The Sporting Day: Some Sporting Observations

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Some Sporting Observations

8. Ricky Hatton showed why he is the best junior welterweight in the world with a dominating victory over Mexican hero Jose Luis Castillo. The Hitman lived up to his billing, laying some massive body shots on Castillo, who could not get up after a crushing liver shot in the fourth. The younger Hatton had all the running, even after Castillo hit him with a low blow and it was no surprise Castillo did not get back up. Ricky Hatton is one of the few shining lights in boxing, an artist of the sweet science who is tough and genuine and who punters can identify with. Hopefully he will be around for years to come.

7. The performances of the Australian racehorses in England last week were absolutely magnificent and proved that Australia have some of the best racehorses in the world. The mighty mare Miss Andretti was simply stunning in winning the King’s Stand stakes, continuing her amazing ascent since joining the Lee Freedman stable. And Takeover Target lost no admirers when running a cracking second in the Golden Jubilee, losing only in the last stride. The emotion of Lee Freedman said it all. There would not have been one Australian fan cheering against these Aussie heroes.

6. There have been plenty of knockers hounding trainer Ron Maund for his constant running of Gold Edition but it will be Maund who will have the last laugh. Those critics have complained that Maund has run Gold Edition into the ground after she has failed at her last couple and are hoping Maund will not race her throughout the spring. Maund insists he will, stating that she loves to run and the reason she has been beaten at her last few was because of the state of the track. Maund knows the horse better than anyone and has got plenty of wins out of her and will get plenty more.

5. The Sydney Swans were abhorrent on Saturday night, getting hammered by the Collingwood Magpies in Sydney. The final score certainly flattered the Swans. Sydney seems to have fallen into the trap that plenty of good teams have and not allowed their game to evolve once reaching the pinnacle. Teams who reach the top tend to stagnate and the Swans are doing just that at the moment while the challengers get ever closer. Sydney have a unique brand of football and Coach Roos a unique coaching style but the Swans need to move with the times and adapt their game accordingly. If they don’t they won’t be playing finals footy.

4. Nobody was more deserving of a big game victory than St.Kilda legend Robert Harvey. Robert Harvey was celebrating his 350th AFL game at Subiaco and not even the most diehard Saint could believe that the struggling St.Kilda outfit could down the high flying West Coast Eagles at home. But the football gods smiled kindly on the two-time Brownlow Medal winner and the Saints turned their poor form around to record the upset of the season. Robert Harvey is a legend of the game and still offers so much. It was wonderful to see him have a big game turned into a big win.

3. The whole furore over Craig Wing’s defection to South Sydney was a disgrace and those in the media and rugby league who made this out to be some kind of apocalyptic event need to have a good hard look at themselves. Wing signed with another club for next year, the same as many others. So be it. The Roosters started the petulance by reporting it on their website and then roared in complaint when he went to a press conference with South Sydney owners and officials. This was all nothing. Craig Wing will play his heart out for the Roosters the same way Mark O’Meley will play hard for the Dogs and Joel Clinton will for Penrith. Craig Wing has been made out to be a criminal. He deserves better than that.

2. Beware the dog. That is the message to come out of Friday night with the Bulldogs playing to their capabilities for the first time this season. The Bulldogs were tough, smart and disciplined in following the game plan and it all paid off with a dominant 27-8 win over one of the competition frontrunners Manly at their home piece of turf, Brookvale. The forwards played as a unit and Corey Hughes was outstanding in pushing them around the park. And for the first time in 2007 Willie Tonga has been effective. The next step for the Bulldogs is to ensure they play at that level each week and don’t require external factors to motivate them. If they can string a few together and make the finals, they are as dangerous as any team in the competition.

1. There is no doubt that the Cowboys should be deducted two premiership points after fielding 14 players for 22 seconds in their match with Canberra on Saturday night. A deduction of points is the only logical decision available to the NRL. The Cowboys clearly breached the rules of the game by fielding 14 players and breached sideline protocol by sending on an interchange player before the player being replaced had left the field. Those claiming the 14th man had no impact on the game miss the point completely. In recent times there are precedents with the Cowboys losing two points in 2000 for fielding 14 players. The NRL needs to show some decisiveness to ensure the rules of the game aren’t flouted.

Upper of the Week: Casey Stoner winning his fifth MotoGP of the season. Stoner overcame a bad start to win well at Donnington in tough conditions. Stoner is the next superstar of Australian sport and is a real talent on the bike.

Downer of the Week: Penrith dropping Peter Wallace to reserve grade. Wallace has been one of the best for Penrith this year and to be dropped for signing with another club is appalling. Matt Elliott needs to rebuild the club but dividing it further will not help.