Oh ye of little faith!
You were right … but only just.
TFF took the usual bashing for my contention on Thursday that the Wallabies could actually compete and maybe even win against the All Blacks, but let the record show, I was about three-quarters right.
They not only competed, on occasion they dominated! On those occasions, when we had all 15 Wallabies on the field with no one in the sin bin, they looked great and it was an extraordinary achievement to reel off three tries from being down 31-13 after 56 minutes. As we know, a fabulous and historic victory was within our grasp if not for the pedantic French ref’s decision with just over a minute to go. Yes, mes amis, as the nation reeled in horror, the Frenchman penalised our five-eighth Bernard Foley for not kicking the ball out, even though he was in the process of doing precisely that. No doubt the ref was technically correct, but it was spiritually wrong.
After such a titanic struggle between frantic Australians and marauding Kiwis, it was a pity the whole thing was decided by a minor French iceberg. Nevertheless, it was cracker match, and proof that on their day – if not consistently – the Wallabies can turn on some fabulous rugby.
Credit:Illustration: John Shakespeare
Farewell Federer
Fare thee well, Roger, we knew you well.
Tennis may have had a better ambassador for the sport in its history but, as ever, I think it is really only Rafael Nadal who can argue the toss with you. For more than two decades you have been consistently brilliant, charming, a great sport and one of the most inspirational figures in world sport. You were the apotheosis of sport as it should be played, will be missed, and always fondly remembered.
Luke don’t touch
Which brings us to the remarks of Luke Keary, a Roosters player with a long and extremely troubling history of concussions, in an article last Sunday by The Daily Telegraph’s Fatima Kdouh. They focused on the need for the NRL to finally introduce a game-wide limit on full-contact training, like the NFL, which since 2011 has limited it to one session a week.
Luke Keary has a long history of concussions.Credit:NRL Photos
“We should have had less contact five years ago,” Keary told Kdouh. “I don’t know why it has taken this long. They do it in the NFL. I don’t know how we haven’t done those studies and tests … I just don’t know how it hasn’t happened. I speak to some of these docs and it’s the repeated hits you get at training. The constant whiplash . . . things like that. For that not to be controlled, it’s just weird.”
And possibly actionable, but we’ll get to that. But do go on, Luke.
“The coaches are good now. They understand too, they are not bashing you all the time. But there needs to be some parameters around it, so every coach and every team has to abide by those rules on a weekly basis.”
Get it?
Every word Keary says is right on the money. And those limitations will indeed come in. That ain’t the issue. The issue is a senior and influential player suddenly aware, as never before, of his rights to safety, with at least an undertone that those rights might have been breached. And he feels strongly enough about it to publicly call out the NRL on it, together with his own club.
This columnist has predicted for years that the NRL will face legal action the likes of which the NFL settled a decade ago in a $US1 billion payout for not having protected its players, even when it knew what constant concussions were doing to them. The AFL and Rugby Australia are also at risk – the latter likely watch closely the multimillion-dollar class action brought in England by more than 100 former professional players against the Rugby Football Union.
The precondition for such mass legal action happening is the players themselves understanding the issues, and starting to view their experiences through the prism of not just what was right, but their rights. I don’t say Keary is going to lead the charge on a class action against the NRL. I do say that if I was the NRL, my blood would turn a little cold to read his comments.
It’s coming.
The Maggie Moloney mural in Redfern, due to be officially unveiled on Saturday.Credit:107 Projects
Wake, up Maggie!
Love this. On Saturday arvo at Redfern, there will be the unveiling of a mural to one Maggie Moloney, pioneer for women’s rugby league, back in . . . 1921! As detailed by Katherine Haines in the Herald in February, Moloney was so good she was labelled the “Dally Messenger of the Blues”. Debuting before 30,000 excited spectators at the Sydney Showgrounds, in a match between the Sydney Reds and Metropolitan Blues.
And who should score four tries for the Blues, out on the wing, but the unstoppable 15-year-old from Redfern, Maggie Moloney! She was no less than, as one paper recorded at the time, “the idol of the crowd”.
Sadly, in those post-war years, the comp died very quickly and there was no further outlet for her sporting passion, but it is wonderful that she is remembered and honoured a century later.
Team of the Week
Roger Federer. The great one, if not quite the GOAT, announced his retirement on Thursday.
Carlos Alcaraz. Broke Lleyton Hewitt’s record for youngest No.1 in the history of the ATP rankings and youngest man to win a major since Rafael Nadal in 2005. He is 19 years and four months.
Storm and Roosters. Speaking of a changing of the guard, both of these recent favourites to at least make the NRL grand final “crashed out” – as we love to say in the trade – in the first week of the finals.
Gunnedah Red Devils. The mighty Red Devils have made the Central North Rugby Union first-grade grand final and are shooting for their first top-grade premiership in 52 years today. The only thing between them and the promised land is the Narrabri Blue Boars. Carn you Red Devils!
Australian women’s sevens team. Won the World Cup to go along with Commonwealth Games and world series titles.
Sydney Swans. Take on Collingwood on Saturday afternoon at the SCG for a spot in the grand final. This is the first preliminary final at the SCG since “Plugger’s point” after the siren beat Essendon, which was . . . 26 years ago!
Stephanie Gilmore. The Australian surfer has won the world championships for a record eighth time.
What they said
Adam Astill as @moose_astill on Twitter: “French ref finds a way to give payback to Australia for cancelling the submarine deal.”
The great Roger Federer, 41, calls it a day with 20 grand slam titles to the good: “Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognise when it is time to end my competitive career. I will play more tennis in the future, of course, but just not in grand slams or on the tour.”
@RafaelNadal responds to the news: “Dear Roger, my friend and rival. I wish this day would have never come. It’s a sad day for me personally and for sports around the world. It’s been a pleasure but also an honour and privilege to share all these years with you, living so many amazing moments on and off the court. We will have many more moments to share together in the future, there are still lots of things to do together, we know that. For now, I truly wish you all the happiness with your wife, Mirka, your kids, your family and enjoy what’s ahead of you.”
Aaron Finch announcing his retirement from one-day cricket: “It has been a fantastic ride with some incredible memories . . . It is time now to give a new leader the best possible opportunity to prepare for and win the next World Cup. I thank all of those who have helped and supported my journey to this point.”
Valentine Holmes.Credit:Getty
Valentine Holmes on kicking the match winner for the Cowboys against the Sharks: “In the warm-up, I had three shots at field goal and missed them all. I don’t know what it is. I always miss shots at training, too, but when it counts in games, I can get them.”
Latrell Mitchell poking fun at Peter V’landys after Souths’ Tom Burgess was suspended in the finals but Taylan May wasn’t: “Starting to wonder where we find a consistent ground. NRL, surely the fans would love to see big Tom Burgess play finals footy! ‘Don’t let the fans suffer’, right?”
Mitchell, on his relationship with the Roosters: “I spent most of my career there and I can’t thank the Roosters enough for giving me an opportunity to be Latrell Mitchell.” I know. But, this once, let’s let it pass.
David Warner on his captaincy ban: “It’s almost a completely new ball game from when 2018 happened. I would be interested to see and hear what their thoughts are and what not. And then we can probably go from there.”
Patriots coach Bill Belichick after they lost the opening game of the NFL season: “It’s a long season. I don’t think it will be decided after this week’s games.”
Carlos Alcaraz, 19, after winning the US Open: “I’ve never wanted to seem like another player, like Federer or Rafa or anyone. I’m just who I am. This is my game.”
Australian sevens player Charlotte Caslick after their great World Cup win: “We spoke about the ’09 girls today and doing it for them. Hopefully, in three or four cycles, girls will be talking about us and what we achieved this year. The legacy of this Australian women’s sevens [side] is pretty f—ing awesome!”
Knights NRLW coach Ronald Griffiths on his player Caitlin Moran being suspended for a round for having put up a post that seemed to insult Queen Elizabeth II, who had died overnight, which Moran deleted eight hours later. “The relationship between Indigenous people and the monarchy is a complicated one. If Caitlin has done something then it will be investigated by the integrity unit and we’ll work our way through the process.”
The Rugby League Players Association in a statement on the same issue: “The RLPA believes a fine equivalent to 25 per cent of Caitlin’s salary, although suspended, is far too severe. Caitlin’s proposed financial punishment is another example of the inconsistent and disproportionate penalties handed down to players.”
Brooke Warne unhappy with Channel Nine making a telemovie about her father Shane Warne: “Do any of you have any respect for Dad? Or his family? Who did so much for Channel Nine and now you want to dramatise his life and our families’ life six months after he has passed away? You are beyond disrespectful.”
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