The Sporting Day: Some Sporting Observations

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Some Sporting Observations

8. The Green Bay Packers need to make the Super Bowl this season or General Manager Ted Thompson will most likely be out of a job come February, 2009. Thompson has put his faith in quarterback Aaron Rodgers, this week trading away franchise icon Brett Favre to the New York Jets. Favre was not only dealt, he was traded to a team that plays in the same division as Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, effectively scuttling any prospect of Favre leaving with a championship ring. Many Green Bay fans may be prepared to give the Packer organisation the benefit of the doubt at the moment but a poor season will see Thompson run out of town. He has played a high stakes game of brinksmanship. He had better make sure he wins.

7. Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice now has it all. The highly popular and extremely marketable Rice was simply outstanding in winning gold in the 400 metres individual medley, Australia’s first gold medal of the 2008 Beijing Games. In the process, she smashed the world record. Rice has now entered the pantheon inhabited by greats like Susie O’Neill and Keiran Perkins. She is now the face of her sport and a true Australian champion.

6. Michael Vaughan will be regarded as one of the great tacticians of modern cricket but there is little doubt, considering the debut of his successor as captain, that he made the right decision to step down as England skipper. Kevin Pietersen has taken his opportunity with both hands, becoming the first England captain in over a century to score a ton in his first innings as captain while putting his team into a winning position with some intelligent bowling changes and smart field placements. He has a long future as a Test skipper and seems just the man to reinvigorate English cricket.

5. Australian rules football will lose one of its true champions at season’s end with St. Kilda stalwart Robert Harvey announcing his retirement last week. In an era where greed, ego and selfishness have become the hallmarks of the modern athlete, Harvey was the great exception. He was humble despite his remarkable achievements and loyal to the very end. Throughout his twenty-one years in the game, Harvey won consecutive Brownlow Medals, is the only player to poll votes in over one hundred games, is the all-time leading ballwinner in AFL history (since statistics were introduced) and is regarded by many as one of the finest midfielders in AFL history. The Saints will miss him, both on and off the field, immensely next season.

4. After a torrid week for Collingwood that saw three of its star players suspended for their involvement in a drinking binge that led to Heath Shaw’s drunken drive home, the Pies responded in the best way possible with a courageous and determined win over St. Kilda. Both teams had plenty to play for with a finals berth on the line for each team. It was Collingwood, however, who played with more heart and greater intensity and in the end they claimed the four points. It was a massive result for a team that had been on skidrow all week. Collingwood must now take that intensity into their final three matches to ensure they are playing September football.

3. The return of star fullback Wade McKinnon against the Broncos on Saturday night highlighted the primary reason the Warriors have struggled all season. McKinnon is electric and his return provided the spark the Warriors have missed all season, allowing the Auckland-based team to defeat the Broncos in a sensational match. McKinnon scored a wonderful try, recovering a chip kick and placing the ball down next to the posts after Broncos fullback Karmichael Hunt joined the front line of defence when worried out of his deep position by McKinnon’s presence. With McKinnon back on deck, expect the Warriors to make the eight with a finals win or two not out of the question.

2. There seems little doubt that the 2008 NRL Grand Final will be a replay of last year’s decider after the Storm and Sea Eagles squared off in the most brutal, fast-paced game of the season at Brookvale Oval on Friday evening. Both teams were tremendous in a match that will be considered one of the great premiership matches of 2008. Manly were brutal, refusing to yield against a highly skilled and viciously uncompromising Storm team. In the end, Melbourne had just a little too much flair with Cooper Cronk’s victory over Matt Orford probably the deciding factor. With the Broncos and the Roosters disappointing over the weekend, it seems inevitable that these two teams will meet again, most likely on the first weekend in October.

1. The Canberra Raiders had no real choice but to fire Todd Carney. They, rightly or wrongly, had backed themselves into a corner by offering their wayward star the offer of a non-negotiable punishment that included a season ending suspension. Carney, a halfback of immense talent, is not renowned for his intelligence and he dually rejected the proposal, questioning the length of the alcohol ban and opposing the suspension. The Raiders subsequently had no choice but to terminate his contract. Carney would be well advised to accept his NRL ban for 2009 and deal with his problems before returning to the NRL in 2010.

Upper of the Week: The Canberra Raiders. No team is playing better rugby league in the NRL and the Raiders are deserving of every achievement they attain. On a cold and wintry Canberra day, the Raiders miraculously put on seventy-four points. They were dangerous from all over the field, using the ball and men in motion to split open the Panthers defensive line time and time again. The Raiders refuse to fit in to the same dull mould most NRL teams have adopted. They are one of the best coached, most exciting teams in the competition and are deserving of a big September run.

Downer of the Week: The Sonny Bill Williams interview on the Footy Show. Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes put it best when he said that Williams was trying to “defend the indefensible”. Williams embarrassed himself even further by vilifying Folkes, star players like Andrew Ryan and the game itself. It was a sad moment for a man who once held so much promise.