titan_uranus

There's a bit of talk around at the moment about the things that could/will change as the competition expands. Incredulously, there seems to be talk of expanding the number of teams that play finals. I think 8 will be perfect for when we have 17/18 teams. That way it's less than 50%, making finals that more exclusive. Plus it reduces the likelihood of teams making the finals with an even (or sub-par) win-loss record (e.g. Essendon last year). Some even think 10 teams should play finals. Ridiculous. I'm not entirely sure about the length of the season. It could be 17 rounds, playing each other team once, or 18, with one bye. Or it could be 22, as is now, just with less matches against teams who've already met once in the season. 24 is another number that's floating around. There's also talk of bringing in Supergoals. On the one hand, I'm a bit of a traditionalist, and would prefer not to tinker with basic rules like the scoring system. But on the other hand, rewarding goals from outside 50 is going to (hopefully) place an emphasis on improving long kicking, and will get higher-scoring matches, which are good things. Interested to know what people here think.

Disagree. Pears is very good.

Awesome win to Victoria. Quite unbelieable that Queensland could bowl for 2 days to take just 9 wickets, and we take half a day to take 10. Big gap in ability between the two sides, and it showed in the final. Queensland only made it this far due to their tail continually chipping in, and when they don't, like this match, they don't score enough runs. But superb stuff from Victoria to fight back from 6/75 to win by 450+. Wade MOM, and deservedly so. Also, NZ are 5 down in their follow on innings, still 140 runs or so behind. At least Vettori's still in. And also, Bangladesh have just made 419 runs against England. That's pretty good for them. More so considering they were 8/314. The ball was swinging when Hussey came in. By the time North came in (not too long after though), it wasn't swinging as much. Still, it's true to say that their bowlers aren't exactly top-class (Vettori aside). Pakistan's were a lot better.

I've been expecting a longer than usual stint on the sidelines: the club said they were going to take this slowly and try to analyse exactly what it is about his tackling motion that puts strain on his hamstrings. Whether it's 3 weeks or 12, all I want is for Austin to end up fit and able to return to the side. Let's hope that's a possibility.

If you want to see the segment, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZjsYKLRWwE First laugh at Jonathan Brown 10 years ago doing the same thing. Then wait until 3.59, when Lyon gets to Trengove. Then continue on where you'll see Scully embarrass himself by leaving the set when he shouldn't have. Poor guy.

NZ 0/36 in their follow on, after losing 6 wickets in an hour to be bowled out for 157. Doing well to not have lost a wicket so far, but they're a long way behind with about half the Test remaining. Weather permitting, a win is on the cards for Australia. And at the MCG, White is bowling himself for the first time in who knows how long. He'll say it's because Wright can't bowl, but truth be told, I reckon he's hoping he picks up a couple of wickets, if only to show selectors he can do anything Steven Smith can do. To be fair, their bowlers are OK, and conditions were slightly worse for Hussey than for North. But he still failed. I can't understand how the same man can be so utterly dominant at ODI cricket (he rarely gets dismissed for less than 30 and he always, always, does his job), yet one week later when the whites come on he suddenly looks timid and fails. The answer might be to drop him down the order, as he bats at 6 in ODIs. Clarke is more than good enough to bat at 4, and North might actually benefit from moving up the order.

Well, I guess you have to congratulate North on his century. Whether he likes it or not, he was lucky to keep his spot, but he's done exactly what he needed to do. Interestingly, on each tour North's had, he's scored a century in the first innings of the tour (debut in South Africa, Cardiff in the Ashes, now Wellington). Plus his first innings of the summer (a 70 something) was his highest for the summer. So it'll be interesting to see if he keeps going through this tour. As for New Zealand, again it's Vettori that saves them. It borders on ridiculous how many times he comes to the crease with the team in strife. But he's reliable and skilled. Good man. And Victoria's done the job in the Shield final. Lead by 629 runs. Payback for a few years ago when Queensland batted till they reached 900.

All I, and I'm sure everyone else, care about is consistency. That is why I'm perplexed as to how Kennedy did not get suspended. I'm not saying that's what he deserved, or what bumps in general deserve. But given the Franklin and Maxwell cases from 2009, and the rule change which seems to say 'If you elect to bump, then the onus is on you to avoid contact to the head', I have no idea how Kennedy did not get suspended. Without having seen the footage, I'd be willing to say that Franklin's bump was less severe (i.e. less forceful, more of a legitimate hip and shoulder) than Kennedy's, yet Franklin's the one who misses football.

More aptly, bat until we're bowled out. The way we're going we could bat all day. The contest is over.

Victoria cruising at the moment. Let's hope one (if not both) of Jewell and Quiney push on to 100. Meanwhile North's day of reckoning has come. 4/176. We need a big innings here.

?? Did this market actually exist?

Last night's Footy Show was one of the best in the past couple of years IMO. No coincidence that Billy Brownless was nowhere to be seen, and Shane Crawford had a reduced role.

He's now delayed his trip to Australia until June, when he hopes to come for more than 24 hours. Queen's Birthday anyone?

Watson out with a hip injury: nothing too serious I don't think. Gave Hughes another go, but he threw it away after a good start to be out for 20. Katich and Ponting playing well. Some were getting into Katich because he wasn't batting well for NSW in the Shield. I say that's no problem if you're performing at national level, which he is. 1/84 Edit: Now 3/115, Hussey failing (again), making 4. Katich the rock at the moment on 40. Big moments now for Clarke and North. And Queensland's all out for 257, so we take a 48 run lead into the second innings. This is epic now. One big partnership from the top 6 could be enough, but we certainly can't afford to be 6/75 again.

6/199 at stumps. McGain getting rid of both Hartley and Broad. Good on him. Close match this.

4/121 at tea. Hartley and Broad dropping the anchor. Suits us I guess. The longer it takes them to make their runs, the better our chance is of not losing. Wade is a good cricketer. Very good, in fact. But interestingly, and showing the depth of Australian cricket, he would have to be 3rd, maybe even 4th, in the pecking order. Haddin leads, and deservedly so. After Haddin, Tim Paine, Chris Hartley and Graham Manou are all in contention. Paine would be the choice for ODI/T20 cricket, whilst I reckon Hartley should be the next Test keeper (don't know how old he is though). Manou is better than the others with the gloves, but doesn't hold a candle to any of them with the bat. But he has credits, having filled in for Haddin in England and India. Wade probably thus falls into line behind each of these guys. Yet maybe in any other country he'd be the deputy*. *Except West Indies, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where he'd be in the team already.

No you didn't. Well, at least I didn't. Whenever Petterd played forward, though he didn't impact as well as he is now, at least there were signs he might make it. Martin isn't really showing any of those signs. He plays his best football in defence. That's unquestionable. It remains to be seen if he can become a forward. And he's not a ruck. Let's hope he doesn't play there again.

Agree. I said it before, I'm not convinced in the slightest that Maric will make it. On the other hand, Strauss, Jetta, Bennell, even Cheney and McNamara, I can see becoming decent AFL players.

This is true. NZ, in NZ, where the pitches are likely to be spin-friendly to accommodate Vettori and possibly Patel, make for an easy debut. Harwood, Siddle and Nannes are the ones out. Good bowlers, all of them, but Hastings and Wright have been exceptional. Wright especially. He missed out on being Shield player of the year by 1 vote, and he only played half a season. And with White back in the team, our batting line-up is as strong as it can be, with Hodge retiring.

Agree. I don't get how anyone thought otherwise.

Right here:

This isn't a rumour. It's in both papers today, and was announced officially as well by the minister. It's AAMI Park. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/lucky-new-stadiums-called-aami/story-e6frf7jo-1225841104384

Bennell for mine was the standout of the West Coast match. Comparisons with McLeod are more than a tad premature, but Bennell showed me on Saturday that he has skill, poise, pace and more aggression than last year. I previously was unsure if he would start in Round 1, but it's clear now that he will. He's not close to being our most exciting player though. Jurrah, anyone?

This is where I stand too. I just want comparable decisions to be made for comparable offences.

I have no idea if he's injured, but if he's not he gets in over Maric IMO.