The Orange

The news is out but it’s not really news.

Nathan Fien won’t be getting a contract next year and frankly it’s no surprise.

Sure, he’s a bit of a fan favourite, desperately wants to stay, and is the imcumbent Kiwi whatever number Benji doesn’t want to play in the halves.

A pity he still can’t kick for shit.

Now that’s a tad harsh I accept but the reality is that the Warriors are really struggling in the halves.

Whatever the problem is, Fien isn’t the solution and going on 30 he’s not a player you can build a team around.

The Warriors have now got rid of the 6-7-9 combination that was good enough to get them into the finals but not good enough to really take the game by the scruff of the neck.  Let’s conveniently forget that one of the discards (Witt) could have converted tries from anywhere but that’s an inconvenient truth although it’s got nothing to do with global warming.

It’s even more interesting that the halves that we’ve got rid of (Witt and Rovelli) aren’t seen as good enough to make an NRL team on a regular or even semi-regular basis.

It’s tough being a professional league player.  The salary cap makes life difficult to start with and you’re judged on every performance.  Not like working in the Government sector is it?

So the Warriors are now 1/3 of the way through the season and have found out that one of their key players isn’t going to be around long term.

Not only does the team have the challenge of getting into the top 8 this season, but we’re already building for the next season.

What a Fien mess it is and it will only get worse if the Warriors – Fien-less – lose at the Raiders on the weekend.

We’ve been tracking the relegation battle for the EPL and not surprisingly it’s come down to the final round of matches.

WBA are goneburger and four teams are left battling for two places next year.

Boro only managed a point home to Villa and need a win PLUS Newcastle losing PLUS Hull losing AND the combined goal difference being at least 4 goals in Boro’s favour.

There’s more chance of Willie Mason learning to use toilet.

Newcastle and Hull are in 18th and 17th positions respectively.

Newcastle had scrambled ahead of Hull but stuffed up at the weekend, going down one-nil to Fulham while Hull scrambled a point away to Bolton.

The other team in the relegation mix is Sunderland who could have made it safe by winning at Portsmouth.  A 3-1 loss (after leading 0-1) wasn’t in the strategic plan.

So it’s all go at the weekend and all very complicated.

WBA are gone, Boro are buggered and you’ve got to say that Newcastle are nuked.  Let’s hope so because the following make a bit of an assumption.

Laughing stock

Pride of the NorthLaughing stock

Ha ha

I accept that I struggle to take myself seriously some of the time.

Blogging is not something that should be taken too seriously.

It does allow me to get away with using words like pissheads, fuckwits, and cheating Aussies.  Often all at once too!

However, from time to time issues come up that need to be taken seriously and the Mathew Johns story is one of them.

Now, let’s get one thing straight.

Rugby league players are to intelligence what Italian soldiers are to bravery.

The phrase shit for brains would normally spring to mind yet I fair it’s a rather unflattery assessment of most shits.

What a potent combination – high profile, high powered athletes powered by high testosterone.  They’re typically, young, fit, and readily available.

Like it or lump it, sportsmen and women have been a natural link for many decades – the only difference now is that the players get paid more and the media actually reports what goes on tour that no longer stays on tour.

I’m not going to make comments about what did happen or may have happened in Christchurch seven years ago.

Suffice to say, Johns has not denied what happened and on the surface it would seem fair to say that the police have investigated and found no cause to press charges.

Funnily enough, as far as John’s wife is concerned, it adds a different slant to the concept of “cheating Aussies”!

I’m not defending the morality of the situation or the undoubted impact on the young women concerned.  Right now, any one of the Sharks players who were on that pre-season tour will be keeping a low profile.

While some in the media seem to have enjoyed the persecution of Johns – there is a perverse media delight in seeing one of their own go down (so to speak) – I have real issues with where this logically ends.

Does this mean that if the public at large finds other acts immoral then we should deal to those players.

What does that mean for gays?  Muslims even? Heck, at this rate even vegetarians won’t be safe.

In no way am I defending the indefensible.

But nor can you logically defend soapbox justice when, according to the police, there hasn’t been a crime.

Just in case someone is actually wondering what happened next after reading posts earlier this week:

Newcastle Beat Middlesborough 3-1

In a game that had massive connotations on the relegation battle, Newcastle beat Boro 3-1 and in doing so moved up to 34 points – the same as Hull City.

With two games left in the season, Hull City have a whopping negative goal difference of 7 to make up so the odds are – at this stage – with Newcastle.

Having said that, Newcastle have games against Fulham (H) and Aston Villa (A) while Hull City are up against Bolton (A) and finish the season at home to Man U. On that basis, you’d have to expect that so long as Newcastle can at least match Hull in terms of points won this weekend, they should be safe.

And having said that THAT, it’s still not all over red rover for the two teams below Newcastle and Hull City.  Boro are on 31 points and WBA miraculously are now within striking distance also on 31 points.

The respective draws are:

Boro – Aston Villa (H), West Ham (A)

WBA – Liverpool (H), Blackburn (A)

Mighty Sunderland are the other team under the pump but given the relatively tough draws of the teams below them they SHOULD be safe on 36 points.  However, they could eliminate any possibilities with a win on the road at Portsmouth this weekend.

Mind you, Alan Shearer, Newcastle’s temporary manager seems to understand the realities of coaching:

“Someone once told me it’s better to be a lucky manager than a good one”

The full table is on the Guardian site – and check out Hull’s free fall from 3rd after 9 games to 18th with two games to play.

Jumping to Conclusions Update

Certain irony with the title of jumping to conclusions …

No conclusions were reached yesterday and the decision on whether to ban jumps racing in Victoria will be made later today NZT.

While most involved in NZ racing look across the ditch with a fair degree of the Big Green Monster, it’s not all rosy with Oz racing.

The big issue is around the future of jumps racing.

It’s become a major issue with the number of horse deaths in Victoria – 12 last season, and three in the big race at Warrnambool, the home of the famous – at least in Oz, Grand Annual.

Racing Victoria will be making a decision later today whether or not to ban racing in Victoria permanently.

One of the ironies is that because of past worries – and yes the zealots of the animal protection league – jumps racing has been made easier in the view that it would make it safer.

Instead, smaller fences have simply meant the horses have treated the fences with even greater disrespect and taken them faster.  And we all know, the faster the speed, the bigger the mess.

Now, we all now that horse racing is dangerous.  We also know that that harder grounds in Australia will lead to bigger impact and more injuries.

But by making the fences smaller, the “safety” measures have simply blown up in their face.

Now, I’m completely biased.  I’m a racing enthusiast and involved in a minor capacity.  I particularly love jumping.  The Great Northern Steeplechase is both a spectacle and an epic contest of bravery and stamina.

I’ll start with the trite explanation.  Horses that are bred to race love racing.  At least the ones that hang around a bit because those that don’t like racing don’t tend to hang around for long.

Watch a typical jumps race and if a horse falls or drops its rider, it rarely finds a quiet spot for a lie down and a bit of a feed.  Often, you’ll see the horses continue to run and even take on the fences.

All well and good but there are injuires and sadly deaths in racing.  No one is hiding from this, least of all the connections for whom the loss is like losing a family member.  It is terrible.

Excesses are to be managed and dangers minimised.  There must be rules and safety measures for riders and horses.

I have no doubt those opposed to jumps racing have good intentions.

But perhaps their focus would be better on pet food manufacturers or hamburger producers if they are genuine about looking after animals’ rights.

It looks like Blackburn under our own Captain Ryan will be around next season.

I’ve got to admit that while I’ve never really paid too much attention to the EPL, the sheer drama of the relegation death match is something to really appreciate.

While a lot of the media’s attention is focus on the top of the table, the reality would seem to be that the top four or five positions are largely determined at the start of the season with only the order to be sorted.

On the other hand, all the other teams have the threat of slipping into the relegation zone and joining the death spiral that comes from relegation from the EPL.

Blackburn look to be safe now with a 2-nil win over Portsmoith at the weekend.

However, the relegation battle is far from over.

WBA looked doomed even a couple of weeks ago but they are making a last desperate big to avoid relegation.

Conversely, Hull City were everyone’s darling at the start of the season wehn they were sitting comfortably at the top.

With just one game to play, Hull are but one win ahead of the bottom three.  And worse, the team immediately behind them – Newcastle have a game in hand and a better goal difference.

The big game was played overnight – Newcastle in 18th position on 31 points play Middlesborough in 19th position also on 31 points.

A draw will do neither team any favours.  A win for Newcastle will see them move out of the relegation zone while the Boro would need to win by three goals to sneak ahead of Hull.

I’ll blog more later in the week.

As a final comment, it’s something that we miss with our top level franchises all pre-determined and no promotion relegation.  Not for NRL, S14, ARL or any of the four pro sports in the US.

I can’t see it ever being introduced but it adds a level of sheer emotions the franchised systems can’t deliver.

First, I’m over the Kiwis match at the weekend.

Almost.

I will make sure that I won’t refer in any way to those cheating Aussies (who actually have a bit of skill and pace, let me give you the tip).

Anyway, this isn’t about league although it involves a couple of NZ’s best-known leaguies – Tana and $BW.

We’ve been tracking Tana’s progress and he’s no pilgrim.

Mind you, he’s worked the oracle (miximing my manic metaphors) and managed to keep Toulon in the first division in France.

With only one game to play, Toulon have stormed to 10th in a 14 team league, with the bottom two teams taking the plunge.

For what it’s worth,US Dax andMont-de-Marsan have been relegated.

But not Toulon and that’s all that matters for a two bit blog like this.

Next year, he’ll have some help on the coaching front while on the playing side he’ll have to do without the services of Jerry Collins who’s off to Ospreys.

There’s a pun about leaks and defence there but let’s just leave it there for a moment and acknowledge that Tana *appears* to have saved his butt, at least for the time being.

The updated table is here.

One of my KPI’s is to be number one of Google for cheating Aussies.

With what has happened over the last 24 hours, it’s not going to be that difficult to find content although I suspect I’ll have plenty of competition.

The decision is both unfathomable yet still perfectly understandable.

Mind you, it’s not entirely fair to brand all Aussies as cheats given the response to the decision on some of the Aussie web sites.

A story on the Daily Telegraph’s web site (”Kiwis hooker Isaac Luke to miss Test against Australia“) generated a massive 134 replies -or at least, 134 replies that were published.

Some of the comments suggest the average Aussie isn’t as bad as their cheating Aussie reputation.  (We can only assume they are recent immigrants or perhaps first generation Aussies.)

Some representative comments are listed below.

At the time of this post, the Daily Telegraph’s poll on the decision found a whopping 84% did NOT agree with the decision.  Keep in mind, this is an Aussie web site.

Anyway, back to the comments:

Tell me how this tackle was worst than Paul Gallen’s? No consisitency here. Should be no betting on football games.

What an absolute disgrace. It wasn’t just Rabbitoh supporters that were surprised when Gallen got off most supporters were. And I assure you that most supporters (not just Rabbitoh) will be disgusted with this. Talk about 2 sets of rules Mal Cochrane, Bob Lindner and Ian Roberts give you are a disgrace these double standards are part of the reason why fans are leaving Rugby League in droves.

It is pretty obvious that this Judiciary are all brain dead if you watched the video he bounced of one player onto Laffranchi who had him in a smothering tackle. After there decisions of last week to let off Ennis who nearly ripped a players arm out of it’s socket to Gallen who concused a player so he couldn’t train for a week it simply stinks SACK ALL THREE OF THEM!

And my favourite:

Its a shame to call one self an Australian, some times, like now, and every time I hear someone yell out ” Oy Oy Oy”

A few words on Issac Luke’s suspension.

Unbelievable.

Understandable given we’re dealing with a bunch of cheating Aussies who’ve devolved from convict stoock.

Underbelly.  The land of Underbelly.  (Let’s conveniently forget that Underbelly II is about a bunch of Kiwi druggies but given the complete lack of any moral authority in Australia, we can get away with it).

Understrength.  The Kiwis will definitely miss him.

Unprepared.  Not surprisingly, Luke was shocked.  FFS so was Mathew, Mark, John and the rest of guys in the Gospels.

Unbeatable.  You can take on the Aussie judiciary but never beat them before a test match.

Underarm II.  Say not more.

There have been some dire things in rugby of the past few years – the Highlanders for a start – but the dicking around with the AB’s jersey has been the pinnacle of bullshit in action.

We’ve had the collars off and the slippery material – you name it they’ve tried it. adidas have to make back a few dollars or two.

After all of that we ended up with the Silver “Dud” Bullet.

Of all the colours that really fail to inspire, let’s go for silver.

At least they’ve finally seen some sense and replaced the silver dud with a white jersey.

Let’s not forget that the last two games the AB’s played at the last world cup were in gray.  Never again.

Mind you, let’s start a rumour cos the Warriors had already ditched their silver away strip for – you guess it – a white strip.  Not saying … but ….