Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2019 i Inside Sport

NOT too long ago in A-League history, there was only one real game in town when it came to football derbies: the Big Blue of Sydney vs Melbourne Victory. It was hailed as the original and the best – the big city rivals facing off against each other. One club, one city, as it was back when the A-League first began. But in 2012 all that changed. New Queensland clubs North Queensland Fury – borne out of Football Federation Australia’s fated 2010 FIFA World Cup bid – and Clive Palmer’s doomed folly, Gold Coast United, both closed their doors. In a bid to keep TV partner Fox Sports happy, the FFA rushed in Melbourne Heart (now Melbourne City) to replace Fury and the following year, Western Sydney Wanders burst onto…

TOUCH TOURNAMENT JC: Always thought the NRL really needs to get more out of its association with touch football, because it’s the game that masses of people play. The league is looking for content outside of club matches, so how about: an Auckland Nines-style, two-day carnival? But you won’t just have the clubs – we’ll blow this out, Dodgeball style. Field a team of Lebanese guys, or graduates of Palm Beach Currumbin. Get the legends who played in the Central Coast event last year, or the top women’s players. And maybe even invite a couple of entries from the public, selected via a social media drive: get the warehouse guys from out in Liverpool who play in a lunchtime comp. LEAGUE-LYMPICS JS: I got inspired by a bit of footage…

ROOSTERS AND STORM ROUND 6 AT AAMI PARK ROUND 15 AT ADELAIDE OVAL Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith. For those who love raking over the coals of a good feud – and let’s admit it, there are plenty of us in that category – this is fascinating stuff. Antarctic winters are warmer than what their relationship became last season. After intense speculation they had fallen out following Cronk’s move from the Storm to the Roosters, the league world eagerly awaited a clear sign either way when the two teams clashed in Adelaide in late June. “THE POST-MATCH SHAKE HANDS SAW SMITH SHAPE FOR AN EMBRACE AND CRONK LOOK AWAY AND NOT STOP AS HE PROVIDED A HANDSHAKE THAT WAS AS COLD AS IT WAS SWIFT.” It came. The traditional post-match…

SO there’s this Gary Larson cartoon, see, in which a well-fed gorilla says to another gorilla: “You know, Sid, I really like bananas … I mean, I know that’s not profound or nothin’… Heck! We ALL do … But for me, I think it goes much more beyond that.” For the Gold Coast Titans, winning is that banana. It’s not profound or nothin’ to say that Gold Coast wants to win. Heck, all the gorillas in the NRL do. But there’s context for the Titans. They also need to win. It’s time. For themselves, for their people. Winning is their entire organisation’s raison d’etre. And not just games; the club wants to win everything. Sponsors, community, ratings. The players want to win weights sessions. They want to win at breakfast.…

“He’s come here with nothing and gone home with twice as much.” – Ray Warren THE QUOTE IN CONTEXT On a sunny April Sunday arvo at Parramatta Stadium in 2012, Wests Tigers interchange Ben Murdoch-Masila was on fire, crossing for two tries in as many minutes – the first of the season for him. Murdoch-Masila’s second meat pie stretched the visitors’ lead to 29-0 after 60-odd minutes. Superstar five-eighth Benji Marshall was attempting to convert the Tigers’ latest try from the sideline when Nine's Ray Warren, in describing Masila’s wonderful day out, produced commentary’s version of a dropped ball in front of your own goalposts. SPEAK OF THE SPEAKER Ray “Rabs” Warren probably doesn't need an introduction, but you might be an American or European sports literature enthusiast reading this…

1 Just as he was unpacking his bags after touching down in New Zealand following an ultra-successful tour of Australia, Virat Kohli was given ever-more reasons to celebrate. The India captain was named the 2018 cricketer of the year, as well as being voted Test and one-day international player of the year in the ICC awards. Did our blokes really stand a chance against him? 2 In a case of wait till your CEO gets home, Todd Greenberg returned from his end of year holidays and blasted the playing group via the NRL club captains over what else but off-season player misbehaviour. Going to print, five players had been arrested and charged for violence against women during the league’s off-season. 3 The worst part about that light tower dying out…

Star-spangled basketball Arguably the most popular annual exhibition sports event in the world is back, that being the NBA All-Star Game (18 February Aussie time). The 2019 extravaganza of b-ball talent will be its 68th running, and will be held at the Spectrum Centre in Charlotte, North Carolina, marking Charlotte’s first crack at the event since 1991. The NBA All-Star game used to be staged between the league’s Eastern Conference and Western Conference (seemed logical), but now even more logically, given the modern world’s appetite for user feedback and interactivity, a new system allows the fans, current players and the NBA media to vote the players in. In 2018 Team LeBron bested Team Steph 148-145. Also last year, Fergie offered a rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, which had Golden State…

1 It has been three long years since top-flight rugby league was last played in Parramatta, but all that will change when the Eels and Wests Tigers open the region’s brand-new Western Sydney Stadium on Easter Monday. The Eels had a mixed time of it during their two campaigns playing home games out of ANZ Stadium, qualifying for the finals in 2017 before claiming the dreaded wooden spoon last season. The blue and gold army will share the $300-million venue with the Western Sydney Wanderers. 2 It is one of the biggest events on the Australian sporting calendar and the people of Western Australia will witness it live for the very first time on Sunday, June 23 at the brand-new Optus Stadium. More than 60,000 rabid fans will converge on…

INTREPID reporters and shutter-happy photographers flocked to historic Redfern Oval early December when news broke that Wayne Bennett had arrived in town after swapping roles with new Broncos mentor Anthony Seibold. It was all pretty exciting for fans and concerned on-lookers, but must have been downright distracting for the players, who knew they had plenty of work ahead of them across the summer months in preparation for their 2019 assault. After a good off-season break, Cameron Murray, wanting to keep his backrow spot under wraps for 2019, was looking sharp in his Souths members cap as the players quick-passed it along a makeshift backline. Speaking of distractions, Souths’ star fullback Alex Johnston and his team-mates spotted something happening in the distance. Their attention was only averted for a spilt-second though…

Nominations have flooded in from grassroots clubs around the nation and now it’s over to you. We have whittled down the entries to deliver the 2019 Sportscover Clubbies Awards’ Top 100. All you have to do is vote. Inside Sport editor James Smith said: “Aussie clubland has done itself proud with stories of triumph, grit and unbelievable selflessness. We hope you enjoy dipping into the adventures of these weekend warriors as much as we did.” From the coalfields of western Queensland to the softball diamonds of Tasmania, Clubbies proves sport is never just sport when it’s played with heart, soul and good humour. There’s more than $10,000 in prizes up for grabs. Just go to www.insidesport.com.au/clubbies and cast your vote by March 28. BEST CLUB This was tough; hundreds of…

1 SYDNEY ROOSTERS Can they break the back-to-back hoodoo? The Roosters enjoyed a brilliant season in 2018, continuously improving as their campaign wore on. Their year culminated in the best possible way – a gutsy grand final victory over Melbourne, but with essentially 12 men on the field for the whole game due to the severity of halfback Cooper Cronk’s shoulder injury. Cronk will be fully fit for 2019 and will have some new faces around him, most notably England Test winger Ryan Hall, former Australian Test wing Brett Morris and 2018 Origin debutant Angus Crichton, who replace the departing Blake Ferguson and Dylan Napa. Easts have managed to take a premiership-winning side and improve it, making them arguably one of the best chances to break the back-to-back title hoodoo…

The 2018 AFLW season was a fairy tale for Emma Kearney. The Western Bulldogs’ midfielder walked away from AFLW 2.0 with a premiership medallion and a league best and fairest medal around her neck. However, throughout the season there was speculation the 29-year-old would be leaving Whitten Oval for expansion club North Melbourne … Eight days following her best and fairest win, she did exactly that, in a move that she describes as probably “the worst kept secret in the AFLW”. Now heading into the competition’s third season, Kearney has shifted her focus. With a new club featuring a star-studded list of players, Kearney will bring the group together and captain the Kangaroos in their inaugural season. Her goal for 2019? To be the best leader possible. “IT WAS JUST…

TEAM ORGANISER Teamer, powering grassroots sport, is everything you need to run your sports team! This app completely takes the hassle and headaches out of organising your team. Communicate in one place, organise players, send event and game notifications, track player availability, vote for player of the game, plus upload photos and videos. Used by over three million members worldwide, Teamer is the perfect, 100 percent-free tool for players, parents and sport coaches. Find it in the App store and Playstore today. STRIKE GOLD ON THE COAST Run for the good times at the 41st Gold Coast Marathon, to be held Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 July, 2019 on the beautiful Gold Coast. This world-class international marathon will attract 28,000 participants of all ages and abilities from over 50 countries…