Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i Inside Sport

We love our sport here at this magazine; yeah, we like to think we’re pretty passionate about it. Between deadlines though, we had the honour of meeting a group of people who take sports passion to the next level. The highest level. They don’t just love it. They live it. Breathe it. In fact, if they didn’t, the sport you enjoy either watching or taking part in wouldn’t exist. Simple as that. The aforementioned passionate group was the list of winners in our annual Clubbies awards. You may have read about the Clubbies in these pages before. If you haven’t, it’s a concept we kicked off three years ago to recognise the true heroes of Australian sport: the grassroots volunteers, players, coaches, administrators, stalwarts and others who dedicate their lives…

Hype has never really been the Tony Popovic way. So, while attention was focused on Melbourne Victory’s high-profile recruits, Keisuke Honda and Ola Toivonen, and unlimited column inches were being dedicated to whether Siem De Jong and Adam Le Fondre could fill the gaps left by Bobo and Adrian Mierzejewski, Popovic was already well into his pre-season preparations in Perth. Popovic did his transfer business early. Before the aforementioned quartet had even set foot on Australian soil, the new Glory coach had all but completed his transfer dealings. Eight players, three of them internationals, with a fourth, Chris Ikonomidis, added in September. Ikonomidis had an outstanding season, so much so that he was part of Australia’s Asian Cup squad in January – while Ivan Franjic, Jason Davidson and, to a…

Michael Bridges was in the same England Under-18s as Michael Owen, and in season 1999-2000 scored 19 goals for Leeds United, who ran third in the English Premier League and made a European Cup semi-final. He would form a potent attacking unit with Alan Smith and Socceroos Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka, and was tipped for big things up front for England. However, serious injury meant years out of the game. There was depression, drinking and big decisions. He left Leeds, had a series of stuttering starts with a host of clubs, before regaining his love of the game in third division as the Hero of Carlisle. Eventually he made his way back into the big show of the EPL (with Hull City) before finishing his career in Australia with…

WITH women’s rugby league well and truly on the rise in terms of player numbers and increased media exposure, the code desperately needs its top female stars standing up and leading the way as far as getting the word out is concerned. Once such brilliant ambassador for the game has been Kezie Apps. A proud Bega product, the Aussie Jillaroo and New South Wales Blue was a star in last year’s inaugural NRLW competition, and is making good metres off the field, too via her community-based role with her club St George Illawarra. The 28-year-old recently teamed up with Dragons NRL squad hardman James Graham to promote a very important initiative, all in the name of helping out local sport. This involved St.George Bank partnering with the St.George Illawarra Dragons,…

MAN VS MACHINE Jugs machines enable players of all age groups to improve existing strengths and overcome any weaknesses they may have in their batting. All types of deliveries can be simulated with the unit’s independently variable speed motors: in-swing, out-swing, medium or fast, slow spin and short, or even rising deliveries. RRP $4180. Check them out at www.jugs.com.au BABY STEPS Before you are born, the decision of which football team you’ll support has already been decided. The My First range of guernseys and beanies seals the lifetime bond of your newest family member with their chosen side. Crafted in Melbourne by the Vintage Football Jumper Company using Australian merino wool from Australian woolgrowers, these jumpers feature a traditional V-neck collar design with woven club logos on the chest. Visit…

1 In the aftermath of Melbourne Storm skipper Cameron Smith breaking the record for points scored in Australian rugby league’s domestic competition, there were wags out there who reckoned it was wrong for Smith’s children (the Storm’s ballkids) to be standing on the field ready to congratulate their old man as he lined up for the historic penalty goal. What if Smith’s attempt from in front had hit the posts and the kids were caught in the middle of play? What if a lot of things in life ... 2 Following the AFL’s widespread rule changes ahead of the 2019 season, football operations boss Steve Hocking becomes increasingly worried about commentary related to umpires. Hocking told AFL.com that he would be talking to the AFL Coaches Association about potentially recruiting…

AS THE snows cleared and good weather returned on 20 July, all the teams at camp started to witness something unprecedented on our weather forecasting channels. An excellent weather window was appearing, not just for a few days, but an extended period of at least ten days into August. We checked, double checked and triple checked with every forecast online, but they all showed the same, fine, stable weather and low winds, even at the highest altitudes. On K2, even getting a weather window was far from assured and, for many years, never even arrived. When they did occur, they might be for four or five days’ maximum and rarely ideal. Ten days was unheard of, however. The excitement was palpable, a plan was about to be set. With the…

ONE MAN’S CLIMB A JOURNEY OF TRAUMA, TRAGEDY AND TRIUMPH ON K2 BY ADRIAN HAYES, PEN & SWORD BOOKS, $29.99 THE IMPOSSIBLE CLIMB ALEX HONNOLD, EL CAPITAN AND THE CLIMBING LIFE BY MARK SYNNOTT, ALLEN & UNWIN, $32.99 They climb because it’s there, whatever it – mountain, cliff, very big rock – might be. The motivation is so elemental that trying to comprehend what climbers do either makes perfect sense or leaves one questioning their sanity. It makes for some interesting psychological terrain to cover, to be found in these two fine accounts of the upwardly vertical life. The author and protagonist of One Man’s Climb, Adrian Hayes, meets the Boy’s Own definition of adventurer. A British Army officer who speaks Arabic and Nepalese, he has conducted expeditions to both…

State of Origin football is like Christmas Day for sports fans, but unlike Christmas, we get to celebrate Origin three times a year! I am often asked: “What makes Origin so special to Queenslanders?” The answer is simple. I remember going to the Queensland Maroons’ team announcement back in 2008. On the walls of the room was a bunch of black and white photos of the 1958 Queensland side. The significance of that team wasn’t lost on any Queenslander in the room. Before the invention of State of Origin, Queensland and New South Wales battled it out in the annual Interstate Series. Unlike Origin, the interstate teams were selected based on what state players played their club footy in, not which state they were born in. Meaning, the New South…

Tennis’ long wait from Melbourne to Paris always makes it seem like there’s a disconnect from the year’s first Slam to the second. Throw in the switch to the classic clay courts of Roland Garros, and yes, it sometimes feels like an entirely new season has broken out. One constant has guided us through the years, though – it’s winning time for Rafa Nadal, who is gunning for French Open no.12, which would break his tie with Margaret Court’s 11 Aussie Opens for most wins at one Slam. Novak Djokovic $2.88 About that disconnect: if the last tennis you saw was Djokovic lifting the trophy at Melbourne Park, you might be surprised to hear that he hit a bump through the following months, losing in the Masters 1000 events in…

You’re a co-captain at the Sydney Swans alongside Josh Kennedy and Dane Rampe. How do you feel about being a leader? I’m at the age now where it’s my time to help lead the club. I’ve had such great leaders through my time and I still have experienced blokes older than me who have been here a lot longer and have experienced more than me. To be able to bounce off them and talk to them, get ideas and feedback, is a great thing. It helps my development to continue to work in that area. Sydney has been one of the most consistent teams of the 21st Century. How is the club coping with the pressure? I don’t really focus on the pressure of us being consistent every year; we…

THE SPORTS GENE BY DAVID EPSTEIN (2013) After seeing the latest sublime act of athletic prowess, the thought has surely occurred to us, the dedicated viewers of sport, that the elite who play the games are gifted with something extra. But we’ve also read about, and maybe experienced first-hand, the years of practice, the 10,000 hours of dedicated training, the grind that goes into being great. Perhaps it’s just the time of year that you’re born. Sporting ability is a pure distillation of the nature-versus-nurture question, with enough cases of genetic lottery winners counter-balancing the sweat equity brokers to keep the debate going. Journalist David Epstein’s long-time beat was devoted to figuring out where sporting ability comes from. In the process, he was unafraid of taking on some shibboleths –…

■ THE QUOTE IN CONTEXT Chasing 272 in the final game of the Super Six stage of the ’99 Cricket World Cup, the Aussies were in trouble at Headingley at 3/48 when captain Steve Waugh arrived at the crease. Legend has it that South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs (pictured far right) commented loud enough for Waugh to hear: “Let’s see how he takes the pressure now.” On 56, Waugh hit a sitter to Gibbs at mid-wicket. Gibbs clutched the ball, but lost control of it when attempting to hurl it into the air in celebration. The ball hit the deck, with Waugh supposedly dropping the best piece of cricket shade ever. Tugger finished the innings unbeaten on 120. ■ WHAT WAUGH ACTUALLY SAID Waugh and Gibbs have since both denied that…