AFL
Last weekend’s drawn grand final will be remembered as one of the greatest grand final’s of all time. It was just a shame that after a massive build-up to the game and the extremely high-level of play shown by both teams that it was all for nothing. What’s the point of having a replay if the semi-finals and preliminary finals all go to extra-time if required as will the replay this weekend if it is drawn again? The only thing I could think of was the extra $8 million the AFL will receive from a Grand Final Pt II. But can we just for once, for the sake of the players and the fans, not think about money. Let the players play extra-time, let’s get a result on the day, let’s know who the champion is on the biggest day of the year. The players and the fans deserve this at least. The flat, empty feeling I had after the game must have been nothing compared to what the fans and the players must have felt. As Nick Maxwell said immediately post-game (often the best time to get an honest opinion out of athletes) to not have extra-time on grand final day is an absolutely joke in sport’s modern and professional era and this needs to lead to a change in the rules.
NRL
One of my favourite days of the year (if not my favourite) is NRL Grand Final day that will take place this Sunday. St. George-Illawarra Dragons will play the Sydney Roosters in a battle between the best defence in the league and the best attacking halves combination this season. Expect this grand final to be one of the lowest-scoring in modern history. The last time these two teams played, St. George got up 19-12 after losing their 2 previous matches and with the Roosters on a 5-game winning streak. The Dragons will go in as favourites with the bookies as they are the minor premiers. However, I see the game going down to the wire, if not to extra-time. In tight grand finals, better defensive teams usually get up. So that’s why I’m tipping the Dragons to win by 1 point.
On a side note, it was great to see Brett Stewart cleared of the sexual assault allegations earlier this week. Let’s hope he can resurrect his career, learn from his experiences from this incident and get back to the level he was at 2 years ago. If rugby league can allow criminals, drugos, and drunks back into the game and reward them with representative jerseys, large salaries and high-profile media positions then Brett Stewart shouldn’t have a problem getting back to the top of the sport.
Commonwealth Games
Originally called the British Empire Games, the catastrophe that is the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India is not a shining example of the might of the British Empire. It’s probable closer to the Brittas Empire. Corruption (in a country where over 800 million people live on less than $2 a day), blown budgets, construction delays, faulty construction, dirty and inhabitable athlete accommodation and threats of dengue fever and terrorists attacks have already assigned this event to one of the worst in modern sport. In today’s professional era, only a handful of countries win the majority of the medals and for the last few editions the Commonwealth Games had been ridiculed as an ego boost for countries such as Australia, Great Britain and Canada to thrash or flog the other countries in the Commonwealth - similar to a 18 year old playing in the under 11’s.
The absolute amateur and appalling organisation of these Commonwealth Games in a country that had much to gain could in fact kill-off the Commonwealth Games for good - especially if the 80% chance of a terrorist attack rings true. I think the athletes who are going over to compete are brave and are trying to do their upmost to keep the spirit of the Commonwealth Games alive. However, I support 100% the athletes who don’t go - the high risks far outweigh the rewards. The people I feel the most sorry for are the people of India whose country’s image will be forever tainted. For such an amazing and exotic country, the country’s development and growth out of poverty will become that much harder because of worst Commonwealth Games in history.
A-League
For the sport that I love so much, and that I sacrifice so much for, it’s really sad to hear about the health of the sport of football (soccer) in Australia. While the head honchos at the Football Federation Australia wax lyrically about how great the A-League is, it is in fact spiralling downward. Jesse Fink’s blog at The World Game has done a fantastic job of bringing these matters to light.
- The FFA are refusing to allow North Queensland Fury to sign more players and help financially support the club until they find a better business model while Adelaide and Brisbane are being financially propped up.
- By all reports, the new team to enter the competition next season, western-Sydney based Sydney Rovers, will not happen as the money and the skilled-players in the A-League are already spread quite thin across the other clubs.
- Crowd numbers (average, not aggregate - FFA, don’t skew the stats!) are at an all-time low. Highlighted none more so than the Gold Coast’s awful attendance rates. A combination of poor marketing and an ego-centric owner has lead to sub-2000 fan turn-outs. However, the biggest reason that has affected all teams is starting the season as the NRL and AFL were reaching the end of their seasons and the start of their finals. The A-League must change this as they can never compete with AFL / NRL finals series.
The A-League is in an unhealthy state and I guarantee that the teams and structure of the league will be significantly changed in less than 5 years time to allow the league to survive in the long-term. Run by the current autocratic and anonymous FFA board, the league in it’s present model will not survive without change.
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