalllrriiiighhhhhtyyyy Then" Shabs starts the 75th episode of the S Files. We did a coffee table cast with the "Unhealthy Sandwiches" in the background to cover the week.

The NRL is top of the pubcast as we give some honest feedback & Opinions of the Grub. Is the NRL corrupt?

Rugby also features as the Waratards are the provincial champions.

A short stop for the best shop in Bundaberg "Shop 85". before we get back into action.

The Awards always wrap things up.

We close with a great song from the Unhealthy Sandwiches, "Sunday".  We love the music from this awesome band and as a comparison that is on record as being compared to Gwen Stefani leading the Bloodhound Gang, a Gorillas comparison and also the Awolnation, should have you tuning into future pubcasts.

The S Files - Episode 74

The Tinman & Shabs found time after the Cane2Coral fun run to bring the latest episode. We can also report that the Shabs finished in the top 10 for his age group too.

We get straight into business after talking about the Cane2Coral and rugby league is the topic to start things off. We decided to start with a positive with the Boston 13's having a huge win in their play-off game against the Rhode Island Rebellion. When it comes to the NRL though there are not many positives from our point of view and just what transpired in the Titans v Cowboys game that highlighted the collusion & corruption that may be occurring in the NRL to get contrived results.

After the break it is all about the success of Australian Rugby with the Waratahs having a great last gasp win over the Crusaders in the Super Rugby Grand Final. 

The Commonwealth Games are still going and there have been some great performances by the Aussie Athletes that the broadcaster 10 Network has managed to squeeze in between the air time that the commentators and hosts take up.

There may also be a bit of talk about the winning streak the Tusken Raiders are on at Beach 365, reportedly the best looking team at the venue.

The S Files Episode 73

This is a cracker episode as the Tinman & Shabs managed to escape for a period to sneak this episode in.

There is plenty of NRL talk as expected and maybe a few vents as well.

Rugby is central too as the Super Rugby season is almost over.

Cricket is not far away and the topic is coming back slowly.

Plenty of sprays, held back rants and awards for right tools in the sport, which of course means that officials are unfortunately doing all they can to be talked about every week.

The S Files : Episode 72

This was recorded last weekend and the Tinman only just got around to uploading it.

Unfortunately we also rely on him to give this update on what is on it and he said that it may better to get everyone else to listen to it an tell what was said.

Not sure if we agree but from memory it is a great recording and plenty of sprays are guaranteed.

The S Files: Episode 71

The Tinman & Shabs squared off at the Coral Cove Bar for another installment of The S Files. Unlike Brazil in the World Cup though, we perform well at our home ground.

The NRL is back under way with the State of Origin series over, but there are still plenty of talking points in the game.

The Boston 13's are back in action this week but we didn't have any results through in time for the recording.

The World Cup is at it's climax and with Brazil being humiliated again, it is now down to Argentina v Germany.

The Waratards have finished the regular season with a win over the hapless Reds, but will they get any beneficial treatment once they start playing NZ & South African teams in the finals?  As for the Reds, it is a season they will be glad to see the back of.  We are looking forward to a good international season though.

The Shabs managed to watch a bit of Calypso Twenty20 cricket and had a few thoughts to share about Gayle.

The awards wrap it up and a song that is climbing up the charts by Carl Wockner closes it out.

The S Files - Episode 70: State of Origin 3

3 games, 3 spear tackles and all by NSW

It might be Dry July but the Tinman & Shabs still got together on Origin 3 and showed more commitment to a cause than a NSW side does when nothing is on the line but pride.

It what was a better display of Rugby League due to less niggle, a few more penalties and more importantly, a decent 10 metres for most of the game.

There was still very questionable moments and it seems that even with 16 different camera angles, we still don't ever get a replay of foul play incidents committed by NSW players off the ball or head butts by a NSW captain that somehow managed to go a whole series without giving away a penalty.

Enough said, sit back and enjoy the pubcast as much as we enjoyed watching Queensland bring the boys in blue back to reality.

The S Files - Episode 69

The S Files Episode 69 was recorded on a glorious sunny day at the Coral Cove Bar on a special fundraising day for young boy called Sam who has a very rare strain of Leukemia, he is only 1 of 7 in the world with this strain. It was announced that the special fundraising golf day raised over $8000.

The Tinman & Shabs present in style now

We did manage to record an episode while we waited for the golfers to get in and got stuck straight into the World Cup, a FIFA sanctioned event where countries from all over the world compete to win title of world champions. FIFA themselves have even entered a team that resembles Brazil in all aspects.  Whilst the games have been entertaining the event has a tarnished image up their with the organisers FIFA.

The NRL is not fairing much better in the administration stakes and it doesn't take long for Shabs & the Tinman to get their thoughts out in how David Smith is running the game.  Expect us to get into more issues over the next few weeks. We also give a quick glance at the 3rd Origin game.

The Boston 13's are doing well and we give a quick wrap, we will give a more detailed summary in a week or two. When the finals are about to start we will give the USARL competition a once over.

The Super Rugby season is expanding and we look at the pros & cons of Singapore being admitted as the 18th team.

We don't have any awards this week but it turns out the Shabs has a funny story from beach volleyball during the week that still gets the Tinman chuckling. Also Shabs gives a glowing endorsement of our sponsors, Shop 85.  Check out their facebook page or ours to see how you could win an S Files Polo Shirt.

We finish things off with a great new song from The Dead Daisies - Face I Love. Look for more new music in the future from these guys and plenty more artists as part of our effort to promote musicians who don't get the mainstream airplay they deserve.

The S Files: Episode 68

Thanks for the memories Guilio.

The Tinman & Shabs got together again and we joined for the last time by our special guest from Roma, Guilio.

There is no surprise that we started off talking about the NRL, especially with Brisbane faltering to a Cronulla Sharks team with a player that we took "The piss" out of for most of the pubcast.

Although reports have since come out that Carney has been sacked, expect us next week to lay into Andrew Johns after he has come out on the grubs defence. But did you expect less?

The mid pubcast song got stuck into Carney again and after that we talk the Shab's favourite game, rugby.

Although he was quiet to start with, once we get onto the World Cup, Guilio wakes from his slumber and even when we get into the awards he is still wanting to talk about "The Bite".

We always have awards, but for the first time in memory an award goes to a Bundaberg team. The Alloway FC U12's, were deserved recipients on the Stubbystrip award and considering most of these kids are 10 years old, expect a lot from them in the future.

We yet again want to thank Guilio for joining in on occasions for the S Files, and he will always be a welcome guest anytime he is in Australia.

The S Files : Episode 67

An Emotional Letter from an Italian Supporter

It's been a few days since Origin and the Tinman & Shabs have settled down and pretty much gotten over it. To be honest we are pretty much over how the NRL is run and the approach the administration and media take to the game.

The fallout from game 2 has been a very high injury toll, a season ending & possibly career ending injury for Brent Tate. Also Matt Scott's season may be over after he suffered a fractured eye socket in a tackle that somehow Channel 9 has no footage of. Also of question is why the NRL scheduled byes for New Zealand during Origin and gives them a run of 3 home games as well. Add to that the Brisbane Broncos also have to back up from Origin, fly across the Tasman and face a side full of Kiwis coming off a break?

The Boston 13's are going well in the USARL. After a surprise defeat in round 2 to the Brooklyn Kings 24-26, the 13's bounced back with a good win in a sometimes spiteful match against the Rhode Island Rebellion, 68-18. This placed the 13's at the top of the North East Conference. Unfortunately the 13's lost overnight to the undefeated DC Slayers.  We are also proud to report our sponsored player, AJ Mudford, played his first game for the season last week and opened up his try scoring account.

The Rugby International calender is well under way and the Aussies are on a very good run after another victory over France last week and wrapping up the series 3-0 just after we recorded this episode. The real test for the Aussies will be in 8 weeks when they take on the Kiwis but the signs are a lot better now we have an Aussie in charge.  Why there is an 8 week break is strange but obviously there was a reason.

The World Cup is in full swing now and even though the Aussies are going home early, they have impressed. Unlike a few countries that were expected to at least win a game by now. There has been some very entertaining games and as always some controversy along the way. The Tinman has been getting a bit of stick from our Italian special guest of late but it seems he is in hiding after Italy lost to Costa Rica.

We wish the Queensland Firebirds the best of luck in the ANZ Championship today and will be reporting on that next week.

The awards are always good and this week we have to great StubbyStrip nominations to give out. Patty Mills and Tim Cahill are in the news for all the right reasons and are flying the Aussie flag proudly.

The S Files : Episode 65

After a couple of weeks of missed chances to record, the Tinman & Shabs managed to catch up and get this surprise episode out.

We still had to catch up on the fall out for Origin 1 and of course action in the NRL always has talking points. Have we changed our tune on the Reynolds incident? And after the Knights have blown up about a certain Rooster player, maybe people are starting to see what we have always seen in Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.

It was great to finally bring some updates on the Boston 13's but apologies for the short coverage. We will be bring a more detailed coverage from next episode when the Tinman makes sure he has his notes with him.

International Rugby is back and the Shabs is always happy to talk about it. Australia got off to a winning start against France and look a totally different team with an Aussie coaching again.

The World Cup is on and after Brazil won the opening game it rightly has Shabs stating that Brazil are like New Zealand in a Rugby World Cup. Play it on home soil and everything goes your way.

Sorry about the short write up but with so much football on the Tinman has had little sleep.

Next episode should be a cracker with Origin 2 coming up and plenty more World Cup games to reflect on.

State of Origin Hatred Is Alive & Well

Source: Getty Images

Game 1 of the 2014 State of Origin series between Queensland & NSW has definitely guaranteed a few things. We hate them, they hate us and both sides believe they copped the raw end of the deal from the refs.

When NSW were on the cusp of winning a 4th straight series in 2006 after winning the first game, many were starting to talking about the death of Origin. Everyone knows what happened though and 8 series later NSW are 1 game ahead as they try and put an end to the 8 year dominance that Queensland has held.

With NSW desperate to end the losing run, it was a well held belief that they would go all out to try and win the 2014 series. With a controversial game that saw NSW take the first game, there are many talking points that show the rivalry between the states is as strong as it has ever been.

NSW players & fans are complaining that the referees did everything they could to help Queensland win the game. But seriously did they watch the same coverage that those North of the border saw. There was more talk about the broken arm of Cronk and how it was inflicted by Nate Myles then there was about the dangerous throw from Reynolds & deliberate knees from Hayne that saw little concern from the referees.

Hayne just got told to be more careful and Reynolds was only penalised and put on report for an offence that the NRL has stated very clearly there is no tolerance for any longer in the game. We also see plenty of niggle & players pushing the boundary but this game saw some players taking this too far and 2 referees too scared to do anything about it. It is quite surprising that a brawl did not break out as it was quite obvious players were frustrated that nothing was being done.

Since the game has finished we have been exposed to the true things that make Queenslanders hate NSW this time of year. Reynolds was only charged with a grade 2 dangerous throw and if he challenged it and failed still only faced 3 instead of 2 weeks on the sidelines. It was then no surprise that he did challenge the level of grading. Somehow a judiciary panel only took 10 minutes to decide that the grading should be reduced to a level one offence. And because he then accepted this will serve no suspension. What a crock.

NSW can say what they want about some 50/50 calls going against them but for the NRL to say that this sort of tackle is acceptable is where the hatred returns. We are back in the days where the NRL is run like the ARL and is only there to serve the NSWRL.  Since Wednesday night we have seen a NSW side that is not only gloating with their victory, they are some how also carrying on like a loser that lost due to a howler from the referee. Maybe it is time to sit back and review the game play by play and actually see just how much NSW got away with.

Either way the result won't change and Queensland will enjoy being able to get square with Reynolds. We have 2 more games to hate NSW and they have 2 more games to hate Queensland. The only downfall from Game 1 is that it appears the game does not care how bias or inept it looks. Here was a great chance for the game to say that dangerous tackles have no place in the game, yet they have decided that for this week, it doesn't apply. It is sad to say but maybe a player has to suffer a major neck or back injury form one of these tackles for action to be taken. Oh wait.........