RIP Phil Hughes

LAST weekend the family went around my brother's place to celebrate his 26th birthday. Friends, family and a vodka-infused boob cake (exactly as it sounds) helped him mark the occasion with the dignity and shenanigans it deserved.

I'm not sure if Phillip Joel Hughes was planning the same thing for a week later. Probably not - after a Shield game at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) he was tipped to replace skipper Michael Clarke in the Test team to play India starting December 4. It would have been his first Test in about 18 months, so I'm not sure his birthday plans involved motorboating said vodka-infused bob cake.

We'll never know.

While playing for South Australia against New South Wales Phillip Hughes went to play the pull shot off fast-medium bowler Sean Abbott. They had been team-mates in Australia's recent tour of the United Arab Emirates, where they had both made their Twenty20 International debuts in a match against Pakistan. Both were seemingly on the way up: Abbott made his T20 and One-Day International debuts on that tour, while Hughes was widely tipped to be the next great Australian Test opener.

Hughes had played the pull shot many times in his career, had faced short-pitched (aimed at the batsman's head) bowling from many of the world's greatest bowlers. In 2009 he'd made his Test debut against South Africa in South Africa, moving up from a duck (0) in his first innings to 75 in his second, to scores of 115 and 160 in just his second Test. Nobody had hit two centuries in the one Test at a younger age (20 years and 98 days) - and rarely can anyone have completed the feat against better bowlers. Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini, Jacques Kallis and Morne Morkel all had or would have over 200 wickets each, yet here was this tiny bloke smacking them around. How could they stop him?

In the 2009 Ashes England found a way. Bowling fast and straight they cramped Hughes for room, leading to him being dropped after the Second Test and him with the faux pas of announcing his dropping on Twitter before Cricket Australia had officially announced it. That was the first time he was dropped from the Test team; there'd be a few more down the track. One such time was when he edged New Zealand seamer Chris Martin to fielder Martin Guptill four consecutive times; as commentator Kerry O'Keefe said, if Hughes had nicked himself shaving Guptill would have been there with the band-aid!

So Hughes was no mug with the bat. At one point he was even a world record holder, taking part in a 163-run 10th wicket stand with debutant Ashton Agar. Naturally, a couple of Tests later Hughes was dropped.


THE ball-by-ball commentary on cricket.com.au's website reads:

48.3Abbott to Phil Hughes

No run, problem here, misses a pull shot and hit, urgent treatment needed

Comment

He'd been leaving the short balls, had a go at this one, misjudged it and was hit in the back of the head. He blacked out and fell badly on his face. Medics are assisting now.

Comment

Phillip Hughes is heading off here on a stretcher on a medicab. They're holding his head and it doesn't look at all good. All the players are now coming off.

Two days later Phillip Joel Hughes died in hospital as a result of that hit. When the ball hit him on the neck it ruptured an artery that feeds blood directly into the brain. The Vertebral Artery Dissection that resulted has only been recorded around 100 times in medical literature, and only once by a cricket ball. Phil Hughes was a freakishly talented batsman killed by a freakish accident.


DRIVING back home from my brother's I took the time to remember back to when I turned 26. I was living in London and had just finished my first season as a tour guide; in the intervening eight years I have been lucky enough to travel the world (often while getting paid for it), had grown immensely as a person and had met some of the most amazing people, many who I'm still proud to call my friends. For me 26 was where I became who I am today. I'm sure my brother will go through that and a fair bit more as he grows older.

Phil Hughes was just one week younger than my brother, but he didn't make it to 26. That he died playing the sport he loved - the sport so many of us love - makes it all the more poignant.

Rest in peace.

Come on Aussie, just come on, please?!?

IT'S beautiful really. You, YouTube, a glass of scotch and more batting highlights than you can poke a stick at.

Gilchrist, the bowler's Anti-Christ. Mark Waugh and Damien Martyn, all elegance and timing. Steve Waugh, all bloody-mindedness; Matthew Hayden, just bloody for bowlers. Beautiful times, were they not?

If you want something from this decade you've a hell of a task. There's Michael Clarke against South Africa, Michael Hussey against England, Michael Clarke against India, Michael Hussey against Sri Lanka. Therein lies the problem: of Australia's 37 Test centuries since January 1 2010, 20 came from a man called Michael. Of the current Ashes squad pugilist David Warner has three; Matthew Wade has two; with Ed Cowan, Brad Haddin, Phil Hughes and Shane Watson scoring one each. Compare this to the 90s and early 2000s when batsmen like Stuart Law, Martin Love and Brad Hodge struggled to get a meaningful run; where Darren Lehmann, Damien Martyn, Simon Katich and even Matthew Hayden hit century after century before they could get in green.

So what happened? The bowling seems to be coming along nicely; provided of course that Messrs Cummins, Pattinson, Bird and Starc keep developing and stay injury-free. But watching Australia bat is like getting blind drunk and playing Five-Finger Fillet - every now and then you'll pull it off, but you know deep down it's going to end in tears.

So what went wrong?

For starters, Cricket Australia did themselves no favours by tinkering with the format of the Second XI competition. Back in 2002/03 a group of dedicated amateurs covered Cricket ACT matches against the South Australia and Western Australian Second XI's for local radio. While there were plenty of young guns like Shaun Tait, Adam Voges, Beau Casson and Luke Ronchi in the opposition ranks, they were being led by some seriously experienced heads. Former Australian ODI representative Brad Young scored a century and took 14 wickets for South Australia; Stuart Karppinen, Nathan Adcock, Jeff Vaughan and Mark Harrity were all in their late twenties and looking to play themselves back into first-class cricket. In short, it was the perfect combination of youth and experience that made these matches the perfect nursery for talented young cricketers.

Fast-forward to 2009 and Cricket Australia decided to tinker. The Second XI competition became the Futures League, with only three over-23s allowed in each team. While this article from The Roar's Brett McKay at the time suggested good things for Australian cricket and Australian spinners, it didn't take long for the players to voice their concerns. In his book In The Firing Line, Ed Cowan (a late-bloomer himself) made this point:

All of a sudden accomplished players in the larger states ... were merely treading water if they found themselves out of favour or form, relegated to playing club cricket that they had dominated for six, seven or eight years already. In their place, talented but not yet ripe youngsters, not quite across the game as a whole, let alone their own, were given preferences for places. It has taken a few years but we are now reaping what we sowed as a cricket community.

Tasmanian captain George Bailey wasn't a fan either:

 "It's become really difficult to have guys who aren't in your best XI, consistently playing good, hard cricket against other teams, with that under-23 rule," Bailey said. "I've got no doubt that cricket and the way the bodies are, you play your best cricket after you're 23, and it's much the same as the Australian team. I think the best Australian players are better for having a really strong first-class system and we're much the same."

 Nowadays teams are allowed six over-23 players; again, the late-bloomers and 24-year-olds don't seem to get much of a look-in. Combine this with the large amount of experience lost with the retirements of Warne, McGrath, Langer, Hayden, Gilchrist et al, and it really wasn't a great time for anyone to be missing out on some tough cricket.

Discipline seems to be a problem as well. During Australia's fallow period in the mid-1980s many had the talent, yet few had the self-discipline that would make them truly great. When Bob Simpson became coach in 1986 he decided to run with a few players that he felt had the "ticker" necessary to consistently succeed at Test cricket, giving players like Steve Waugh and Ian Healy a long run over players like Greg Ritchie and Tim Zoehrer. Likewise, who wouldn't want to see a Chris Rogers, Sam Robson, Adam Voges or George Bailey get a run right now ahead of a David Warner or Shane Watson? Could it be that the aforementioned players are slightly hungrier by not playing Twenty20 cricket around the world?

So there are a couple of possible reasons for Australia's cricketing decline. Question is, how do we fix it so that Australian cricket highlights aren't archived in the "Classics" section of the internet?

Mitchell's Mysterious Ways

THOSE in the know fell hard for Mitchell Johnson.

Dennis Lillee was the first. Up in Townsville in the late 90s holding a fast-bowling camp, Lillee was quickly onto his great mate Rod Marsh after watching this young man deliver the ball with some serious pace - and with his left hand to boot. Marsh was next to fall. In an Inside Cricket article back in 2000 the Australian Cricket Academy coach told Kerry O'Keefe:

"It was the way the ball came out which impressed us most - like Dennis and Wasim Akram, Mitchell was genuinely quick off two paces ... In my opinion, he is better than Brett Lee was at the same age."

Queensland selectors seemed to agree, giving Johnson his first-class debut against the touring New Zealanders 12 months later. While this was six years before his Test debut, Johnson gave a small glimpse into what would come: his first first-class wicket was opener Mark Richardson spooning a half-volley to midwicket, while his opening (and only) runs came from his fifth ball, a hit over the boundary.

After his fourth set of stress fractures in his back, Johnson comes back and it's the turn of the Australian selectors to fall hard. He's selected for his first game in Australian colours - an ODI against New Zealand - but isn't ready for the big time. Coming in as the Australian replacement for Simon Katich, Johnson goes for 64 runs in nine overs.

This convinces the selectors to let Johnson incubate at state level for a little longer; hardly surprising given he'd played a whole 12 first-class games up to that point. A ten-wicket haul on a flat wicket in the 2005/06 Pura Cup final, a shockingly poor ODI against South Africa and a few moderate games against Bangladesh follow before he suddenly finds international form in the unlikely setting of Kuala Lumpur. Four Indian wickets in just eight balls - Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar among them - suddenly have the world sitting up and watching closely; soon after in India a 10-over spell of 3/40 against England has pundits like The Times Simon Wilde purring about how this young man with a pierced tongue and lip could be the key for Australia in that year's Ashes series.

By 2008/09 we'd all fallen hard. Eleven wickets against South Africa in Perth - in a losing cause no less - preceded his personal vendetta against Graeme Smith's fingers, breaking one on his left hand in the win in Sydney before breaking another on the right in Durban. That second injury came as Johnson recorded some of the most fearsome spells in Test cricket, dismissing Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla in his first over, breaking Smith's finger in his second before coming back and forcing Jacques Kallis off after hitting him on the chin. Just to emphasise his point he then bowled Mark Boucher with the last ball before tea, then hit his maiden Test century in the next Test. Here was the man that Australian cricket could settle down with, raising a tribe of Australian quicks before retiring to the commentary box of choice next to other legends of the game.

Except, from a cricketing perspective, Johnson wasn't the settling type. Come the 2009 Ashes it turned out he really wasn't up to raising a tribe of quicks on his own; hell, he was barely able to raise anything apart from English scoring rates. When Australia took Johnson around to meet the parents at Lord's he didn't deliberately trash the place, but rather found himself unable to turn with disturbing the fine china. Three wickets for 200 runs at over five runs an over is ugly reading for any cricketer, let alone one who was supposed to lead Australia to new glories.

So we'd fallen out of love, and damned if we were going to let him back into our hearts without some evidence that he wasn't going to embarrass us again. And he tried. Truly he did. Consistent hauls against West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand convinced us all he'd turned a corner, that he'd come good - only for England to return and with it our feelings of disillusionment. Despite his nine-wicket haul in Perth, Johnson drifted out of contention, a foot injury after a South African series confirming that yes, he wasn't The One we were looking for.

Which brings us now to Johnson's latest Test incarnation. There were certainly many who took the news badly when Johnson was named against South Africa as Australia completely revamped their fast-bowling attack between Adelaide and Perth. While he performed credibly, and again in two Tests against Sri Lanka later that summer, only the most hopeless romantics believe he will lead Australia to future glory. Instead Johnson's become that rarest of beasts - the ex you keep in contact with, with whom you still get along.

Seems as though everyone's much happier with the result.

Nobody Puts Baby Boof In A Corner...

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.

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.

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

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.

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:

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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:

“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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.