Tuesday, September 30, 2008

And now, the Silly Season

No comments:
It is a sad fact of modern, corporatised, socialised sport that clubs can demand that players bleed for the jumper, but, come Trade Week, all bets are off and anything goes. If only loyalty were a two-way street...
Read More

Grand Final musings, 5

No comments:
I confess I am mildly astonished that no-one voting for the Norm Smith Medal saw fit to award even one vote to Chance Bateman, while his opponent for a good part of the day was largely ineffectual but gained a sizable tally.
Read More

Grand Final musings, 4

No comments:
And so, finally, to the football, which reached no great heights.

After an even first quarter (I know it was even, because Rob Waters told me at quarter time!), the Cats could have sealed the game in the second with straight kicking and looked to have the Hawks covered.

The turning point, in my view, was Rioli's wonderful defensive efforts on the Members' wing in the third quarter. Neither side had been able to break the other's will to this point, but the Hawks seemed galvanised by Rioli and slammed on a match-winning six goals for the quarter.

One has to feel for the Cats. Were the game to be played ten times, I'm confident they'd win the other nine. Still, it's the best on the day and the Hawks did what counted on the scoreboard better than the Cats.

Oh, one last note to the sound guys: perhaps we could have done with only ONE hundred renditions of the Hawks' song?
Read More

Grand Final musings, 3

2 comments:
How long before the Bowden Rule is introduced? Brent Guerra got a bruised fist from all the handballs back across the goal line.

These incidents didn't, thankfully, impact meaningfully on the game, but they were unfailingly ugly. The Bowden Manoeuvre is, at the very least, unadventurous and unsporting.
Read More

Grand Final musings, 2

No comments:
After the Geelong v. North game in the first week of the finals last year, I was moved to write to Stephen Gough, Secretary of the MCC, to complain about the blood pouring from my ears as the Geelong theme song crescendoed again and again at the end of the game. Thankfully, for the remaining finals the sound guy managed to avoid hitting Spinal Tap's famed Eleven.

Not so however for the 2008 Grand Final. After almost bearable sound levels in the preceding weeks, Grand Final day dawned to reveal a sound system tuned to rock concert standards with a bass overload to push your sternum in by a good few centimetres. Suffice to say that barely anything resembling English could be discerned through this din. Ian Moss and Powderfinger may have gloried in such overkill, but ground announcements were a melange of cacophany out in the cheap seats.

Then, in case we hadn't noticed, the opening bounce is hyped by some maniacal babble, followed, at each break, by this voice repeating the scores to us and describing a highlight from the preceding quarter. The only disadvantaged people missing out were the blind, who could not see the action. Even the acutely deaf would have heard the ground announcements — not understood, mind you, just heard, like the rest of us! And Rob Waters graced the big screen to read selected statistics as they were displayed on the big screen. All of this is happening at a volume of twelve (remember the Spinal Tap gag...).

So loud was all this amplified nonsense, I could barely make myself understood to my companion in the next seat. Take off the ear muffs when doing the sound check next time guys!

By the way, when the Great Southern Stand is refurbished, could someone please wave a magic wand and arrange for knee room for persons over 150cm on the upper level? The poor chap in front of me got bruised shoulders from the many collisions with my knees.
Read More

Grand Final musings, 1

No comments:
In what must surely rank with the infamous "Batmobile" of 1991, the AFL plumbed anew the depths of lameness with the pathetic squirt of sparks and smoke that followed the Premiership Cup down on it's ill-conceived journey from the roof of the Great Southern Stand to the playing surface last Saturday. So 'powerful' was this gush of pyrotechnics that the Cup appeared destined to hover tantalisingly out of reach at one stage. Last year's balloon-flight delivery was, by comparison, a totally masterful presentation.

In order to distract attention from the preparations for the Cup's dizzying descent, the producers of what was amusingly labelled pre-game 'entertainment' also contrived to have a set constructed, the dimensions and complexity of which would have turned Cecil B de Mille in his resting place. One expected a cast of, literally, thousands. Yet there were a mere twenty-six 'performers', sixteen of whom were perched atop some of Steve Hooker's spare vaulting poles. The purpose of this acrobatic display remains a mystery.
Read More

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Coaching credentials

2 comments:
In the wake of Voss being appointed to coach Brisbane in 2009, and with some other coaches potentially under pressure next year, it's a good time to consider how coaches are chosen.

It's one of the fables of aussie rules that truly great players can coach — a fable that Brisbane have bought into big time.

I've started a study to look at the influences on "successful" coaches. I am, somewhat arbitrarily, using Premierships as the signifier of "success".

Looking at Premiership coaches from 1960 to the present day, there are some interesting points to note. There are a few dynasties.
  • Norm Smith – Ron Barassi – John Nicholls – Alex Jesaulenko – Robert Walls – Malcolm Blight
  • John Kennedy – David Parkin – Leigh Matthews
  • Tom Hafey – Tony Jewel – Kevin Sheedy – Mick Malthouse – Mark Thompson
Of course the lists available have a lot to do with premierships, as do administrations. But,using the first list above as an example, Norm Smith clearly had a significant influence on Ron Barassi, who in turn influenced Nicholls, Jezza, Walls (I could have coached THAT team to a flag!) and Blight. Kennedy clearly influenced Parkin and, in turn, Parkin influenced Matthews, and so on.

It's interesting to note that only nine (9) coaches have achieved only a single flag over the past forty-eight years: Nicholls, Jesaulenko, Walls, Davis, Williams, Jewel, Roos, Worsfold, Thompson (soone to exit this list).

It's also interesting to note that a very low number of naturally-talented footballers have achieved the ultimate coaching success: Blight (2), Jesaulenko (1), Roos (1), Coleman (2), and, stretching the definition in my view, Matthews (4).

Gritty players who got the most out of their (limited) talent are over-represented: Parkin (4), Sheedy (4), Hafey (4), Jeans (4), Barassi (4), Kennedy (3), Malthouse (2), Pagan (2), Williams (1), Thompson (1 and counting).

More to come on this subject.
Read More

Monday, September 15, 2008

A sledgehammer to crack a peanut

4 comments:
Once again the AFL's penchant for overreaction and love affair with technical detail was laid bare as the Bulldogs battled the Swans on Friday night. There are two important points to be made in commenting on this issue.

When Tim Callan ran onto the field a metre outside the designated interchange gate, the Bulldogs gained no advantage whatsoever. Clearly the significance of the penalty massively outweighs the significance of the infraction.

Secondly, sitting in the crowd, it was impossible to know why Higgins' shot at goal was suddenly a Kennelly shot at the other end of the ground, apparently courtesy of the AFL Umpiring Department's Technocrat-in-Chief, Umpire McBurney (edited). It was just another of the mystifying incidents through a game where the crowd who've stumped up their hard-earned to actually be sitting at the game are disadvantaged. TV viewers and some radio listeners have the advantage of the umpires being miked, and so they (and the commentators, who are often at just as much a loss to explain the umpires' actions) mostly get a faintly coherent understanding.

There must be some way for Gieschen's mob to develop some signals or a scoreboard sign that provides a coherent explanation to the punters at the game. The fact that so many of the rule interpretations are so tiggy-touchwood and so technical serves only to exacerbate the problem.
Read More

Monday, September 08, 2008

Taking one for the team...

1 comment:
Shaun Higgins wore a fearsone shirtfront from Brent Guerra on Friday night. His team scored a sorely needed goal as a result of him wearing one for the team.

What a pity that the goal scorer, one peroxided prancing prima donna, couldn't be bothered acknowledging Higgins' courage and commitment in the midst of his own self-centred celebration.

I've been a wrap for Higgins for a while. I reckon there's a bit of Ben Cousins about the way he moves. No doubting his courage though.
Read More

Saturday, September 06, 2008

The heritage of Dick Turpin

No comments:
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Hawthorn-Western Bulldogs qualifying final. I like one or two beers at the footy and a pie. The prices are ridiculous, but for my simple needs I'm prepared to absorb them. At a nearby snack bar — a wonderful example of disorganised chaos if I've ever seen one — I spied a ham, cheese and salad sandwich with a sticker price of $7.90. Nearly eight dollars! For a pretty ordinary-looking sandwich! Highway bloody robbery!!! It seems that the AFL's licenced caterers feel that an essentially captive audience warrants charging like wounded bulls.
Read More

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Gold Coast draft concessions a poisoned chalice?

No comments:
The AFL's determination to create a senior-level AFL team on the Gold Coast seems to know no bounds. The announced draft concessions appear to be incredibly generous — until you consider the average lifespan of AFL draftees and the success rate of high-level draft picks.

The kids being drafted to Gold Coast will also be entitled to feel somewhat short-changed. There's not going to be a cohort of experienced team leaders with substantial AFL pedigrees to provide the leadership, on and off the field, that these youngsters will need for them to have a reasonable chance of a successful AFL career.

Of course, it's the very determination to create the Gold Coast presence that makes these measures necessary.

It would be sad to see the courts being drawn into the draft system, but it wouldn't be unreasonable for these kids to feel that being drafted to Gold Coast potentially diminishes their capacity to earn a living (and set themselves up for life if they're smart) in AFL.
Read More

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Brisbane in a bind

No comments:
Brisbane would do well to recall the debacle that was Tim Watson's coaching career before appointing Michael Voss to succeed Leigh Matthews. The parallels between Voss and Watson are too similar to be easily discounted.

Clearly, there's a world of difference between offering comments on a media broadcast and taking on the role of head coach of an AFL club. In fact, it would be foolhardy not to recognise that the demands on senior coaches have grown in the years since Watson's ill-fated tenure at St Kilda.

And then there's the matter that Voss' contributions to the media broadcasts have been less than earth-shattering...
Read More

Monday, September 01, 2008

An open letter to the umpiring department

1 comment:
Dear Chaps,

As 2008 dwindles to a close, thoughts turn to 2009. I wonder if we could look forward to the unusual spectacle of consistent interpretations of rules through the length of the 2009 season? Would it be too much to ask that, at the close of the 2009 season, TV and radio callers don’t have just cause to remark that a particular rule has “disappeared”.

And while we’re at it, perhaps we could instruct the umpires at each game to rely on what they actually see? Too often field umpires make crucial decisions from one hundred metres away, or when the ball is on the blind side of the pack.

We could also have a rethink of the advantage rule, lining players up to “kick over the mark” and then allowing them to play on to one side or even backwards, chopping the arms in a marking contest and incidental contacts of all sorts.

Apart from those things, you've all done very well!
Read More

Team is almost all ME

1 comment:
Watching the last quarter of the Hawthorn v. Carlton game in round 22, it was hard to escape the conclusion that Brendan Fevola plays predominantly for himself. As the end of his football year crept ever closer, Fevola’s feverish, nay, almost manic, efforts to gain possession of the ball to kick his hundredth goal were almost comical — had they not been such a sad reflection on the man’s motivations.

At the other end, by way of contrast, was a more team-oriented player. Admittedly, with quarters and weeks to spare, Franklin could afford to be sanguine, but it’s difficult to imagine him making such a spectacle of himself.

I suspect Carlton will struggle to make a real impact on the competition while Fevola remains within their ranks. One selfish apple can taint the whole barrel — as the Tigers know to their cost.
Read More

Longevity does not necessarily a Champion make

No comments:
I image I'm about to commit public heresy, but here goes anyway. Robert Harvey is not a champion or a superstar of aussie rules. He is, at best, a superlative athlete who gathered a large number of possessions through an extraordinarily long career.

In my view, a champion can turn a game by their own efforts. I'm thinking of the likes of Buckley, Voss, Hird, Carey, Ablett Snr in more recent times. “Champion”, you may have gathered, is a term I consider has been bestowed overenthusiastically, not to mention the now almost ubiquitous sobriquet of "superstar".

What opposition coach would have lain awake wondering whether Robert Harvey would cut his team to ribbons? None.

So, well done Robert Harvey, for enduring the physical demands of playing and preparing for twenty-one seasons.
Read More

And now, the Silly Season

It is a sad fact of modern, corporatised, socialised sport that clubs can demand that players bleed for the jumper, but, come Trade Week, all bets are off and anything goes. If only loyalty were a two-way street...

Grand Final musings, 5

I confess I am mildly astonished that no-one voting for the Norm Smith Medal saw fit to award even one vote to Chance Bateman, while his opponent for a good part of the day was largely ineffectual but gained a sizable tally.

Grand Final musings, 4

And so, finally, to the football, which reached no great heights.

After an even first quarter (I know it was even, because Rob Waters told me at quarter time!), the Cats could have sealed the game in the second with straight kicking and looked to have the Hawks covered.

The turning point, in my view, was Rioli's wonderful defensive efforts on the Members' wing in the third quarter. Neither side had been able to break the other's will to this point, but the Hawks seemed galvanised by Rioli and slammed on a match-winning six goals for the quarter.

One has to feel for the Cats. Were the game to be played ten times, I'm confident they'd win the other nine. Still, it's the best on the day and the Hawks did what counted on the scoreboard better than the Cats.

Oh, one last note to the sound guys: perhaps we could have done with only ONE hundred renditions of the Hawks' song?

Grand Final musings, 3

How long before the Bowden Rule is introduced? Brent Guerra got a bruised fist from all the handballs back across the goal line.

These incidents didn't, thankfully, impact meaningfully on the game, but they were unfailingly ugly. The Bowden Manoeuvre is, at the very least, unadventurous and unsporting.

Grand Final musings, 2

After the Geelong v. North game in the first week of the finals last year, I was moved to write to Stephen Gough, Secretary of the MCC, to complain about the blood pouring from my ears as the Geelong theme song crescendoed again and again at the end of the game. Thankfully, for the remaining finals the sound guy managed to avoid hitting Spinal Tap's famed Eleven.

Not so however for the 2008 Grand Final. After almost bearable sound levels in the preceding weeks, Grand Final day dawned to reveal a sound system tuned to rock concert standards with a bass overload to push your sternum in by a good few centimetres. Suffice to say that barely anything resembling English could be discerned through this din. Ian Moss and Powderfinger may have gloried in such overkill, but ground announcements were a melange of cacophany out in the cheap seats.

Then, in case we hadn't noticed, the opening bounce is hyped by some maniacal babble, followed, at each break, by this voice repeating the scores to us and describing a highlight from the preceding quarter. The only disadvantaged people missing out were the blind, who could not see the action. Even the acutely deaf would have heard the ground announcements — not understood, mind you, just heard, like the rest of us! And Rob Waters graced the big screen to read selected statistics as they were displayed on the big screen. All of this is happening at a volume of twelve (remember the Spinal Tap gag...).

So loud was all this amplified nonsense, I could barely make myself understood to my companion in the next seat. Take off the ear muffs when doing the sound check next time guys!

By the way, when the Great Southern Stand is refurbished, could someone please wave a magic wand and arrange for knee room for persons over 150cm on the upper level? The poor chap in front of me got bruised shoulders from the many collisions with my knees.

Grand Final musings, 1

In what must surely rank with the infamous "Batmobile" of 1991, the AFL plumbed anew the depths of lameness with the pathetic squirt of sparks and smoke that followed the Premiership Cup down on it's ill-conceived journey from the roof of the Great Southern Stand to the playing surface last Saturday. So 'powerful' was this gush of pyrotechnics that the Cup appeared destined to hover tantalisingly out of reach at one stage. Last year's balloon-flight delivery was, by comparison, a totally masterful presentation.

In order to distract attention from the preparations for the Cup's dizzying descent, the producers of what was amusingly labelled pre-game 'entertainment' also contrived to have a set constructed, the dimensions and complexity of which would have turned Cecil B de Mille in his resting place. One expected a cast of, literally, thousands. Yet there were a mere twenty-six 'performers', sixteen of whom were perched atop some of Steve Hooker's spare vaulting poles. The purpose of this acrobatic display remains a mystery.

Coaching credentials

In the wake of Voss being appointed to coach Brisbane in 2009, and with some other coaches potentially under pressure next year, it's a good time to consider how coaches are chosen.

It's one of the fables of aussie rules that truly great players can coach — a fable that Brisbane have bought into big time.

I've started a study to look at the influences on "successful" coaches. I am, somewhat arbitrarily, using Premierships as the signifier of "success".

Looking at Premiership coaches from 1960 to the present day, there are some interesting points to note. There are a few dynasties.

  • Norm Smith – Ron Barassi – John Nicholls – Alex Jesaulenko – Robert Walls – Malcolm Blight
  • John Kennedy – David Parkin – Leigh Matthews
  • Tom Hafey – Tony Jewel – Kevin Sheedy – Mick Malthouse – Mark Thompson
Of course the lists available have a lot to do with premierships, as do administrations. But,using the first list above as an example, Norm Smith clearly had a significant influence on Ron Barassi, who in turn influenced Nicholls, Jezza, Walls (I could have coached THAT team to a flag!) and Blight. Kennedy clearly influenced Parkin and, in turn, Parkin influenced Matthews, and so on.

It's interesting to note that only nine (9) coaches have achieved only a single flag over the past forty-eight years: Nicholls, Jesaulenko, Walls, Davis, Williams, Jewel, Roos, Worsfold, Thompson (soone to exit this list).

It's also interesting to note that a very low number of naturally-talented footballers have achieved the ultimate coaching success: Blight (2), Jesaulenko (1), Roos (1), Coleman (2), and, stretching the definition in my view, Matthews (4).

Gritty players who got the most out of their (limited) talent are over-represented: Parkin (4), Sheedy (4), Hafey (4), Jeans (4), Barassi (4), Kennedy (3), Malthouse (2), Pagan (2), Williams (1), Thompson (1 and counting).

More to come on this subject.

A sledgehammer to crack a peanut

Once again the AFL's penchant for overreaction and love affair with technical detail was laid bare as the Bulldogs battled the Swans on Friday night. There are two important points to be made in commenting on this issue.

When Tim Callan ran onto the field a metre outside the designated interchange gate, the Bulldogs gained no advantage whatsoever. Clearly the significance of the penalty massively outweighs the significance of the infraction.

Secondly, sitting in the crowd, it was impossible to know why Higgins' shot at goal was suddenly a Kennelly shot at the other end of the ground, apparently courtesy of the AFL Umpiring Department's Technocrat-in-Chief, Umpire McBurney (edited). It was just another of the mystifying incidents through a game where the crowd who've stumped up their hard-earned to actually be sitting at the game are disadvantaged. TV viewers and some radio listeners have the advantage of the umpires being miked, and so they (and the commentators, who are often at just as much a loss to explain the umpires' actions) mostly get a faintly coherent understanding.

There must be some way for Gieschen's mob to develop some signals or a scoreboard sign that provides a coherent explanation to the punters at the game. The fact that so many of the rule interpretations are so tiggy-touchwood and so technical serves only to exacerbate the problem.

Taking one for the team...

Shaun Higgins wore a fearsone shirtfront from Brent Guerra on Friday night. His team scored a sorely needed goal as a result of him wearing one for the team.

What a pity that the goal scorer, one peroxided prancing prima donna, couldn't be bothered acknowledging Higgins' courage and commitment in the midst of his own self-centred celebration.

I've been a wrap for Higgins for a while. I reckon there's a bit of Ben Cousins about the way he moves. No doubting his courage though.

The heritage of Dick Turpin

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Hawthorn-Western Bulldogs qualifying final. I like one or two beers at the footy and a pie. The prices are ridiculous, but for my simple needs I'm prepared to absorb them. At a nearby snack bar — a wonderful example of disorganised chaos if I've ever seen one — I spied a ham, cheese and salad sandwich with a sticker price of $7.90. Nearly eight dollars! For a pretty ordinary-looking sandwich! Highway bloody robbery!!! It seems that the AFL's licenced caterers feel that an essentially captive audience warrants charging like wounded bulls.

Gold Coast draft concessions a poisoned chalice?

The AFL's determination to create a senior-level AFL team on the Gold Coast seems to know no bounds. The announced draft concessions appear to be incredibly generous — until you consider the average lifespan of AFL draftees and the success rate of high-level draft picks.

The kids being drafted to Gold Coast will also be entitled to feel somewhat short-changed. There's not going to be a cohort of experienced team leaders with substantial AFL pedigrees to provide the leadership, on and off the field, that these youngsters will need for them to have a reasonable chance of a successful AFL career.

Of course, it's the very determination to create the Gold Coast presence that makes these measures necessary.

It would be sad to see the courts being drawn into the draft system, but it wouldn't be unreasonable for these kids to feel that being drafted to Gold Coast potentially diminishes their capacity to earn a living (and set themselves up for life if they're smart) in AFL.

Brisbane in a bind

Brisbane would do well to recall the debacle that was Tim Watson's coaching career before appointing Michael Voss to succeed Leigh Matthews. The parallels between Voss and Watson are too similar to be easily discounted.

Clearly, there's a world of difference between offering comments on a media broadcast and taking on the role of head coach of an AFL club. In fact, it would be foolhardy not to recognise that the demands on senior coaches have grown in the years since Watson's ill-fated tenure at St Kilda.

And then there's the matter that Voss' contributions to the media broadcasts have been less than earth-shattering...

An open letter to the umpiring department

Dear Chaps,

As 2008 dwindles to a close, thoughts turn to 2009. I wonder if we could look forward to the unusual spectacle of consistent interpretations of rules through the length of the 2009 season? Would it be too much to ask that, at the close of the 2009 season, TV and radio callers don’t have just cause to remark that a particular rule has “disappeared”.

And while we’re at it, perhaps we could instruct the umpires at each game to rely on what they actually see? Too often field umpires make crucial decisions from one hundred metres away, or when the ball is on the blind side of the pack.

We could also have a rethink of the advantage rule, lining players up to “kick over the mark” and then allowing them to play on to one side or even backwards, chopping the arms in a marking contest and incidental contacts of all sorts.

Apart from those things, you've all done very well!

Team is almost all ME

Watching the last quarter of the Hawthorn v. Carlton game in round 22, it was hard to escape the conclusion that Brendan Fevola plays predominantly for himself. As the end of his football year crept ever closer, Fevola’s feverish, nay, almost manic, efforts to gain possession of the ball to kick his hundredth goal were almost comical — had they not been such a sad reflection on the man’s motivations.

At the other end, by way of contrast, was a more team-oriented player. Admittedly, with quarters and weeks to spare, Franklin could afford to be sanguine, but it’s difficult to imagine him making such a spectacle of himself.

I suspect Carlton will struggle to make a real impact on the competition while Fevola remains within their ranks. One selfish apple can taint the whole barrel — as the Tigers know to their cost.

Longevity does not necessarily a Champion make

I image I'm about to commit public heresy, but here goes anyway. Robert Harvey is not a champion or a superstar of aussie rules. He is, at best, a superlative athlete who gathered a large number of possessions through an extraordinarily long career.

In my view, a champion can turn a game by their own efforts. I'm thinking of the likes of Buckley, Voss, Hird, Carey, Ablett Snr in more recent times. “Champion”, you may have gathered, is a term I consider has been bestowed overenthusiastically, not to mention the now almost ubiquitous sobriquet of "superstar".

What opposition coach would have lain awake wondering whether Robert Harvey would cut his team to ribbons? None.

So, well done Robert Harvey, for enduring the physical demands of playing and preparing for twenty-one seasons.