Rules Committee to Blame for Franklin Fiasco

Once Lance Franklin was charged with rough conduct, it was only going to go one way.

Credit to the Hawks for fighting the good fight and challenging the suspension, but to the letter of the law he was guilty and his challenge and subsequent appeal were always going to fall on deaf ears.

Indeed it took a panel of three QCs just five minutes to throw out the appeal last night, after a hearing which lasted nearly two hours.

The problem started when the rules were changed after Nick Maxwell’s successful challenge to a suspension during the nab Cup.

And herein lies the blame – it’s in the rules, not in the player.

Franklin did nothing wrong. Even the tribunal agreed his actions were reasonable. He didn’t leave the ground to bump Ben Cousins, he didn’t aim for his head, and he had his elbows tucked in. By anyone’s definition it was a perfect shirt-front.

Cousins’ injury was incidental, or accidental. And it is there that the rule is hopelessly inadequate. Surely a player can’t be blamed for an accident? Well, that’s exactly why Franklin will be watching from the stands this weekend.

The bump might be frowned upon, but it isn’t dead … yet.

One can only hope that the reckless people who created this rule will look at Franklin’s situation and change the rule again to absolve players of suspension when their intentions are good.

It’s no wonder Nathan Buckley left the rules committee a couple of years ago, admitting he felt compromised by too many rule changes.

“I believe there should be a moratorium of sorts on rule changes and I have felt that for a while. I think constant changes if they are not halted in the near future will (damage the game)," he said at the time.

Footy ten years ago was great – contested footy is what people want to see.

If the law-makers really want to outlaw the bump, we are getting closer and closer to ‘that basketball crap’ Kevin Sheedy spoke about a couple of years ago.

Now or Never for Australia

The Ashes are gone, and Australian sports fans everywhere are in mourning.

And everywhere people are looking for someone to blame.Lets not kid ourselves - it wasn't the pitch. Both teams had to bat on it and the Test was lost when Australia made just 160 in the first innings.

The series was lost on the final day in Cardiff, when Australia failed to take the remaining wickets on a deteriorating pitch with numbers 9, 10 and 11 at the crease in the last hour.

At times the team has performed superbly - indeed the win at Headingly was one of the biggest Ashes wins of the modern era. Michael Clarke, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle were excellent and with all still in their mid-20s, the future is bright.

The has been overwhelming positivity from Cricket Australia and the selectors who have said it's too early for wielding the axe. But the closeness of the series and a number of good individual performances shouldn't mask the fact that there is plenty of work to do for this team. The selectors have to take their share of the blame - for not picking Stuart Clark at Lords, and for not picking Nathan Hauritz on a raging turner at The Oval.

And they face even tougher decisions in the years ahead.Michael Hussey, despite his gritty century in the final test, has surely played his last test innings. It's a tough way for a great batsman to go out, but Hussey is 34 and has an average of just 35 in the last two calendar years. It's simply not good enough.

It might also be time to usher Simon Katich towards the exit door. Katich is also 34, and while his form is good, he probably stands in the way of Phil Hughes who will surely open for Australia for the next decade or more.

Brad Haddin is also one on the edge. His wicketkeeping was moderate bordering on poor throughout the series, and his batting didn't have it's normal dynamic. And his decision making - particularly the crazy slog in the second innings at The Oval - wasn't good enough for the situation his team found itself in. Graham Manou appears to be a much safer pair of hands and he has impressed with the bat at state level for South Australia.

It's a time for tough decisions, but not reckless ones. Ponting should stay on as captain for at least this summer, because unlike the 2005 Ashes, he didn't do a great deal wrong this time around.

He fluffed his lines at the end of the Cardiff test with his bowling selections, but his captaincy elsewhere was good if not brilliant.

Above all a spinner must be found. Hauritz was servicable, and while it's unfair to compare him to Warne who came before - that would be unfair on anyone - he played this series in the shadow of Graham Swann who is no world-beater. The hope that Warne would inspire a generation of talented spinners has faded.

The upcoming series against Pakistan and West Indies should be seen as the perfect training ground for some of these young players to find their feet. Against weaker opponents, the next generation - young men like Hughes, Manou, Callum Ferguson, Shaun Marsh, Luke Ronchi, and others - can find the skills and temperament required for the heat of the next Ashes battle in 18 months time.

But even success there must be geared towards winning back the urn in England in 2013. Three in a row for cricket-mad Australia would be unforgivable.

Amazing Polak's Inspirational Comeback

Graham Polak’s comeback is a story of courage, pride, and above all, determination.
The same determination that has punctuated the stories of those footballers who have come before him in overcoming adversity – in Jason McCartney, and in Adam Ramanauskas.
Tomorrow, the 26-year-old will play his first game since June last year.
It was then that he was hit by a tram crossing Dandenong Rd in Armadale.
He was rushed to hospital, spent a couple of days in an induced coma, and it was feared he would never walk again, let alone play football.
His long road to recovery began with learning to walk and talk again – making a return to the AFL look improbable at best, a pipe dream at worst.
But somehow Polak will break through the banner tomorrow afternoon and achieve the goal he said kept him going for the last 12 months.
He said today the overwhelming emotion was relief.
"I can't wait to get back out there, and show them I still can play footy – it's going to be a real buzz and I'm looking forward to it," he said.
"It'll be a big relief to be able to get back, I'll run out with a smile on my face.”
Polak revealed he has no recollection of the night, but says he has to laugh when he talks about the incident now.
“I laugh about it now, I know it was a serious one but I can’t let it sit there and get me down my whole life.
“I sit there and laugh and say ‘How can I get hit by a tram that’s stuck on two tracks?’. It was a silly thing but I’ve got a good story to tell my kids and grandkids.”
Polak’s desire to prove to himself and to the club that he could play at the highest level again has driven his every action since that day.
“I never lost doubt I could play AFL football," Polak said this morning before training.
“I just want to get out there and repay faith the club has shown me.”
Richmond has been as supportive as any club could have been, but even coach Jade Rawlings had his doubts.
“Even six weeks ago I said to him it would be unlikely that I could see him getting back to senior footy," Rawlings said. "But he kept progressing, and every time there's been resistance and someone's been prepared to say he can't come back, he's fought even harder."
Polak is out of contract in just a few weeks, but says this isn’t a one-game return like that of Jason McCartney.
“I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to play AFL.”
Polak played his first game in the VFL as early as March, but copped a heavy hit to the head in that match against Frankston and was taken from the ground.
But he says he’ll have no hesitation putting his head over the ball tomorrow.
“Not at all – that's part of football,” he said.
“I'm not going to step back from that challenge, and if the ball's there to be won, I'll be throwing everything into it to get that ball.”

NRL ON THE ROPES

As if Rugby League needed any more bad news.
Greg Inglis’ charge of assaulting his girlfriend Sally Robinson is just the latest body blow for the NRL.
In the space of just a few months, the game been battered from pillar to post – and the question must be asked – is the game on its knees?
On the eve of the new season, Manly fullback Brett Stewart was suspended for four games for his drunken behaviour at the season launch, which led to sexual assault allegations against the Australian star, for allegedly assaulting a 17-year-old girl.
He and Inglis were the faces of the new ad campaign for the NRL.
The ad ran with Stewart edited out.
Now a new ad promoting this week’s indigenous round in the NRL has been canned, costing the league about $250,000.
The costs could well be higher in the long term.
For Inglis, whose court case has been adjourned until August 26, the future does not look good.
Today he was stood down as the NRL’s indigenous ambassador.
Among all that, one of League’s brightest stars in Karmichael Hunt – a Queensland State of Origin player and Australian representative, no less – jumped ship to the AFL, signing on to the new Gold Coast team for 2011.
It is a rat jumping off a sinking ship?
Former Essendon premiership coach Kevin Sheedy said a couple of years ago that he couldn’t see Australia sustaining four football codes.
Football (or soccer) is growing by the day, with the success of the Socceroos and the new A-League a triumph. And if we host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, soccer will really explode.
AFL is unshakable, the nation’s biggest and most popular sport, played in all states, and with two rivalries brewing in Rugby League’s heartland.
It’s no wonder the next television rights deal is going to push the $1 billion mark.
And Rugby Union will survive simply because it’s international – the World Cup features strong and passionate representation from New Zealand, South Africa, England, Wales, France, Ireland, Argentina and many other nations.
Rugby League has no such luxury.
It’s crunch time for League – the players have to lift their game if they want their children to be playing the game they love.
And it has to be said, the poor crowds that frequent (and I use that word very loosely) Rugby League matches – particularly in Sydney – are doing nothing to help their code.
The average NRL crowd this season is just 16,000.
And in total, 100,000 people Australia wide hold an NRL club membership. That’s an average of just 6250 per club.

Back Victory for Back-to-Back

Consistency is as important as anything in sport, and it’s that which Melbourne Victory is hoping can secure the club an unprecedented back-to-back A-League title.
No team has ever defended the A-League crown, but the Victory are the club to do it.

The Victory has retained 13 of the 16 man squad which defeated Adelaide in the Grand Final in February, including the key re-signings of Carlos Hernandez and skipper Kevin Muscat.
Former Adelaide and Sydney coach John Kosmina says he thinks Muscat has made a mistake by playing on, but fitness staff at the Victory tell me the captain is as fit as he’s ever been, and has recorded the best standing 20m sprints in his career this pre-season. Not bad for a man who turns 36 tomorrow.

The only loss for the Victory is Michael Theoklitos who is now with Norwich City in England, but they have a more than capable replacement in Glen Moss who will be between the sticks tonight against Central Coast.

I expect Melbourne's rivals this season to come from the Sunshine State.

Brisbane Roar has made two preliminary finals in the last two seasons and lost both, but if they can add that ruthlessness to their team then surely a Grand Final berth beckons.
In Sergio van Dijk, Reinaldo and Michael Zullo they have a great attacking threat and the goals will come. If they can tighten up at the back they are a real chance.

Their opponents on the opening weekend are Gold Coast United and I expect them to feature heavily when finals come around.

They have certainly talked the talk, with outspoken manager Miron Bleiberg voicing his opinions to anyone who’ll listen, and club CEO Clive Palmer predicting United can go through their first A-League season unbeaten.
They have probably the competition’s best player in Jason Culina, and the league’s top goalscorer from last season in Shane Smeltz. All that remains is to see whether they can walk the walk.

It’s been a long off-season with the much-maligned Pre-Season cup given the flick, and no tournaments like the World Cup or the Euros to distract those of us addicted to football.
Ten teams in an expanded A-League, and as many as four or five teams with legitimate claims to being Premiership contenders.
I can’t wait.
My tip - A Melbourne vs Brisbane Grand Final, and the Victory to go back to back.

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For my exclusive interview for SBS with Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick, click the link below and choose the video section on the left.

http://www.theworldgame.com.au/a-league