THE Australian squad for the First Test against South Africa was named earlier this week without too many shocks. Victorian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade got the nod over veteran Brad Haddin in about the only contentious decision, but by the sounds of it Haddin knew that was coming.
The pace-bowling stocks are in pretty good knick. It's likely Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and James Pattinson will join off-spinner Nathan Lyon in the XI for Brisbane; Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Ben Cutting, Alister McDermott, Jackson Bird, Luke Butterworth, and even Mitchell Johnson (yes, that guy) could easily play at least one form of cricket for Australia this season.
We're not short of wicket-keepers either. Both Haddin and Tim Paine have Test match experience; some have wondered whether back-up NSW keeper Peter Nevill should in fact be the NSW number 1 stumper; while Queensland veteran Chris Hartley is still arguably the tidiest of them all.
The spinners are another story, although Lyon should be pretty secure with Victorian Jon Holland out for the season after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction. That's not to say an all-rounder like Glenn Maxwell or Steven O'Keefe couldn't step in either.
No, what worries most Australian fans are the apparent lack of batsmen coming up and not just knocking on the selection door, but giving it a good old-fashioned thumping to the point where all that's left are some wood shards hanging onto a few torn hinges.
Of the current batting lineup only David Warner is under 30; Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey need strong starts to prove last year's efforts against India weren't the final glow of dying stars; while Ed Cowan still needs that three-figure score to really nail his place in the side.
What of the others? While Phil Hughes has made an impressive start to the season and looks like the next in line, the rest are just lacking that je ne sais quoi selectors are looking for. Players like Callum Ferguson, Moises Henriques and Usman Khawaja have all made solid starts, while Liam Davis, Rob Quiney and Alex Doolan were all picked in the Australia A side to play South Africa before the Test; yet you would probably argue they're only tapping the door rather than thumping it.
But what if I said there's an overlooked batsman that has a first-class average in the mid-forties; can bowl some handy medium-pace a la the Waugh twins; and is still 18 months away from celebrating his 30th? Tasmanian Mark Cosgrove is probably better known as the man you want to beat to the buffet, but like New Zealand shape-sake Jessie Ryder has a touch of class about his batting. He's started the season off well, scoring a century in Tasmania's opening match and backing it up with another 80 runs in his second. In yesterday's Ryobi Cup match against former team South Australia, Cosgrove got Tasmania off to a good start with 37 from 47 balls, striking 7 fours.
Sure Cosgrove is a bit bigger than normal, but so was Darren Lehmann... who was 28 on Test debut. Keep making runs, and "Baby Boof" may well emulate "Boof" once more.
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Who'd Be A Spinner?
NATHAN Lyon's a pretty laidback character. A groundsman first picked for South Australia after doing well in the nets, Lyon impressed in the Twenty20 Big Bash and for Australia A before going on to take a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket, that of Sri Lankan superstar Kumar Sangakkara.
Since then he's managed to hold his own in Test cricket, with 42 wickets at an average of just under 28. To put this into perspective, since 1990 only S.K. Warne, S.C.G. MacGill - and oddly enough, M.G. Bevan - have had better records bowling spin for Australia.
And yet, to read the news you'd feel as though Lyon wasn't performing. That he hadn't taken 12 wickets in his last two Tests. Brisbane Times journalist Phil Lutton described Lyon's position in the Test team as being "worthy of debate" after Queensland batsmen spanked him around the Gabba earlier this season. Even this article on Cricinfo suggests Lyon isn't a lay down misere for the First Test against South Africa.
When it comes to spin-bowling, it seems you really do have to prove yourself before getting a clear run at the Test team. And yet, is the pressure on Lyon really fair?
Certainly, he's had some dry spells. His first five innings against India yielded just three wickets; after a five-wicket haul in his very first Test innings he then took just three in the next six innings he bowled in; and his eight wickets at just under 50 in England paled against Jon Holland's 10 at 27.
But there's a few things still in Lyon's favour, not least his age (Lyon turns 25 in late November). Add to that the fact he's shown himself as a fighter, coming back strongly against India and the West Indies after poor starts to those series. Certainly, his Test record compares well to Warne's after the same number of Tests (Warne had 47 wickets at just under 27). He also seems to know who to listen to and who to block out.
Most importantly though, dropping Lyon for another spinner would send the wrong message to both him and spinners around the country. As this article by Jarrod Kimber shows, Australia have gone through spinners the way Lady GaGa goes through outfits. If conditions suit a second spinner or if Lyon is unavailable, then by all means give someone like Holland a go.
But right now, we've got a big talent in our hands. Let's not waste it.
Since then he's managed to hold his own in Test cricket, with 42 wickets at an average of just under 28. To put this into perspective, since 1990 only S.K. Warne, S.C.G. MacGill - and oddly enough, M.G. Bevan - have had better records bowling spin for Australia.
And yet, to read the news you'd feel as though Lyon wasn't performing. That he hadn't taken 12 wickets in his last two Tests. Brisbane Times journalist Phil Lutton described Lyon's position in the Test team as being "worthy of debate" after Queensland batsmen spanked him around the Gabba earlier this season. Even this article on Cricinfo suggests Lyon isn't a lay down misere for the First Test against South Africa.
When it comes to spin-bowling, it seems you really do have to prove yourself before getting a clear run at the Test team. And yet, is the pressure on Lyon really fair?
Certainly, he's had some dry spells. His first five innings against India yielded just three wickets; after a five-wicket haul in his very first Test innings he then took just three in the next six innings he bowled in; and his eight wickets at just under 50 in England paled against Jon Holland's 10 at 27.
But there's a few things still in Lyon's favour, not least his age (Lyon turns 25 in late November). Add to that the fact he's shown himself as a fighter, coming back strongly against India and the West Indies after poor starts to those series. Certainly, his Test record compares well to Warne's after the same number of Tests (Warne had 47 wickets at just under 27). He also seems to know who to listen to and who to block out.
Most importantly though, dropping Lyon for another spinner would send the wrong message to both him and spinners around the country. As this article by Jarrod Kimber shows, Australia have gone through spinners the way Lady GaGa goes through outfits. If conditions suit a second spinner or if Lyon is unavailable, then by all means give someone like Holland a go.
But right now, we've got a big talent in our hands. Let's not waste it.
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
The Completely Non-Official Guide to the 2012/13 Sheffield Shield: The Sequel
AS promised/threatened earlier, here are the previews for the final three states (by alphabetical order).
TASMANIA TIGERS (2nd)
IN: Aiden Blizzard (SA); Ben Dunk (QLD); Andrew Fekete (VIC); Timm van der Gugten (NSW)
OUT: Tom Triffit (WA)
Tasmania were desperately unlucky not to host last season's Sheffield Shield final after finishing equal with Queensland and Victoria and having a better points differential than both of them - only Queensland's six outright wins as opposed to Tasmania's five got the final at the Gabba. Once there they gave the Bulls one hell of a fight, only losing by 3 wickets as Chris Hartley gave the batting performance of his career.
There's nothing to suggest Tasmania won't challenge again this season either. The bowling attack of last year's leading wicket-taker Jackson Bird, James Faulkner, Luke Butterworth with Jason Krejza and Xavier Doherty as the spinners looks as strong and well-balanced as any; while the strongest batting line-up features Ed Cowan, Mark Cosgrove, Ricky Ponting, and Tim Paine - international batsmen the four of them.
Indeed, it seems the only thing that can stop Tasmania playing another final are international call-ups - don't expect to see Ben Hilfenhaus to many times; Ponting and Cowan during the Tests; or Doherty during the ODI series. Add to that potential Australia A/full team honours for Bird, Faulkner and Butterworth and you can see Tasmania possibly being a victim of their own success.
Prediction: finalists
VICTORIA BUSHRANGERS (3rd)
IN: none.
OUT: Ashton Agar (WA); Mark Cleary (retired); Andrew Fekete (TAS); Brad Hodge (retired)
For so long the dominant domestic team, Victoria just missed out on making last year's Shield final on quotient and number of outright wins. Despite players like Dirk Nannes and Brad Hodge leaving the domestic circuit for the bright lights of various Twenty20 leagues, they've still got plenty to throw at the opposition.
At full strength Victoria are brimming with talent: Chris Rogers, Rob Quiney, David Hussey at the top of the order; Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Jade Herrick as the quick; Andrew McDonald, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron White as the all-rounders with Matthew Wade behind the stumps.
Mind you, it's unlikely Victorian fans will see this line-up (with Jon Holland for some left-arm orthodox) at any time during the season. Expect to see Siddle and Pattinson in the Test team when fit; Maxwell in the one-day team; and Wade in the 50 and 20-over teams at the very least. The last time the Australian wicket-keeping spot was chopped and changed was back in the 1980s - keep an eye out to see if Wade retains his place from the West Indies tour or whether Brad Haddin comes back after leaving the tour to attend to his seriously ill child.
Prediction: 3rd or 4th
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN WARRIORS (4th)
IN: Ashton Agar (VIC); Tom Triffit (TAS)
OUT: Mark Cameron (retired); Brad Knowles (retired); Luke Pomersbach (QLD); Luke Ronchi (Wellington)
One of four teams challenging for Shield honours last season, Western Australia were just two points away from the top three teams. This year they'll be hoping to take that extra step and try and win a competition for the first time since 2003/04.
The challenge for West Australian coach Lachlan Stevens is to take a ridiculously talented group of players and mould them into a domestic powerhouse. Players like Shaun Marsh and Mitchells Marsh and Johnson all have the ability - or at least had the ability - to be world beaters. But footwork problems, disciplinary problems and mental problems have meant the three are considered to have under-achieved.
That's not to say it's all lost for the Sandgropers. Nathan Rimmington, Michael Hogan, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Michael Beer alongside the two Mitchells make for a bowling attack as good as any; while Liam Davis will want to build on his 921-run season and push for any vacancies in the Australian batting line-up. Tom Triffit also looks to be a good buy to replace Luke Ronchi, who has headed back to his country of birth to try and make the New Zealand team.
Prediction: 4th or 5th
TASMANIA TIGERS (2nd)
IN: Aiden Blizzard (SA); Ben Dunk (QLD); Andrew Fekete (VIC); Timm van der Gugten (NSW)
OUT: Tom Triffit (WA)
Tasmania were desperately unlucky not to host last season's Sheffield Shield final after finishing equal with Queensland and Victoria and having a better points differential than both of them - only Queensland's six outright wins as opposed to Tasmania's five got the final at the Gabba. Once there they gave the Bulls one hell of a fight, only losing by 3 wickets as Chris Hartley gave the batting performance of his career.
There's nothing to suggest Tasmania won't challenge again this season either. The bowling attack of last year's leading wicket-taker Jackson Bird, James Faulkner, Luke Butterworth with Jason Krejza and Xavier Doherty as the spinners looks as strong and well-balanced as any; while the strongest batting line-up features Ed Cowan, Mark Cosgrove, Ricky Ponting, and Tim Paine - international batsmen the four of them.
Indeed, it seems the only thing that can stop Tasmania playing another final are international call-ups - don't expect to see Ben Hilfenhaus to many times; Ponting and Cowan during the Tests; or Doherty during the ODI series. Add to that potential Australia A/full team honours for Bird, Faulkner and Butterworth and you can see Tasmania possibly being a victim of their own success.
Prediction: finalists
VICTORIA BUSHRANGERS (3rd)
IN: none.
OUT: Ashton Agar (WA); Mark Cleary (retired); Andrew Fekete (TAS); Brad Hodge (retired)
For so long the dominant domestic team, Victoria just missed out on making last year's Shield final on quotient and number of outright wins. Despite players like Dirk Nannes and Brad Hodge leaving the domestic circuit for the bright lights of various Twenty20 leagues, they've still got plenty to throw at the opposition.
At full strength Victoria are brimming with talent: Chris Rogers, Rob Quiney, David Hussey at the top of the order; Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Jade Herrick as the quick; Andrew McDonald, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron White as the all-rounders with Matthew Wade behind the stumps.
Mind you, it's unlikely Victorian fans will see this line-up (with Jon Holland for some left-arm orthodox) at any time during the season. Expect to see Siddle and Pattinson in the Test team when fit; Maxwell in the one-day team; and Wade in the 50 and 20-over teams at the very least. The last time the Australian wicket-keeping spot was chopped and changed was back in the 1980s - keep an eye out to see if Wade retains his place from the West Indies tour or whether Brad Haddin comes back after leaving the tour to attend to his seriously ill child.
Prediction: 3rd or 4th
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN WARRIORS (4th)
IN: Ashton Agar (VIC); Tom Triffit (TAS)
OUT: Mark Cameron (retired); Brad Knowles (retired); Luke Pomersbach (QLD); Luke Ronchi (Wellington)
One of four teams challenging for Shield honours last season, Western Australia were just two points away from the top three teams. This year they'll be hoping to take that extra step and try and win a competition for the first time since 2003/04.
The challenge for West Australian coach Lachlan Stevens is to take a ridiculously talented group of players and mould them into a domestic powerhouse. Players like Shaun Marsh and Mitchells Marsh and Johnson all have the ability - or at least had the ability - to be world beaters. But footwork problems, disciplinary problems and mental problems have meant the three are considered to have under-achieved.
That's not to say it's all lost for the Sandgropers. Nathan Rimmington, Michael Hogan, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Michael Beer alongside the two Mitchells make for a bowling attack as good as any; while Liam Davis will want to build on his 921-run season and push for any vacancies in the Australian batting line-up. Tom Triffit also looks to be a good buy to replace Luke Ronchi, who has headed back to his country of birth to try and make the New Zealand team.
Prediction: 4th or 5th
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
The Completely Non-Official Guide to the 2012/13 Sheffield Shield
Aah, spring... the weather's warming up, the footy seasons are coming to a close - time then for willow fanciers around the country to stock up the fridge, make sure the couch is still comfy and get ready for the upcoming cricket season.
With Test series against the top-ranked South Africans and always competitive Sri Lankans coming - not to mention home-and-away Ashes series soon after - this season's Sheffield Shield is many players time to shine. The Australian batting line-up hasn't looked this unsettled since the 1980s, while the bowlers keep dropping like flies: perform well in the Shield and you could be pulling on the baggy green.
But who's expected to do well - and who do we look out for? Let's have a look at New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.
NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES (5th last year)
IN: none.
OUT: Beau Casson (retired); Stuart Clark (retired); Nathan Hauritz (QLD); Phillip Hughes (SA); Phil Jaques (retired); Simon Katich (retired); Usman Khawaja (QLD); Timm van der Gugten (TAS).
Wow. Fifth last year; seven Test players either retiring or moving interstate. Just looking at that you'd think NSW would struggle to win anything for a long time.
First impressions can be misleading though. Of those departing Test players only Katich (483 runs at 43.90) had anything approaching good form. Hughes, Khawaja and Jaques all averaged in the 20s with the bat, while Hauritz only took 3 wickets in two matches. Clark was only listed as an emergency, while a recurrence of a congenital heart condition sadly forced Casson to retire at the age of 29.
Of those left, many are reaping the rewards of the September start with Australian captain Michael Clarke leading the side for the first two matches. While players like Clarke, Shane Watson and David Warner will be away most of the season, former Test players Doug Bollinger and Trent Copeland will lead the attack, while there will be plenty of attention on all-rounders Steve O'Keefe, Moises Henriques and Steven Smith as they slowly progress. And that's without NSW's uncanny knack of producing good batsmen: keep an eye out on Nic Maddison and Peter Nevill.
Prediction: 3rd or 4th.
QUEENSLAND BULLS (1st)
IN: Nathan Hauritz (NSW); Usman Khawaja (NSW); Luke Pomersbach (WA)
OUT: Ben Dunk (TAS); Steve Magoffin (Sussex); Chris Swan (retired)
Last year's champions did it in time-honoured Queensland fashion: strong fast bowling; a great wicket-keeper; and some very brittle batting. Only two Queensland batsmen (Peter Forrest and Joe Burns) averaged over 40 last season, while no less than seven bowlers averaged under 30, with four (Alister McDermott, Magoffin, Ryan Harris and Ben Cutting) averaging under 20 runs per wicket. Indeed, it's an interesting fact that of the 78 players to make their Test debuts after a certain S.K. Warne, only three of them have been Queenslander specialist batsmen (Matthew Hayden, Stuart Law and Martin Love), with two all-rounders (Shane Watson and Andrew Symonds). This compares with seven specialist bowlers picked during the same period (Michael Kasprowicz, Andy Bichel, Adam Dale, Scott Muller, Nathan Hauritz, Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris).
To that end Queensland have recruited wisely: Khawaja and Pomersbach were once two of the more highly rated young batsmen going around. Both come with their own personal baggage they hope coach Darren Lehmann can help them get rid of; while it will be interesting to see if Hauritz can flourish in his return to his home state after being "blowtorched" by Queensland when he first played for them. Both Hauritz and leg-spinner Cameron Boyce have been named in the Bull's squad for their opening match against South Australia, something very much against the mould of Queensland all-pace attacks. Look out for McDermott and Cutting again this year as they aim for any openings in the Test team.
Prediction: finalists.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA REDBACKS (6th)
IN: Johan Botha (South Africa); Phillip Hughes (NSW)
OUT: Aiden Blizzard (TAS)
For the last couple of years South Australian coach Darren Berry has been slowly building his side up: Big Bash winners 2010/11; Ryobi Cup winners 2011/12. Next step is to try and lift their Shield results after last year's desperately disappointing effort of just two points for the whole year.
The team's problems aren't with runs. The Adelaide Oval is renown as being a batsman's paradise, with Dan Christian, Michael Klinger and Tom Cooper all averaging over 40 last season. Hughes' recruitment will add more runs to that, although whether it's in his best interests to be playing home games on a flat wicket with short square boundaries is another thing.
No, the problem for South Australia is taking wickets. Just four bowlers (Gary Putland, Joe Mennie, Peter George and Christian) took more than 10 wickets last season, with former Test bowler George scalping at an average of 37 and Christian taking his 10 at nearly 50. To that end new captain Botha will give them something with Test spinner Nathan Lyon is away, but you can't help but feel the team are still one bowler short of consistently getting 20 wickets a game.
Prediction: 6th
Tomorrow I'll run the rule over Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.
With Test series against the top-ranked South Africans and always competitive Sri Lankans coming - not to mention home-and-away Ashes series soon after - this season's Sheffield Shield is many players time to shine. The Australian batting line-up hasn't looked this unsettled since the 1980s, while the bowlers keep dropping like flies: perform well in the Shield and you could be pulling on the baggy green.
But who's expected to do well - and who do we look out for? Let's have a look at New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.
NEW SOUTH WALES BLUES (5th last year)
IN: none.
OUT: Beau Casson (retired); Stuart Clark (retired); Nathan Hauritz (QLD); Phillip Hughes (SA); Phil Jaques (retired); Simon Katich (retired); Usman Khawaja (QLD); Timm van der Gugten (TAS).
Wow. Fifth last year; seven Test players either retiring or moving interstate. Just looking at that you'd think NSW would struggle to win anything for a long time.
First impressions can be misleading though. Of those departing Test players only Katich (483 runs at 43.90) had anything approaching good form. Hughes, Khawaja and Jaques all averaged in the 20s with the bat, while Hauritz only took 3 wickets in two matches. Clark was only listed as an emergency, while a recurrence of a congenital heart condition sadly forced Casson to retire at the age of 29.
Of those left, many are reaping the rewards of the September start with Australian captain Michael Clarke leading the side for the first two matches. While players like Clarke, Shane Watson and David Warner will be away most of the season, former Test players Doug Bollinger and Trent Copeland will lead the attack, while there will be plenty of attention on all-rounders Steve O'Keefe, Moises Henriques and Steven Smith as they slowly progress. And that's without NSW's uncanny knack of producing good batsmen: keep an eye out on Nic Maddison and Peter Nevill.
Prediction: 3rd or 4th.
QUEENSLAND BULLS (1st)
IN: Nathan Hauritz (NSW); Usman Khawaja (NSW); Luke Pomersbach (WA)
OUT: Ben Dunk (TAS); Steve Magoffin (Sussex); Chris Swan (retired)
Last year's champions did it in time-honoured Queensland fashion: strong fast bowling; a great wicket-keeper; and some very brittle batting. Only two Queensland batsmen (Peter Forrest and Joe Burns) averaged over 40 last season, while no less than seven bowlers averaged under 30, with four (Alister McDermott, Magoffin, Ryan Harris and Ben Cutting) averaging under 20 runs per wicket. Indeed, it's an interesting fact that of the 78 players to make their Test debuts after a certain S.K. Warne, only three of them have been Queenslander specialist batsmen (Matthew Hayden, Stuart Law and Martin Love), with two all-rounders (Shane Watson and Andrew Symonds). This compares with seven specialist bowlers picked during the same period (Michael Kasprowicz, Andy Bichel, Adam Dale, Scott Muller, Nathan Hauritz, Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris).
To that end Queensland have recruited wisely: Khawaja and Pomersbach were once two of the more highly rated young batsmen going around. Both come with their own personal baggage they hope coach Darren Lehmann can help them get rid of; while it will be interesting to see if Hauritz can flourish in his return to his home state after being "blowtorched" by Queensland when he first played for them. Both Hauritz and leg-spinner Cameron Boyce have been named in the Bull's squad for their opening match against South Australia, something very much against the mould of Queensland all-pace attacks. Look out for McDermott and Cutting again this year as they aim for any openings in the Test team.
Prediction: finalists.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA REDBACKS (6th)
IN: Johan Botha (South Africa); Phillip Hughes (NSW)
OUT: Aiden Blizzard (TAS)
For the last couple of years South Australian coach Darren Berry has been slowly building his side up: Big Bash winners 2010/11; Ryobi Cup winners 2011/12. Next step is to try and lift their Shield results after last year's desperately disappointing effort of just two points for the whole year.
The team's problems aren't with runs. The Adelaide Oval is renown as being a batsman's paradise, with Dan Christian, Michael Klinger and Tom Cooper all averaging over 40 last season. Hughes' recruitment will add more runs to that, although whether it's in his best interests to be playing home games on a flat wicket with short square boundaries is another thing.
No, the problem for South Australia is taking wickets. Just four bowlers (Gary Putland, Joe Mennie, Peter George and Christian) took more than 10 wickets last season, with former Test bowler George scalping at an average of 37 and Christian taking his 10 at nearly 50. To that end new captain Botha will give them something with Test spinner Nathan Lyon is away, but you can't help but feel the team are still one bowler short of consistently getting 20 wickets a game.
Prediction: 6th
Tomorrow I'll run the rule over Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.
Monday, 17 September 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Finals Week 2
HAVE you ever watched the footage of Seinfeld's Michael Richards doing stand-up?
If you haven't, check it out here. Go on, have a watch if you haven't already done so.
The first thing you'll notice on this clip is the racial slur that spews out of Richards' mouth. You're sitting there thinking, "did he just say that?"
"For real?"
And that's not the end of it. Next thing Richards is dropping the word "nigger" like he's deliberately trying to piss of the most number of people in the shortest possible time. Soon after people stream out of the theatre, appalled with what they're seeing and hearing. You can't blame them either - there's no condoning what Richards said under any possible set of ethics. You wouldn't think in this day and age that people would still feel that appropriate, yet we still saw it.
Last Friday night rugby league fans had our Michael Richards moment.
It was the 63rd minute of the Manly-North Queensland semi-final. Manly led by 4 points after the video referee had controversially awarded Jorge Taufua a try after he initially grounded the ball just short of the try line. The bomb had gone up; Matty Bowen misjudged the flight and jumped too early; Johnathan Thurston and Keiran Foran both went for the ball, which then went towards the Cowboys' tryline; Manly's Jamie Lyon grabbed the ball, passed off the ground to Michael Oldfield who then grounded the ball on the off-chance it was a try.
On initial inspection it appeared that Foran had knocked the ball on when jumping against Thurston. Channel 9 commentators Ray Warren and Phil Gould both called it early: the way Thurston had jumped with both hands in the air compared to Foran with one hand tipped at an angle suggested a Manly knock-on. The video ref went through quite a few camera angles off Thurston and Foran jumping, all of which suggested - nay, screamed - knock-on.
But the more replays that flashed on the screen (the coverage showing what the video refs were looking at), the more likely it seemed they'd give a try. Suddenly the clips weren't of a leaping Thurston and Foran, but of Lyon passing the ball from the ground and whether a Cowboys player had a hand on him. The commentators were stunned - "surely they're not going to give this" - as was every rugby league fan around the world.
The replays then went to Oldfield putting the ball down, and suddenly we all realised. Just like the racist bile coming from Michael Richards' mouth, this was no joke.
Manly try.
The Cowboys were understandably rattled, throwing the ball around to try and make up the now 10-point deficit. They had their chances too: soon afterwards Brent Tate had an unmarked Ashley Graham on his right but elected to go himself. Taufua made a strong run from a kick after accidentally grounding the ball in-goal. The referees allowed the run, which goes against Section 8 (The Kick-Off and Drop-Out) 4. (c) which states:
Alas, it just wasn't our night. To be fair to Manly their defence was top-notch - it had taken some fancy footwork from forward James Tamou for the Cowboys to get their opener, while their second try came after Graham had helped strip the ball from a Manly player to gain possession.
This, then, wasn't the year. But after the trials of the last few years the team is definitely building to something. In Tamou and Matt Scott the Cowboys have the two best props in the game; Brent Tate and Kane Linnett two of the better centres; and Anthony Mitchell and Michael Morgan two local lads destined to play a big part in their local team's future. And that's without mentioning the pleasure that Bowen and Thurston bring every week they play together: while we expected Thurston's genius, Bowen's renaissance was one of the great stories of the 2012 National Rugby League season.
All this season I've been following the official North Queensland Cowboys Twitter feed (@nthqldcowboys); it never ceases to amaze me the support people have for the club. Having only been to Townsville twice since we left in 1983 I'm yet to experience a home game up there, but reading the retweets about people travelling 10 hours+ each way just to get to a game shows the support that's out there for one of the NRL's least fashionable clubs.
Naturally we're all disappointed at how the season ended, but let's hope the team uses the pain of defeat to lead us to victory in 2013.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 12 (Tamou, Winterstein tries; Thurston 2/2 goals) lost to Manly Sea-Eagles 22.
If you haven't, check it out here. Go on, have a watch if you haven't already done so.
The first thing you'll notice on this clip is the racial slur that spews out of Richards' mouth. You're sitting there thinking, "did he just say that?"
"For real?"
And that's not the end of it. Next thing Richards is dropping the word "nigger" like he's deliberately trying to piss of the most number of people in the shortest possible time. Soon after people stream out of the theatre, appalled with what they're seeing and hearing. You can't blame them either - there's no condoning what Richards said under any possible set of ethics. You wouldn't think in this day and age that people would still feel that appropriate, yet we still saw it.
Last Friday night rugby league fans had our Michael Richards moment.
It was the 63rd minute of the Manly-North Queensland semi-final. Manly led by 4 points after the video referee had controversially awarded Jorge Taufua a try after he initially grounded the ball just short of the try line. The bomb had gone up; Matty Bowen misjudged the flight and jumped too early; Johnathan Thurston and Keiran Foran both went for the ball, which then went towards the Cowboys' tryline; Manly's Jamie Lyon grabbed the ball, passed off the ground to Michael Oldfield who then grounded the ball on the off-chance it was a try.
On initial inspection it appeared that Foran had knocked the ball on when jumping against Thurston. Channel 9 commentators Ray Warren and Phil Gould both called it early: the way Thurston had jumped with both hands in the air compared to Foran with one hand tipped at an angle suggested a Manly knock-on. The video ref went through quite a few camera angles off Thurston and Foran jumping, all of which suggested - nay, screamed - knock-on.
But the more replays that flashed on the screen (the coverage showing what the video refs were looking at), the more likely it seemed they'd give a try. Suddenly the clips weren't of a leaping Thurston and Foran, but of Lyon passing the ball from the ground and whether a Cowboys player had a hand on him. The commentators were stunned - "surely they're not going to give this" - as was every rugby league fan around the world.
The replays then went to Oldfield putting the ball down, and suddenly we all realised. Just like the racist bile coming from Michael Richards' mouth, this was no joke.
Manly try.
The Cowboys were understandably rattled, throwing the ball around to try and make up the now 10-point deficit. They had their chances too: soon afterwards Brent Tate had an unmarked Ashley Graham on his right but elected to go himself. Taufua made a strong run from a kick after accidentally grounding the ball in-goal. The referees allowed the run, which goes against Section 8 (The Kick-Off and Drop-Out) 4. (c) which states:
4. The game is re-started with a drop-out by a defending player from the centre of his goal line if:
...
(c) a defending player touches down in the in-goal area.
Alas, it just wasn't our night. To be fair to Manly their defence was top-notch - it had taken some fancy footwork from forward James Tamou for the Cowboys to get their opener, while their second try came after Graham had helped strip the ball from a Manly player to gain possession.
This, then, wasn't the year. But after the trials of the last few years the team is definitely building to something. In Tamou and Matt Scott the Cowboys have the two best props in the game; Brent Tate and Kane Linnett two of the better centres; and Anthony Mitchell and Michael Morgan two local lads destined to play a big part in their local team's future. And that's without mentioning the pleasure that Bowen and Thurston bring every week they play together: while we expected Thurston's genius, Bowen's renaissance was one of the great stories of the 2012 National Rugby League season.
All this season I've been following the official North Queensland Cowboys Twitter feed (@nthqldcowboys); it never ceases to amaze me the support people have for the club. Having only been to Townsville twice since we left in 1983 I'm yet to experience a home game up there, but reading the retweets about people travelling 10 hours+ each way just to get to a game shows the support that's out there for one of the NRL's least fashionable clubs.
Naturally we're all disappointed at how the season ended, but let's hope the team uses the pain of defeat to lead us to victory in 2013.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 12 (Tamou, Winterstein tries; Thurston 2/2 goals) lost to Manly Sea-Eagles 22.
Sunday, 9 September 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Finals Week 1
I CAN'T recall ever being an only child.
It's not surprising. I was just past two years old when Matt became the first of many siblings in February 1983. From then until I went to boarding school in 1996 we shared many experiences: an army family's million moves; Grandma's slow battle with the brain tumour that killed her; the four schools we simultaneously attended in classes three years apart. Like all good siblings we played sports, climbed trees and fought like Tasmanian devils locked in a small bag together for 10-12 years.
After one of us (him) farted.
Repeatedly.
After '96 things changed a bit. Mum and Dad split up while I was away, leaving Matt to deal with the consequences and support the younger two brothers. Our respective careers as journalist/tour guide and government worker took us further apart with two very different life experiences, not least when Matt became father to young Lachie late last year.
All this is a roundabout way of explaining a sense of happiness as we sat next to each other at the Breakfast Creek Hotel in Brisbane. Our team was up and would go on to record a convincing win against hated rivals - and it was the first time in years I could remember us watching a Cowboys match together.
Oh, and he'd up and married partner Danielle earlier that day.
Having eschewed a traditional wedding family and close friends met at the famous Brisbane pub for a feed and a couple of quiet ones to celebrate with the new couple. The game kicked off soon after we'd finished our meals but general chit-chat meant we only caught a glimpse here and there; enough though to see Ashley Graham somehow fling the ball back infield while in-touch and airborne for Matty Bowen to open the scoring. We also caught a glimpse of Jack Reed crossing, leading the best man to break out in a bad case of premature congratulation when the try was disallowed. Another glimpse saw Michael Morgan pick up a spilled ball for his first; later we caught the replays as he used his go-go-gadget arms to grab the ball and help give the Cowboys an 18-0 halftime lead.
During the halftime break Matt and I had a quick chat about the pitfalls of being a Cowboys fan - that is, the feeling that disappointment lurks around the corner. A Brisbane try soon after the restart seemed to confirm those suspicions; only to be allayed when Bowen showed the form from the Cowboys' glory year by taking the ball 20m out, stepping past Broncos players then passing wide for Brent Tate to race away and score.
Brisbane crossed twice more just before we left to meet some of the couple's friends in town leaving an anxious cab ride hitting the mobile's "refresh" button. Fortunately Morgan scored his third to seal the win before Bowen coolly slotted home a field goal in his 250th NRL game.
All-in-all it was the perfect night: family, food and football. My brother is now a happily married man - although I don't think Danielle was terribly happy with her beloved Broncos losing.
Here's to that being their only worry.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 33 (Morgan 3, Bowen, Tate tries; Thurston 6/7 goals; Bowen field goal) defeated Brisbane Broncos 16.
It's not surprising. I was just past two years old when Matt became the first of many siblings in February 1983. From then until I went to boarding school in 1996 we shared many experiences: an army family's million moves; Grandma's slow battle with the brain tumour that killed her; the four schools we simultaneously attended in classes three years apart. Like all good siblings we played sports, climbed trees and fought like Tasmanian devils locked in a small bag together for 10-12 years.
After one of us (him) farted.
Repeatedly.
After '96 things changed a bit. Mum and Dad split up while I was away, leaving Matt to deal with the consequences and support the younger two brothers. Our respective careers as journalist/tour guide and government worker took us further apart with two very different life experiences, not least when Matt became father to young Lachie late last year.
All this is a roundabout way of explaining a sense of happiness as we sat next to each other at the Breakfast Creek Hotel in Brisbane. Our team was up and would go on to record a convincing win against hated rivals - and it was the first time in years I could remember us watching a Cowboys match together.
Oh, and he'd up and married partner Danielle earlier that day.
Having eschewed a traditional wedding family and close friends met at the famous Brisbane pub for a feed and a couple of quiet ones to celebrate with the new couple. The game kicked off soon after we'd finished our meals but general chit-chat meant we only caught a glimpse here and there; enough though to see Ashley Graham somehow fling the ball back infield while in-touch and airborne for Matty Bowen to open the scoring. We also caught a glimpse of Jack Reed crossing, leading the best man to break out in a bad case of premature congratulation when the try was disallowed. Another glimpse saw Michael Morgan pick up a spilled ball for his first; later we caught the replays as he used his go-go-gadget arms to grab the ball and help give the Cowboys an 18-0 halftime lead.
During the halftime break Matt and I had a quick chat about the pitfalls of being a Cowboys fan - that is, the feeling that disappointment lurks around the corner. A Brisbane try soon after the restart seemed to confirm those suspicions; only to be allayed when Bowen showed the form from the Cowboys' glory year by taking the ball 20m out, stepping past Broncos players then passing wide for Brent Tate to race away and score.
Brisbane crossed twice more just before we left to meet some of the couple's friends in town leaving an anxious cab ride hitting the mobile's "refresh" button. Fortunately Morgan scored his third to seal the win before Bowen coolly slotted home a field goal in his 250th NRL game.
All-in-all it was the perfect night: family, food and football. My brother is now a happily married man - although I don't think Danielle was terribly happy with her beloved Broncos losing.
Here's to that being their only worry.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 33 (Morgan 3, Bowen, Tate tries; Thurston 6/7 goals; Bowen field goal) defeated Brisbane Broncos 16.
Monday, 3 September 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Rounds 24, 25 & 26
THE final rounds of the season are always a nerve-racking time for sports fans, especially if you're battling it out for certain positions. The teams at the top want the home semi-final and double chance; while the teams sitting around 8th position want to ensure they get some September action.
For the North Queensland Cowboys, they needed to win their last three games and hope that Souths or Manly messed up enough to sneak them into third or fourth. That two of these games were in New South Wales would give fans an indication of their finals' chances - lose both and any thoughts of beating the likes of Canterbury or Souths in a Sydney final would go right out the window.
Down then to Wollongong for the match against the Dragons, who had to win to keep their September hopes alive. The Cowboys were riding high after flogging the Warriors the week before, and came out firing with tries to Ashley Graham and Kane Linnett for an early 12-0 lead. The Dragons soon hit back before a dropped ball on the first hit-up after the restart allowed Linnett to notch up his second.
Attack has never been a problem for the Cowboys; defence definitely has. Two Dragons tries before half-time reduced the margin to just two points; another try after the break meant the Cowboys were behind even though they'd dominated most of the match. A punch-up soon after led to one player from each team being sin-binned; Johnathan Thurston then took advantage with some light-stepping that wouldn't have been out of place on Dancing With The Stars to put the Cowboys back in front.
The match-sealer came the way many a Cowboys try has come - Thurston creating a gap, quick pass out to Brent Tate, back inside to Thurston before a final pass to Matt Bowen who scored to put the game out of reach.
SO one NSW game, one win. Back up in Townsville for veteran Aaron Payne's last home-and-away match at Dairy Farmers, the Cowboys were once again playing a side desperate for the win. This time Newcastle took an early lead after some quick hands from a goal-line kick saw Timana Tahu cross unopposed. Thurston seemed to take this personally, accelerating through a gap to notch up the Cowboys' first try of the night. Not to be outdone, Bowen did the same to give the Cowboys the lead.
If that was classic Bowen, the next try was 2005-vintage Bowen. Taking the ball from his own goal-line, Bowen scooted past three Newcastle players before finding Anthony Mitchell on his inside, who then found Tate on his inside to score a 98m try.
Once again though the Cowboys seemed to switch off after taking a good lead, with Newcastle scoring two more tries to leave the margin at just four points at half-time. After the break neither side managed to cross the line; two Thurston penalty goals were enough to get the Cowboys home by eight.
Finally then a match in Sydney; and this against the team directly below them on the ladder. By the time the Cowboys took the field against Cronulla they knew they couldn't make the top 4; however plans by coach Neil Henry to rest the likes of Thurston and Bowen were thwarted by the players themselves.
That the Cowboys took an early lead after a kick wasn't a huge shock; that Thurston had played the ball was. Bowen's kick landed just short of the Cronulla back, whose attempt to grab it only allowed Gavin Cooper to simultaneously ground the ball and thus score the try.
Cronulla soon hit back with a try to the departing Colin Best, only for a slick backline move and some good angles from Tate to put the Cowboys back in front. Cronulla hit back again; again the Cowboys struck back, with Graham scoring his 20th try of the season.
What happened next? Why, Cronulla scored, then North Queensland again. This time James Segeyaro scooted over from dummy half in his first game back after a shoulder injury; before Jason Taumalolo stopped the to-and-fro with a barmstorming run from 10m out. Graham then scored his 21st try to match the Bulldogs' Ben Barba as the leading tryscorer before a late Cronulla try gave the scoreline some respectability.
ONWARDS then to a home final against arch-rivals Brisbane Broncos. Win and a game against Manly or Canterbury awaits. With a fifth-placed finish, a hot backline, the NRL's best attack and Bowen and Thurston causing plenty of havoc, this season has a definite 2005 feel to it - could we go one better this time around?
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 32 (Linnett 2, Graham, Thurston, Bowen tries; Thurston 6/6 goals) defeated St George-Illawarra Dragons 22
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 22 (Thurston, Bowen, Tate tries; Thurston 5/5 goals) defeated Newcastle Knights 14
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 36 (Graham 2, Cooper, Tate, Segeyaro, Taumalolo tries; Thurston 6/7 goals) defeated Cronulla Sharks 22
For the North Queensland Cowboys, they needed to win their last three games and hope that Souths or Manly messed up enough to sneak them into third or fourth. That two of these games were in New South Wales would give fans an indication of their finals' chances - lose both and any thoughts of beating the likes of Canterbury or Souths in a Sydney final would go right out the window.
Down then to Wollongong for the match against the Dragons, who had to win to keep their September hopes alive. The Cowboys were riding high after flogging the Warriors the week before, and came out firing with tries to Ashley Graham and Kane Linnett for an early 12-0 lead. The Dragons soon hit back before a dropped ball on the first hit-up after the restart allowed Linnett to notch up his second.
Attack has never been a problem for the Cowboys; defence definitely has. Two Dragons tries before half-time reduced the margin to just two points; another try after the break meant the Cowboys were behind even though they'd dominated most of the match. A punch-up soon after led to one player from each team being sin-binned; Johnathan Thurston then took advantage with some light-stepping that wouldn't have been out of place on Dancing With The Stars to put the Cowboys back in front.
The match-sealer came the way many a Cowboys try has come - Thurston creating a gap, quick pass out to Brent Tate, back inside to Thurston before a final pass to Matt Bowen who scored to put the game out of reach.
SO one NSW game, one win. Back up in Townsville for veteran Aaron Payne's last home-and-away match at Dairy Farmers, the Cowboys were once again playing a side desperate for the win. This time Newcastle took an early lead after some quick hands from a goal-line kick saw Timana Tahu cross unopposed. Thurston seemed to take this personally, accelerating through a gap to notch up the Cowboys' first try of the night. Not to be outdone, Bowen did the same to give the Cowboys the lead.
If that was classic Bowen, the next try was 2005-vintage Bowen. Taking the ball from his own goal-line, Bowen scooted past three Newcastle players before finding Anthony Mitchell on his inside, who then found Tate on his inside to score a 98m try.
Once again though the Cowboys seemed to switch off after taking a good lead, with Newcastle scoring two more tries to leave the margin at just four points at half-time. After the break neither side managed to cross the line; two Thurston penalty goals were enough to get the Cowboys home by eight.
Finally then a match in Sydney; and this against the team directly below them on the ladder. By the time the Cowboys took the field against Cronulla they knew they couldn't make the top 4; however plans by coach Neil Henry to rest the likes of Thurston and Bowen were thwarted by the players themselves.
That the Cowboys took an early lead after a kick wasn't a huge shock; that Thurston had played the ball was. Bowen's kick landed just short of the Cronulla back, whose attempt to grab it only allowed Gavin Cooper to simultaneously ground the ball and thus score the try.
Cronulla soon hit back with a try to the departing Colin Best, only for a slick backline move and some good angles from Tate to put the Cowboys back in front. Cronulla hit back again; again the Cowboys struck back, with Graham scoring his 20th try of the season.
What happened next? Why, Cronulla scored, then North Queensland again. This time James Segeyaro scooted over from dummy half in his first game back after a shoulder injury; before Jason Taumalolo stopped the to-and-fro with a barmstorming run from 10m out. Graham then scored his 21st try to match the Bulldogs' Ben Barba as the leading tryscorer before a late Cronulla try gave the scoreline some respectability.
ONWARDS then to a home final against arch-rivals Brisbane Broncos. Win and a game against Manly or Canterbury awaits. With a fifth-placed finish, a hot backline, the NRL's best attack and Bowen and Thurston causing plenty of havoc, this season has a definite 2005 feel to it - could we go one better this time around?
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 32 (Linnett 2, Graham, Thurston, Bowen tries; Thurston 6/6 goals) defeated St George-Illawarra Dragons 22
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 22 (Thurston, Bowen, Tate tries; Thurston 5/5 goals) defeated Newcastle Knights 14
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 36 (Graham 2, Cooper, Tate, Segeyaro, Taumalolo tries; Thurston 6/7 goals) defeated Cronulla Sharks 22
Sunday, 26 August 2012
My International Career
IT was late in the game. I had the ball in my hands, about 30 metres out from the goals, just off to the right. Kick this for the country and we were back in the game and a chance of making the final; miss and we may as well head back home.
Walking back from the mark I kept my eye on the goals, spinning the ball in my hands as a way of hiding my nervousness. After all, how often do you get to help win an international football match? Setting myself at the top of the mark, I began my run forward, kicked...
No, this wasn't a dream - this actually happened. The scene was a Viennese football park, my country was the Czech Republic, the competition was the Eastern European Championships and the sport was Australian Rules Football. At the time I was working as an on-board guide for Busabout, taking people around Europe, telling them where to go (nicely of course), then moving on the next day to a new group to a new destination. We'd arrived the previous afternoon into Wombats hostel in Vienna to find signs advertising the championship the next day, and as I had the next couple of days off, tentatively made plans with a few of the lads on the bus to wander over and have a look.
Later that night we were celebrating the first Friday of the week down in the hostel's WomBar when a couple of the boys came up to me rather excited. It turned out the Czech team were short a few players and they'd been asked if they wanted to join in, and perhaps I'd like to tag along as well? The Czech captain popped up a couple of seconds later to confirm the invitation - tomorrow we'd be international footballers! Naturally this was cause for celebration, which we did for another hour or so before going to bed at 3am.
The next morning the team assembled at reception for our trip out to the park. It was easy to tell who'd made the trip down specifically for the match and who'd been recruited at 2am - us latecomers were hungover as well. Turns out celebrating with Jaegermeister seven hours before your first match isn't recommended, something that hit home in the first match when two players made emergency trips to the loo with another (me) found with hands on hips after my first run, trying desperately not to join them in the "up-and-under" club.
We unsurprisingly lost that first game but began to come good in our second match against Finland. We were an eclectic bunch - of those that were originally selected there were a few Aussie expats, one Czech bloke and a Czech lass that had actually played international basketball. There was another lad who wasn't Czech but worked in a Prague hostel; with points deducted for every Australian in the team these international players were worth their weight even if they didn't do much on the field. The second match was also where I grazed my leg twice on a bare patch of field; the graze just below and to the left of my knee becoming infected due to the old-fashioned cure of applying alcohol internally.
On then to our final game. By now we'd blown the cobwebs off and were pretty eager to finish with a win, which given the vagarities of the scoring system could well mean we'd make the final. This was how I found myself, ball in hand, ready to win the game for my adopted country, putting into practise all I'd learnt playing for the mighty Cooma Cats.
One step, two steps, three steps, ball gets released, right foot come through to strike ball towards goals...
Behind.
We ended not with the premiership but the wooden spoon - not surprising really when you consider where and when we'd been recruited. But a fun day out nonetheless and an unlikely addition to the resume: international footballer.
Walking back from the mark I kept my eye on the goals, spinning the ball in my hands as a way of hiding my nervousness. After all, how often do you get to help win an international football match? Setting myself at the top of the mark, I began my run forward, kicked...
No, this wasn't a dream - this actually happened. The scene was a Viennese football park, my country was the Czech Republic, the competition was the Eastern European Championships and the sport was Australian Rules Football. At the time I was working as an on-board guide for Busabout, taking people around Europe, telling them where to go (nicely of course), then moving on the next day to a new group to a new destination. We'd arrived the previous afternoon into Wombats hostel in Vienna to find signs advertising the championship the next day, and as I had the next couple of days off, tentatively made plans with a few of the lads on the bus to wander over and have a look.
Later that night we were celebrating the first Friday of the week down in the hostel's WomBar when a couple of the boys came up to me rather excited. It turned out the Czech team were short a few players and they'd been asked if they wanted to join in, and perhaps I'd like to tag along as well? The Czech captain popped up a couple of seconds later to confirm the invitation - tomorrow we'd be international footballers! Naturally this was cause for celebration, which we did for another hour or so before going to bed at 3am.
The next morning the team assembled at reception for our trip out to the park. It was easy to tell who'd made the trip down specifically for the match and who'd been recruited at 2am - us latecomers were hungover as well. Turns out celebrating with Jaegermeister seven hours before your first match isn't recommended, something that hit home in the first match when two players made emergency trips to the loo with another (me) found with hands on hips after my first run, trying desperately not to join them in the "up-and-under" club.
 |
| After I'd settled down. |
We unsurprisingly lost that first game but began to come good in our second match against Finland. We were an eclectic bunch - of those that were originally selected there were a few Aussie expats, one Czech bloke and a Czech lass that had actually played international basketball. There was another lad who wasn't Czech but worked in a Prague hostel; with points deducted for every Australian in the team these international players were worth their weight even if they didn't do much on the field. The second match was also where I grazed my leg twice on a bare patch of field; the graze just below and to the left of my knee becoming infected due to the old-fashioned cure of applying alcohol internally.
 |
| Two days later this was the same width the whole way down. |
On then to our final game. By now we'd blown the cobwebs off and were pretty eager to finish with a win, which given the vagarities of the scoring system could well mean we'd make the final. This was how I found myself, ball in hand, ready to win the game for my adopted country, putting into practise all I'd learnt playing for the mighty Cooma Cats.
One step, two steps, three steps, ball gets released, right foot come through to strike ball towards goals...
Behind.
We ended not with the premiership but the wooden spoon - not surprising really when you consider where and when we'd been recruited. But a fun day out nonetheless and an unlikely addition to the resume: international footballer.
Sunday, 12 August 2012
I Said To The Man Trying To Tempt Me, Do Our Athletes Really Need More Money?
IMAGINE aliens had decided to tour the world in the last couple of weeks. Starting in London and catching some of the Olympic events, they then head over the Atlantic only to find they have to wait ages before they can catch up on the highlights.
Cruising around the world said aliens might have partied in the Bahamas after their men won the 4 x 400m relay; prost-ed the discus success (and subsequent Hulk impersonation) of German Robert Harting; even sharing a haggis and Irn-Bru as Andy Murray finally won a Wimbledon final.
Heading over the Pacific our other-worldly friends would have then come across two neighbours with very different national moods. Had they been watching the rowing with in New Zealand they would have enjoyed the party as they won three gold medals; had they popped straight across the Tasman they might be surprised to find a nation of 23 million people despairing despite winning 13 medals to that point. They're surprised at the how disappointed people are despite the fact that of the countries with more medals, the next smallest population was South Korea with 14 medals and 50 million people. They'd also be confused about the comments that these were Australia's worst games since Montreal in 1976.
Let's rewind then back to Montreal, 1976. For locals these Olympics gave the wonderful present of 30 years worth of debt, while Australia's present wasn't much better. Australian athletes won precisely one silver medal and four bronze; more galling was the fact that Australia's sole silver came from losing the men's gold medal hockey match... to New Zealand. These Olympics were the first time the Kiwis had finished higher on the medal tally than Australia, a feat they repeated with their record-breaking eight gold medals in Los Angeles in 1984.
Clearly, Australia had to do something. The country that had given the world Olympic champions like Shane Gould, Dawn Fraser and Betty Cuthbert now found itself out of the top-ten position it had held since the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. The poor performance in Montreal followed two reports in the mid 1970s, leading to increased sports funding from the Federal Government and the establishment of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in 1981.
It took a little while for the AIS to start producing gold medallists - the first was the women's hockey team in Seoul in 1988 - but by the time of the Sydney Olympics AIS athletes won 32 out of Australia's 58 medals, including eight golds (out of 16). The rest of the world suddenly began to take notice, including the British, who managed to entice a number of Australian coaches halfway across the world in an effort to win more golds on home soil. As British Olympic Association chair Colin Moynihan said in this article:
He's not the only one that thinks this way. On Channel 9 former Olympic champion Linford Christie said pretty much the same thing, suggesting it's not that Australia's standards that have fallen; rather that everyone else has caught up. Factor that with the score of countries that have just or will soon celebrate their 21st birthdays and the money many resource-rich countries are splashing around, then Australia's performances are still above-average on a per-capita basis.
That's not to say questions shouldn't be asked. Many Australian athletes are funded through government grants, and we as taxpayers have the right to ask whether our money is being spent wisely. But for all of Australia's golds that ended up silver or bronze, we learnt to properly celebrate the achievements of people like Tom Slingsby, Anna Meares and Sally Pearson with genuine joy rather than a "ho-hum, another gold". And as Richard Hinds said in this column:
When you win more medals than countries twice your population, 16 silvers and 12 bronzes should be a cause for celebration, not for complaint.
Cruising around the world said aliens might have partied in the Bahamas after their men won the 4 x 400m relay; prost-ed the discus success (and subsequent Hulk impersonation) of German Robert Harting; even sharing a haggis and Irn-Bru as Andy Murray finally won a Wimbledon final.
Heading over the Pacific our other-worldly friends would have then come across two neighbours with very different national moods. Had they been watching the rowing with in New Zealand they would have enjoyed the party as they won three gold medals; had they popped straight across the Tasman they might be surprised to find a nation of 23 million people despairing despite winning 13 medals to that point. They're surprised at the how disappointed people are despite the fact that of the countries with more medals, the next smallest population was South Korea with 14 medals and 50 million people. They'd also be confused about the comments that these were Australia's worst games since Montreal in 1976.
Let's rewind then back to Montreal, 1976. For locals these Olympics gave the wonderful present of 30 years worth of debt, while Australia's present wasn't much better. Australian athletes won precisely one silver medal and four bronze; more galling was the fact that Australia's sole silver came from losing the men's gold medal hockey match... to New Zealand. These Olympics were the first time the Kiwis had finished higher on the medal tally than Australia, a feat they repeated with their record-breaking eight gold medals in Los Angeles in 1984.
Clearly, Australia had to do something. The country that had given the world Olympic champions like Shane Gould, Dawn Fraser and Betty Cuthbert now found itself out of the top-ten position it had held since the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. The poor performance in Montreal followed two reports in the mid 1970s, leading to increased sports funding from the Federal Government and the establishment of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in 1981.
It took a little while for the AIS to start producing gold medallists - the first was the women's hockey team in Seoul in 1988 - but by the time of the Sydney Olympics AIS athletes won 32 out of Australia's 58 medals, including eight golds (out of 16). The rest of the world suddenly began to take notice, including the British, who managed to entice a number of Australian coaches halfway across the world in an effort to win more golds on home soil. As British Olympic Association chair Colin Moynihan said in this article:
“They have provided through their institute some remarkable coaches which we’ve been fortunate enough to benefit from across a number of sports.”
He's not the only one that thinks this way. On Channel 9 former Olympic champion Linford Christie said pretty much the same thing, suggesting it's not that Australia's standards that have fallen; rather that everyone else has caught up. Factor that with the score of countries that have just or will soon celebrate their 21st birthdays and the money many resource-rich countries are splashing around, then Australia's performances are still above-average on a per-capita basis.
That's not to say questions shouldn't be asked. Many Australian athletes are funded through government grants, and we as taxpayers have the right to ask whether our money is being spent wisely. But for all of Australia's golds that ended up silver or bronze, we learnt to properly celebrate the achievements of people like Tom Slingsby, Anna Meares and Sally Pearson with genuine joy rather than a "ho-hum, another gold". And as Richard Hinds said in this column:
"Seeing Australian athletes who have not reached their goals, or those imposed upon them, tempering their natural devastation with dignity and good humour. Surely, that is a far better reflection of a great sporting nation than any dollars-for-gold medal table."
"... Don't allow the pompous blazers, and the publicity hungry politicians to obscure your view. Home and away, Australia is a great sporting nation and — on balance — a nation of great sports. These Olympics did absolutely nothing to change that."
When you win more medals than countries twice your population, 16 silvers and 12 bronzes should be a cause for celebration, not for complaint.
Supporting North Queensland: Rounds 22 & 23
THIS blog is a little late; well, a week late anyway. I would have got around to writing about the North Queensland Cowboys' match against Manly last weekend, if not for the enfolding spectacle that was the 2012 Olympics.
It's kind of apt though that the Olympics were on, for the Cowboys seemed to channel the Australian Olympic team; or at least the swimmers. The premiers had put the Cowboys to the sword in their semi-final clash last year after the Cowboys were up 8-0 at halftime; this time around it was Manly leading 6-0 at the main break. Local hopes went up when Kane Linnett took advantage of a bouncing ball to score, only for Jamie Lyon to edge Manly ahead with a penalty goal. As hard as the Cowboys tried, they couldn't quite crack the Manly line again, leaving them narrow silver medallists in this two-team event they were favourites to win.
Another week passes, and Australia starts winning some gold again. First up Tom Slingsby breaks through for Australia's second gold of the games before another five follow suit for a a veritable goldrush. Likewise, when Matty Bowen scores early in the Cowboys' round 23 game against the New Zealand Warriors, the floodgates opened. Ash Graham scored twice and Antonio Winterstein once to leave them up 22-0 after 20 minutes.
The Warriors scored in the 38th minute to give them a slight chance if they had their heads back on after the break. Linnett put paid to that with a 44th minute try before Gavin Cooper and Brent Tate crossed; Aaron Payne soon after for his first try of the season; and finally Ashley Graham with his third for the night to keep him just one try behind the Bulldogs' Ben Barba for the title of season's leading try-scorer.
So three rounds to go and the Cowboys four points ahead of 9th with the third-best for-and-against of the competition. The three are against St George-Illawarra away, Newcastle at home before the Sharks away. Win all three and the Cowboys are a chance of a top-four spot with the double-chance that entails; lose any and a tough run to the grand final looms.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 6 (Linnett try, Thurston 1/1 goal) lost to Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 8
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 52 (Graham 3, Bowen, Winterstein, Linnett, Cooper, Tate, Payne tries; Thurston 8/9 goals) defeated New Zealand Warriors 12
It's kind of apt though that the Olympics were on, for the Cowboys seemed to channel the Australian Olympic team; or at least the swimmers. The premiers had put the Cowboys to the sword in their semi-final clash last year after the Cowboys were up 8-0 at halftime; this time around it was Manly leading 6-0 at the main break. Local hopes went up when Kane Linnett took advantage of a bouncing ball to score, only for Jamie Lyon to edge Manly ahead with a penalty goal. As hard as the Cowboys tried, they couldn't quite crack the Manly line again, leaving them narrow silver medallists in this two-team event they were favourites to win.
Another week passes, and Australia starts winning some gold again. First up Tom Slingsby breaks through for Australia's second gold of the games before another five follow suit for a a veritable goldrush. Likewise, when Matty Bowen scores early in the Cowboys' round 23 game against the New Zealand Warriors, the floodgates opened. Ash Graham scored twice and Antonio Winterstein once to leave them up 22-0 after 20 minutes.
The Warriors scored in the 38th minute to give them a slight chance if they had their heads back on after the break. Linnett put paid to that with a 44th minute try before Gavin Cooper and Brent Tate crossed; Aaron Payne soon after for his first try of the season; and finally Ashley Graham with his third for the night to keep him just one try behind the Bulldogs' Ben Barba for the title of season's leading try-scorer.
So three rounds to go and the Cowboys four points ahead of 9th with the third-best for-and-against of the competition. The three are against St George-Illawarra away, Newcastle at home before the Sharks away. Win all three and the Cowboys are a chance of a top-four spot with the double-chance that entails; lose any and a tough run to the grand final looms.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 6 (Linnett try, Thurston 1/1 goal) lost to Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 8
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 52 (Graham 3, Bowen, Winterstein, Linnett, Cooper, Tate, Payne tries; Thurston 8/9 goals) defeated New Zealand Warriors 12
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 21
WANT to know how to silence Johnathan Thurston, Matt Bowen, Matt Scott, James Tamou et al?
Fly them south of the Tweed.
Actually, that's not entirely true: the North Queensland Cowboys won their last match in Melbourne and three of their last five in the Australian Capital Territory.
Get them in New South Wales though and it's a different story. Most media outlets ran an interesting statistic before the Cowboys' round 21 match against the ladder-leading Bulldogs: 31 matches, 5 wins. There's been a total of one win in NSW this season, a 32-12 win against Newcastle way back in round 10. Apparently the Cowboys are as comfortable in NSW as the late Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
That's not to say they were without hope. For all the hype surrounding the Bulldogs the Cowboys - man-for-man - can match them. Both forward packs are scattered with rep players; while the match-up between Ben Barba and Bowen was enough to wonder just what TV executives were thinking when they picked this game for 5.30 on a Saturday.
It didn't take long for Barba to take the opening honours. Josh Reynolds made the initial break, Bowen went in low to stop him, only for the offload to find Barba steaming through somewhere just below Mach-1 for the opening try.
Over to you Matty: Bowen then struck back with a wonderful little grubber kick that sat up just right for Kane Linnett to score. A Thurston conversion later and it was game on at 6-6, only for déjà vu to strike all over again/ Reynolds break, Bowen tackle, Barba support, Bulldogs try, six-point lead. Soon after a Reynolds kick found Antonio Winterstein, Krisnan Inu snatched it, looked like he dropped it only for the video referee to give him the benefit of the doubt. 18-6 Bulldogs at half-time and the match of the round looking more like Mike Tyson vs Gerrard Zohs.
Break over and this year's Cowboys side they were no pushovers. First up Winterstein took advantage of a Barba error to pounce on a fairly innocuous grubber, before Bowen made one of the tackles of the season. Josh Morris made a break, pinned the ears back and made for the corner. Bowen pinned his ears back, made the chase and despite giving 10cm and 10kg managed to bring Morris down just before the line. Soon after Thurston crossed for his first try of the season, converted his own try and at 18-18 this game was ON.
What followed was the most exciting arm-wrestle imaginable. Both teams threw wave after wave of attack at each other; both teams fell just short until the Bulldogs got a penalty from a strip for a 20-18 lead. Sam Perrett scored from a bomb soon after, Barba rubbed salt into the wound with a 79th minute try and the Bulldogs won 32-16.
So a loss, but the Cowboys showed enough that should they make the finals, they're more than capable of causing an upset, even if the game is in NSW.
Just ask the 2004 Bulldogs about that...
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 18 (Linnett, Winterstein, Thurston tries; Thurston 3/3 goals) lost to Canterbury Bulldogs 32.
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Rounds 19 & 20
IT'S been a pretty hectic couple of weeks recently. A friend's wedding in New Zealand provided me with the excuse to head over to the Shaky Isles and do a little touring, which is how I ended up watching both the deciding State of Origin and a bride-to-be show us her mammary glands in a backpackers bar in Auckland.
The Cowboys then had the bye before a couple of matches that would give us an indication of whether they were fair dinkum premiership contenders, or merely fated to provide a top team with a practise run in the first week of the finals.
The first of these games was probably the hardest: Melbourne Storm in Melbourne. Despite being without Billy Slater the Storm were favourites for this match, not least because the Cowboys had a dreadful 18-6 record against them. I won't bore you with the details as this match coincided with the aforementioned wedding and reception, but needless to say it was a very pleasant surprise at 3am to find the Cowboys finished 20-16 winners.
Onwards then to Monday Night Football against the Wests Tigers. Since qualifying for the finals for the first time ever with a win against the Tigers in 2004 the Cowboys have had another poor record against them with just two wins in their last 10 matches. This time I was back at work, checking scores while checking people in.
The first half was as entertaining as you'd expect two highly attacking teams to play. The Tigers at one point led 16-10, only for Brent Tate to cross just before half-time and level the scores. Soon after the break Anthony Mitchell scored to give the Cowboys the lead; a lead they held onto before adding a Matt Bowen field goal, Gavin Cooper try and Johnathan Thurston conversion for the eventual 29-16 scoreline.
So two wins in two matches against two clubs that traditionally held the wood over us. That's not to say we're guaranteed of keeping our top-four spot through to the finals - when your run home is Bulldogs (away), Manly (home), Warriors (h), Dragons (a), Knights (h) and Sharks (a), you take nothing for granted.
A couple of wins in the first of those two matches though...
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 20 (Linnett 2, Tate tries; Thurston 4/4 goals) defeated Melbourne Storm 16.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 29 (Hall, Faifai Loa, Tate, Mitchell, Cooper tries; Thurston 4/5 goals; Bowen field goal) defeated Wests Tigers 16.
The Cowboys then had the bye before a couple of matches that would give us an indication of whether they were fair dinkum premiership contenders, or merely fated to provide a top team with a practise run in the first week of the finals.
The first of these games was probably the hardest: Melbourne Storm in Melbourne. Despite being without Billy Slater the Storm were favourites for this match, not least because the Cowboys had a dreadful 18-6 record against them. I won't bore you with the details as this match coincided with the aforementioned wedding and reception, but needless to say it was a very pleasant surprise at 3am to find the Cowboys finished 20-16 winners.
Onwards then to Monday Night Football against the Wests Tigers. Since qualifying for the finals for the first time ever with a win against the Tigers in 2004 the Cowboys have had another poor record against them with just two wins in their last 10 matches. This time I was back at work, checking scores while checking people in.
The first half was as entertaining as you'd expect two highly attacking teams to play. The Tigers at one point led 16-10, only for Brent Tate to cross just before half-time and level the scores. Soon after the break Anthony Mitchell scored to give the Cowboys the lead; a lead they held onto before adding a Matt Bowen field goal, Gavin Cooper try and Johnathan Thurston conversion for the eventual 29-16 scoreline.
So two wins in two matches against two clubs that traditionally held the wood over us. That's not to say we're guaranteed of keeping our top-four spot through to the finals - when your run home is Bulldogs (away), Manly (home), Warriors (h), Dragons (a), Knights (h) and Sharks (a), you take nothing for granted.
A couple of wins in the first of those two matches though...
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 20 (Linnett 2, Tate tries; Thurston 4/4 goals) defeated Melbourne Storm 16.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 29 (Hall, Faifai Loa, Tate, Mitchell, Cooper tries; Thurston 4/5 goals; Bowen field goal) defeated Wests Tigers 16.
Sunday, 1 July 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 17
BEFORE this weekend I had an idea in advance what I'd be writing about. The luck of the draw had meant the North Queensland Cowboys - a team guaranteed to have two of their best players in a State of Origin team - would play the New Zealand Warriors, last year's losing grand finalists and a team unlikely to lose (m)any to an Australian interstate competition.
That was the plan. With the Cowboys eventually losing four players to Origin duty (Johnathan Thurston, Brent Tate, Matthew Scott and James Tamou), I was prepared for a scoreline similar to the final 35-18 result. I was prepared for the often-flimsy defence from both teams, the ridiculous offloads and the spectacular acrobatics to try get the ball over the line.
What I wasn't prepared for that call.
Let me rewind a little. The Warriors started as I feared they would, running in three early tries to take a 16-0 lead after only 13 minutes. On their first real attacking run Matty Bowen held the ball back long enough for Kane Linnett to cross, before former Cowboys Jacob Lillyman restored the 16-point buffer for the Warriors.
Then came the comeback. This season's leading try-scorer Ashley Graham made a spectacular leap to cross just before half-time; Gavin Cooper then crossed in the 52nd minute to narrow the score to 22-18.
With momentum behind them the Cowboys looked like scoring again to take the lead, only for some staunch Warriors defence to stop them. The Warriors were then slowly making their upfield when the ball came loose in a tackle.
Penalty Warriors.
This was a real Sliding Doors moment. The Warriors got the penalty, and from the ensuing set of six managed to pin the Cowboys back in their own in-goal. Drop-out Cowboys, Warriors on the attack, and once again the kick on the fifth is good and the Cowboys are forced to drop-out again. Warriors attacks, Cowboys repel, and yet again there's a goal-line dropout. Finally after three drop-outs Nathan Friend spins over from dummy half and the Warriors fans can breathe a little easier.
The Cowboys try a short kick-off, miss out on possession and can only watch as Lewis Brown cannons over in the corner. By the time James Maloney kicks a field goal, the Cowboys have been forced to defend six consecutive sets since that penalty, conceding two converted tries and the field goal.
Problem is the ref got the call wrong. Replays showed the Warriors layer had simply lost the ball cold rather than having it stripped out by a Cowboy.
Now all this is not to say that the Cowboys would have won had the correct call been made. The Warriors showed great composure and patience to keep the Cowboys defending their line. In the end, they were too good on the day. But a Cowboys scrum 30m out might well have seen a different story.
But it seems as though most games there's a dodgy call when it comes to lost balls. Players are milking penalties when they've dropped it cold; others are throwing a sneaky hand in to make it look like a knock-on.
Perhaps the NRL needs to look at allowing referees to check the video if they're unsure about a knock-on/stripped ball. This could be done quickly and would help clamp down on players pulling a swifty one way or another.
Mind you, the Cowboys could also do with holding onto the ball a little better next time round.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 18 (Linnett, Graham, Cooper tries; Bowen 3/3 goals) lost to New Zealand Warriors 35
That was the plan. With the Cowboys eventually losing four players to Origin duty (Johnathan Thurston, Brent Tate, Matthew Scott and James Tamou), I was prepared for a scoreline similar to the final 35-18 result. I was prepared for the often-flimsy defence from both teams, the ridiculous offloads and the spectacular acrobatics to try get the ball over the line.
What I wasn't prepared for that call.
Let me rewind a little. The Warriors started as I feared they would, running in three early tries to take a 16-0 lead after only 13 minutes. On their first real attacking run Matty Bowen held the ball back long enough for Kane Linnett to cross, before former Cowboys Jacob Lillyman restored the 16-point buffer for the Warriors.
Then came the comeback. This season's leading try-scorer Ashley Graham made a spectacular leap to cross just before half-time; Gavin Cooper then crossed in the 52nd minute to narrow the score to 22-18.
With momentum behind them the Cowboys looked like scoring again to take the lead, only for some staunch Warriors defence to stop them. The Warriors were then slowly making their upfield when the ball came loose in a tackle.
Penalty Warriors.
This was a real Sliding Doors moment. The Warriors got the penalty, and from the ensuing set of six managed to pin the Cowboys back in their own in-goal. Drop-out Cowboys, Warriors on the attack, and once again the kick on the fifth is good and the Cowboys are forced to drop-out again. Warriors attacks, Cowboys repel, and yet again there's a goal-line dropout. Finally after three drop-outs Nathan Friend spins over from dummy half and the Warriors fans can breathe a little easier.
The Cowboys try a short kick-off, miss out on possession and can only watch as Lewis Brown cannons over in the corner. By the time James Maloney kicks a field goal, the Cowboys have been forced to defend six consecutive sets since that penalty, conceding two converted tries and the field goal.
Problem is the ref got the call wrong. Replays showed the Warriors layer had simply lost the ball cold rather than having it stripped out by a Cowboy.
Now all this is not to say that the Cowboys would have won had the correct call been made. The Warriors showed great composure and patience to keep the Cowboys defending their line. In the end, they were too good on the day. But a Cowboys scrum 30m out might well have seen a different story.
But it seems as though most games there's a dodgy call when it comes to lost balls. Players are milking penalties when they've dropped it cold; others are throwing a sneaky hand in to make it look like a knock-on.
Perhaps the NRL needs to look at allowing referees to check the video if they're unsure about a knock-on/stripped ball. This could be done quickly and would help clamp down on players pulling a swifty one way or another.
Mind you, the Cowboys could also do with holding onto the ball a little better next time round.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 18 (Linnett, Graham, Cooper tries; Bowen 3/3 goals) lost to New Zealand Warriors 35
Sunday, 24 June 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 16
LAST WEEK I wrote about how the Brisbane Broncos were both the Cowboys' great rival and bogey team. No matter what the form guide said, the best the Cowboys could do until September 2004 was steal a draw against their city cousins.
The Canberra Raiders don't really have a great rival. Back in the early 1990's you could argue their great rival was the Broncos on account of at least one of the two winning all bar one premiership between 1989 and 1994, but since then continued mediocrity (occasional inspiration in 2003 and 2010 notwithstanding) and a lack of local derbies means there's no one that could really be termed great rivals as such.
What they do have however is a bogey team - the Cowboys.
It's partially the results: Canberra have won just three of their last 10 matches against the Cowboys with none in Townsville since 2006. It's a welcome change for Cowboys' fans who are still 11-18 against the Green Machine, but not the reason for bogey team status.
Nope, the reason the Cowboys are Canberra's bogey team is the injury list.
Consider this: the last two matches the teams played Canberra didn't finish with a full bench. At Canberra Stadium in 2011 the Raiders led 22-0 in the first half before injuries to Josh Dugan and Terry Campese - playing his one and only game for the season - left the Raiders two short and eventually over-run 24-40.
Earlier this year it happened again: this time forwards Brett White and Joel Thompson went off injured as the Cowboys managed a 22-6 win, again at Canberra Stadium.
So surely third time lucky for the Raiders?
Nope.
Joel Thompson again failed to finish a match against the Cowboys with a broken knuckle; Trevor Thurling sustained a shoulder injury; while star back Dugan suffered a suspected broken ankle late in the match.
For the Cowboys it was a solid win after co-captain Matthew Scott pulled out following his mother's passing earlier in the week. Stories of Diane Scott driving up to eight hours return for junior matches from the remote town of Ilfracombe showed exactly why the NRL chose to have a round celebrating Women in League.
Cowboys veteran Matty Bowen furthered his State of Origin claims with another strong performance; not scoring any tries himself but throwing the last pass in four of his team's seven tries. Back in 2005 much of the excitement around the Cowboys came from his combination with Johnathon Thurston; this year they're back better than ever causing havoc around the edge of the ruck.
Unfortunately for the Raiders the Cowboys seem to do more to them than just cause havoc around the ruck. This keeps up everyone's going to be wanting to play Canberra straight after a Cowboys game.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 40 (Hall 2, Graham, Winterstein, Thompson, Linnett, Bolton tries; Thurston 5/06, Bowen 1/1 goals) defeated Canberra Raiders 18.
The Canberra Raiders don't really have a great rival. Back in the early 1990's you could argue their great rival was the Broncos on account of at least one of the two winning all bar one premiership between 1989 and 1994, but since then continued mediocrity (occasional inspiration in 2003 and 2010 notwithstanding) and a lack of local derbies means there's no one that could really be termed great rivals as such.
What they do have however is a bogey team - the Cowboys.
It's partially the results: Canberra have won just three of their last 10 matches against the Cowboys with none in Townsville since 2006. It's a welcome change for Cowboys' fans who are still 11-18 against the Green Machine, but not the reason for bogey team status.
Nope, the reason the Cowboys are Canberra's bogey team is the injury list.
Consider this: the last two matches the teams played Canberra didn't finish with a full bench. At Canberra Stadium in 2011 the Raiders led 22-0 in the first half before injuries to Josh Dugan and Terry Campese - playing his one and only game for the season - left the Raiders two short and eventually over-run 24-40.
Earlier this year it happened again: this time forwards Brett White and Joel Thompson went off injured as the Cowboys managed a 22-6 win, again at Canberra Stadium.
So surely third time lucky for the Raiders?
Nope.
Joel Thompson again failed to finish a match against the Cowboys with a broken knuckle; Trevor Thurling sustained a shoulder injury; while star back Dugan suffered a suspected broken ankle late in the match.
For the Cowboys it was a solid win after co-captain Matthew Scott pulled out following his mother's passing earlier in the week. Stories of Diane Scott driving up to eight hours return for junior matches from the remote town of Ilfracombe showed exactly why the NRL chose to have a round celebrating Women in League.
Cowboys veteran Matty Bowen furthered his State of Origin claims with another strong performance; not scoring any tries himself but throwing the last pass in four of his team's seven tries. Back in 2005 much of the excitement around the Cowboys came from his combination with Johnathon Thurston; this year they're back better than ever causing havoc around the edge of the ruck.
Unfortunately for the Raiders the Cowboys seem to do more to them than just cause havoc around the ruck. This keeps up everyone's going to be wanting to play Canberra straight after a Cowboys game.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 40 (Hall 2, Graham, Winterstein, Thompson, Linnett, Bolton tries; Thurston 5/06, Bowen 1/1 goals) defeated Canberra Raiders 18.
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 15
HISTORICALLY every sporting club ever has but one thing: a great rival. Think Lakers/Celtics, Manchesters United/City, everyone else/Collingwood.
Often clubs will have their own personal bogey as well. For years it was the aforementioned Collingwood and their "Colliwobbles" in grand finals; the Socceroos in the final match of World Cup qualifying; while Major League Baseball teams do well with various curses (Curse of the Bambino, Curse of the Billy Goat).
For the North Queensland Cowboys our great rival and bogey team are one and the same: the Brisbane Broncos. The Broncos had already won two premierships in just seven seasons when the Cowboys joined the competition in 1995; since then they've added another four (making it 6 wins from 6 grand finals), as well as apparently being the most successful rugby club of all time, winning 63% of their matches. Their Wikipedia entry also lists Queensland's crème de la crème as celebrity fans: former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd; former Test cricket captain Allan Border; reigning US Tennis Open champion Samantha Stosur; the late Steve Irwin.
Compare this to the Cowboys. Their win rate is just over half Brisbane's at 37%; they've made exactly one grand final for one loss; try Googling a list of celebrity fans and you'll get everything but. Apparently Townsville-born cricketer Mitchell Johnson is a fan - and I find it only appropriate Australia's most mercurial cricketer follows rugby league's most mercurial team.
Then there's the Cowboys' poor record against the Broncos. Since 1995 they've won a grand total of six games against their Queensland rivals, drawn twice - and lost 24 times. In Townsville the record's even worse: two wins, one draw and 14 losses.
That first win in Townsville was memorable though. The Cowboys had managed to put years of underachievement behind them to make the 2004 finals before stunning eventual premiers Canterbury 30-22 in the third qualifying final. This set up a semi-final against the Broncos, who graciously allowed the match to be moved up to Townsville. Watching the match with Cooma's only other Cowboys fan (who happened to live in the flat above me), we couldn't quite believe it as they not only recorded their first-ever win against the Broncos, but also held them to the grand total of zero points. I don't recall the second Townsville win (26-10 in July 2006) for the very good reason that I was working my way around Europe and not always able to keep up with events back home.
This time around I couldn't watch most of the game on account of an indoor soccer match that started the same time as kick-off in Townsville. Not that it mattered - easing myself into the car after yet another back injury I turned on the radio to find the half-time score was 0-0. What I would have given to swap that half-time score with our 6-2, but c'est la vie unfortunately.
Racing into work to catch a rockabilly band I couldn't believe that wave after wave of attacks were being repulsed by both teams. After a quick change I headed into the bar just in time to see Gavin Cooper stroll over the line after yet another break from Matty Bowen. Bowen then helped seal the win, holding the pass just long enough to draw the defender in and send Kane Linnett over.
So a 12-0 win to the good guys and a few new records. This was the Cowboys third win at home against the Broncos; only the second time they'd ever won both matches against Brisbane in a season (previously done in 2006); and most astonishingly, they became the first team to ever hold the Broncos to nil twice.
Beating the great rival/bogey team and setting a few new records along the way? Suits me.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 12 (Cooper, Linnett tries; Thurston 2/2 goals) defeated Brisbane Broncos 0.
Often clubs will have their own personal bogey as well. For years it was the aforementioned Collingwood and their "Colliwobbles" in grand finals; the Socceroos in the final match of World Cup qualifying; while Major League Baseball teams do well with various curses (Curse of the Bambino, Curse of the Billy Goat).
For the North Queensland Cowboys our great rival and bogey team are one and the same: the Brisbane Broncos. The Broncos had already won two premierships in just seven seasons when the Cowboys joined the competition in 1995; since then they've added another four (making it 6 wins from 6 grand finals), as well as apparently being the most successful rugby club of all time, winning 63% of their matches. Their Wikipedia entry also lists Queensland's crème de la crème as celebrity fans: former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd; former Test cricket captain Allan Border; reigning US Tennis Open champion Samantha Stosur; the late Steve Irwin.
Compare this to the Cowboys. Their win rate is just over half Brisbane's at 37%; they've made exactly one grand final for one loss; try Googling a list of celebrity fans and you'll get everything but. Apparently Townsville-born cricketer Mitchell Johnson is a fan - and I find it only appropriate Australia's most mercurial cricketer follows rugby league's most mercurial team.
Then there's the Cowboys' poor record against the Broncos. Since 1995 they've won a grand total of six games against their Queensland rivals, drawn twice - and lost 24 times. In Townsville the record's even worse: two wins, one draw and 14 losses.
That first win in Townsville was memorable though. The Cowboys had managed to put years of underachievement behind them to make the 2004 finals before stunning eventual premiers Canterbury 30-22 in the third qualifying final. This set up a semi-final against the Broncos, who graciously allowed the match to be moved up to Townsville. Watching the match with Cooma's only other Cowboys fan (who happened to live in the flat above me), we couldn't quite believe it as they not only recorded their first-ever win against the Broncos, but also held them to the grand total of zero points. I don't recall the second Townsville win (26-10 in July 2006) for the very good reason that I was working my way around Europe and not always able to keep up with events back home.
This time around I couldn't watch most of the game on account of an indoor soccer match that started the same time as kick-off in Townsville. Not that it mattered - easing myself into the car after yet another back injury I turned on the radio to find the half-time score was 0-0. What I would have given to swap that half-time score with our 6-2, but c'est la vie unfortunately.
Racing into work to catch a rockabilly band I couldn't believe that wave after wave of attacks were being repulsed by both teams. After a quick change I headed into the bar just in time to see Gavin Cooper stroll over the line after yet another break from Matty Bowen. Bowen then helped seal the win, holding the pass just long enough to draw the defender in and send Kane Linnett over.
So a 12-0 win to the good guys and a few new records. This was the Cowboys third win at home against the Broncos; only the second time they'd ever won both matches against Brisbane in a season (previously done in 2006); and most astonishingly, they became the first team to ever hold the Broncos to nil twice.
Beating the great rival/bogey team and setting a few new records along the way? Suits me.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 12 (Cooper, Linnett tries; Thurston 2/2 goals) defeated Brisbane Broncos 0.
Sunday, 3 June 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 13
FUNNY thing happened Friday night.
Ended up at the pub when supposed to be elsewhere - but that wasn't it. Found out a mate of mine knew one of the bouncers from work - but that wasn't it either.
What was funny was watching a street magician work his magic. This was part of the reason I'd ended up staying in the pub; it was a photo finish as to whether James' hands or mouth worked quicker. He even took some time to show us how his card tricks worked, which was pretty cool.
What it also did was distract me from the magic trick happening on the tv. Every time I looked up at the North Queensland vs Gold Coast match the Cowboys were on the attack, and every time they'd managed to score a grand total of 0 points. The only exception to this rule was when I looked up to find the coverage had flicked to a commercial break to return to the inevitable shot of a Titans' player taking a sip from a water bottle after having scored.
The halftime stats were ridiculous as well. The Cowboys had missed less tackles, made more line breaks, held more possession and been tackled in the opposition's 20m something like 22 times to the Titans' two, yet were somehow 12-0 down.
It all continued in the second half with the Cowboys held scoreless until the 70th minute, meaning the Gold Coast had held the Cowboys scoreless for 150 minutes this year. Another try soon followed, but it was too little too late as they went down to their second consecutive loss.
That was some magic trick from the Titans.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 12 (Paterson, Thurston tries; Thurston 2/2 goals) lost to Gold Coast Titans 28
Ended up at the pub when supposed to be elsewhere - but that wasn't it. Found out a mate of mine knew one of the bouncers from work - but that wasn't it either.
What was funny was watching a street magician work his magic. This was part of the reason I'd ended up staying in the pub; it was a photo finish as to whether James' hands or mouth worked quicker. He even took some time to show us how his card tricks worked, which was pretty cool.
What it also did was distract me from the magic trick happening on the tv. Every time I looked up at the North Queensland vs Gold Coast match the Cowboys were on the attack, and every time they'd managed to score a grand total of 0 points. The only exception to this rule was when I looked up to find the coverage had flicked to a commercial break to return to the inevitable shot of a Titans' player taking a sip from a water bottle after having scored.
The halftime stats were ridiculous as well. The Cowboys had missed less tackles, made more line breaks, held more possession and been tackled in the opposition's 20m something like 22 times to the Titans' two, yet were somehow 12-0 down.
It all continued in the second half with the Cowboys held scoreless until the 70th minute, meaning the Gold Coast had held the Cowboys scoreless for 150 minutes this year. Another try soon followed, but it was too little too late as they went down to their second consecutive loss.
That was some magic trick from the Titans.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 12 (Paterson, Thurston tries; Thurston 2/2 goals) lost to Gold Coast Titans 28
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Melbourne: Sports Capital?
WENT to my first-ever sporting event at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) the other week. A struggling Melbourne Demons hosted a rebuilding St Kilda in what promised to be kinda dull.
And so it proved. The Demons fought hard in their best performance until then but still managed to come up short. With the result a foregone conclusion my mate Wal and I decided to hightail it back to the pub for some serious drinky-poos and telling each other what good blokes we are.
The next day I texted a Demons friend who couldn't make it out to the game. She asked me how I enjoyed it and I had to reply that it was pretty shit - and with a Victorian father I've followed it pretty much my whole life.
Her response was interesting though:
"Crappy weather and no one there. I watched it on tv."
There were 24,798 people at the ground.
FAST FORWARD to last Wednesday evening. Queensland played New South Wales in the first match of rugby league's State of Origin series with the Blues trying to stop Queensland from racking up their seventh consecutive series win. The match had been controversially moved away from Sydney in an attempt to both boost rugby league's coffers and Victorian profile, and it worked to an extent with 56,021 cramming into Etihad Stadium to beat the ground's all-time AFL attendance record 54,444 (St Kilda vs Geelong, round 14 2009).
Two days later the first-placed Melbourne Storm played the second-placed Brisbane Broncos at nearby AAMI Park. The Broncos rested three of their Origin stars but still had quality players like Peter Wallace, Ben Hannant and Matt Gillett. The Storm played all their Origin stars, including Queensland and Australian captain Cameron Smith; Queensland and Australian halfback Cooper Cronk; and the man many believe is the best ever, Queensland and Australian fullback Billy Slater.
Top of the table clash, home team with a total of one loss from 11 games, three of the best players in the world, including an all-time great.
There were around 13,200 people at the ground.
SO this all begs the question: is Melbourne really Australia's sports capital? Don't get me wrong, the Victorian capital hosts a number of world-class events each year. The Australian Open tennis, the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, the AFL Grand Final, the Melbourne Cup and cricket's Boxing Day Test all call Melbourne home, but who's to say they wouldn't be as well attended if they were held in Brisbane, or even - dare I say it - Sydney?
All these events - other than the AFL grand final and Melbourne Cup - were once held interstate or not at all. The Australian Open moved permanently to Melbourne in 1972; Jeff Kennett engineered the Grand Prix move from Adelaide to Albert Park in 1996; while as recently as 1994 the Melbourne cricket Test began on Christmas Eve.
There's no doubt Melbourne puts on quite the show for these events; but still, could others do better?
Then there's the footy. While this table seems skewed towards AFL clubs (possibly on the grounds that only two Melbourne AFL venues are used), what it does show is that AFL's Sydney Swans get more per game than the NRL's Melbourne Storm. While the Swans are a handy side that could well ruffle a few feathers so to speak, do they truly have three of the game's modern-day greats? Adam Goodes yes, but anyone else there truly great?
Anyone there considered the best ever?
WHAT that comparison table does show though is that Melbourne is madly passionate about their AFL. Ridiculously so. But before the AFL fans start frothing at the mouth and saying how much better their game is than that rugby league rubbish (the reverse also applies by the way), they should ask themselves whether or not they've watched a game properly with someone who knows what's going on.
I reckon they haven't. And what should be galling is that Brisbane and Sydney seem more open to different sports - and thus more knowledgeable - than they are.
And so it proved. The Demons fought hard in their best performance until then but still managed to come up short. With the result a foregone conclusion my mate Wal and I decided to hightail it back to the pub for some serious drinky-poos and telling each other what good blokes we are.
The next day I texted a Demons friend who couldn't make it out to the game. She asked me how I enjoyed it and I had to reply that it was pretty shit - and with a Victorian father I've followed it pretty much my whole life.
Her response was interesting though:
"Crappy weather and no one there. I watched it on tv."
There were 24,798 people at the ground.
FAST FORWARD to last Wednesday evening. Queensland played New South Wales in the first match of rugby league's State of Origin series with the Blues trying to stop Queensland from racking up their seventh consecutive series win. The match had been controversially moved away from Sydney in an attempt to both boost rugby league's coffers and Victorian profile, and it worked to an extent with 56,021 cramming into Etihad Stadium to beat the ground's all-time AFL attendance record 54,444 (St Kilda vs Geelong, round 14 2009).
Two days later the first-placed Melbourne Storm played the second-placed Brisbane Broncos at nearby AAMI Park. The Broncos rested three of their Origin stars but still had quality players like Peter Wallace, Ben Hannant and Matt Gillett. The Storm played all their Origin stars, including Queensland and Australian captain Cameron Smith; Queensland and Australian halfback Cooper Cronk; and the man many believe is the best ever, Queensland and Australian fullback Billy Slater.
Top of the table clash, home team with a total of one loss from 11 games, three of the best players in the world, including an all-time great.
There were around 13,200 people at the ground.
SO this all begs the question: is Melbourne really Australia's sports capital? Don't get me wrong, the Victorian capital hosts a number of world-class events each year. The Australian Open tennis, the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, the AFL Grand Final, the Melbourne Cup and cricket's Boxing Day Test all call Melbourne home, but who's to say they wouldn't be as well attended if they were held in Brisbane, or even - dare I say it - Sydney?
All these events - other than the AFL grand final and Melbourne Cup - were once held interstate or not at all. The Australian Open moved permanently to Melbourne in 1972; Jeff Kennett engineered the Grand Prix move from Adelaide to Albert Park in 1996; while as recently as 1994 the Melbourne cricket Test began on Christmas Eve.
There's no doubt Melbourne puts on quite the show for these events; but still, could others do better?
Then there's the footy. While this table seems skewed towards AFL clubs (possibly on the grounds that only two Melbourne AFL venues are used), what it does show is that AFL's Sydney Swans get more per game than the NRL's Melbourne Storm. While the Swans are a handy side that could well ruffle a few feathers so to speak, do they truly have three of the game's modern-day greats? Adam Goodes yes, but anyone else there truly great?
Anyone there considered the best ever?
WHAT that comparison table does show though is that Melbourne is madly passionate about their AFL. Ridiculously so. But before the AFL fans start frothing at the mouth and saying how much better their game is than that rugby league rubbish (the reverse also applies by the way), they should ask themselves whether or not they've watched a game properly with someone who knows what's going on.
I reckon they haven't. And what should be galling is that Brisbane and Sydney seem more open to different sports - and thus more knowledgeable - than they are.
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 12
I CAN still remember sitting down to watch the North Queensland Cowboys on Channel 9 for the first time.
It was a Sunday game against the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown. I was living at the time in a small brick flat in Cooma NSW, a town not known for having many Cowboys fans. I can't remember too much about the match itself, although a a Google search reminds me the Cowboys won 24-12 in what was their first Channel 9 game since... well, since their first-ever game back in 1995. Back in 2004 I also didn't have an internet connection that would allow sneak peeks at the final score given Channel 9's curious commitment to not showing Sunday afternoon games live.
A lot's changed since then. In 2005 the Tigers made the finals and twice gained their revenge on the Cowboys, flogging them 50-6 in the first round of the finals before winning the grand final 30-16 in what remains both club's only grand final appearances.
More importantly for this match, the Cowboys still hadn't beaten the Tigers in Sydney since then; indeed, they'd only won two out of their last 10 matches against them. Early signs weren't that great, with Matty Bowen fumbling a Benji Marshall bomb of the Tigers' first set of six to allow Tim Moltzen to score. A Marshall penalty soon after and it seemed as though the tv might go off in favour of, well, pretty much anything else.
Give the Cowboys some quality possession though and they'll take advantage - Glenn Hall crossed first before Thurston held a pass back just long enough to send Antonio Winterstein over in the corner. Thurston continued his good form from Origin with the sideline conversion to give the Cowboys a 12-8 lead.
So four points up, three minutes from half-time, possession on the halfway line. Thurston receives the ball then notices Robbie Farah coming up for some unwanted attention. Thurston hurriedly passes to Bowen, who taps the ball out to the winger, who then runs through and puts the ball down under the posts. A lovely piece of play if you're a Tigers' fans - the winger at the end of the Bowen pass was former dual international Lote Tuqiri. Marshall added the extras to give the Tigers a 14-12 halftime lead.
The second half was worthy of any match, anywhere. Time and again the Tigers threw everything at the Cowboys' line; time and again desperate defence was all that stood between the Tigers and the matchwinner. Early in the second half Marshall made a break from a kick return, getting through everyone except forward James Tamou. Tamou belied his size, apparent speed and the fact he was coming off a sapping State of Origin debut earlier in the week to stop Marshall from bolting away.
Marshall would eventually have his way, crossing himself in the 57th minute to extend his team's lead before Tamou popped up again, this time with a 60m run that would have led to a try that play had a Cowboys back been within 10m of him. They arrived for the next play though: Thurston to Bowen to Graham for the try. Thurston again potted the sideline conversion to keep the Cowboys within 2 with 12 minutes to go.
That was as close as it would get. Wave after wave of Tigers attack wore down the Cowboys defence; Bowen managed to hold up Tigers' forward Chris Heighington over the line before Tim Moltzen finally put the game out of reach.
So the Cowboys' three-match winning streak came to an end, albeit in a highly entertaining game against a side many tipped as premiership favourites pre-season. While they had their chances and came up short, strong defence and the fact that four players were backing up from Origin means that this loss is one you don't get that disappointed about.
And who knows? Given the way both teams played you couldn't discount a 2005 grand final rematch in this year's final game.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 18 (Hall, Winterstein, Graham tries; Thurston 3/3 goals) lost to Wests Tigers 26.
It was a Sunday game against the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown. I was living at the time in a small brick flat in Cooma NSW, a town not known for having many Cowboys fans. I can't remember too much about the match itself, although a a Google search reminds me the Cowboys won 24-12 in what was their first Channel 9 game since... well, since their first-ever game back in 1995. Back in 2004 I also didn't have an internet connection that would allow sneak peeks at the final score given Channel 9's curious commitment to not showing Sunday afternoon games live.
A lot's changed since then. In 2005 the Tigers made the finals and twice gained their revenge on the Cowboys, flogging them 50-6 in the first round of the finals before winning the grand final 30-16 in what remains both club's only grand final appearances.
More importantly for this match, the Cowboys still hadn't beaten the Tigers in Sydney since then; indeed, they'd only won two out of their last 10 matches against them. Early signs weren't that great, with Matty Bowen fumbling a Benji Marshall bomb of the Tigers' first set of six to allow Tim Moltzen to score. A Marshall penalty soon after and it seemed as though the tv might go off in favour of, well, pretty much anything else.
Give the Cowboys some quality possession though and they'll take advantage - Glenn Hall crossed first before Thurston held a pass back just long enough to send Antonio Winterstein over in the corner. Thurston continued his good form from Origin with the sideline conversion to give the Cowboys a 12-8 lead.
So four points up, three minutes from half-time, possession on the halfway line. Thurston receives the ball then notices Robbie Farah coming up for some unwanted attention. Thurston hurriedly passes to Bowen, who taps the ball out to the winger, who then runs through and puts the ball down under the posts. A lovely piece of play if you're a Tigers' fans - the winger at the end of the Bowen pass was former dual international Lote Tuqiri. Marshall added the extras to give the Tigers a 14-12 halftime lead.
The second half was worthy of any match, anywhere. Time and again the Tigers threw everything at the Cowboys' line; time and again desperate defence was all that stood between the Tigers and the matchwinner. Early in the second half Marshall made a break from a kick return, getting through everyone except forward James Tamou. Tamou belied his size, apparent speed and the fact he was coming off a sapping State of Origin debut earlier in the week to stop Marshall from bolting away.
Marshall would eventually have his way, crossing himself in the 57th minute to extend his team's lead before Tamou popped up again, this time with a 60m run that would have led to a try that play had a Cowboys back been within 10m of him. They arrived for the next play though: Thurston to Bowen to Graham for the try. Thurston again potted the sideline conversion to keep the Cowboys within 2 with 12 minutes to go.
That was as close as it would get. Wave after wave of Tigers attack wore down the Cowboys defence; Bowen managed to hold up Tigers' forward Chris Heighington over the line before Tim Moltzen finally put the game out of reach.
So the Cowboys' three-match winning streak came to an end, albeit in a highly entertaining game against a side many tipped as premiership favourites pre-season. While they had their chances and came up short, strong defence and the fact that four players were backing up from Origin means that this loss is one you don't get that disappointed about.
And who knows? Given the way both teams played you couldn't discount a 2005 grand final rematch in this year's final game.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 18 (Hall, Winterstein, Graham tries; Thurston 3/3 goals) lost to Wests Tigers 26.
Monday, 21 May 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 11
IT'S not often I try and convert the masses to the wonders of rugby league. For one, someone has to want to be converted, and those who don't follow rugby league tend do so for a reason.
But this was different. Raoul and Jess had come across from Perth for the Friday night's Prince concert and hadn't stopped smiling since. The plan for the Saturday was simple: Brisbane's Paniyiri Greek festival; a few beers in West End before heading into the city for a colleague's farewell.
And an in-depth introduction to the Cowboys.
All day I plugged the Cowboys. Talked up their poor record against every single team in the comp. There were plans to compare them to the similarly-hapless Fremantle Dockers, before Raoul suggested that being West Coast Eagles fans they didn't particularly want to hear about it.
Most of all I talked up the legend that is Matty Bowen. Thirty years old and coming back from some horror injuries. The man who had to step up while the State of Origin players were away. The man who would lead the team and keep us ensconced in the top four. For me it was simple: the Cowboys had to show they weren't useless without Jonathan Thurston and they might well gain themselves two new fans.
Thankfully, they came to the party.
We got the tv switched across just in time to see Bowen show some Dancing With The Stars footwork to open the Cowboys' account after Penrith had crossed early. He then backed it up with a rocket ball out to Ash Graham to open up a 10-6 lead. Slack defence meant that lead was short-lived, with Blake Austin taking advantage with a run down the left to put Lachlan Coote over and leave the Panthers 12-10 up at half-time.
By now my guests were slowly getting into the game, something made easier after the break as the Cowboys skipped ahead. First up Antonio Winterstein grabbed a Bowen bomb to put the Cowboys back in the lead, before Michael Morgan's delicate dab found Gavin Cooper for a 22-12 lead.
It wouldn't be a proper Cowboys introduction though without a few flutters. Penrith ran in three tries to take a four-point lead with 10 minutes to go and the Cowboys lost prop Tariq Sims to a suspected broken leg just days after being named as back-up for the NSW Origin team.
Thankfully for this story the Cowboys' second Sims saw space after a kick was knocked backwards near the Penrith line. He went over, Bowen kicked the extras and all of a sudden his 59th-minute penalty goal was the difference.
So a good win minus the Origin stars to stay in the top four and a good test against the Wests Tigers next Sunday to try and extend this run to four straight. Not only that, but I think two Sandgropers now know who to cheer for whenever the NRL's on in the west.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 30 (Bowen, Graham, Winterstein, Cooper, A Sims tries; Bowen 5/6 goals) beat Penrith Panthers 28
But this was different. Raoul and Jess had come across from Perth for the Friday night's Prince concert and hadn't stopped smiling since. The plan for the Saturday was simple: Brisbane's Paniyiri Greek festival; a few beers in West End before heading into the city for a colleague's farewell.
And an in-depth introduction to the Cowboys.
All day I plugged the Cowboys. Talked up their poor record against every single team in the comp. There were plans to compare them to the similarly-hapless Fremantle Dockers, before Raoul suggested that being West Coast Eagles fans they didn't particularly want to hear about it.
Most of all I talked up the legend that is Matty Bowen. Thirty years old and coming back from some horror injuries. The man who had to step up while the State of Origin players were away. The man who would lead the team and keep us ensconced in the top four. For me it was simple: the Cowboys had to show they weren't useless without Jonathan Thurston and they might well gain themselves two new fans.
Thankfully, they came to the party.
We got the tv switched across just in time to see Bowen show some Dancing With The Stars footwork to open the Cowboys' account after Penrith had crossed early. He then backed it up with a rocket ball out to Ash Graham to open up a 10-6 lead. Slack defence meant that lead was short-lived, with Blake Austin taking advantage with a run down the left to put Lachlan Coote over and leave the Panthers 12-10 up at half-time.
By now my guests were slowly getting into the game, something made easier after the break as the Cowboys skipped ahead. First up Antonio Winterstein grabbed a Bowen bomb to put the Cowboys back in the lead, before Michael Morgan's delicate dab found Gavin Cooper for a 22-12 lead.
It wouldn't be a proper Cowboys introduction though without a few flutters. Penrith ran in three tries to take a four-point lead with 10 minutes to go and the Cowboys lost prop Tariq Sims to a suspected broken leg just days after being named as back-up for the NSW Origin team.
Thankfully for this story the Cowboys' second Sims saw space after a kick was knocked backwards near the Penrith line. He went over, Bowen kicked the extras and all of a sudden his 59th-minute penalty goal was the difference.
So a good win minus the Origin stars to stay in the top four and a good test against the Wests Tigers next Sunday to try and extend this run to four straight. Not only that, but I think two Sandgropers now know who to cheer for whenever the NRL's on in the west.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 30 (Bowen, Graham, Winterstein, Cooper, A Sims tries; Bowen 5/6 goals) beat Penrith Panthers 28
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 10
THERE are many different theories as to why the North Queensland Cowboys have never really fulfilled their potential.
Some may say it's being big fish in a relatively small pond: Townsville is the smallest city with an NRL team.
Some may say it doesn't help when your best player is routinely pulled out for representative matches.
Some conspiracy theorists will suggest that the team suffers from bias, suggesting that many penalty decisions against their team wouldn't be blown if they were a Sydney-based team. These conspiracy theorists still probably believe that Harold Holt was kidnapped by the CIA as a direct result of discovering that the Apollo Moon landings were faked by an alien film crew at Area 51, later surfacing to run a grocery store with Elvis in Havana.
What can't be argued with is that the Cowboys have a woeful away record. Consider these win-draw-loss splits: 4-0-11 in Canberra; 41-2-97 in New South Wales; 5-0-11 in New Zealand; and a dreadful 1-0-8 in Victoria. Even in Queensland, where figures are skewed by playing at home, the Cowboys still only have a 101-3-131 record.
Bear this in mind as I tell you that North Queensland were favourites against the Newcastle Knights - in Newcastle. Granted Newcastle were missing stars Kurt Gidley and Danny Buderus, but the idea of the Cowboys being favourites away from home showed how much excitement had built after the strong performance against the Dragons last week. Unusually good away form helped as well, with the only loss away from Townsville being against South Sydney two weeks previously.
As so often happens though, it was the underdogs that started stronger. Twice Newcastle crossed the line; twice they were held up by some strong defence. Finally it was third time lucky as Newcastle fullback Darius Boyd took advantage of some broken play to send Junior Sa'u in under the posts.
This seemed to wake North Queensland, with skipper Matt Scott denied courtesy of a double movement and Kane Linnett's effort knocked back by the video red. Third time lucky was the charm again though; Ash Graham crossing in the corner after some quick hands spread the ball out to his wing.
Quick hands worked again soon after, with Brent Tate sending Ray Thompson over after a burst down the right flank. Mentioned as a possible replacement for injured Maroons winger Jharal Yow Yeh, Tate showed he still has plenty of pace with this run.
This set the Cowboys up to take a halftime lead before Newcastle captain Chris Houston took matters into his own hands, charging over from close range to leave the scores 12-12 at the break.
This is traditionally where the Cowboys' heads would go down, allowing the opposition to build up an unassailable lead. Like the away record though, something seems different about this year's Cowboys. After the break they made most of the running, eventually scoring after Michael Morgan plucked one out of the air to put the Cowboys back in front. Jonathan Thurston helped extend the lead with a long, flat pass for Graham to score in the corner. While most tip Tate for the Queensland wing spot, Graham's competition-leading 11 tries for the season suggest he wouldn't look out of place with a maroon jersey.
Scrambling defence stopped Newcastle from closing the gap; at the other end Boyd's jersey-tug on Matty Bowen did the same thing, albeit illegally. While it stopped Bowen scoring from a good chip-and-chase, Thurston's penalty sealed the victory before a team game of soccer lead to Gavin Cooper sliding in for an 80th-minute try/fluke.
So another away match, another away win for the NRL's worst travellers. The Cowboys play last-placed Parramatta next weekend minus their Origin stars; probably the best team to play at this time. While the Cowboys will be without Thurston, Scott and probably Tate and James Tamou, the strong form of Thompson, Bowen and Graham suggests they can consolidate their top-four position.
Is this the year potential becomes fact?
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 32 (Graham 2, Thompson, Morgan, Cooper tries; Thurston 6/6 goals) defeated Newcastle Knights 12
Some may say it's being big fish in a relatively small pond: Townsville is the smallest city with an NRL team.
Some may say it doesn't help when your best player is routinely pulled out for representative matches.
Some conspiracy theorists will suggest that the team suffers from bias, suggesting that many penalty decisions against their team wouldn't be blown if they were a Sydney-based team. These conspiracy theorists still probably believe that Harold Holt was kidnapped by the CIA as a direct result of discovering that the Apollo Moon landings were faked by an alien film crew at Area 51, later surfacing to run a grocery store with Elvis in Havana.
What can't be argued with is that the Cowboys have a woeful away record. Consider these win-draw-loss splits: 4-0-11 in Canberra; 41-2-97 in New South Wales; 5-0-11 in New Zealand; and a dreadful 1-0-8 in Victoria. Even in Queensland, where figures are skewed by playing at home, the Cowboys still only have a 101-3-131 record.
Bear this in mind as I tell you that North Queensland were favourites against the Newcastle Knights - in Newcastle. Granted Newcastle were missing stars Kurt Gidley and Danny Buderus, but the idea of the Cowboys being favourites away from home showed how much excitement had built after the strong performance against the Dragons last week. Unusually good away form helped as well, with the only loss away from Townsville being against South Sydney two weeks previously.
As so often happens though, it was the underdogs that started stronger. Twice Newcastle crossed the line; twice they were held up by some strong defence. Finally it was third time lucky as Newcastle fullback Darius Boyd took advantage of some broken play to send Junior Sa'u in under the posts.
This seemed to wake North Queensland, with skipper Matt Scott denied courtesy of a double movement and Kane Linnett's effort knocked back by the video red. Third time lucky was the charm again though; Ash Graham crossing in the corner after some quick hands spread the ball out to his wing.
Quick hands worked again soon after, with Brent Tate sending Ray Thompson over after a burst down the right flank. Mentioned as a possible replacement for injured Maroons winger Jharal Yow Yeh, Tate showed he still has plenty of pace with this run.
This set the Cowboys up to take a halftime lead before Newcastle captain Chris Houston took matters into his own hands, charging over from close range to leave the scores 12-12 at the break.
This is traditionally where the Cowboys' heads would go down, allowing the opposition to build up an unassailable lead. Like the away record though, something seems different about this year's Cowboys. After the break they made most of the running, eventually scoring after Michael Morgan plucked one out of the air to put the Cowboys back in front. Jonathan Thurston helped extend the lead with a long, flat pass for Graham to score in the corner. While most tip Tate for the Queensland wing spot, Graham's competition-leading 11 tries for the season suggest he wouldn't look out of place with a maroon jersey.
Scrambling defence stopped Newcastle from closing the gap; at the other end Boyd's jersey-tug on Matty Bowen did the same thing, albeit illegally. While it stopped Bowen scoring from a good chip-and-chase, Thurston's penalty sealed the victory before a team game of soccer lead to Gavin Cooper sliding in for an 80th-minute try/fluke.
So another away match, another away win for the NRL's worst travellers. The Cowboys play last-placed Parramatta next weekend minus their Origin stars; probably the best team to play at this time. While the Cowboys will be without Thurston, Scott and probably Tate and James Tamou, the strong form of Thompson, Bowen and Graham suggests they can consolidate their top-four position.
Is this the year potential becomes fact?
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 32 (Graham 2, Thompson, Morgan, Cooper tries; Thurston 6/6 goals) defeated Newcastle Knights 12
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 9
ALL any sports fan wants is a win, no questions asked.
It doesn't really matter how they get that win: it could be dominant; it could be last-minute; it could be through cosmic intervention as a stray meteorite drops down from the sky as an opposition player is certain to score the winning points.
Last night the North Queensland Cowboys got the win in the best possible way: exhilarating attack and strong defence creating perpetual pressure on the opposition.
There was plenty to like about the Cowboys in the lead-up. Australian prop and skipper Matthew Scott was a late inclusion after a few weeks away with a foot injury, while the St George-Illawarra Dragons had a poor record in Townsville, being 2-8 in games there.
The Cowboys were no certainty though, unusually finding themselves 1-3 from home games this season and coming off a loss to South Sydney where they found themselves 20-0 down after just 20 minutes.
No such problems here. Two minutes in, first set of six, and Ray Thompson threw a neat little cut-out to Jonathan Thurston. Thurston sent Brent Tate through the gap before Tate passed back inside for a screaming Thompson to race over the line in the best start imaginable. Barely two minutes later and a simple kick return for Dragons' fullback Daniel Vidot turned bad as three Cowboys defenders kept him in-goal before an accidental knee jarred the ball loose for Tate to claim the try. The video referee had a different opinion - not that it mattered soon afterwards.
On the 12-minute mark the Cowboys playmakers set up the kind of try you dream about at night. Thompson cut-out pass to Thurston, inside ball to Matty Bowen, speed, step, Dragons player grasping at thin air, try. They back this up with one straight out of the textbook: Thurston, cut-out to Bowen, short pass to Linnett, try.
This was going so well you didn't mind that Thurston had forgotten his kicking boots, scuffing conversions and drop-outs. So well in fact, that James Segeyaro thought he'd jump in as well, running straight through the middle before putting in a little chip kick out right for Tate. Tate juggled, ran and dived... did he ground it? Did he touch the sideline?
Video ref says... YES!
That the Cowboys were scoring points was no shock; what was pleasing was their defensive intensity. On the one occasion the Dragons made a break close to the line, Thurston popped up again with a magic play, somehow dislodging the ball as Jeremy Latimore was over the line and diving to score.
So up 22-0 at halftime with quite possibly the best half of football you could want to see from your team. As always with the Cowboys though, could they defend it against a side that pulled out a miracle the week before?
Hearts went into mouths 10 minutes into the second half as Dragons winger Jason Nightingale made a break down the right before a delicate kick inside for Brett Morris to get the Dragons on the board. Any hopes they had for a comeback were deflated right from the kick-off when Matt Prior fielded the ball with his foot on the line before something much more shocking. With the Cowboys on the attack Prior knocked Thurston out cold with an elbow to the head, leaving Cowboys and Maroons fans in shock. Neither Thurston or Prior played any further part; Thurston off as a precaution and Prior making history as the first player sent off in 2012.
Despite this loss, the Dragons certainly didn't stop trying. A number of quick penalties gave them quality field position, although a late Segeyaro hit on Ben Hornby didn't help their cause. Finally a Thompson grubber kick sealed it for the Cowboys after a wicked bounce allowed Tariq Sims to score.
So a dominant win for the Cowboys that's positive in so many ways. Not only did they show they have the ability and discipline to win and win well, but they also kept a dangerous side to just the one try. Not only that, but the Cowboys now have a 50% win record against the Dragons, something they only have against one other current club (the Gold Coast Titans).
But while happy/ecstatic with the win (knockouts notwithstanding), I do actually have a question.
Why can't we play like this every week?
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 30 (Thompson, Bowen, Linnett, Tate, T Sims tries; Thurston 3/6 Bowen 2/2 goals) beat St George Illawarra Dragons 6.
It doesn't really matter how they get that win: it could be dominant; it could be last-minute; it could be through cosmic intervention as a stray meteorite drops down from the sky as an opposition player is certain to score the winning points.
Last night the North Queensland Cowboys got the win in the best possible way: exhilarating attack and strong defence creating perpetual pressure on the opposition.
There was plenty to like about the Cowboys in the lead-up. Australian prop and skipper Matthew Scott was a late inclusion after a few weeks away with a foot injury, while the St George-Illawarra Dragons had a poor record in Townsville, being 2-8 in games there.
The Cowboys were no certainty though, unusually finding themselves 1-3 from home games this season and coming off a loss to South Sydney where they found themselves 20-0 down after just 20 minutes.
No such problems here. Two minutes in, first set of six, and Ray Thompson threw a neat little cut-out to Jonathan Thurston. Thurston sent Brent Tate through the gap before Tate passed back inside for a screaming Thompson to race over the line in the best start imaginable. Barely two minutes later and a simple kick return for Dragons' fullback Daniel Vidot turned bad as three Cowboys defenders kept him in-goal before an accidental knee jarred the ball loose for Tate to claim the try. The video referee had a different opinion - not that it mattered soon afterwards.
On the 12-minute mark the Cowboys playmakers set up the kind of try you dream about at night. Thompson cut-out pass to Thurston, inside ball to Matty Bowen, speed, step, Dragons player grasping at thin air, try. They back this up with one straight out of the textbook: Thurston, cut-out to Bowen, short pass to Linnett, try.
This was going so well you didn't mind that Thurston had forgotten his kicking boots, scuffing conversions and drop-outs. So well in fact, that James Segeyaro thought he'd jump in as well, running straight through the middle before putting in a little chip kick out right for Tate. Tate juggled, ran and dived... did he ground it? Did he touch the sideline?
Video ref says... YES!
That the Cowboys were scoring points was no shock; what was pleasing was their defensive intensity. On the one occasion the Dragons made a break close to the line, Thurston popped up again with a magic play, somehow dislodging the ball as Jeremy Latimore was over the line and diving to score.
So up 22-0 at halftime with quite possibly the best half of football you could want to see from your team. As always with the Cowboys though, could they defend it against a side that pulled out a miracle the week before?
Hearts went into mouths 10 minutes into the second half as Dragons winger Jason Nightingale made a break down the right before a delicate kick inside for Brett Morris to get the Dragons on the board. Any hopes they had for a comeback were deflated right from the kick-off when Matt Prior fielded the ball with his foot on the line before something much more shocking. With the Cowboys on the attack Prior knocked Thurston out cold with an elbow to the head, leaving Cowboys and Maroons fans in shock. Neither Thurston or Prior played any further part; Thurston off as a precaution and Prior making history as the first player sent off in 2012.
Despite this loss, the Dragons certainly didn't stop trying. A number of quick penalties gave them quality field position, although a late Segeyaro hit on Ben Hornby didn't help their cause. Finally a Thompson grubber kick sealed it for the Cowboys after a wicked bounce allowed Tariq Sims to score.
So a dominant win for the Cowboys that's positive in so many ways. Not only did they show they have the ability and discipline to win and win well, but they also kept a dangerous side to just the one try. Not only that, but the Cowboys now have a 50% win record against the Dragons, something they only have against one other current club (the Gold Coast Titans).
But while happy/ecstatic with the win (knockouts notwithstanding), I do actually have a question.
Why can't we play like this every week?
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 30 (Thompson, Bowen, Linnett, Tate, T Sims tries; Thurston 3/6 Bowen 2/2 goals) beat St George Illawarra Dragons 6.
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 8
TODAY'S story is brought to you by the
letters M, C & G, for that's where most North Queensland fans
keep up-to-date with their team's progress.
That's a lie of course: I'm willing to
wager more on me being the only Cowboys fan at the Melbourne-St Kilda
game Saturday night than I would on the Demons being able to beat any
team that wasn't formed in the last five years.
Like North Queensland, St Kilda tend to
seriously frustrate their fans. None were more frustrated than the
dreadlocked man that materialised in the seat in front of me during a
bathroom break. He apparently expected an easy win against the
winless Demons, repeatedly banging the seat in front of him; every
time the umpires made a call against the Saints he seemed to take it
more personally than had he found the umpire engaging in a menage
a trois with his mother and
wife.
Any thoughts on
keeping fully up-to-date with the NRL score was blown away the first
time we checked. Both the Cowboys and Rabbitohs are capable of
racking – and conceding - some big scores in quick time; this time
the Rabbitohs put their foot to the floor to take an early 20-0 lead.
Not the greatest news in the world, although once again this was the
game you'd expect some big scoring streaks from either side.
So it proved –
the Cowboys scored the game's remaining points, eventually ending up
four points short. Ashley Graham scored a double and James Segeyaro
one, but unlike the Saints, the Cowboys couldn't come away with a
win. If North Queensland are to advance in the finals - and the talent's definitely there - these are the games they need to win more often than not. While scoring 16 straight is something to applaud, letting in 20 in the first 20 minutes is all too typical.
Typical, and like my mate at the MCG, all too frustrating.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 16 (Graham 2, Segeyaro tries; Thurston 2/3 goals) lost to South Sydney Rabbitohs 20
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 7
THERE is one simple rule when it comes to supporting North Queensland: expect the unexpected.
Have a team with two of the world's best attacking backs? Get held to 0 at home against last year's wooden spooners.
Finish wooden spooners with just seven wins for the season against your name? Include 46 and 40 point thrashing of the Dragons and now-defunct Northern Eagles in that seven.
Be known for being one of the worst-travelling teams in the competition? Win both of your away games while slumping to a 1-3 home record.
The round 7 match against the Sydney Roosters was another away game, albeit one that felt like home. The Roosters moved the game up to Darwin, which for a game against a Townsville-based side is similar to the Cowboys moving a home game against Canberra down to Hobart. Adding to the Roosters' problems was that the Cowboys arrived into Darwin on Tuesday to help promote the game in the city, where they only arrived for their "home" game on the Thursday. They even wore their alternate white jersey which allowed the Cowboys to wear their home strip and virtually home conditions.
A more gracious host you couldn't find, yet in the first half the Roosters went even further out of their way to make the Cowboys feel as home. Antonio Winterstein weaved through some poor defence to open the scoring, before repeating the dose soon afterwards. Ashley Graham got his almost obligatory try-a-game on the 16 minute mark before Kalifa Faifai Loa, in his first NRL game for the year, somehow got the ball down in the corner despite being tackled, airborne, and pretty much completely over the sideline. Watch these highlights around the 1:22 mark and try to keep your jaw shut. Cannot be done.
The first half's scoring finished with quite possibly my favourite Cowboys play: Thurston faces one way, then chips kicks the other for a flying Matty Bowen to run through, collect and score. The good guys lead 28-0 at half time - and even better, Manly are losing to the Gold Coast.
The second half started in typical Cowboys fashion: expect the unexpected. Although they led 28-0 after 40 minutes, the Roosters began to consider a comeback after two quick tries before two more were disallowed by the video ref. That three came from high kicks is a concern; to beat the likes of Melbourne you have to be able to defuse those and not rely on the opposition knocking on.
With 20 minutes to go the Cowboys woke up again, with young Jason Taumalalo proving twice that when 110kg of back-row muscle really wants to get the ball over the line, good luck stopping him. In between Taumalalo tries Ray Thompson pounced on a lost ball to return him back home over the Roosters line before Matty Bowen finished the match with a blistering run, try and conversion to help register 50 points for the first time in seven years.
Concede 40+ points at home? Run in 50 points of your own the very next game. Coincidentally, the last time they did that was in 2005 - the year we made the grand final.
As always with the Cowboys, expect the unexpected.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 50 (Winterstein 2, Bowen 2, Taumalalo 2, Graham, Faifai Loa, Thompson tries, Thurston 6/8, Bowen 1/1 goals) defeated Sydney Roosters 12
Have a team with two of the world's best attacking backs? Get held to 0 at home against last year's wooden spooners.
Finish wooden spooners with just seven wins for the season against your name? Include 46 and 40 point thrashing of the Dragons and now-defunct Northern Eagles in that seven.
Be known for being one of the worst-travelling teams in the competition? Win both of your away games while slumping to a 1-3 home record.
The round 7 match against the Sydney Roosters was another away game, albeit one that felt like home. The Roosters moved the game up to Darwin, which for a game against a Townsville-based side is similar to the Cowboys moving a home game against Canberra down to Hobart. Adding to the Roosters' problems was that the Cowboys arrived into Darwin on Tuesday to help promote the game in the city, where they only arrived for their "home" game on the Thursday. They even wore their alternate white jersey which allowed the Cowboys to wear their home strip and virtually home conditions.
A more gracious host you couldn't find, yet in the first half the Roosters went even further out of their way to make the Cowboys feel as home. Antonio Winterstein weaved through some poor defence to open the scoring, before repeating the dose soon afterwards. Ashley Graham got his almost obligatory try-a-game on the 16 minute mark before Kalifa Faifai Loa, in his first NRL game for the year, somehow got the ball down in the corner despite being tackled, airborne, and pretty much completely over the sideline. Watch these highlights around the 1:22 mark and try to keep your jaw shut. Cannot be done.
The first half's scoring finished with quite possibly my favourite Cowboys play: Thurston faces one way, then chips kicks the other for a flying Matty Bowen to run through, collect and score. The good guys lead 28-0 at half time - and even better, Manly are losing to the Gold Coast.
The second half started in typical Cowboys fashion: expect the unexpected. Although they led 28-0 after 40 minutes, the Roosters began to consider a comeback after two quick tries before two more were disallowed by the video ref. That three came from high kicks is a concern; to beat the likes of Melbourne you have to be able to defuse those and not rely on the opposition knocking on.
With 20 minutes to go the Cowboys woke up again, with young Jason Taumalalo proving twice that when 110kg of back-row muscle really wants to get the ball over the line, good luck stopping him. In between Taumalalo tries Ray Thompson pounced on a lost ball to return him back home over the Roosters line before Matty Bowen finished the match with a blistering run, try and conversion to help register 50 points for the first time in seven years.
Concede 40+ points at home? Run in 50 points of your own the very next game. Coincidentally, the last time they did that was in 2005 - the year we made the grand final.
As always with the Cowboys, expect the unexpected.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 50 (Winterstein 2, Bowen 2, Taumalalo 2, Graham, Faifai Loa, Thompson tries, Thurston 6/8, Bowen 1/1 goals) defeated Sydney Roosters 12
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
The Big Little Yellow Book
IT'S the book your true cricket aficionado can't go without - but it's not that easy to read cover-to-cover.
It gives the details of every Test, One-Day (ODI) and Twenty20 international match played in the past 12 months - but always with England's home matches first.
It has the size and heft of that bible you inevitably find on your bedside table in cheaper motels around the world - and the small font size that inevitably tires your eyes.
Finally most of the truly interesting stuff is available online for free - yet it's just not the same as holding one of these bad boys in your hand in feverish anticipation of what's inside.
It, ladies and gentlemen, is the Wisden Cricketers Almanack,
That this big little yellow book resembles a motel bible is kind of apt given its status as cricket's holy text. Just about everything you could possibly want from the previous 12 months is contained inside, including details of every international tour, every English county match with full scorecard and match report, and obituaries of those who played the game to a high level. The details these obituaries go into still astounds me: I have open in front of me the 2001 Almanack (more on that later) which not only eulogises true greats like Colin Cowdrey and Lala Armanath, but also contains this entry (italics mine):
CLARKE, BERNARD HENRY, who died on October 23, 2000, aged 86, was the Northamptonshire scorer from 1982 to 1989.
Then there's the essays. Not only do five top performers from the previous year's English season get to have five of the world's best cricket writers say rather nice things about them, but other writers from around the world are called upon to comment of the big issues of the day. The 2001 version includes a hard-hitting piece from Mihir Bose about the match-fixing scandal that finished Hansie Cronje's career; Mike Atherton wrote eloquently about the troubles in facing the retired Curtly Ambrose; while Frank Keating brought this young Australian into the world of post-war English cricket with his farewell to Cowdrey and Brian Statham.
I can't be sure, but one could imagine modern writers doing laps around the loungeroom if called upon to write for the Almanack in much the same way cricketers would do on receiving news of selection for their debut test.
SO how does one get into a Wisden? As mentioned, they're big little yellow books; hardly the kind of thing that jumps out at you in the bookstore compared to, say, Matthew Hayden's cookbook. For some it's access to one in the family home; others a present from an enlightened friend/relative.
For me? The internet.
Let me rewind a little bit. While Cricinfo has been the cricket tragic's website of choice for news and scorecards since the 1990s, in the early 2000s wisden.com was starting to offer some very interesting analysis - plus access to their essays and match reports going way back to its very first edition in 1864. This didn't come free: to access the really good stuff you had to pay a subscription fee. Being a broke uni student would generally kybosh that idea, although at some point I must have felt rich enough to submit the credit card details. Not that many people did this though: English cricketer Paul Collingwood saw his wisden.com summary for the first time when I interviewed him for the Prime Minister's XI match against England in the 2002/03 season.
Perhaps because not many took the plunge and signed up, those that did were rewarded with a copy of the 2001 Almanack. This may have been why I signed up in the first place; at any rate I was still surprised to see a package from England on the doorstep.
I was hooked. Soon after I managed to get hold of three more Almanacks courtesy of eBay before a travel addiction overtook my cricket and reading addictions, siphoning off pretty much any money I made. They're not cheap either, with the 2011 version selling for a mere $120 on one Australian online bookstore.
But strolling through a massive second-hand book sale in Brisbane, I found a 1992 edition for just $5. It now sits with the other four, waiting for some more friends.
Come to think of it, did I end up reading that through? Yes? Maybe? Not sure... perhaps I'd better start again.
Despite its quirks, the Wisden Cricketers Almanack really is the book us true cricket aficionados can't go without.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have have a book to read...
It gives the details of every Test, One-Day (ODI) and Twenty20 international match played in the past 12 months - but always with England's home matches first.
It has the size and heft of that bible you inevitably find on your bedside table in cheaper motels around the world - and the small font size that inevitably tires your eyes.
Finally most of the truly interesting stuff is available online for free - yet it's just not the same as holding one of these bad boys in your hand in feverish anticipation of what's inside.
It, ladies and gentlemen, is the Wisden Cricketers Almanack,
That this big little yellow book resembles a motel bible is kind of apt given its status as cricket's holy text. Just about everything you could possibly want from the previous 12 months is contained inside, including details of every international tour, every English county match with full scorecard and match report, and obituaries of those who played the game to a high level. The details these obituaries go into still astounds me: I have open in front of me the 2001 Almanack (more on that later) which not only eulogises true greats like Colin Cowdrey and Lala Armanath, but also contains this entry (italics mine):
CLARKE, BERNARD HENRY, who died on October 23, 2000, aged 86, was the Northamptonshire scorer from 1982 to 1989.
Then there's the essays. Not only do five top performers from the previous year's English season get to have five of the world's best cricket writers say rather nice things about them, but other writers from around the world are called upon to comment of the big issues of the day. The 2001 version includes a hard-hitting piece from Mihir Bose about the match-fixing scandal that finished Hansie Cronje's career; Mike Atherton wrote eloquently about the troubles in facing the retired Curtly Ambrose; while Frank Keating brought this young Australian into the world of post-war English cricket with his farewell to Cowdrey and Brian Statham.
I can't be sure, but one could imagine modern writers doing laps around the loungeroom if called upon to write for the Almanack in much the same way cricketers would do on receiving news of selection for their debut test.
SO how does one get into a Wisden? As mentioned, they're big little yellow books; hardly the kind of thing that jumps out at you in the bookstore compared to, say, Matthew Hayden's cookbook. For some it's access to one in the family home; others a present from an enlightened friend/relative.
For me? The internet.
Let me rewind a little bit. While Cricinfo has been the cricket tragic's website of choice for news and scorecards since the 1990s, in the early 2000s wisden.com was starting to offer some very interesting analysis - plus access to their essays and match reports going way back to its very first edition in 1864. This didn't come free: to access the really good stuff you had to pay a subscription fee. Being a broke uni student would generally kybosh that idea, although at some point I must have felt rich enough to submit the credit card details. Not that many people did this though: English cricketer Paul Collingwood saw his wisden.com summary for the first time when I interviewed him for the Prime Minister's XI match against England in the 2002/03 season.
Perhaps because not many took the plunge and signed up, those that did were rewarded with a copy of the 2001 Almanack. This may have been why I signed up in the first place; at any rate I was still surprised to see a package from England on the doorstep.
I was hooked. Soon after I managed to get hold of three more Almanacks courtesy of eBay before a travel addiction overtook my cricket and reading addictions, siphoning off pretty much any money I made. They're not cheap either, with the 2011 version selling for a mere $120 on one Australian online bookstore.
But strolling through a massive second-hand book sale in Brisbane, I found a 1992 edition for just $5. It now sits with the other four, waiting for some more friends.
Come to think of it, did I end up reading that through? Yes? Maybe? Not sure... perhaps I'd better start again.
Despite its quirks, the Wisden Cricketers Almanack really is the book us true cricket aficionados can't go without.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have have a book to read...
Monday, 9 April 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 6
BACK in 2006 the Cowboys managed to do something unusual: they beat Melbourne.
Come to think of it, they didn't just beat them - they flogged Melbourne 40-8 in what was one of the Storm's four losses for the season. The Cowboys were truly riding high at the time, backing up from the 2005 grand final loss to destroy Brisbane 36-4 in Brisbane and topping the table until round 10.
It was too good to last.
The teams met again in round 10, with Melbourne winning 18-6 to kickstart two losing streaks: the Cowboys went 6 matches without a win against any team; while it wouldn't be until last season that North Queensland finished on top of Melbourne in more than just geography with a 34-6 win.
Both teams were in stereotypical form in the lead-up to this clash: the Storm clinically disposing of all around them on their way to a 5-0 record; the Cowboys with their rollercoaster LWWLW record, although with a strong defensive effort against Canberra in Canberra the week before.
The game started well for the good guys. New 200-gamer Aaron Payne put in a nice little grubber kick for Matt Bowen to open the scoring, only for Melbourne to quickly reply before putting their foot down. I was keeping up to date on Twitter and the NRL website; every time I tried to listen online Melbourne managed to score another. Likewise, the radio was off when Gavin Cooper scored to keep the half-time score to 12-16.
The less said about the second half the better. Melbourne ran in five tries to one as the Cowboys imploded in a similar way to how they did in the semi-final against Manly last year. While Melbourne are deservedly one of the competition front-runners, the Cowboys need to put together a stronger 80-minute performance if they're any chance of seriously challenging for the premiership.
And hopefully not take another eight games to beat Melbourne again.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 18 (Bowen, Cooper, Tamou tries; Thurston 3/3 goals) lost to Melbourne Storm 42
Come to think of it, they didn't just beat them - they flogged Melbourne 40-8 in what was one of the Storm's four losses for the season. The Cowboys were truly riding high at the time, backing up from the 2005 grand final loss to destroy Brisbane 36-4 in Brisbane and topping the table until round 10.
It was too good to last.
The teams met again in round 10, with Melbourne winning 18-6 to kickstart two losing streaks: the Cowboys went 6 matches without a win against any team; while it wouldn't be until last season that North Queensland finished on top of Melbourne in more than just geography with a 34-6 win.
Both teams were in stereotypical form in the lead-up to this clash: the Storm clinically disposing of all around them on their way to a 5-0 record; the Cowboys with their rollercoaster LWWLW record, although with a strong defensive effort against Canberra in Canberra the week before.
The game started well for the good guys. New 200-gamer Aaron Payne put in a nice little grubber kick for Matt Bowen to open the scoring, only for Melbourne to quickly reply before putting their foot down. I was keeping up to date on Twitter and the NRL website; every time I tried to listen online Melbourne managed to score another. Likewise, the radio was off when Gavin Cooper scored to keep the half-time score to 12-16.
The less said about the second half the better. Melbourne ran in five tries to one as the Cowboys imploded in a similar way to how they did in the semi-final against Manly last year. While Melbourne are deservedly one of the competition front-runners, the Cowboys need to put together a stronger 80-minute performance if they're any chance of seriously challenging for the premiership.
And hopefully not take another eight games to beat Melbourne again.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 18 (Bowen, Cooper, Tamou tries; Thurston 3/3 goals) lost to Melbourne Storm 42
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 5
North Queensland vs Canberra matches for me are like comparing your your ex with your current flame. Every time they come together you can't help but compare the two, admiring one for her shiny new halfback or compare prop forwards.
Last night was going to be the chance to compare the pair's five-eighths - see how the remodelled Jonathan Thurston would look compared to a rebuilt Terry Campese on a couple of clubs that could scrub up very nicely by the end of the season.
The last time the two had stood side-by-side Canberra had rather unfortunately twisted her ankle rather badly, losing Josh Dugan and Campese in the first half. What had seemed like a very attractive first-half lead was suddenly shot to pieces when the Cowboys realised they were being outshone.
This time though it couldn't happen again. Could it? We can compare the two easily?
Unfortunately not.
The Raiders managed to twist the other ankle this time, losing forwards Brett White to a suspected torn ACL in his foot while Joel Thompson literally twisted his ankle in another horror game against the Cowboys.
With only two on the bench the Raiders were always up against it; with Thurston outshining his Raider rival they had virtually no chance. Thurston didn't do anything fancy; just great balls to put try-hounds Ashley Graham and Brent Tate into enough space.
Keeping up-to-date via Twitter and the NRL website there were some anxious moments. The Raiders had a try disallowed at the end of the first half, leaving the Cowboys with a 12-0 lead; later a Raiders' try through Sam Mataora was followed by another trip to the video ref. Had that been allowed the Raiders were back to 12-22 with 5 to go; anyone watching the Rabbitohs-Tigers match the day before would know not cross another miracle result out.
It didn't happen this time. The Cowboys ran out deserved 22-6 winners and moved up to fourth on the ladder - and once again it wasn't fair to compare the ex with the current.
If Thurston keeps that kind of form up though, the current squeeze could well scrub up very nicely indeed.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 22 (Graham 2, Tate, Thompson tries, Thurston 3/4 goals) Canberra Raiders 6
Monday, 26 March 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 4
SOMETIMES things happen, and all you can do is go "wow".
There was something in the air as the round 4 clash against the Cronulla Sharks loomed. For starters, I'd started the online sledging with a couple of Sharks' fans not long after they notched up their first win of the season last Sunday. Nice to see you guys beat Manly, but you're going to come up to our house, in our weather, and beat us? Ha!
Secondly there was the little matter of recruit Robert Lui pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm. This was after an incident last year where Lui is said to have beaten his pregnant girlfriend after Mad Monday celebrations once his old club, the Wests Tigers, had been eliminated from the finals series.
Lui had already played in the first round loss to the Gold Coast, but had been out for the next two matches with injury - so what the Cowboys would do next interested me greatly. Beating up those weaker than you shows an inherent weakness in a person's character; having been the unfortunate witness to domestic violence throughout my life I have a zero tolerance for men who do this.
The Cowboys response was quick. In a statement on their website, Lui was suspended indefinitely by the club. He is undergoing regular counselling sessions, and it is hoped that being up in his hometown of Townsville will help settle him down. In an article on The Roar website that says why Lui should not be cut off from rugby league forever as some commentators have said, James Payten makes the point that:
There was something in the air as the round 4 clash against the Cronulla Sharks loomed. For starters, I'd started the online sledging with a couple of Sharks' fans not long after they notched up their first win of the season last Sunday. Nice to see you guys beat Manly, but you're going to come up to our house, in our weather, and beat us? Ha!
Secondly there was the little matter of recruit Robert Lui pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm. This was after an incident last year where Lui is said to have beaten his pregnant girlfriend after Mad Monday celebrations once his old club, the Wests Tigers, had been eliminated from the finals series.
Lui had already played in the first round loss to the Gold Coast, but had been out for the next two matches with injury - so what the Cowboys would do next interested me greatly. Beating up those weaker than you shows an inherent weakness in a person's character; having been the unfortunate witness to domestic violence throughout my life I have a zero tolerance for men who do this.
The Cowboys response was quick. In a statement on their website, Lui was suspended indefinitely by the club. He is undergoing regular counselling sessions, and it is hoped that being up in his hometown of Townsville will help settle him down. In an article on The Roar website that says why Lui should not be cut off from rugby league forever as some commentators have said, James Payten makes the point that:
"After he’s cut adrift from the Cowboys and the NRL for good, and sent back to whatever prospects he had before making it into the top grade, the chorus are then silent on their hopes for the success of his rehabilitation or for the positive growth of his relationship and family."
Given Lui can only play again once the ARL Commission is convinced that he has been fully rehabilitated, this would seem a fair course of action taken by the club. It doesn't mean that I'll be all the more comfortable if/when he comes back; rather, if this gives the man a chance to become a better person then that will ultimately determine its success or otherwise.
Finally Saturday night the game itself was somewhat overshadowed by the Queensland state election. Having splurged all my money on books, clothes and computer games earlier in the week, I decided to forgo the warming neon lights of the local to keep up with the game via the Cowboys Twitter feed while watching the state election results come in on the tv.
And play computer games and drink beer.
Who says men can't multi-task?
At first everything seemed to go to plan. The election results showed a swing to the Liberal-National Party (LNP), which had been widely expected. In the match the Cowboys skipped out to a 10-2 lead courtesy of tries to Gavin Cooper and Ashley Graham. On one tweet the Cowboys had just forced the Sharks into a second consecutive goal-line dropout, so things were looking pretty good.
Then the unbelievable.
On the tv, seat after seat after seat fell to the LNP. At one point I looked up from the computer to find the LNP had something like 45 seats (out of 89) with the Australian Labor Party (ALP) only having 2. Likewise, Cronulla did a job on us, with two tries in the last three minutes of the first half giving them a 14-10 lead.
Matt Bowen helped bring things back to 14-all with a try early in the second half, before Cronulla captain Paul Gallen wrapped things up for the bad guys with a 72nd-minute try. As shocking as that was (remind me never to get over-confident before a Cowboys game again), the election result was something else. At the time of writing the LNP has a guaranteed 74 seats in a 89-seat Parliament, while the ALP only has 7. Six, if you count the fact that former Premier Anna Bligh resigned the day after she'd bested most of her colleagues and actually won her own electorate.
Sometimes things happen, and all you can do is go "wow". Saturday night proved that.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 14 (Cooper, Graham, Bowen tries, Thurston 1/3 goals) Cronulla Sharks 20
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 14 (Cooper, Graham, Bowen tries, Thurston 1/3 goals) Cronulla Sharks 20
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