sidelined

Over the fold is a photograph of two people. One person took 563 wickets for Australian at an average of 21.64. The other person has taken 26 wickets in the past two seasons for Terrigal Matcham cricket club at an average of 14.31. Do you know who they are?
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Well, whaddya know. Maybe I was a tad pessimistic.

The Kiwis got their act together and via some luck (or a conspiracy as alluded by whinging Ricky) won the World Cup. I remarked to Bismarck at some stage during the tournament, the the Kiwis non-performance is a worry given most of the players are from NRL sides and all very capable. But they were just warming to the task. And that final haka with the Australian’s advancing on them was fantastic. A fitting reminder of the Australian Indigenous Dreamtime team facing the New Zealand Maori on the opening day of the Cup.

And you learn more about a team’s mentality in defeat than you do in victory. And Stuart should be hauled over the carpet for his ungracious response. Some of the players deserve a rocket up their butts as well for refusing press interviews. Anyway, the Roos wouldn’t have lost if Hindy was playing.

As you may have guessed by lack of Sidelined coverage, I wasn’t that enthused by the World Cup even though I attended the Fiji v Scotland and Fiji v Australia. It was fun at the games but the seemingly inevitability of an Australia win took a lot of enjoyment out of the contest. But credit to some of the so-called minnows such as they turned it on. The Tonga v Somoa game was the highlight of the tournament. Both teams were ripping into each other during the final 5 minutes as if it was the first.

Fiji suprised many by making it to the finals and goes to show, with a little nurturing, the Pacific island teams could rise to a competitive standard. The question is whether the International Rugby League committee and the respective national organisations have the vision and capability to bank wisely the good will from the World Cup.

Alas, England seem to be on the decline. Sure they get good money playing in the Super League but the competition is not one for those wanting toughness of play. If England want to match Australia and New Zealand, they need to get some hard heads and understand the style played in the NRL, match it and then over come it. Not an easy task.

I’m now going to take a break from footy for 2 months and wallow in a summer of cricket (both for my local club and of course the internationals). If you are going to be at the New Years’ test in Sydney in 2009, I’ll be collecting money for the Jane McGrath Foundation on day one. So give generously if you are there.

Blogging will resume late January with traditional pre-season post with the NRL trial games schedule.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

It is a pity that the highlight of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup has already occured. And that was the Australian Indigenous Dreamtime team facing down the haka of the New Zealand Maori side.

Awesome stuff. And the game itself was a better spectacle than the main event.

Australia, as to be expected, weren’t really troubled by New Zealand. And unless there is a big improvement by the Kiwis and England, they won’t trouble the Aussies.

The joy in the World Cup will be watching the “younger” teams fight it out. Already PNG have shown some fearsome mettle and will be exciting to watch. Some of the so called lesser games have the potential to be exciting contests. I’ll be going to see the Scotland v Fiji at Gosford next week and am looking quite forward to the game.

I hope I am wrong in my prediction that Australia will romp it home. But there is hope that we well see signs of improvement in the other nations. And that, with careful nurturing, the World Cup will become a contest once more.

After some post season blogging ennui, time to get stuck into the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Where in which, Australia pretty much flogs everybody and we hope that something upsets the inevitable.

It is a sad sign for international league that you sorta hope, as an Aussie, that your team does find it a bit of struggle. There is no real satisfaction in being the best in the world through easy victories.

Which brings us to last night’s opening game (though the official opening is tonight). England against Papua New Guinea. The Poms had come to these shores with a reputation that suggested that they would be in a better place to match if with the Aussie and Kiwis compared to past years. But if last night is a guide, they will struggle.

That is not to take anything way from PNG. Coach Adrian Lam had drilled them well and they really gave it to the England. The opening tackles were ferocious as PNG made a statement. They aren’t in the World Cup to make up numbers. And the other teams will have watched PNG and taken the message to heart. Australia and New Zealand can’t afford to take any of the teams lightly. Or the impossible may happen.

The head says that in the end, Australia will dominate. The heart hopes that the other teams stand up and make Australia fight every game.

My apologies folks. I wrote this the other day and forgot to publish it. Better late then never.

Rumour has it that ANZ Stadium is still open waiting for the Melbourne Storm to turn up. They sure as hell weren’t there Sunday.

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It all started on March 13th. And now the final preview and tip for the season.
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After 26 rounds of regular season and three weeks of final footy, we have ended up with a rematch of last year’s Grand Final. Fitting really as both teams have played most of their footy a gear or two above the other clubs.

The Sharks will be very disappointed with their meek exit from the finals. But it is an improvement from the past few seasons when insipid performances during the second half of the season were the norm. Not sure how the Sharkies will go next year. They will have to do something about their attack to challenge for the title and hope there is no mental scarring from coming so far and then falling into a miserable heap.

The Storm are not the first club to ride to victory using a siege mentality. Plenty of bad blood was created by focusing on Stuart’s comments regarding Melbourne CEO Brian Waldron (of whose character Stuart is a good judge). Also, anger at the NRL judiciary helped fuel their win. It was a typical finals display by the Storm after two indifferent games.

If only Manu Vatuvei had held onto the ball with the line wide open early into Saturday’s game. Not saying the Warriors would have gone on to win but the game would have been different. But the way the Warriors played league was a breath of fresh air and something other sides could emulate. Farewell Reuben Wiki. It was an amazing run.

Manly played a very controlled game in the first half to keep the Warriors at bay. Their defence was outstanding and shut the Warriors out of the game. The only blemish was that Orford’s goal kicking was off in the first half and made the game appear closer that it was at half time. The Sea Eagles are looking better than last year. As long as there is no lingering psychological damage from Melbourne’s grand final mugging last year, they are in with more than a chance.

A difficult choice for Sydneysiders. Two sides that have little love outside their immediate ancestral stomping grounds.

I’m going to sit back and consider things for a few days before staking a claim on one side to win the big one on October 5th.

Just three games of footy left in the season. But what a bounty of great games there has been so far this finals series. One of the best in many a season. So lets look at the two games that will decide who plays in the grand final.

Cronulla Sharks v Melbourne Storm, Friday 7:45pm Sydney Football Stadium

We all know that Cameron Smith is important to Melbourne but this game well tell us how important he really is. He guile and kicking out of dummy half will be sorely missed. But with Inglis, Folau, Slater, Crocker and Cronk the Storm still have plenty of power. But they have played two very hard games and have been nowhere been their best.

Cronulla have had the luxury of a week off after an easy win. I don’t think the week off is a bad idea this time of year. Cronulla will be hoping that Paul Gallen over comes his injury problems. If he doesn’t play I don’t rate Cronulla’s chance. Also Blake Green is an inexperienced five eight playing in a big game. He will be tested by the Storm.

The one thing that Cronulla have going for them is their defense. It has been miserly all season and they will test the ability of the Storm to break through the line.

I’m going with the Storm but with not much confidence.

Manly Sea Eagles v New Zealand Warriors, Saturday 7:45pm Sydney Football Stadium

For those without a team in the finals, many have adopted the Warriors. And rightly so as their brand of enthusiastic footy has made the finals series. A fairytale run to be within one game of the grand final. Wade McKinnon comes back after a suspension and will give the Warriors added potency in attack.

The Eagles had some good momentum going into the finals. Most of the time they have appeared to play a level or two above most teams and have a good record against the Warriors. But Beaver Menzies needs just one more game to equal Terry Lamb’s record for first grade games. And Manly have unfinished business from last year that will drive them on.

The heart screams the Warriors and I will be certainly be behind them on Saturday night. But the head says Manly.

So a repeat of last year’s grand final is my tip. I hope that I am wrong.

The NRL had no choice but the find Cameron Smith guilty of a grapple tackle. Smith will miss out on the Grand Final providing Melbourne make it which is a hard punishment.

It sure will generate controversy but it is better that a finding of “not guilty.” That would have opened the game up to be a grapplethon. But the fact that it got to the finals before a strong message was sent is an example of the NRL’s poor management of this issue.

Early in the season, the NRL did try and crack down on the grapple tackle. A few players fronted the judiciary but that was about it. The rest of the season saw a consistent lack of consistency that only aggravated the problem.

In an excellent discussion on NRL on Fox earlier this evening, Warren Smith (a vocal opponent of the grapple) applauded the NRL but issued a warning. That if the example of Smith is not followed up next season then the NRL will lose all credibility.

It is an accurate assesment and I agree with Scott Sattler’s suggestion that anyone using the grapple should be sent to the sin-bin for 10 minutes. Further to that, I’d add in the player being automatically placed on report with a default 2 match ban. Enforcement of such an edict (which is the NRL’s weak point) would soon rid the game of this blight.

Cameron Smith is not a bad bloke but he has paid the price for pushing the rules of the game. Let’s hope that the NRL has the moral consistency to make the grapple tackle a relic of the past next season.

There is no amazing secret behind the Warriors invigorating run through the finals. They are playing for each other and for Reuben Wiki. A few other teams would do well to remember this. No one player is bigger than the team but sometimes one player can personify the team. The Warriors are feeling no pain at the moment. Riding on momentum of emotion their clash against Manly is going to be a classic.

The Roosters were very disappointing. Once again a half time lead was squandered as they choked for the second time in this finals series. Fittler does deserve praise for getting the Roosters to the finals for the first time in a few season but they really did fade in the second part of the season. Next season will be a real test for Fittler.

The Storm got out of jail against the Broncos. But their defence of the premiership could be in trouble. If the NRL has any guts and consistency Cameron Smith is gone. The tackle on Sam Thaiday was a disgrace and the blight of the grapple tackles needs to rubbed out of the game. Jeremy Smith also needs to have an enforced rest for the “chicken wing” during the same tackle. The Storm will try and spin it but as much as they can be admired for having a great footy side, some of their tactics should be condemned.

A person with greater empathy may have felt some sympathy for the Broncos after their heart breaking loss. But schadenfreude does have it appeal and was given free reign after disgusting and contemptible way the Broncos handled the allegations against the some of their players during the past week. Benny now jets off to take control of the Dragons. Next year will be a very interesting year for the Broncos.

Two absolute belters of a game coming up this weekend. Can’t wait for the weekend. I’ll be a Warriors and Sharks fan this weekend for sure.