There was a major factor of efficiency in front of goals.

And the irony…..Jamie Elliott; the key player. And he did dob some that…..we are now well aware he can that many others can’t.

It was a pretty good game – – felt like a finals match. The Dockers still look better with perhaps Darcy out injured and Jackson running as a ‘follower’.

I only came to cricket – on TV – very late; i.e. summer of ’79/80; so Greg Chappell leading Australia against the West Indies and England in that truly odd overlapping fixtured summer of cricket!! Always remember Ian and Greg walking off together after batting Australia to an 8 wicket win in the 3rd test over England. Making 75 & 26* in his last test and soon after a century in his last Shield match. That was my Ian Chappell playing exposure.

Stacky so soon after Redders.

Stacky was part of the 4 man commentary team when Packer launched WSC; back in 1977 – ironic that Redders was playing in the WSC; arguably Stacky would’ve been gold in that format.

I only knew Stacky as a commentator. And a proud Victorian. We’ve lost all too many proud Vics too soon – Warney, Tangles, Deano……last man standing looks to be the Phantom.

Just noted the passing of “Stacky”…..vale Keith Stackpole.

btw –

Current County form line – –

Fergus O’Neill 18 wickets at 14.72 and SR 33.11; leading the Div 1 wickets, avg and S/R (based on min 300 deliveries); is 4 wickets ahead of 2nd.

Marcus Harris added a 77 and 34* so now has 394 at 78.80 batting at #4. Looking long overdue taking on this role. He’s the Div 2 second leading run scorer just 4 behind the leader. Handscomb and Jewell both doing extremely well also. Jewell at #5 (355 at 71 with 4 straight half centuries, then a 16 and then another 50+ with 71). Handscomb next at 6th – with his latest a 142* now going at 288 @ 96.00.

Bancroft and Daniel Hughes have some nice numbers as well. Hughes is 6th top run scorer in div 1.

Back to O’Neill, he’s so far had 5/81 & 3/35 (and a duck); 3/85 & 0/11 (42 & 1); and now 5/19 & 2/34 (50).
So making an impression both with bat and ball.
Going at 2.67 runs an over; and the really interesting thing for his 18 wickets so far:
Bowled 4
LBW 6
Caught Keeper 6
Caught Slip 1
CB&B 1
————————–
All very much classic bowlers wickets. No slogs to the outfield and I don’t believe any strangles down leg side either. 2027…..pencil him in for the Ashes series over there.

There are a couple of elements here.

1. the AFL MUST acknowledge that the 50/50 neutral restart is a FEATURE and not a FLAW. Therefore the boundary throw in is not a bad thing.

2. insufficient intent creates further areas of grey in particular regarding forwards and regarding skill execution errors and also players nearing the boundary who get tackled and then get pinged for insufficient intent when their first priority was to dispose of the ball. The great danger is that the solution to the problem created – – is a last touch rule and those are horrid. And are a ‘feature’ of other codes that do their best to avoid contested play.

3. Our game has 3 clear phases of play. We have it, they have it and …. ball in dispute. The ball in dispute is the tricky one. I umpire local level after playing for many years. When I was growing up Kevin Bartlett was throwing the ball out in front (bouncing) just before being tackled and winning frees for being held without the ball. Then we had that loophole closed. The midfielders who loved their possession numbers imagined the game was all about them so they got on rules committees and pushed for “no prior opportunity”…..before that….you’d often see a player just knock and soccer the ball forward; often gaining 40-50 metres without a clean possession. Now? They grab the ball and go to ground hoping for either a high tackle or a stoppage.

4. in the 70s and 80s there were generally double the free kicks paid. That’s the best way to avoid too many stoppages. However that includes rewarding the tackler.

5. umpiring at local level we do keep things going quite well….”No prior, tried, play on”……the key is to identify the scenarios were either player A deserves to ‘Win/Earn’ a free kick or player B deserves to concede a free kick. There’s a lot of incidental contact….of ‘30% of a free’ incidents that you let go because if you paid them you’d be paying a free kick every 30 seconds. At AFL level; the umpires look confused and over focus on irrelevancies.

6. scoring…..if umpires actually pay free kicks consistently to forwards being infringed against…..then we’ll see more marks, more frees and more shots at goal. From the mid/late 90s when one S.Silvagni and another D.Fletcher were given carte blanche to hold and scrag…….the art of defence and the art of forward play have both deteriorated.

7. Umpires have no idea about ruck work. Stoppages won’t look so ugly if umpiring actually improved.

Pretty clear the Saffers didn’t have enough spin options……Kiwis the better balanced line up.

#Jimmmy

My problem with too many sports is when I look at officiating……and time management. I can’t handle US sports where it’s over and micro managed to the second. So stop start.

NRL I struggle with around the amount of time in an already short game – lost after a try is scored.

AFL struggles with ‘time wasting’ and brought in time wasting rules but then waste more time with some of their rules (recalling the centre bounce as an example!!), and allowing 30 seconds for the ‘shot clock’ actually provides a guarantee of time to waste?!?!

Things like this blight me now!!

Then the other thing that does……scoring!!! Back in the original Rugby rules…..no points for the ‘touch down/run in’ but it allowed a ‘try at goal’. Now the ‘Try’ is the major score and the goal is the cherry on top?!!? Soccer – the London FA had no cross bar……putting that in place and allowing the goalie to use hands…..makes it arguably too close to ‘fluke factor’ that a goal is scored (other than the rock/paper/scissors that is a penalty shoot out). So again…….I’ve blighted myself at watching a lot of sports.

Ultimately – I’ve found re Aust Footy…..the 50/50 restart is the key. The contested phase of the game. i.e. we have it, they have it, and ball in dispute. Other sports become glorified turn taking. It’s the difference between playing Civ (turn based) vs Age of Empires (‘real time’). And from a gaming perspective….I love both!!

#Jimmmy

I married a Kiwi – went and saw Storm a few times around 1999-2000 and even an SoO at Docklands.

Been a handful of times in more recent years with the sports mad son…..I’m never buying a membership – put it that way!!

#Dionysus

“1. A gift is something you get for nothing. The NRL do not get that “PNG gift” for nothing as it is tied up in a mound of contractual obligations.”

Do you mind – – I might swap the names and use this next time some anti-AFL person goes on about the Govt funding/stadia gifts…..

#Jimmmmmmmy

Me being here for a moment……isn’t a big win!!!

One of my sons is the sports nut – – loves everything but even he looks at this and ponders. If that’s happening….

really gotta wonder just what the point is of all of this.

Any struggling NRL team will be looking on wondering whether funds could be better directed.

And this is the organisation getting Albo’s PNG gift?!?!?!

#Doctor Rotcod

Ah….nope.

The full 2023/24 Sheffield Shield season for Corey:
WACA 6 games
35 wickets at 22.71, econ 2.82, S/R 48.4
Elsewhere
11 wickets at 43.2, econ 3.07, S/R 84.3

Best innings bowling away from the WACA……2/24. Got 5 * 2’s and was wicketless 3 times (10, 11 and 27 overs…wicketless at the Gabba where Warney used to profit via bounce).

At the WACA…..wicketless just once from 12 innings. Only once each had 1 and 2 wickets; 4 * 3’s and 5 * 4’s.

And this season thus far including the Aust A…..
AT the WACA, 11/276 at 25.1
Away, 21/545 at 25.95.

His WACA……he had a shocker first up against QLD (match figs of 1/145) but was back to his WACA best vs Tassie (match figs 6/102) followed by another 4/29 vs SA 2 weeks ago.

He followed up his Aust A at the MCG (match 5/95) with 5/162 vs the Vics….granted got the only 2 to fall in the 2nd innings as the Vics wrapped up an 8 wkt win. And now……….all credit – he’s had a 9/79 game at the Gabba.

THIS perhaps is his ‘break out’ game. Important one too….before that given his most recent ‘away’ red ball games produced 1/122 in Adelaide and 1/87 in Sydney……that was after 10/257 in back to back games at the MCG – – at that point his AWAY was showing 12 at 38.8. So not overly flattering.

So…..I’m still asserting….WACA specialist coming into this season.

THIS season – – he’s showing some good learnings about how to adapt his game AWAY from the WACA. Credit to him. The MCG and Gabba both ‘ticked’ off now.

However – – when invoking the past 2 seasons – – my assertion definitely was not baseless. A 3:1 ratio of wickets in 2023/24 at the WACA vs away;

And as is now – – it’s now sitting at 46/32.

#Wikipetia

Corey requires just one thing……to be able to carry the WACA pitch with him where ever he goes. Very much a WACA specialist thus far.

Rooty Hill and Mt Druitt are both in the Blacktown LGA however.

So ‘Blacktown International Sports Park’ holds it’s name on that basis.

Perhaps though change the name to Bungarribee Park.

and what’s that tell us about the standards?

It’s annoying watching 2nd rate cricket……Sri Lanka blew so many wickets they should have taken and the Australian batting…..unconvincing is the term.

Should’ve been 4/100.

Warner provided us a similar double edged sword with his 200 at the MCG a couple of years back.

Bought a seriously struggling player more time.

To our expense. Which is why we find ourselves with no real idea around openers. Konstas had better work out…..one day.

back in form? With how many chances given.

It’s arguably as bad for Australia as Warner’s 200……bought them all the more time and set Australia back with respect to the vitally needed next gen transition.

…alternatively – how bad was the umpiring??

Sri Lanka made Australia look competent.

A pretty dismal day of test cricket……undeserved centuries by batters who should’ve been out far earlier.

Nothing really to celebrate…..Khawaja has booked in a home Ashes as a result which……is anything but a step ‘forward’.

The problem we so often have is an over focus on career averages rather than form line averages.

The irony of the bowlers is that Hazlewood has had great returns; however his problem is fragility is becoming a serious concern. And the irony is that the fill in guy has the best numbers of all of them…….at any time.

#Luke – Hawk tragic

How much of a rort was that pre first round priority pick system back then.

Ironically Pendlebury is the last of those players still running around (the year Collingwood got him and Daisy Thomas….2 for the price of 1). The Hawks in the Buddy year had 2 early picks but with the freebie ended with Franklin, Roughead and Lewis. Not quite so good in 2005 with Ellis and Beau Dowler!! That was the Pendlebury year and Carlton got Murphy and Kennedy.

It was so hugely influential that system. A total rort. North this time around has been getting chicken feed by comparison.

CCJ was actually the incumbent at the beginning of 2024 before doing an achilles and was out for the season.

He has yet to be in a position of trying to ‘get past’ Teakle. Teakle was a mid year draft pick up. And was important because the structural role filled by CCJ was vital and that was laid clear in his absence.

It’s not for either CCJ or Teakle to get past Xerri.

With Darling in the mix it will be interesting as to whether one of CCJ or Teakle will make the starting 22. I’d think either come off the bench or play as sub. I’d prefer not to rely on either of Darling or Larkey as the ‘back up ruck’.

#NQR

Yes….lambs to the slaughter….the rookie doesn’t just get the short leg helmet….

#NQR

The irony is that Australian’s weren’t ready to see someone with Maxwell’s skill set at test level…..not that he was going to play ‘white ball’ cricket and that 100 in India was class.

However now – – a kid called Konstas who hails from NSW……a lot of cricket people are finding all the reasons why he stays IN; and goes to SL and opens there.

Hard not to suspect were he from Victoria or Adelaide he’d’ve been shown the door already for being too audacious.