A Free Kick Against You, For Being Barry Hall

Sydney Swans player, Barry Hall, is in a tough situation. He has a reputation of being the bad boy that precedes him into games. It seems impossible for umpires to view him in even a neutral way. This is unfair, and opposition players take full advantage by coxing him into random acts of frustration.

Hall is the most picked on player in the AFL. He is able to be wrestled like WWE Smackdown and receive no free kicks yet the glamour full forwards like Lance Franklin and Matthew Lloyd only need a finger nail to grace their shoulder for a free kick to be awarded.

He is now giving away free kicks and 50 metre penalties on the suspicion that he has done something wrong. Such as the momentum shifting incident with Jarryd Roughead, when it appeared Roughead ran into Hall’s outstretched arms for a second 50-metre penalty to be awarded and a certain goal the result. Also, once giving away the first 50-metre penalty no less than six Hawks players got into his face egging him on. Of course he is going to push and shove.

Barry is hard done by, although he does himself no favours in his remonstrations no matter how justified he may be. Umpires tend to not change their minds and go on to adjudicate more harshly on the remonstrators.

I feel for Barry. But to a large degree he created this and now he has to live with it.

Fans Are To Blame

The Cronulla Sharks in the National Rugby League appear in dire straits. So bad is their situation that a complete relocation seems the only means of survival. This situation should be devastating to all in “The Shire” yet we haven’t really heard a peep from that direction. Possibly because the locals know that it is their fault.

The Sharks haven’t been able to get crowds anywhere near the 13,000 they need to break even. Instead have had to be content with around 8,000. The Sharks aren’t going too well so far this season, as if to confirm my point about fair weather fans in Sydney.

The fact is that if you want your team to survive then you need to get behind them. Put your money where your mouth is; show up to games, by a membership, whatever it takes.

Fair Weather Fans

I recently went to a game in Melbourne between Essendon and North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium. I was blown away by the passion of these fans. They knew when to cheer and did so with immense gusto. It left me a bit disappointed to come home and go to a game in Sydney. If there is ever a reason why a Western Sydney team won’t get off the ground it will be because of the temperament of footy fans in Sydney.

Sydney fans across all codes aren’t 'diehard' enough, they won’t show if the weather is poor or if their team isn't going so well. If the finances are tight it will be the footy club membership that will be the first to go.

AFL fans in Sydney still have a lot to learn when it comes to supporting their team. We are too polite. We seem too afraid to make noise, or we just don’t know when is the appropriate time. We are still learning the game, as most are first generation AFL fans. Melbourne residents have had the sport ingrained into them for 100 years.

How We Won

SYDNEY SWANS 3.4 8.7 16.9 22.11 (143)
HAWTHORN 5.4 8.9 12.12 15.15 (105)

1. Nullified Franklin’s Impact – Craig Bolton gives up height to Franklin but matches him for pace and somehow manages to get a fist on the ball at most marking attempts. Franklin resorted to moving up the field to get some touches. Bolton allowed him to do this and stay back. After all, Franklin is good but he can’t get the ball in the centre and kick it to himself deep in the forward line.
2. Mitchell had nothing – Sam Mitchell is a gun midfielder. Yet he had no presence during the game. He was tagged well by Brett Kirk (I think).
3. Hodge had minimal effect – Hodge backs himself and becomes the third man up in marking contests to affect the spoil. He was successful at the beginning when he was playing loose. When someone was sent to keep him accountable for a player he would still back himself on the odd occasion and he left his man. Mostly it meant that Barry Hall was allowed to remain one on one with his opponent. Goodes was able to fly at marks unimpeded and Darren Jolly was able to be dangerous up forward.
4. Tackling Pressure – Hard tackling is what wins matches. We didn’t have it last week and we got done. We had it tonight. Good tackling frustrates players. Franklin was gang tackled as soon as he got the ball. He never was allowed a clean grab at the ball. Chance Bateman, Sam Mitchell and Co were never allowed to run free with the ball. This results in opposition players looking for the tackler instead of a team mate to pass it to.

AFL in Western Sydney

The Australian Football League wants a new team in the west of Sydney. It will never work say many. The AFL is being bold in this new venture and will make it work.

Some Victorian teams are on the verge of bankruptcy and can possibly see the writing on the wall: relocate or die. It is an unpopular notion. It was hard in 1981 when South Melbourne moved to Sydney and it will be just as hard today. But that’s the reality. No team wants to relocate to Sydney or the Gold Coast to guarantee their survival so the AFL will form new teams.

The new team on the Gold Coast appears well on track to join the competition in 2011. There is more conjecture about the proposed second team in Sydney. Most of the detractors come from south of the border. In the Inside Football magazine, respected journalist and football historian, Russell Holmesby (St Kilda fan), states “the AFL has to see sense and abandon the West Sydney concept.” Premiership player with North Melbourne, Peter ‘Crackers’ Keenan, in the same publication suggests that having a team in western Sydney is “getting further away for the AFL.”

Wait ten years is what I’m hearing from too many. The AFL is cashed up and Rugby League is in crisis with their own problems. Strike while we can. Think it will go down the drain? Then buy a membership when the club is launched to help it get off the ground, even if you are a devout Swans fan like myself.

It is the same Victorian clubs bagging the idea that will benefit hugely when a new TV rights deal is agreed upon in the near future. Kudos to Andrew Demetriou.

Crawford Should Have Gone Out On Top

Shane Crawford has decided to go another year after coming down from the high of a premiership win.

I feel he has made a mistake as next year holds no guarantees for his fitness for starters, as well as Hawthorn's ability to maintain the momentum gained from this season.

Every player would love to go out a winner on Grand Final Day. Crawford had the chance to do that and he has potentially thrown away a great opportunity. Next year he could realistically succumb to a season ending injury half way through the season. 34 is not an old man by life expectancy standards, but it is old by professional sporting standards. An old body at this level, the way the game is played these days, is more susceptible to injury.

I wish him well for next season as he has been a great player for Hawthorn.

The NRL Grand Final

Manly 40 defeated Melbourne 0

Pre Game Entertainment
I really enjoyed the entertainment. For a grand final you really need bands that can rock it out, and you can't get much better than The Living End and Jon Stevens fro Noiseworks. It was very colourful with groups of dancers representing all 16 teams. The fireworks for The Living End was absolutely amazing.

Amazing to see a navy helicopter land on the middle of the field. Such a great display of precision control in the cockpit.

First Half
very tight, could have gone either way at any time. Israel Folau was proving damaging on the right side. He was just so hard to tackle. Manly got the only 2 tries in the first half. Both were very fortuitous.

Second Half
No one saw that coming. Expecting to see Melbourne fight back hard. Instead Manly had their measure and put on consecutive tries in quick time. I was flabagasted yet happy for Manly and all their fans that surrounded us.

Presentation
I thought Matt Orford would have won the Churchill Medal, but I have no qualms about the eventual winner.

Kevin Rudd was there but he always looks out of his depth when he is attending sporting events. He managed to get the obligatory boo's for political leaders.

Beaver Fever
Probably the main reason for supporting Manly. I loved watching him play, especially at State of Origin level. He was always very reliable and versatile. A player that definately deserved to go out on a high.

More Factors To Consider

Poor crowd at Sydney's ANZ Stadium for the Elimination Final - almost 20,000, the worst since the 1920's.

Some like Tony Jones and Billy Brownless on Ch 9's Wide World of Sport would suggest that the AFL should be very worried about by this when they are trying to plant a new team in Sydney's west. This sounds like a very Victorian thing to say as they still want to keep the game to themselves. Any additional team from outside Victoria takes the game further and further away from Victorian domination.

I acknowledge that 20,000 is an ordinary attendance figure, but don't simply blame the fans.

How about these other factors:

• We had two of the worst days for ages in regards to rain
• Sydney limped into the finals with other results helping us in a big way
• Economic situation can't be discounted - whether it be real or perceived
• North Melbourne is not a big drawcard - even in Melbourne

Last but not least......

• The non existent promotion from the AFL - let's face it, there are too many things to do in Sydney to go to something that no one knows is on.

Spreading The Word

Some pessimists say why waste money spreading the word when teams can play to packed crowds in Australia. This was especially the case when Adelaide and Collingwood played a pre season game in the United Arab Emirates. What a waste they would say, 50,000 would have shown up to watch the match at the MCG or AAMI Stadium.

I think it is great that other countries are grasping onto our game as it is truly the best game in the world. But by not having an international presence we also run the risk of being swallowed by the only truly international football code - Soccer.

Not many would know that we actually have an International Cup in Australian Rules Football. In fact 16 countries will be competing.


The best part being that these teams are made up completely of players from the country they represent. These are home grown footy players. Not Aussie expats as is the case in alot of overseas competitions.

Keep an eye on World Footy News for updates on matches throughout the tournament.

Rugby League In Crisis

You know that something must be going on when the NRL Footy Show talks seriously about their sport for one and a half hours with few ad breaks.

It was stated that the SBW exodus will be a catalyst for change. A change that has been long overdue. What those changes will be is hard to say. At the moment everyone seems to be willing to pass the responsibility for change into the hands of NRL CEO David Gallop. A job that no one wants as the drastic measures that may need to be taken would include a reduction in teams and the relocation of others.

The ramifications could be huge. I'm not the best fan of league as I got into AFL in a big way after the Super League war of the mid 90's. But i know for sure that if the Parramatta Eels were to disappear from the competition that my interest in League will become non existent. I'm sure there's more die hard Eels supporters that would do the same. Take away their team and the game just doesn't do it for them anymore.