Sports Grunt

Putting price tag on WAFL

2012-02-24T14:25:00.001+08:00

Has the WAFL got a deal for you.

For just $75,000 you and 21 others can throw on the footy gear and pit your skills against a band of State league players.

But wait, there's more. The scores don't count but you do get to play with a Burley, not a Sherrin.

That is the scenario being tossed around by some WAFL clubs as Fremantle and West Coast continue their push for local reserves teams.

Some clubs are coming around to the notion their teams can play the Dockers and Eagles seconds during their bye rounds. Funny how the bye - along with its creator Peel - was long despised by the old guard. Now there's a chance for some added revenue the rest week becomes a wonderful financial opportunity.

There is a push for WAFL clubs to seek $150,000 a season each from the AFL reserves deal. As some clubs could be restricted to two matches due to complexities of fixturing that figure can be broken down to $75,000 a game for some local league outfits.

As the average turnover of a State competition club is around $1.5 million, the AFL reserves licence fee would soon become a significant item on boards' balance sheets.

The figure thrown up by a few presidents is certainly larger than the $60,000 the two AFL clubs offered last year.

Now the WA Football Commission is facilitating negotiations it seems a WAFL-AFL arrangement will happen. It is now a matter of how and when.

There is one other question.

What price should Fremantle and West Coast pay each WAFL club for the privilege each season?

At $75,000 a game, it could be a costly exercise for WA football's cashcows.

Little appeal for the Mankad

2012-02-22T14:23:00.000+08:00

Even the name thrust on the deed sounds sinister.

Mankad could well be the villain of a James Bond script. The man in question wasn't. He was an Indian bowler who became entrenched in cricket history for performing a perfectly legal deed in a Test match 65 years ago.

Vinoo Mankad's act - running out Australian batsman Bill Brown after he backed up too far at the non-striker's end during a 1947 Test - created one of the biggest taboo subjects in the game. Only the spectre of match-fixing is treated by cricket followers with more disdain.

Another Indian, Ravi Ashwin, discovered just how much of a touchy subject the Mankad is when he tried to replicate the deed by running out Lahiru Thirimanne in the one-day clash at the Gabba last Tuesday.

But why is the Mankad so despised? After all, if it is within the laws of cricket to dismiss a batsman for being out of his crease what is the problem? And clause 42.15 states, the "bowler is permitted, before entering his delivery stride, to attempt to run out the non-striker".

There is no mention of warnings. No suggestion a player would be scorned if he/she did so.

However, the Mankad strikes at the sense of decency in cricket, the so-called "spirit of the game" officials like to talk about to make fans feel all warm and fuzzy and believe the contest is above board.

No-one can use the word cheating. Yet there is a sense that both parties involved in a Mankad aren't following the official line.

Firstly, the batsman is seen to be stealing valuable metres by getting a cheeky jump on the bowler who is too busy concentrating on where he is going to pitch the ball.

And, unless the batsman is half-way down the pitch, the bowler is viewed as being sneaky by removing the bails on a player simply following the flow of the delivery and leaving his ground.

There is another element to last Tuesday's Mankad appeal, which was later withdrawn by the Indians. It was another gesture with the spirit of the game in mind. India also recalled England's Ian Bell in a Test last year when he was run out after walking from his crease in the mistaken belief tea had been called.

A Mankad in a one-day cricket isn't the same as one in a Test match. International ODI conditions do allow for a bowler to run out the non-striker before releasing the ball. He/she has to do it before entering delivery stride in other competitions.

So the controversy remains. After all, the Mankad has only been performed seven times in international cricket, the most recent almost 20 years ago. Such is the black mark against the feat.

But if a batsman leaves his ground before he should then a bowler should be confident his/her rival is fair game.

No questions asked.

2012-02-20T14:18:00.000+08:00

No one can doubt the message from Cricket Australia this week.

While the national selectors have recently been criticised for their efficiency in communication, they were loud and clear about their views when releasing the latest Australian team.

Unfortunately for Ricky Ponting it is a line he probably doesn't want to hear.

Retirement is never nice for a hostile participant. The bitterness can erase much of the glory of past service.

The move by the selectors to dump Ponting from the national one-day team - thus ending his international limited overs career midway through a series - was blunt and brutal. It told everyone that Australian cricket is moving on.

Maybe Ponting didn't get the gist of what was in the selectors' minds a few months ago.

At 38 and with shaky form over the past two years it seemed obvious Ponting's days were numbered. There was a call for him to put the bat away after a strong finish to the Test series with India. It was the chance to go out on top. On his terms.

But if Ponting's reluctance to go forced the panel to make an unkind cut did he not deserve the opportunity to bow out with some more dignity by playing out a meaningless one-day series involving India and Sri Lanka?

Waiting for the right time to blood youngsters is a skill of selection. Making the decision to retire a champion who doesn't want to go and making sure the move is done with class must surely be an art form.

And that moves on to the next phase of the Ponting farewell tour. He wants to remain a Test player and go on the trip to the Caribbean next month.

However, if the selectors don't agree to that plan Ponting faces the prospect of a final public fall from the top.
For such a loyal and decorated servant of Australian cricket, Punter deserves better.

AFL baulk at Steffensen talk

2012-02-13T14:13:00.001+08:00

Professional athletes are a lot like the Hollywood movie set.

Whenever sportspeople gather, there is always an outpouring of respect - mostly real, sometimes fake - for each other. There is that unwritten code that forces everybody to be happy about everyone else's achievements.

Somehow at the weekend those guidelines were relaxed for John Steffensen.

And it highlighted how, indeed, athletes near at the top of their game have different approaches to their work.

Shortly after Steffensen's victory in the 400m at the Go for 2&5 Track Classic on Saturday, Geelong's new AFL captain Joel Selwood tweeted, "Anyone manage to see John Steffensen interview on ch10 tonight? #confidant (sic) #averagebloke?"

Not long later Steffensen replied via twitterverse, "call me and ask the champ yourself bud!!"

It followed Steffensen's exuberant post-race statement claiming, "It was a murder scene out there tonight - someone should have called triple zero."

Such flamboyance has cost Steffensen plenty of criticism.

If an AFL player spoke publicly (plenty do within the confines of the club changeroom) with such alacrity he would admonished by one of the many in his team's leadership group. Such a display of cockiness and bravado is against club culture. It could set up the player and team for an embarrassing fall.

But it is that show of bravado that drives Steffensen in his solo pursuit. And while his problems with officialdom have at times overshadowed his talent, Steffensen has produced an Olympic silver and world championship bronze medal for his country. Remember, this is in the track, arguably the widest contested sporting discipline in the world and one in which Australia has had limited success for almost two generations.

It is important to remember that Steffensen didn't discredit anybody else in his post-race speech. He was simply overjoyed at his performance. His exciting character came through in his celebration.

And our sport needs more of his kind.

Boss needs GF guidelines

2012-02-08T14:10:00.001+08:00

So the boss has gone for The Boss.

From reports on the east coast AFL chief Andrew Demetriou has once again shuffled through his pile of old 45s to select the pre-match distraction for this year's premiership decider.

Meatloaf hadn't had a hit since vinyl records were in vogue yet staggered around the MCG stage before last season's grand final. Much the same for Bruce Springsteen but his tunes were far classier when the AFL's master was listening to them on Countdown, the curtain-raiser to the league's ABC highlights show, The Winners, back in the early 1980s - before every home had a CD player.

You get the impression from Springsteen and how he likes to be portrayed as a working class man that if he were Australian he'd be a big football fan.

But he isn't. And that raises a key point about how we celebrate the biggest day of the football calendar.
What should be the golden rules for the activities at the MCG on that last Saturday in September (or first in October as we have had in past two years)?

We must never let the streamers and dancing schoolkids detract from the spectacle involving the 44 combatants but it is generally accepted that there is more to grand final day than just the game.

However, in the wake of Meatloaf's MCG meltdown five months ago we need to make sure that some guidelines are followed.

1. Only Julie Anthony to sing the national anthem.

2. Up There Cazaly to be the last song sung - by Mike Brady - before the national anthem.

3. Half-time sprint involving players from all teams to be revamped and held over 60m. Winner gets a meat tray donated to his junior club.

4. For every overseas headline act there has to be a gig for an Australian artist. Reality TV contestants to be banned from all stages. Foreign acts are prohibited from wearing any club merchandise in some faux show of support.

5. Coin toss to always be conducted by a member of Australia's returned armed forces.

6. Ron Barassi to bring the premiership cup to the ground each time. He has a few at home as a back-up if needed.

7. Channel 7 burns footage of 1991 grand final entertainment and no trace of "Bound for Glory" can ever be shown on another premiership day.

8. Play final of Foxtel Cup as curtain-raiser.

9. AFL Players Association to hand all retiring players their lifetime gold passes following the traditional lap of honour.

10. Players who don't shake hands of kids delivering the premiership medallions post-match should be fined 20 per cent of their match fee.

Celebrate world cricket's dream field

2012-01-16T15:54:00.001+08:00

Too much bounce, too much grass, too much movement.

Too much whingeing.

There is no doubt the WACA would have wanted at least two more sessions of play from the third Test between Australia and India. So, too, the local fans.

But, unlike some critics, mostly from the east, don't blame our favourite piece of turf. Point the finger at the players because Perth's premier pitch can make a strong claim to providing some of the most exciting cricket on the planet.

Sure some batsmen are made to look like schoolboy pretenders on the Waroona clay that sits in the middle of the WACA Ground.

Yet for every Virender Sehwag, there is a David Warner. If the wicket is a problem why can one player construct a 180-run innings and share in a 214-run opening stand?

It is worth noting that four of the seven fastest Test centuries have been recorded at the WACA Ground. It is also the home of the highest score ever compiled in five-day cricket in this land - Matthew Hayden's 380.

And not so long ago South Africa countered those much-vaunted pitch demons to make 4-414 in the then second-highest Test run chase.

But then Mitchell Johnson and Glenn McGrath have also left Perth with eight wickets in a Test innings at the WA arena. India was dismissed for 161 and 171 in the recently-completed third Test.

So there is something for everyone at the WACA Ground.

And that is why Perth is lucky to have one of the best international cricket venues in the world

Set permanent WACA Test date

2012-01-11T17:19:00.003+08:00

Good timing is the essence to great cricket.

That ethos is relevant not only to the men swinging bats but also to those pushing pencils in the Cricket Australia planning office.

Setting fixtures is a tough job. You need a fondness for figures mostly found among accountants, a clairvoyant's crystal ball and the diplomacy of Bill Clinton to acquiesce the requests of stakeholders.

This week Perth hosts the third Test between Australia and India. While there is talk that five-day cricket is ill - although as pointed out at The West this week there seems to be more people asking "who said Test cricket is dead" rather than "Test cricket is dead" - there is great anticipation for the WACA Ground contest.

A Michael Clarke triple century, a couple of wins and the prospect of seeing Sachin Tendulkar create history can have the effect on the sporting psyche. Local cricket couldn't be happier with the lead-in.

But wouldn't it be easier to market - and better for fans - if the annual Perth Test was played at the same time of the year, every year?

Due to the quirk in fixtures, WA didn't stage a Test in 2011. The previous match was the third Ashes Test in December 2010.

In recent years the Perth Test has been thrown around like a drunken sailor's dart throw. It should be set for a particular period each year.

Almost all the other big ticket sporting billboard events have definitive dates, or at least a recognised phase of the calendar, to which fans have become accustomed.

The AFL grand final is always played on or around the last Saturday in September. The Melbourne Cup is the first Tuesday in November. The Australian Open is staged in the second half of January.

Even Melbourne and Sydney cricket fans know that their Test matches start on Boxing Day and January 3 no matter the year. CA would never dare change those dates. Perth should be afforded the same privilege.

So when should the Sandgropers get their Test match? The call in the office is for the Perth fixture to be held during the third week of December, preferably starting December 15 depending on fall of weekend.

Most schools have finished for the year and some local cricket associations could go into or are in hiatus, freeing up plenty of potential Test attendees.

A set fixture would enable fans to remember to put the annual WACA Ground event into their busy sporting schedules.

Then we would know that every third week in December we can put up our feet and rest easy watching the Aussies strike fear into another opponent on the nation's best cricket pitch.

FOLLOW ROSS LEWIS ON TWITTER - @R_Lewis_thewest

Praying to sporting gods in 2012

2011-12-24T14:32:00.012+08:00

Sorry Santa. This request for a bunch of presents goes to the gods of sport - Winnius, Loseus and the Great Draw.

The hard working team at Sports Grunt don't just want a bunch of gifts on one day. They need to be spread out over the 366 days of 2012.

And, yes, it is a leap year, so there are 24 extra hours of sporting joy to be had.

So you patron saints of the athlete's foot, answer these prayers for a bumper season in the New Year.

Here is our short list of wants.

They aren't too great and we don't expect all to be granted.

But a few would be nice.

1. A Test opener, preferably two. It has been a while since we have enjoyed a solid partnership atop the Australian batting order and we'd like to have another taste. We'd be happy to be re-gifted a Kat.

2. New Perth Glory owner. Again, preferably a couple of small ones which combined can add up to a powerful administration. Unfortunately we have burnt out the old one with overuse.

3. The Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. If we have it then it means this nation has produced our first Australian Open women's champion since Chris O'Neil back in the tennis dark ages of 1978. No pressure Sam Stosur. You're only carrying the hopes of a nation.

4. Some silverware for Fremantle. We'll take whatever we can get. An AFL flag would be good but we'll accept anything to get the AFL club's ball rolling - NAB Cup trophy, Brownlow Medal, best dressed at the AFLPA awards or even first in the grand final sprint. It's time to start amassing some silverware. Once it starts.......

5. A seat on the West Coast board. The Eagles' brains trust has been answerable to, well, for the most part, itself. Almost enough members to fill the proposed Col's Bowl in Burswood yet none of them get a say at the top.

6. A shovel, crane and buckets. Speaking of Perth Stadium, we accept some miracles can't happen overnight and a brand spanking new arena isn't going to pop up next to the casino in 2012. But can we at least start building one? Enough talking and political bickering. Let's pick up some tools and start digging.

7. Rory McIlroy. The online sports team needs some work on its golf game so some lessons with the brightest talent on the world circuit before the European tour event at Lake Karrinyup in October would be very helpful.

8. Slick Speedos. Since FINA banned full suits swimming has gone back in time. At least the competitors' times have. World records have suddenly become out of reach. So it would be nice to flick James Magnussen a pair of magic flying budgie smugglers to power him to a gold medal in a new 100m freestyle world mark at the London Olympics on August 1.

9. AFL playing contract. Not only would there be the joy of playing in the best football competition in the land but the AFLPA now has a wonderful lifetime superannuation scheme. We hear there could soon be developments on a new dental plan, kids daycare centre options, vehicle salary sacrificing and opportunities to study abroad. Oh, and they get free footy boots, too.

10. A new TV. This 80cm plasma must show only NBL matches. The league is hurting with a broadcast arrangement that has clashes beamed into our living rooms when we're flat out in bed. We want our NTV - NBL Television. But we need it at a more family-friendly time.

There are a few more items but the sports team doesn't want to be greedy.

We look forward to enjoying the sporting fruits of 2012.

See you next year.

WA soccer glory is for all

2011-12-19T16:16:00.001+08:00

It has become a strong trend in this office on Monday mornings in summer.

With little or no AFL news - although those days are fewer as the league commands the spotlight with or without a ball being kicked - sports tragics need something else to talk about after the weekend.

In recent years the sports topic du jour during this period has been the English Premier League.

Today was no different.

As soon as a couple of features writers had been scanned through security, they were talking about David Silva's winning goal for Manchester City over Arsenal. Or they were discussing another touch of skill by Wayne Rooney.

And that is a problem for Australian soccer.

Even today, as the game in WA reels from the news broken on thewest.com.au regarding the pending exit of Perth Glory owner Tony Sage, more round-ball aficionados wanted to discuss Tottenham's rise up the EPL totem pole.

That is the biggest challenge facing any owner of an A-League club. No matter what you do, the product you are putting up for punters isn't up to the level of what they can see, via TV, from White Hart Lane, Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford.

Why settle for second, or third, best?

Well, for WA soccer, it is the best we have got. But the Glory still haven't been good enough.
However, in recent years the State hasn't felt like the Glory has been its team. That is what happens with private ownership. No matter the financial support provided by philanthropic owners, if the fans can't have a strong input into the club's affairs they feel disenfranchised in times of trouble.

The Glory needs to be a WA team for it to again thrive. The club has to be incorporated in an overall structure for the code across the State for the public to again feel that all-important attachment. They want to see young Sandgropers being given the chance to rise from the backyard to the best possible team this side of the border.

The most successful results in sport are achieved when everyone works for the common goal.

While Perth's A-League team will never be at the top of the world game, the public have to feel as though they are in someway associated with the action.

It still won't be the best. But it is the best the game here can do. And everyone is united in a sense of pride at the outcome.

Gold pass eases life after AFL

2011-12-15T16:13:00.001+08:00

It is one of the few times in the AFL that it was impossible to determine a winner.

In one corner were the league bosses. They were chest pumping and air punching after standing their ground in the protracted pay deal negotiations with the players' association.

The on-field talent wanted a fixed percentage of league income. They said for months they wouldn't accept anything less than 25-27 per cent.

But when the new arrangement was revealed that figure wasn't reached.

Yet it is impossible for the players not to be happy with what they will be receiving in their brown paper envelopes from next year.

A good average AFL footballer can now consider that extra overseas holiday as he stands to pocket $300,000 within five years - more than four times that average Australian salary.

However, it is the facility that requires the AFL to continue to financially support players once they have thrown away their footy boots that is the most jarring for the football public - those that underwrite the industry.

As the AFL's website reported, "the league has also agreed to a $90 million retirement scheme, which will see players receive around $20,000 per year during life after football".

That must just be great news to the fans in WA who have to pay more - around $500 a year for a seat - to watch their AFL team at Patersons Stadium.

Surely, a couple of years on an average AFL earner should ensure that players have the financial resources to set themselves up for the rest of their days.

If Australia's federal politicians are under fire for their lifetime travel gold pass then there must be a query over why an industry has to continually support employees decades after they left work.

There is no doubt AFL players are among this country's elite athletes. And as a result they should share in the game's spoils.

But they must remember they are only passing through a competition that has been around for seven generations.

It is a sport for the people, not just a privileged few.

Don't bash cricket's new direction

2011-12-14T16:10:00.000+08:00

Sporting historians mark down December 16, 2012. From then Australian cricket will never be the same.
On that day the reincarnated Big Bash Twenty20 competition arrives on the sporting landscape.

Instead of State versus State, the new version of the century-old code will pit - and to unfortunately borrow a term from US sporting culture - franchise versus franchise.

There are plenty of crusty old cricket cronies who don't like the change. There is still some lingering resentment to the 50-over game among more seasoned watchers. Well then T20 must come from the devil.

Bowlers don't get rewarded for finding edges, batsmen swing like woodchoppers and fields have more holes than Chris Martin's defence. Teams are filled with players from all parts of the world.

Such methods must surely be having an impact on the longer form of the game. Maybe T20 is the reason why Australia's Test team is in a slump.

Too bad.
Punters love with the slap-and-giggle game.

Many Big Bash fixtures will have greater crowds than those at the recent Australian-New Zealand Test series. And then there are the Sheffield Shield matches, to which most supporters go to the ground in the same car.

Fans now crave the bite-sized version where they can enjoy all the excitement in a suitable time period.

The key is for Cricket Australia to properly manage Big Bash's impact on the summer calendar.

But cricket fans have embraced the T20 concept. And administrators would be fools for not giving customers what they want.

So it is time to sit back and enjoy the action over the next six weeks.

Foreign influx threatens local talent

2011-12-08T16:06:00.000+08:00

It will be more than just a chance to roll the arm over and get the eye in.

Should Paul Collingwood be rushed into WA's one-day team on Saturday it will be a defining moment for the abridged format on this side of the wide brown land.

There is no doubt about the popularity of the Twenty20 game. Yet the new version has a gun-for-hire attitude about it. Composite teams have been accepted almost since the first match. Such selections have suited the entertainment-at-all-costs attitude of 20-over cricket.

But to use an official one-day match involving a State side as little more than an opportunity for an import to get match practice for a cricket carnival degrades the 50-over game almost to the point of irrelevancy.

The Ryobi Cup is in danger of becoming simply a warm-up before the "speed cricket" starts.

WA might be better off not playing in the series after struggling in the first half of the season. The Warriors are without a point from five matches.

However, this State's one-day game isn't going to improve by giving foreigners free hits. Surely it is in WA's best interests to keep blooding youngsters in the hope of unearthing a genuine 50-over talent.

Or should the Ryobi Cup - a competition which has lost appeal with the Australian cricket community - follow the line of the Big Bash and bring in overseas stars to lift its profile?

The far better option in the long run for WA - and the game at a national level - is to give youth a chance.

High cost on the baggy green

2011-11-28T15:37:00.000+08:00

Any former Test players considering selling their baggy greens to fund their retirement should get in quick.

Where Southeby's would normally handle such a rare piece of sporting memorabilia, there are so many cheap Australian caps flooding the market that their future sales could be more suited to eBay.

Three more hats will be handed out on Thursday morning. It used to be unusual for one to be presented per series.

There is no doubt Australian cricket is struggling and combined with an increase in Test commitments, the value of what was once the most prized piece of sporting equipment in this country has been devalued.

Receiving a baggy green was a reward within itself. It was the prize for years of work and patience waiting for an opportunity.

And once you had it, no-one could take it from you. Even if sold (Don Bradman's cap fetched $425,000 at a 2003 auction) it will forever remain the spiritual property of the first wearer.

Steve Waugh held off replacing his dilapidated baggy green because it contained the smell, the feel, the essence of his Test career.

Now there is hardly the trace of a bead of sweat in some Australian players' hats.

In 2004-05 Michael Clarke became Australia's 389th Test player. In the following four years 10 players successfully claimed caps.

But such is the plight of the national team that in the past three years, which featured 30 Tests, there have been 22 Australian debutants - enough to fill two teams.

Of that band only Peter Siddle (25), Doug Bollinger (12), Ben Hilfenhaus (17) and Marcus North (21) have record double-figure career tallies. The latter three have since been discarded.

Jason Krejza (two), Bryce McGain (one), Graham Manou (one), Peter George (one) have been, seen and quickly thrown from the team.

There is not doubt that when the team isn't performing, new personnel must be tried.

It would just be worthy of the baggy green if some of those who get their hands on the coat of arms in the near future can been seen wearing them for at least a couple of summers.

Life after AFL for good old Subi

2011-11-19T14:59:00.001+08:00

Good old Subiaco Oval, she has served WA football so well.

But, in what is well known to every AFL fan still picking splinters from their backside after surviving substandard seating at the venue marketers now want us to call Patersons Stadium, there isn't much life left in the old girl.

On a whim Premier Colin Barnett deemed Perth's new super multi-purpose venue - the next home of AFL football in the State - would be built at Burswood. It is easier to have a collect from Lotto than determining when the first ball will be kicked in Col's Bowl.

Yet, it is more likely that sooner rather than later Subiaco Oval will be retired.

So what do you do with an old sports ground with room for 43,000 people?

There isn't a Sunday market that has a grandstand stall. And unlike overseas sports that frequently explode old stadiums as they move to bigger, more modern, digs, Australia doesn't have a lot of experience with recycling redundant sports grounds.

The major stadia in Australia's big cities have been around for more than a century - MCG, SCG, Adelaide Oval, Gabba, even our WACA Ground. They have undergone significant renovations but are mostly on the site they have occupied since the turf was first tossed to develop the venues.

The AFL's quickly-forgotten ground in Waverley is one example of a major coliseum put on the sporting scrapheap. Just 20 years ago VFL/AFL Park hosted a grand final. Today it features a new housing estate, although the playing ground and the main grandstand still exist as the training base for Hawthorn.

Neither the WA Football Commission nor the City of Subiaco has yet discussed what to do with the Subiaco Oval corpse once its lifeblood has disappeared.
Obviously many of the stands will have to be torn down.

But the WAFC hopes Subiaco Oval can remain a football facility of some kind.

Several commissioners favour the ground being reduced to a 15,000 boutique stadium that could remain a training base for West Coast and also be the much-needed home of WA umpiring, WAFL games, including finals, and under-18s squad training.

There is also some consideration that in such a high-density suburb, the stadium could be completely stripped to become an open greenfield site for residents.

Subiaco Oval generates a mammoth economic benefit to the area. There will be a push for the footprint to continue to provide commercial opportunities for surrounding businesses when the football spectators have gone.

What should happen to Subiaco Oval?

Well, at least we have plenty of time to come up with the best decision because although the ground's days as the premier stadium in town are numbered, there are plenty of calendars to tick off before that time comes.

Commission chief kicked key goals

2011-10-15T16:26:00.009+08:00

The football merry-go-round has been in full swing over the past few weeks.

It almost seems there is a fixed pool of capable people at the higher levels of the game. And they jump from job to job. The names are the same, only the colours of their polo shirts change.

Yet there will be a significant figure missing from the top of the code next season. Not surprisingly, there has been little fanfare around his departure. Maybe if he worked for a club, not a State organisation, his legacy might be more prominent.

But it hasn't been Wayne Bradshaw's style to seek the limelight. And it is a trait that has served the local game so well for a decade.

When Bradshaw took over the reins of the WA Football Commission at the turn of the century the local industry was in great turmoil.

One WA AFL club was close to running out of money, another was undergoing great pains on the field, WAFL outfits were fighting the commission and each other and there were great pains at grass roots level.
It took a steady hand, one that put self-interest aside (a rare trait in the sporting caper), to guide WA football over treacherous ground.

As he leaves his post Bradshaw can be content football is a fully integrated and thriving State industry. The WAFC looks after everything from AFL matches to Auskick. West Coast and Fremantle are healthy, the WAFL, while always going to struggle, have enjoyed their best crowds since the 90s and opportunities exist for football people to advance along a solid talent pathway - from juniors to the AFL.

One of the most significant achievements was Peel. That might seem strange considering the Thunder league team has more wooden spoons than a kitchen warehouse.

However, the Mandurah region is full of families. Football needed a shop window in that fertile sporting area to lure in the wealth of talent on offer. And it was imperative Peel provided that opportunity - even if it cost. The recent rescue package set up by the WAFC has evolved into a wonderful new clubroom set-up club that will underpin the club's growth for decades.

Bradshaw, with the guidance of then WAFC chairman Neale Fong, didn't perform miracles and there are still hot spots for WA football, the most important the code's stadium issue - a topic close to the heart of Bradshaw, who used to manage Patersons Stadium before moving up the commission ladder.

However, when football is dealing with the government over what it can get in terms of a new venue to underwrite its operations, Bradshaw can be confident that the local game can present its case from a position of strength.

Changes test Freo fans' faith

2011-09-16T16:22:00.010+08:00

Change is supposed to be as good as a holiday.

Maybe not if the vacation is actually a one-way trip to the AFL scrapheap.

The throw-out pile belonging to Fremantle is currently the biggest in the league.

In the space of 12 months, the club's famous - or possibly infamous - anchor logo, something of great pride to true port footy supporters, has been pulled and turned into what looks like an out-of-shape paper clip.

The original jumper, coloured in maritime starboard and port, has been sunk.

The unique theme song is also about to be swamped.

And now the coach, who just 12 months earlier had guided a rebuilt team into the finals, has been sent "down below".

It is an extraordinary transformation for any club. It is even more remarkable for one that has been operating just 17 seasons.
All of these decisions were made by a board, which is mostly unanswerable to Dockers members. Most of the moves were made under a president, Steve Harris, who has been in the post two seasons.

Only a quarter of the board is elected by those that buy season tickets, merchandise, corporate suites and sponsorships. The other 75 per cent is elected by no-one. They are appointed with the sanction of the WA Football Commission. Football supporters are also unable to vote on the WAFC but that leads to another story for another day.

So, in essence, the majority of the Fremantle board is not answerable to those that are the club's lifeblood.
Sure, Dockers management can point to surveys, focus groups and polls and say they were guided by the opinion of particular fans when changing guernsey, tune and brand image.

Then why are so many Fremantle fans so angry about the revamp of the club? Social media overheated with frustrated Dockers diehards lamenting the continual change in the wake on Thursday's sacking of Mark Harvey.

That attitude will further fester when Fremantle officials front media to explain why a popular coach was so unceremoniously dumped. At this stage we doubt there will be an address by the board to the fans at Fremantle Oval.

The board, no doubt, want the Dockers to thrive and flourish and make calls based on that premise.
But within a year the AFL team known as Fremantle is barely recognisable.

There are plenty of fans who feel the Dockers have thrown out too much.

The club's brains trust must now spend the next six months working diligently to convince those same supporters not to toss out their membership renewal forms.

Australian sport's happy homecoming

2011-08-29T16:21:00.002+08:00

For every winner there has to be a loser.

So whenever Australia celebrates the graduation of a locally-produced talent to a top overseas league there is also the lament that the athlete won't be showcasing their skills at home.

For our soccer and basketball - the two biggest participation sports on the planet - it has been a pleasant unpleasantry. While wonderful for the sport to have Australians starring abroad, their absence has had a detrimental effect on the codes at home.

It is tough for FFA and Basketball Australia to make the A-League and NBL more appealing when they know the competitions aren't the best going around. That task becomes more difficult when parts of the sporting marketplace perceive that even Australia's best aren't involved.

But over the past week the winds - probably more like a zephyr but movement at least - of change have blown through both competitions.

The return of Harry Kewell (Melbourne Victory) and Brett Emerton (Sydney FC) is a major boost for the soccer league - and thus the game itself. Kewell and Emerton are Socceroos stalwarts, who played in the top-class EPL environment and still bring a quality game to the A-League.

It is the same for Patty Mills and our hoops. Such is the nature of Australian basketball that our premier young talent is lured to US colleges, hoping to play in the NBA or graduating to lucrative European competitions.

There was a strong possibility Mills, who was last season contracted to Portland Trailblazers, might have followed that path and never lined up in the country's premier series. And there is no doubt it took the NBA lockout to facilitate Mills' move to Melbourne Tigers.

Yet what Emerton, Kewell and Mills do by coming back to where it all started is inspire and motivate another generation to follow the same dreams they once had.

Hopefully the next batch of Socceroos and Boomers will also find time to bring their talents back home so everyone in the game can benefit.

And so on.

Tanks for nothing AFL

2011-08-03T16:19:00.001+08:00

Integrity has been the AFL's buzz word for 2011.

After all, trust is an important element for any sport on a marketing drive.

If the punters think your competition is a bit dodgy - and with all apologies to WWE - then they are going to take their faith to another venue.

That is why the AFL was at pains to highlight the drop in positive drug tests earlier this season. The league wants to be considered one of cleanest competitions in the world. When it comes to players, no-one should have the unfair advantage.

In recent times, AFL House has made examples of those who have bet on matches. Remember, Sydney's Kieren Jack was reprimanded for placing two $5 wagers on matches not involving his Swans.

Only last year AFL operations manager Adrian Anderson said on sanctioning others for gambling on games, "'(The penalties) may seem in some cases to be more than people may expect, but you cannot underestimate the importance of protecting the integrity of our game."

There's that word again.

So it has been hard to reconcile that level of integrity with what happened in the AFL this week.
Sacked Melbourne coach Dean Bailey suggested enough in his outgoing press conference to put the tanking issue back on the AFL agenda.

"I had no hesitation at all in the first two years in ensuring the club was well placed for draft picks," Bailey said. "I was asked to do the best thing by the Melbourne Football Club and I did it. I put players in different positions."

Bailey never uttered the "T-word". But the AFL did have an inkling that was what was on Bailey's mind because Anderson admitted contacting him about the comments. Anderson said after clarifying Bailey's statement the league believed Melbourne did not tank early in the coach's tenure.

The Demons aren't the only AFL team caught in the tanking debate. Just about every team that has got a high draft pick from a low finish has had the finger pointed at them by suspicious fans.

It would be a mammoth blow to supporters to learn their team had thrown matches. Surely deliberately not playing to win to generate another gain isn't featured in any sporting integrity handbook.

Compare betting on your team to win with banking on them to lose.

And pity the poor old patrons putting a few hard earned on matches, if unbeknownst to them some players have unfair advantages because renowned defenders are lining up as forwards. And the AFL is happy for the public to bet on games. There are financial rewards for the code if people do.

Yet, despite having an integrity officer, the AFL has indicated it won't seek a full-blown investigation into tanking.

And as long as prized draft selections are awarded to teams that finish at the bottom of the ladder, speculation about whether the manner in which teams achieved the picks will remain under question.

WAFL need to pick up their game

2011-07-13T16:12:00.006+08:00

A lot of key football people have flown the flag for the WAFL over the past few months.

The league has been under siege. With the spectre of the two AFL clubs trying to muscle their way into the local competition and concerns about how they will be able to generate much-needed funds from a new stadium deal, the WAFL have needed a few mates to stand by them.

State clubs haven't been shy in trying to raise support for their causes, either.

For the time being, the WAFL's efforts at resisting the entry of West Coast and Fremantle reserves teams have been successful and - according to influential football identities - the integrity built over 126 years has been maintained.

But, in significant ways, the WAFL aren't keeping up their end of the bargain.

In their submission on the reserves teams the Eagles and Dockers played on the view that the WAFL was a competition in decay. Clubs were broke, supporter interest had waned, facilities were poor and unless there was a radical change in approach to its marketing the local league would soon be critically ill.

It prompted some important football stakeholders to step forward and protect a sporting structure they have supported for decades.

However, the WAFL have let the team down.
It isn't good enough that 6000 people can attend a match at Medibank Stadium and not have a functioning scoreboard, like what happened on Foundation Day.

The public can't be given incorrect match results. Last month a malfunctioning computer program credited West Perth with a win over East Fremantle when the Sharks had triumphed. The details were picked up by some media because the WAFL, unlike many other competitions on the same or even lower sporting level, do not directly distribute scores to the news outlets on Saturdays.

Thus the policy of sending full sets of match details to media on Monday afternoons - almost 48 hours after the games started - does little to promote a competition in an age when news travels faster than ever.

Then last weekend, when neither WA AFL club was active, the WAFL opted to stage just one match in the metropolitan area. One of the gripes of the State league is the lack of available timeslots in a heavy AFL schedule to showcase their wares. When one comes along it is largely dismissed.

While the Foxtel Cup has added a difficult dimension to an already-complicated fixture process, the season draw is already compromised due to the odd numbers of teams. Surely, it could have been manipulated for the three matches to be played at hubs such as Fremantle, Leederville or Joondalup on two days when locals aren't focused on Eagles and Dockers.

By last Monday there was no mention by the WAFL via website, email, twitter, carrier pigeon or post of the Foxtel Cup semifinal involving East Perth two days earlier.

It becomes tough for fans to argue the WAFL is a vibrant competition if they can't find out what is going on.
As those that remember what the WAFL was like before the 1987 expansion into the AFL fade away, there will be fewer of those significant WA football movers and shakers to jump to the league's defence.

So it is crucial WAFL outfits learn to help themselves.

News, reviews and previews in WAFL

2011-06-26T16:50:00.000+08:00

It's hard-hitting, news breaking, a little bit irreverent and very entertaining.

Let's WAFL, the State league's leading podcast, talks about all the big news from the 126-year-old competition.

Each week Online Sports Editor Ross Lewis and senior WAFL writer John Townsend, who have more than 50 years combined experience covering the league, will pick the topics of interest around the league and dissect them like only they can.

This isn't the old-time radio chat whereby commentators ramble on about team placements or game-day tactics. Let's WAFL takes a more in-depth approach to the big issues that affect the competition.

It is part of the thewest.com.au's comprehensive cover of the WAFL, so remember to stay with The West for all the latest news on the WAFL competition, including score updates and full match reports on game days.

Let's WAFL - Round 14, pt1

Let's WAFL - Round 14, pt2

These Cats are running out of lives

2011-02-12T15:49:00.003+08:00

The excitement surrounding the return of football for 2011 overshadowed a very significant development in Melbourne’s AFL circles.

Last Thursday, Richmond unveiled the Fighting Tiger Fund. It is a scheme aimed at reducing a debt coach Damien Hardwick said had “crippled” the foundation club.

According to the Tigers they need $6 million and they require it by yesterday. They want $4.5 million to reduce debts and raise another $1.5 million to invest in the future of the club.

By way of investment, Hardwick suggested the cash could be used to pay players more or entice other club’s stars to Punt Road.

Richmond chief executive Brendan Gale painted a bleak picture concerning the club’s lack of cash.

“The brutal fact is, that right now, our debt position means we are unlikely to deliver the critical resources required to win premierships,” Gale said

Haven’t we heard all of this before from Tigerland? Indeed, the cash call has come more than once over the past 25 years. And the club has only got itself to blame. But it could also be the greatest obstacle in fixing the situation.

It is little wonder Richmond have spent a generation in the VFL/AFL doldrums.

Wild spending on recruits in the early 1980s plunged the yellow and black into peril – and they have never recovered.

There was the Save Our Skins campaign in 1990. Now the Tigers faithful are being asked to chip in again.

The latest call to arms (or should that be hands in pockets) comes at an interesting time for Melbourne-based AFL clubs.

To put it simply, there are too many of them. It has become increasingly obvious it is not economically viable for nine teams to be in the Victorian capital, we well as another, Geelong, down the road in Corio Bay.

Hawthorn have realised the situation and become a hybrid club by playing a host of matches in Launceston, their home away from home.

But the interesting element in recent times is that there has been an escape clause for Melbourne clubs – a move that would have ensured their survival in the long term.

The AFL is determined to make teams succeed in the new Australian football markets of Gold Coast and Western Sydney.

Millions of dollars have been poured into propping up fresh clubs in those areas.

But there is no doubt the same money would have been available to any Melbourne club that took the brave step of agreeing to relocation.

North Melbourne briefly entertained the possibility of becoming the Gold Coast Kangaroos. But the Roos’ fans kicked up such a stink a revamped board made sure they vetoed the concept.

And North Melbourne, like Richmond, struggle to stay afloat in Melbourne.

Sure, the point of view of loyal supporters can’t be overlooked. It is difficult to accept that the team you have followed all your life is no longer around for you to see live all the time.

But the club might not be around for much longer if it stays where it is. Losing a couple of opportunities to watch them at the MCG is better than losing the club altogether.

At least relocation ensures the tradition continues – and with the bulk of AFL teams still in Melbourne there would be plenty of opportunities to sing the great Richmond theme song with gusto after a win in Bleak City.

It would certainly be a better option than never singing the song again.

Tainted flags aren't black and white

2011-02-05T13:21:00.003+08:00

Football is a team game. Matches can’t be won by individuals. However, a single person can greatly influence a contest.

It is all about the one percenters in the AFL and WAFL these days. Take the smother by Daniel Chick that set up West Coast’s match-winning goal in the 2006 grand final. And before that there was Leo Barry’s game-saving mark for Sydney in the previous premiership triumph.

When it comes to close matches – and the results of both of those big AFL days in September 2005 and 2006 were less than a kick – a single act can be the difference between elation and despair.

But what about if one of those significant efforts was produced by a player who has allegedly broken the rules to play?

It has become a trend in modern sport to talk about tainted premierships. Some have even suggested records should include an asterisk against particular champions because of the doubts about the condition of some of the personnel that were prominent in the success.

Victorian-based AFL critic Robert Walls wrote in The West Australian in 2007 that the Eagles’ premiership cup from the previous year was tainted because of the drug scandals, spearheaded by Ben Cousins, which had enveloped the WA club.

The same question was posed to Swan Districts this week following the revelation premiership player Travis Casserly had registered a positive drug test arising from last year’s WAFL grand final.

Casserly was instrumental in the black-and-whites’ success because of his work in cutting the influence of dangerous Claremont midfield Ryan Brabazon.

Swans won the match by just one point.

Claremont said they won’t protest the decision.

Casserly has to go through the sports justice system. Although he has been charged he hasn’t had the chance of a hearing to launch a defence.

But should he be found guilty of using performance-enhancing substances, should Swans be stripped of their title?

There is no provision in Australian football for a team to be punished in terms of result reversal for the actions of a player. It is not part of the code’s fabric.

Yet, in some sports the whole team can be penalised if one member breaks the drug code.

Take the plethora of Olympic relay teams that have been stripped of medals because one of the group was later discovered to be a doper.

However, it is almost impossible to make the argument that Casserly’s alleged drug use was the difference between the flag and the runners-up position for Swans.

Unless the WAFL increases its drug tests to include taking samples in every round Casserly’s issue has to be treated as a one-off. Remember, he has yet to have his guilt established following the ASADA tests.

In the end it was the heroics of Andrew Krakouer that proved to be the crucial element in Swans’ premiership. And it is heart-warming that Krakouer has gone on to revive his AFL career.

Should Casserly be found guilty of his drug charge it will have a short-term impact on Swans’ image – and that of the WAFL competition.

But it would be a long bow to draw to protest that a line should be placed through “2010: Swan Districts” on the list of local league premiers because of his alleged mistake.

Shorter games are just not the same

2011-01-24T13:51:00.006+08:00

Shame on you Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

How dare you put us through us through almost five hours of tennis at the Australian Open.

Don't you know that is the not the way sport is played nowadays.

Tense struggles that put athletes through an almost superhuman test of their physical, and mental, powers just isn't the go anymore.

If the administrators of the games we follow continue with current trends those enthralling battles of will and strength will be confined to the archives along with the black-and-white film footage of a bloke called Don Bradman.

Almost every sport around the world is looking for an abridged version of their code.

1. Cricket has Twenty20.

2. Tennis, with AFL great James Hird behind the idea, proposed a bastardised form of the game, including tie-breaks to be first to five points.

3. The Australian PGA supports a championship that features a match-play format for the final round with tied matches decided by a "knock-out hole."

4. Rugby has long backed the Sevens series, so much so that it is the preferred format for Commonwealth Games.

5. Even the NBL have reduced all matches by eight minutes.

6. Hockey are considering a modified format for the proposed CHOGM meeting series in Perth in October.

And now Kevin Sheedy wants the AFL to bring in an 11-a-side competition.

"If you had 11 top-class players zinging the ball around with 11 opposition top-class players, you've got something exciting," Sheedy said.

What was wrong with the full-length program? Is Sheedy suggesting that the 80-minutes (plus time-on) game has become boring? Or is he just trying to convince us his code to accept the attitude of the current fan who wants his sport quick, short and highly entertaining for every minute?

Forget Masterchef. Most Australians haven't got the time to patiently prepare gourmet meals. It is the fast food variety that is served at homes. And now it is likewise for our sport.

We want to devour one code in a couple of hours only now, enabling some to move to different courses on the same day. And every bite size piece of action must send the tastebuds wild.

For many sports it isn't the same. While the mini episodes of games might appeal to many, the longer versions must still be seen as the ultimate tests of their sport.

Chris Gayle belting balls into the stratosphere at the WACA Ground cannot be compared to personal examination of will and strength Alastair Cook passed so strongly while occupying the crease for days during the Ashes series.

After all, that has been the method by which we have analysed good and bad batsman for 150 years. That is how we compare eras. That is where the true sports theatre exists. Blink in some of these modified games and you have missed the whole point of them.

Sure, the McSports, those that could easily be served through a drive-through window, may have the entertainment value.

But they're not the real deal.

Fans the losers in private ownership

2011-01-19T20:26:00.003+08:00

Tony Sage is the epitome of the passionate sports supporter.

Not only does Sage have an emotional investment in his beloved Perth Glory but he has made a financial one as well. A big one. We're talking huge bucks here. The kind of cash that is made through digging minerals from the WA dirt.

But while Sage has forked out an estimated $6 million to prop up WA's A-League team over the past three years, his side haven't been able to turn that support into success on the pitch.

Sage is an astute deal maker. He has negotiated with some of the shrewdest mining executives here and in Asia. He knows a bum offer when he sees one.

And what happens to WA's premier soccer team when Sage decides enough is enough? That day might be closer than you think, especially if the Glory can't rebound.

Sure, Sage has signed a 10-year deal with the FFA to operate the Glory. Yet as he pointed out to thewest.com.au last year, "But that doesn't mean I can't sell the shares at some point".

He also told The West's soccer guru Jonathan Cook last month that "If (a minimum of) 9000 fans turn up (each match), I'm here for the long haul".

But what if they don't? What happens to the Glory is Sage decides it's time to cut his losses? Where do the poor old fans sit? Can the club they support disappear?

Sage's position puts the spotlight on privately-owned sporting teams. In Australia, it is far more economically efficient to stand in the middle of Hay St and throw your dollars into the air. After all, owning a sporting club means chucking money away.

WA philanthropist Jack Bendat is believed to lose about $750,000 a year on NBL champions, the Perth Wildcats.

Should Bendat and Sage, heaven forbid, suffer financial stress or simply determine they are no longer having fun being a sporting cash cow, who picks up the pieces?

Sure, the FFA will want an A-League team in Perth. But they are already pinching pennies after plunging millions into a World Cup bid.

The NBL would probably have to let the Wildcats fall over unless there are other businessmen willing to throw good money after bad. The basketball league couldn't afford to prop up another hoops side.

The AFL tried private ownership with West Coast, Sydney and Brisbane Bears. All three failed so miserably that financial rescues were needed to save each team.

While there is criticism of the structure of the WA Football Commission, the organisation must be heralded for its ability to control every aspect of the code in WA. The WAFC hold the two AFL team licences but also run the WAFL, umpires, country football, amateurs, women's and juniors footy.

The WACA have a similar arrangement for cricket and to a lesser extent so does Rugby WA, which controls the Western Force.

The structure of football, cricket and rugby in WA ensures the faithful fans keep ownership of the games they love. Their passion isn't beholden to one person. Their dreams won't be destroyed by one person's exit.
Private ownership might be the world trend. While entrepreneurs have raised the stakes of clubs, their control means the average supporter can't have a say in the running of their team or the organisation that controls it.

And when things go wrong, as we have seen in overseas soccer, it is those loyal fans that are left to cry over the fallen pieces.

Follow Ross Lewis on twitter - @R_Lewis_thewest

Social media becomes athletes' weapon

2011-01-17T22:35:00.010+08:00

Socks, mouthguard, protector, shirt, towel and hat.

Now, the mobile phone has to be in the modern athlete’s kit bag.

The first batch of items is needed to play on the pitch, grass, court or oval. And the phone is crucial to playing a whole new ball game in post-match time.

Social media is the new plaything in world sport. But sportspeople aren’t just using Twitter and Facebook to send nice messages to friends. They’ve become a virtual world soapbox on which athletes are making a stand.

The past few days have highlighted the influence of Twitter and how athletes are using it to make a point to the world or push their own brand – or both. It has become a weapon for athletes because they don’t have to go through a middle man to get their point across – just type in 140 characters, point the phone and shoot.

Take Melbourne Tigers NBL player Corey “Homicide” Williams. Last week he and officials from the Perth Wildcats conducted a slanging match through Twitter.

Williams defaced a picture of a Wildcats player at Challenge Stadium following a practice session. Normally, such an issue would have been dealt with through the proper channels – or at least that would have been the sportspeak that clubs love to use when they make public a complaint without having to actually declare their rage.

Not this time.

“As you all know, I don’t respect Perth because they act tough,” Williams tweeted. Was he trying to upset his rivals before the big game?

“Every chance I get I’m going to give it to them because they give it to me but they can’t take it when someone gives it to them.

“The Wildcats are too sensitive like women. They can give it out but can’t take it and cry and whine about it.”

And Williams’ penmanship forced Wildcats chief executive Nick Marvin to return fire via Tweetville.

“I paid good money for that poster. Not happy Jan,” Marvin said in a reply directed to Williams’ teammate Bennie Lewis.

Williams then took it one step further by declining a post-match TV interview, instead grabbing the microphone to implore people to follow him on Twitter to get the full story, or at least his account. In a few hours, 1100 extra followers had joined Williams’ account.

But then it isn’t just in Australia that athletes are spitting venom through Twitter.

Liverpool winger Ryan Babel showed some great IT skills when tweeting a picture of referee Howard Webb wearing a Manchester United shirt following their FA Cup clash.

“And they call him one of the best referees. That's a joke,” Babel tweeted. The FA will investigate.

Yet, possibly the best example of using Twitter as a vehicle for an athlete to push home a point – or even get revenge – was Collingwood’s Harry O’Brien who just happened to be at the same restaurant as Herald-Sun football writer Jackie Epstein last week

“Jackie Epstein herald sun sitting a table across from me @ restaurant. On a date..feel like intruding her private life like she's done 2 me,” O’Brien tweeted.

And so he did.

“Should I get her knife and fork and eat her juicy steak? Suggestions pls send #harryvsjackie,” was one tweet.

“Haha all fun n games. I know Jackie Shes a good soul. However, this is fun, it feels like the tables have turned.”

Now, sportspeople are empowered with the ability to get out what they want to say, without fear of the message getting distorted or filtered through traditional media.

It is the words direct from their minds. But as the latest batch of AFL draftees were told at an induction camp this week, social media can also bite the hand that tweets it.

FOLLOW ROSS LEWIS ON TWITTER - @R_Lewis_thewest

PS* At a restaurant near you soon!