The second weekend in July represents all that is great about being a sports fanatic in Australia. While the results so far may not have given us all the warm fuzzy feeling we desire going into a working week, many of us will still be rubbing the sleep from our eyes on Tuesday afternoon thanks to the sheer volume of elite sport that has graced our stadiums and TV sets this weekend.
As usual the NRL and AFL have provided many opportunities over the weekend for the purists of each code to obtain their weekly fix.
A Suncorp stadium double header on Friday night continued a poor week for Queensland league fans with both the Bronco’s and Titans cleaned up by NSW infiltrators. The hapless Roosters run of outs continued with a devastating 90 mtr try by the Warriors condemning the Roosters to their 13th loss and cementing their wooden spoon position on the NRL table.
In the AFL, competition front runners St Kilda and Geelong continued on their winning ways. Reining premier Hawthorn raised the hopes of their supporters ending Collingwood’s seven game winning streak and in the battle for the “Caretaker Cup” Richmond and North Melbourne made Nathan Buckley’s future even more cloudy by fighting out the first draw of the AFL season.
But even with all of this football action gracing our TV screens this weekend true sports nuts could be forgiven for having seen very little of it.
For nearly two weeks now the “Tour de France” had wound its way through the French countryside delighting cycling fans. The coverage as usual has provided a visual smorgasbord for viewers, blurring the lines between sporting coverage and a four hour long travel infomercial.
As wonderful as “Le Tour” is to watch, many sports nuts have had to pass on the 2009 version as it clashes with cricket’s greatest rivalry “The Ashes”. As Ricky Ponting leads his team mates into battle against the oldest of enemies, SBS has also had to battle fans as the free to air rights holder for both of these classic events. The cricket won out with the cycling being shunted to the SBS2 channel available only to the chosen few digital consumers.
To make matters worse (or better) for sports fans, this weekend has also been home to arguably golf’s biggest challenge, the British Open. Accepting that “The Masters” is the Wimbledon of the golfing calendar, the “Open” on a links course provides a unique challenge for the biggest names in the sport as well as essential viewing for sports fans.
So, from Friday night sports fans have had the difficult choice between two football codes, the world best cycling tour, the worlds number one cricket contest and world golfs biggest challenge, an impossible choice for any sports freak.
For those who survived their “Friday Night Fight”, Saturday brought no relief for the sleep deprived. Once again sports fans were faced with version II of the Friday night viewing line up with a twist. As difficult as the Friday night decisions were for sports fans the addition of a Bledisloe Cup Rugby Test on Saturday night was enough to send even the most level headed sporties into mental meltdown.
So bring on Sunday and just when we thought the Aussies painful Lords performance and Cadel Evans unfortunate situation in the Tour would provide much needed relief for the seriously sleep deprived, Tasmanian golfer Matt Goggin has condemned Aussie sports fans to another late night. With one round remaining Goggin is a serious contender to become Australia’s latest major winner by positioning himself only one shot from the lead.
So the July sports smorgasbord is complete with side servings of champions trophy hockey, Usain Bolts 9.79s Golden League 100mtr performance and weekend horse racing. Now as a new working week dawns Aussie sports nuts will have to break out the strong coffee and look forward to the relaxation that only a job can provide.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sheedy launches bid for the Poisoned Chalice
Icon of AFL football and former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy this week threw his hat in the ring for the vacant head coaching position at Richmond. After repeatedly saying he was not in the running for the job, Sheedy stated his intentions on Wednesday after witnessing the Tigers insipid performance against the competition front runners St Kilda last Sunday.
One must ask however, who would want the poisoned chalice of AFL football?
Since Richmond’s last grand final appearance in 1982 the club has employed 11 senior coaches including current caretaker Jade Rawlings and the recycled 1980 premiership coach Tony Jewell for a second stint in 1985-87.
After burning through nine coaches in 18 years from 1982-1999 the club took a different approach in 2000 offering coach Danny Frawley a five year contract. The club continued this theme with Frawley’s successor Terry Wallace in 2005. Both appointments were designed to give the club the stability it needed to claw its way out of the hole it had created in the 80’s and 90’s.
So what has been the net result for Richmond’s efforts of the past 28 years? A winning percentage of 38% and 13 seasons with less than seven wins. A record that suggests whoever does take the reins at Punt Road has a challenge as great as any faced by an incoming AFL coach.
Whoever does take the job at Richmond for 2010 must remember one thing. Richmond has a habit of ending coach’s careers.
Of the 11 coaches who have held the position since 1982 only one has ever coached AFL football again. John Northey is the odd one out. After leading the tigers to their most successful season in 13 years, a contractual dispute resulted in Northey leaving Richmond to take up the position with the Brisbane Bears.
So where does this place Kevin Sheedy? What can he offer Richmond that others cannot?
First, it is experience; Sheedy’s career at the highest level has already spanned 40 years. There is very little that he hasn’t seen. He has been considered an innovator and proved he can build premiership teams from humble beginnings.
Second is success, quite simply Kevin Sheedy is a winner. As a player he was part of the most successful era in the history of Tigerland winning 3 premierships. As a coach he has a 61% winning record and has coached 4 Essendon premiership sides.
Third is familiarity, Sheedy knows the beast that is Richmond. Adding to his long relationship as a player at Richmond, Sheedy spent this year involved at the club in a marketing role, in a unique position to observe the current internal workings of the club.
Finally, Sheedy has nothing to lose. History shows that if a younger coach tries and fails at Richmond it most likely spells the end of their coaching career. If he is successful in obtaining the Richmond job, it would without doubt be Sheedy’s final coaching appointment anyway.
Some will cite the failed Alan Jeans experiment of 1992 as a reason not to appoint Sheedy. However, there is one big difference. Sheedy is chasing the job, not the other way around. Richmond coaxed a retired Jeans out of retirement hoping to witness a repeat of the glory days at Hawthorn. Kevin Sheedy does not need this job, yet he has a hunger to take the massive challenge on.
Perhaps it is time for Richmond to appoint the man they tried to woo back to Punt Road for so many years. They appear to have tried everything else.
One must ask however, who would want the poisoned chalice of AFL football?
Since Richmond’s last grand final appearance in 1982 the club has employed 11 senior coaches including current caretaker Jade Rawlings and the recycled 1980 premiership coach Tony Jewell for a second stint in 1985-87.
After burning through nine coaches in 18 years from 1982-1999 the club took a different approach in 2000 offering coach Danny Frawley a five year contract. The club continued this theme with Frawley’s successor Terry Wallace in 2005. Both appointments were designed to give the club the stability it needed to claw its way out of the hole it had created in the 80’s and 90’s.
So what has been the net result for Richmond’s efforts of the past 28 years? A winning percentage of 38% and 13 seasons with less than seven wins. A record that suggests whoever does take the reins at Punt Road has a challenge as great as any faced by an incoming AFL coach.
Whoever does take the job at Richmond for 2010 must remember one thing. Richmond has a habit of ending coach’s careers.
Of the 11 coaches who have held the position since 1982 only one has ever coached AFL football again. John Northey is the odd one out. After leading the tigers to their most successful season in 13 years, a contractual dispute resulted in Northey leaving Richmond to take up the position with the Brisbane Bears.
So where does this place Kevin Sheedy? What can he offer Richmond that others cannot?
First, it is experience; Sheedy’s career at the highest level has already spanned 40 years. There is very little that he hasn’t seen. He has been considered an innovator and proved he can build premiership teams from humble beginnings.
Second is success, quite simply Kevin Sheedy is a winner. As a player he was part of the most successful era in the history of Tigerland winning 3 premierships. As a coach he has a 61% winning record and has coached 4 Essendon premiership sides.
Third is familiarity, Sheedy knows the beast that is Richmond. Adding to his long relationship as a player at Richmond, Sheedy spent this year involved at the club in a marketing role, in a unique position to observe the current internal workings of the club.
Finally, Sheedy has nothing to lose. History shows that if a younger coach tries and fails at Richmond it most likely spells the end of their coaching career. If he is successful in obtaining the Richmond job, it would without doubt be Sheedy’s final coaching appointment anyway.
Some will cite the failed Alan Jeans experiment of 1992 as a reason not to appoint Sheedy. However, there is one big difference. Sheedy is chasing the job, not the other way around. Richmond coaxed a retired Jeans out of retirement hoping to witness a repeat of the glory days at Hawthorn. Kevin Sheedy does not need this job, yet he has a hunger to take the massive challenge on.
Perhaps it is time for Richmond to appoint the man they tried to woo back to Punt Road for so many years. They appear to have tried everything else.
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