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Sport: The Australian Disease - sportingaustralia.com

Izzy serious?

June 1st 2010 11:24
The current Brisbane Bronco during his Melbourne Storm days
This is madness. Utter, utter madness.

How else to describe Western Sydney Football Club’s decision to recruit Israel Folau on over $1 million per season?


It is not madness when a 21-year-old signs a four-year contract worth millions of dollars to try to master a sport he has never played. That, in fact, is the epitome of sweet reason. But it is utter, utter madness when a club invests a fortune in such a person.

There are some athletes who deserve that sort of money to kick around a Sherrin – Gary Ablett, Chris Judd, Nick Riewoldt, Jonathan Brown. And there are some athletes who don’t – Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Lionel Messi, Sachin Tendulkar. Keen observers will have noticed the difference between the two groups.

It must be noted that the decision, per se, was not flawed. If an athlete as talented – and marketable – as Folau was interested in crossing codes, it would have been illogical for an organisation like WSFC, which is desperate for success and publicity, not to have at least considered it. By all means, speak to him, gauge his intentions, subject him to some tests. Then, at the end of the process, if it looks as though he’s worth a gamble, discuss terms. But make him an offer commensurate with his Australian football experience – as opposed to, say, his record in rugby league, backyard cricket or tiddlywinks. In other words, aim low. That way, if the gamble fails – as is likely – little has been lost.


For it must be appreciated that this experiment is almost certain to end unhappily. To understand why, we need only look at the high profile NRL stars who switched to rugby union. Given that Lote Tuqiri, Wendell Sailor, Mat Rogers and Timana Tahu were all selected for the Wallabies, it can be said that their transitions were successful. However, with the benefit of hindsight, few would claim that they were so successful as to have deserved multi-million dollar contracts.

So if players moving from one code to a reasonably similar one would not have delivered enough value for that sort of money, what hope is there that somebody moving from one code to an entirely foreign one will prove worthy of such a large paycheque?

Further examples emphasise the point. Garrick Morgan may have been a union superstar, but he turned out to be depressingly average at league. Jeff Fenech may have been a great boxer, but he barely packed a punch during his brief stint with the Parramatta Eels. Michael Jordan may have been the greatest basketballer of all time, but he was not much of a baseballer.

Yet all this has been lost on WSFC’s chief executive, Dale Holmes. “Israel is a western Sydney boy and he’s someone who is going to play a great role for us,” he insisted, “not only as a player, but also in...bringing fans to our club. It was our administration’s view, and that of Kevin Sheedy as our senior coach, that an athlete of Israel’s height, skill, pace and power who wanted to come to our game was an exciting mix, and we want to give him the opportunity to succeed in our sport.”

Holmes’ reference to Sheedy raises an interesting point. Holmes, whose contribution to the game has almost exclusively been administrative, might perhaps be excused his foolishness. But how someone as experienced and astute as Sheedy could have been persuaded to embrace such a reckless throw of the dice is inexplicable.

It was only six months ago that Sport: The Australian Disease spoke out against WSFC’s pursuit of Jarryd Hayne.

Even if the Parramatta fullback could somehow be seduced, it is extremely unlikely that he would be able to turn himself into a star in a second code. And unless he could do that, the whole exercise would be pointless, because why would the [western Sydney] region be inspired by the exertions of a middling footballer?

The same article also highlighted the folly of short term thinking:

For WSFC to succeed, it will have to convince people that it’s committed to the region, and that it’s going to be around forever. In other words, it has to establish itself as a credible entity.

Cheap publicity stunts, therefore, are a hindrance rather than a help. Unquestionably, the Hayne story would have aroused the interest of the locals, many of whom would have devoted rare attention to a code that they’re ignorant of, and even hostile to. But one suspects that a majority of those would have regarded with scorn the idea of a league star wanting to convert to an entirely foreign sport, or making a success of it if he did. And that scorn would then, in turn, have been directed to the party responsible for the idea – WSFC. So increased recognition would have come at the price of decreased credibility.

This is where we are now at with Folau. The locals will have taken notice of the Bronco’s defection, and will be keen to see how he performs once his new team joins the AFL in 2012. So far, so good.

But when he fails to live up to his superstar billing, as he almost certainly will, these same people will lose interest in Folau and lose respect for his club, making the task of winning over the region even harder than it already is. Forget about the exorbitant contract – that’s one hell of a price to pay.
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The war of the World

December 20th 2009 02:31
FIFA World Cup
According to Andrew Demetriou and David Gallop, the AFL and NRL want nothing more than for Australia to win the right to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. According to Frank Lowy, the FFA is convinced that all the football codes would benefit from such an outcome. These men are lying.

Hence, we have a situation in which the FFA is trying desperately to prevail in an extraordinarily challenging fight, while its two main local competitors are trying desperately – if subtly – to ensure its defeat.

At first glance, the round ball game seems to be making a valid point when it says that Aussie Rules and league stand to gain from a successful Australian bid. After all, the federal government would pour money into the infrastructure that they rely on, such as stadiums, training facilities and transportation links. Therefore, Lowy and friends conclude, both codes can expect to make advances that they wouldn’t otherwise make, a point that Demetriou and Gallop calculatingly pretend to accept.

On closer inspection, however, football’s argument collapses, as Demetriou, Gallop and Lowy know full well. For while the AFL and NRL would make a gross gain from the World Cup, they would end up recording a net loss. That’s because although they would take a small step forward, their increasingly strong rival would take a giant leap, meaning that this absolute expansion would result in a relative contraction. In a sporting environment as competitive as Australia’s, it’s less important for governing bodies to increase their amount of pie than their share of pie. For the stronger party will always try to bully its weaker opponents, as evidenced by the AFL’s push into the rugby league heartland of western Sydney. Having dished out an incalculable number of beatings to football over the years, the AFL and NRL are terrified by the prospect of their former whipping boy growing strong enough to give them a taste of their own medicine.

The benefits football stands to gain from hosting the World Cup are colossal. When the Socceroos defeated Uruguay and subsequently advanced to the second round of the World Cup, it gave the code the greatest credibility it had ever experienced – a glow it continues to bask in several years on. Staging the tournament would trump that umpteen times over. With tens of thousands of fans joining some of the planet’s finest athletes in Australia, the excitement generated would be like nothing the nation had witnessed since the unprecedentedly heady days of the Sydney Olympics. Football would saturate the media; football would be on everyone’s lips. In short, it would be the most comprehensive publicity campaign any of this country’s sports had ever enjoyed. Having watched throbbing stadiums cheering on the likes of the Socceroos and Brazil, and having absorbed the monumental interest being shown by billions of people overseas, Aussie Rules and league would inevitably look less attractive by comparison.

That is why the AFL and NRL don’t want Australia to host the World Cup; that is why the FFA does. Most importantly, though, the punters – and thus the federal government – want it. As a result, Demetriou and Gallop have been forced to tread carefully, as they understand that it would be a PR disaster if they were thought to be impeding the bid, or harbouring negative feelings towards it. So, through gritted teeth, they trumpet the official line, proclaiming their support, while agreeing that it would benefit their codes too.

The recent outbreak of dissent from Demetriou and Gallop needs to be seen in this context. By issuing warnings to the FFA about stadium availability and crying foul about disruption to their 2018 or 2022 seasons, they have tested the waters to see how much rebelliousness will be tolerated. They have prodded the FFA, rather than thumped it, because open defiance would be considered unpatriotic. And the two appear to have gotten the balance right, with the general view being that they were not hysterically attacking the bid, but raising legitimate concerns.

Ironically, though, Demetriou and Gallop may have actually strengthened the FFA’s hand. For as Sport: The Australian Disease has previously argued, the only way to snare the World Cup will be to appeal to the emotions of the 24 members of FIFA’s Executive Committee. It won’t be done by telling people that we have the best infrastructure, because we don’t. However, a case can be made for awarding the tournament to Australia on the basis that it’s the only part of the world yet to be conquered by the global game. South Africa will be hosting the next World Cup for emotional reasons; if the FFA can convince FIFA that Australia is a ‘final frontier’ that needs to be snatched from other sports, it may end up doing the same in 2018 or 2022. So when the AFL and NRL attack football, they may unwittingly be attacking themselves.

Regardless, they need to realise that this is a battle they cannot win. The punters want the World Cup. The federal government – which has invested significant financial and political capital in the bid – wants the World Cup. No amount of petty quibbling from the AFL and NRL will be able to destroy that consensus. Consequently, there are only two courses of action for them to follow: praying for the FFA to fail, and preparing to cope in the event that it succeeds.

Should the World Cup come to Australia in around a decade’s time, it could very well prove to be a turning point in this country’s sporting history. Thanks to the years of favourable publicity football would receive either side of the tournament, it could be the moment in which the once derided ‘wogball’ – long identified as a sleeping giant – finally gained ascendancy over its two bigger rivals. And if that was to happen, it would be almost impossible for Aussie Rules and league to ever wrest back control. So disregard all the false smiles and soothing words from Demetriou, Gallop and Lowy. In reality, these three are locked in fierce combat.
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Kevin Sheedy
First Kevin Sheedy, then Jarryd Hayne and now Paul Kelly: the AFL’s newest baby has only just been born, and already it’s made a significant impact.

When Sheedy was announced as the inaugural coach of the Western Sydney Football Club a fortnight ago, many in the harbour city took note. When it was reported that Hayne was on the team’s hitlist, further headlines were generated. And with word recently emerging that Kelly is considering taking up a developmental role, even more interest has been sparked. All this attention can only be a good thing, right?

Well, yes and no. Those who insist that there’s no such thing as bad publicity are guilty of facile thinking, because the type of publicity somebody or something receives is often more important than the amount. As Sport: The Australian Disease has previously argued, winning the affection of western Sydney and the support of sponsors is going to pose an extraordinarily difficult long term challenge. For WSFC to succeed, it will have to convince people that it’s committed to the region, and that it’s going to be around forever. In other words, it has to establish itself as a credible entity.

Cheap publicity stunts, therefore, are a hindrance rather than a help. Unquestionably, the Hayne story would have aroused the interest of the locals, many of whom would have devoted rare attention to a code that they’re ignorant of, and even hostile to. But one suspects that a majority of those would have regarded with scorn the idea of a league star wanting to convert to an entirely foreign sport, or making a success of it if he did. And that scorn would then, in turn, have been directed to the party responsible for the idea- WSFC. So increased recognition would have come at the price of decreased credibility. That’s why there is such a thing as bad publicity.

The signing of Sheedy and the possible recruitment of Kelly, however, are examples of good publicity. While a lot of the league loving locals would possess only a dim understanding of the pair, there would be a vague recognition that the first was a champion coach and the second a champion player. Then would come the instinctive thought that if individuals of that calibre had chosen to get involved with the fledgling club, there must be something substantial about it.

Still, it would be wrong to place undue emphasis on publicity. That’s because WSFC needs to sink its roots very deeply into the western Sydney soil if it is to survive and thrive. As the Swans would attest, consolidation will not come before decades have passed and tens of millions of dollars have been spent. There is no short term fix to be had; only long term vision will enable the AFL’s 18th franchise to securely establish itself.

With that in mind, the Hayne flirtation looks even more foolish. Even if the Parramatta fullback could somehow be seduced, it is extremely unlikely that he would be able to turn himself into a star in a second code. And unless he could do that, the whole exercise would be pointless, because why would the region be inspired by the exertions of a middling footballer?

On the other hand, the appointment of Sheedy and the pursuit of Kelly look even more inspired. The former Essendon boss possesses greater experience than any of his contemporaries, meaning that there could be nobody better qualified to recruit staff, draft players and develop a flourishing culture. As for the Brownlow Medallist, he is revered in the Riverina zone in which he would be doing his developmental work, meaning that there could be nobody better qualified to convince talented young athletes to choose Aussie Rules over other sports.

With these two on the payroll, WSFC gives itself the best chance to build a robust structure. Clubs that have poor foundations go bust, because they lack credibility. Sponsors don’t want to sponsor them; players don’t want to play for them; supporters don’t want to support them. Conversely, clubs that have firm foundations are able to make it through the inevitable low points in the sporting cycle and ultimately prosper.

It is on this point that WSFC must resolutely focus. Building support and winning games will be difficult, especially in the short term. If, however, a robust structure is created, both should eventually arrive. It won’t be quick, it won’t be easy, and it certainly won’t be cheap. But if the club remains true to a long term vision, there’s a good chance that the AFL’s newest baby will grow to be a mature, healthy adult.
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North Sydney Bears
The big issue to have dominated sporting circles recently has been expansion. There has been conjecture about which cities will play host to the A-League’s 11th and 12th clubs, discussion about where in Australia to locate a possible Super 15 franchise, grilling from a Senate committee over the AFL’s 18th team, and speculation that the Bears may be revived as the NRL’s 17th member.

Concurrently, an ideological debate has been simmering. Aside from the round ball game- which is the only one of the four footballing codes to boast a genuine national presence- arguments over what form this expansion should take have been occurring between those who might best be described as realists and visionaries. Should the safe option of branching out into friendly territory be chosen, as the realists maintain? Or are the visionaries right when they say that the only way to grow a sport is to establish a presence in a new market


[ Click here to read more ]
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Stalin
During the time of Stalin, it was the fate of many senior Bolsheviks to fall foul of the Great Father of the Soviet Union. Typically, these ex-leaders would not merely be tortured and executed, but also deleted from the historical record, as if they had never existed. Their images would be airbrushed from photographs, their portraits would be removed from government buildings, their deeds would be edited out of encyclopaedias, their names would be taken out of textbooks. They would become ‘unpersons’.

Tony Zappia, the chief executive of the Cronulla Sharks, seems to be a student of history, because Greg Bird has just begun to disappear from his club’s historical record. Although he has yet to be airbrushed from the team photo, and although he is still on the contract list, he is no longer to be found amongst the player profiles
[ Click here to read more ]
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