Finals

The McIntyre System is no more. Abandoned in 1999 by the AFL, and mystifyingly adopted by the old ARL the same year, the completely inexplicable system has at last been ditched on the same useless rugby league scrapheap as John Hopoate and the Western Reds.

Oh wait, they’re now talking about another Perth team again, aren’t they? Anyway, McIntyre is gone. This is good. No disrespect to the venerable mathematician, the late Ken McIntyre, but his system had all the user-friendliness of a sudoku crossed with a cryptic crossword written in Mandarin.

Today’s decision was handed down by the new ARL Commission, which was clearly keen to broker some sort of peace with NRL club chief executives who are in the process of forming their own lobby group. The commission was no doubt also trying to tell fans it is listening to them. Mission accomplished.

Continue reading "Game listens to fans, replaces stupid finals system" »

As the AFL basks in the afterglow of another sensational season, capped by a grand final that will stand forever as a contest for the ages, its arch-rivals at the NRL are dealing with a different set of circumstances which every sporting administrator, marketing analyst and media commentator failed to forecast.

And it’s this - league’s not dead after all. Not even close. League’s going gangbusters. Somehow, the year which was hailed as the death-knell for league has somehow turned into one of its best on record. Even the NRL didn’t see it coming.

The resurgence has been led out of its western Sydney powerbase, crowned with a qualifying final last Friday between heartland clubs the Parramatta Eels and the Canterbury Bulldogs, which in terms of crowd attendance, TV ratings, and the intensity and passion with which it was played, was every bit as good as Saturday’s Cats-Saints blockbuster.

Continue reading "The extraordinary NRL final that should rattle the AFL" »

THOUGHT I might wander out to ANZZZZZ Stadium tonight for the Parra v Dogs game. Who knows? Maybe 70,000 screaming westies can breathe some life into the old Homebush morgue.

The majority of the crowd will be watching Jarryd Hayne, the kid in the red boots who plays every game as if it’s backyard footy and his mum’s about to call him inside for the night.
Me? I’m there to see Hindy, the shaggy-haired old-timer whose work-rate literally leaves his arse hanging out of his shorts at the end of the 80 minutes. Whose sway back and puddin’ guts gives him the look of a brickie in an age when footballers spend more time in Sydney Confidential than the sports pages.

Continue reading "Shaggy-haired old-timer gives everything to game" »

IN the dying minutes of the first AFL semi-final, it appeared the Magpies would crash and burn … falling victim to another attack of the Colliwobbles.

But for some fateful reason, Magpie full-forward John Anthony steadied and threaded a major when it counted the most. The Crows must have felt like they were feathered and tarred.

Anthony’s heroics saved the Magpies from an agonising aftermath. It wouldn’t be much fun to cop a deathly stare from coach Mick Malthouse. If anyone has seen Malthouse’s face in the rooms after a loss, you would feel for the players.

Continue reading "Vics breathe easy as interstaters fade in finals" »

THE race is on to win a coveted berth in the AFL Grand Final. It’s always tough road to the “Granny” on that last Saturday in September. You need some luck on your side – injury-wise – and a hell of a lot more spirit.

When you look at the engine rooms in the six remaining clubs, a pattern emerges.

All AFL coaches served under some of the game’s greatest coaches – mostly disciplinarians who expected more than you could ever imagine.

Continue reading "And then there were six: An AFL coaches form guide" »