Canberra Raiders: An Open Letter to Ricky Stuart

September 17, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , Leave a comment

Dear Ricky,

Congratulations on your new job with the Canberra Raiders. I am a long time fan of the club, having first having an interest in the Raiders in 1985. Based in Brisbane, it has oft been difficult to travel to Canberra Stadium but, until this year, I have never had any trouble giving my full throated support to the club that I love. I have to say though that this year has pushed me to the limits of my endurance.

I will concede I am not a supporter of your appointment to the head coaching role of the team but now you are here I pledge to you that I will give you my full support. That support though comes with some demands, because I do not think I, or many other Canberra fans, will survive another season like that which was 2013.

I do not require the team to make the finals for it to be considered to be a successful year in 2014 but, Ricky, if you could undertake to do the following I, and my fellow Canberra Raiders fans I am sure, will be happy:

Coach the team to play every game hard and for 80 minutes and drop any player who does not do so.

If a player breaches team rules or is ill disciplined sack him. This includes any infractions related to alcohol. Another “Dugan / Ferguson” fiasco must not be countenanced.

If a player does not wish to play for our club and notes in the media that he wants to move elsewhere sack him. Another situation like that which Anthony Milford has placed the team in must not be countenanced.

Keep the young talent in the under 20s team in Canberra and sign them for the long term.

Still be the coach in 2015.

I don’t think the foregoing is too much to ask Ricky; I am not asking for a premiership or even a winning season, what I am asking for is you to return my sense of pride in following this team that I have supported for 28 years.

If you can not do these things then it is going to be another season of lament for those of us Canberra Raiders fans who are left which can not be a good thing for the club.

Thank you in anticipation.

Stephen

Mowen Factor: in search of a better performance and a win

September 14, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Much has been made during the week in rugby circles of the dropping of Will Genia and the elevation of Ben Mowan to the captaincy of the Australian team.

 

First things first: Genia had to be dropped. He has been in ordinary form since (indeed during) the Lions tour and only the frailty of Australia's fly halfs and forwards has saved him from scrutiny he otherwise would have faced. Nic White has earned his chance.

 

Onto Mowen: it has been obvious to all keen watchers of Super Rugby that Ben Mowen was a captain of the Wallabies of the future. I just don't think anyone expected his elevation to come so soon. Having seen his exemplary work at the helm of the Brumbies and noting that he is leading a team replete with his Brumbies team mates, I have no doubt he will do a fine job.

 

As a Wallabies fan I want to see a win tonight. It is that simple. Equally, I remember the sour feeling left with me having watched the Wallabies scrape to a win against the Pumas on the Gold Coast last year so the other thing I want to see from the Wallabies is a vastly improved performance as well. It is not good enough, in my unlearned opinion, for the Wallabies to scrape over the line here because that will still be considered a loss in some quarters. So, for me, the win is important but equally as important is the performance.

 

A final word: I wrote earlier in the week about giving Ewen McKenzie a break from the rhetoric and my view in that has not changed. Indeed, I have probably moved even further along the spectrum to the view that I am comfortable with Australia coming third in the Rugby Championship because this is an obvious rebuilding phase in the post Deans era. South Africa and New Zealand are ahead of us at the moment and that, as hard as it is to say, is ok because I have faith that McKenzie can turn us around given time.

 

With one eye on tonight and one on the future: I can not wait for kick off and seeing Ben Mowen lead Australia into battle.

Golf: in awe of 59

September 14, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , Leave a comment

I awoke this morning and, as is my usual practice, spent the first 5 minutes of my waking moments scrolling through the overnight sport news. That alerted me to the fact that as I awoke American golfer, Jim Furyk, was on the precipice of a historic round in the BMW Championships at Conway Farms. The score of 59 in a round on the PGA Tour had only been done 5 times before Furyk's round and with a tap in round he become the sixth, joining Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, David Duval, Paul Goydos and Stuart Appleby in the 59 club.

 

For the uninitiated this is a round of golf that there are not enough superlatives to describe. On a course where the par (or average) score has been deigned to be 71, Furyk defeated that score by 12 shots. For comparison, scoring 59 in golf akin to the following sport feats (in my unlearned opinion):

 

  • Scoring over 400 runs in one innings of cricket.
  • Taking the fabled “double hatrick” also in the cricket.
  • Scoring 5 tries in a game of rugby league / union.
  • Hitting 4 home runs in a game of baseball.
  • The perfect break in a game of snooker.
  • The 9 darter in a game of darts.
It is a brilliant performance. One which the ordinary hacker like me, who is happy if he shoots in the 80s and the one day he shot 79 had one of the happiest days of his life, can not even countenance it is so far ahead of anything we could ever shoot. The added bonus of a player with Furyk's swing (which is akin to a frog in a blender) doing it is that golfers everywhere will be thinking “if he can do it, why not me”.

Performances like these are one of the things that I love about sport and watching sport. Every so often, even professionals break new ground in their chosen sports as they strive to get better or they get so close to breaking new ground that one can only think that it is only a matter of time before the next record is broken. For professional golfers that number is 58 and one suspects that sooner rather than later we will be awaking in Australia to the news that that number has been scored.

 

Performances like this also have the flow on effect of inspiring the amateur to play more which can only be a positive! I only need to hark back to when Tiger Woods first came to Australia and played in the Masters: the week after I could not get a bay at my local driving range at 8pm on a Wednesday night for all of the hackers inspired by Woods and his performance out having a hit!

 

On that note: kudos to Jim Furyk on a wonderful golf round and hand my 3 wood … It is time to go for a hit!

Shumpty’s Punt: Horse Racing and the Weekend Multi

September 13, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

It is another ripping weekend of sport this weekend and I have come up with a few racing bets and a multi that I think will lead to good results for followers out there.

Weekend Multi

Leg 1: Washington Nations to cover the line (-1.5 points) against Philadelphia Phillies in the MLB ($1.85)

Leg 2: New Zealand to cover the line (-8.5 points) against South Africa in the Rugby Championship. ($1.92)

Leg 3: Sydney Roosters to cover the line (-1.5 points) against the Manly Sea Eagles in the NRL. ($1.92)

Leg 4: Green Bay Packers to cover the line (-9.5 points) against the Washington Redskins in the NFL. ($2.02)

This multi will pay $13.77 for every dollar invested.

Horse Racing

Mooney Valley:

Race 1 Number 3 Za Moulin Rouge (win) ($5.00 FP)

Race 6 Number 2 Happy Trails (win) ($5.50 FP)

Rosehill:

Race 6 Number 5 Driefontein (each way) ($10 / $3.40 FP)

Race 7 Number 13 Prince Harada (win) ($5.00 FP)

Doomben:

Race 1 Number 4 Raeburn (each way) ($6.50 / $2.30 FP)

Race 6 Number 2 Bribie (win) ($5.00 FP)

Good luck and good punting.

Football Finals Month … Frankly I could not care less!

September 13, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

I have been asked a lot this week who I am following in the finals of the NRL and AFL and whether I was enjoying the finals so far. I will answer here as I have answered each enquiry:

The AFL season finished 3 weeks ago when the Bombers were punished by the AFL and the NRL season finished 2 weeks ago when the Raiders were knocked out so I really don’t care who wins the finals!

It has be claimed to me that that is a narrow minded view. Why is that so? Do people think that having supported a club all season (and in the case of both the Raiders and Bombers over 20 years) that all of sudden it is expected that I will pick another team to follow for the next 4 weeks?

I can not think of a more ridiculous suggestion frankly. To me it is simple: I support a team, it is not in the finals therefore I have no interest in the finals.

To everyone with teams in the finals: good luck to your respective teams and rest assured that I will not be jumping on your team’s bandwagon because to do so would be disrespectful, even if I was interested which I am not.

It is going to be a quiet September for me: a bit of rugby to watch and much expectation for the cricket season to come because the other football seasons are over. Here’s hoping that this time next year I have something to cheer about!