Sport Today

by **Leigh Gillespi** » Wed, 04 Jun 1997 04:00:00

Only one major comment this week. I would've written more on the
other four games but I'm just so heated about the Canterbur/Penrith match
at the moment I can't really think what to write about them. Anyway, a
quick warning - race relations comments follow, so the weak of heart
should take the emergency exit to the left (and if you must reply perhaps
it might be preferaly to confine it to email).

* Friday, May 30th 1997

HUNTER 24 def BRISBANE 6 at Topper Stadium, Newcastle
Hunter: Tries - Zisti 2, Beauchamp 2, Ross
Goals - B Kimmorley, Goldthorpe
Brisbane: Tries - Walters
Goals - Lockyer
Referee: G Annesley
Attendance: 7,124

Well at least one thing went right this weekend.

* Saturday, May 31st 1997

CRONULLA 24 def NORTH QUEENSLAND 10 at Stockland Stadium, Townsville
Cronulla: Tries - Ettingshausen 2, Peachey, Bell
Goals - Rogers 4
North Queensland: Tries - Mahon 2
Goals - Phillips
Referee: T Mander
Attendance: 16,095

* Sunday, June 1st 1997

CANBERRA 34 def ADELAIDE 18 at Adelaide Oval
Canberra: Tries - Nagas, Lightning, Wiki,
Daley, McFadden, Kennedy
Goals - Furner 5
Adelaide: Tries - McGuire, Mamando, Stone
Goals - Williamson 3
Referee: S Clark
Attendance: 13,894

PERTH 24 def AUCKLAND 12 at WACA Ground, Perth
Perth: Tries - Horan, Daylight, Wilson, Chapman
Goals - Chapman 2, Ryan 2
Auckland: Tries - Hoppe, Eru
Goals - Ngamu 2
Referee: B Harrigan
Attendance: 10,203

* Monday, June 2nd 1997

PENRITH 28 def CANTERBURY 20 at Belmore Sports Ground
Penrith: Tries - Farrar, M Adamson, Gall, Girdler
Goals - Girdler 6
Canterbury: Tries - McRae, El Masri, Halligan
Goals - Halligan 4
Referee: B Grant
Attendance: 12,431

Disgraceful - on all counts. Rarely have I come away from a match
as seething as I was after this game. Firstly, let me say that Penrith
deserved their win, Canterbury had plenty of chances but just couldn't
hold the ball when they needed to. It's one of the fuundamentals of RL
that you can't win a game without the ball and quite simply Canterbury
didn't have enough of the ball. So that was the first thing that got me
upset. That said, neither side was helped by the performance of the
officials.
Rarely do I attack referees but if Brian Grant is still
controlling first grade next week then SL just aren't serious. Perhaps I'm
just betraying my Canterbury allegiances but I just couldn't believe some
of those decisions. The penalty against Canterbury one metre out from the
Penrith line for not properly playing the ball was strange to say the
least but the penalty against Penrith sixty seconds later for the same
offense was just plain laughable. All I can conclude is that Grant
realised he got it wrong the first time and decided he had to award a
payback one. The fact that the Penrith player was obviously prevented from
properly playing the ball by the Canterbury players didn't seem to matter.
And the decision to deny a try because of a two man scuffle fifty metres
away that sorted itself out just defied belief IMO.
Finally there was the crowd brawl. I realise the above
performances are enough to get peoples hackles up but the events that
occured after this match are just not on in this country. And already
there is talk that the brawling was largely ignited by racial tensions on
what was supposed to be Canterbury's "mutlicutural day". If true then it
doesn't suprise me a bit that what followed was very reminiscent of events
usually confined to the soccer fraternity. Multiculturalism works? Well
when it comes to sport it just seems all these people want to do is battle
out all the ancient ethnic conflicts. Assimilation is often seen as a bad
concept but IMO it's well past the time that these people realised that
they're Australian now, just like the rest of us. And Australians don't
fight and don't need to fight their fellow Australians. No one's a better
Australian or a lesser Australian, we're all as equal as each other and if
those who come here can't accept that then they should go somewhere else.

(end of political statement)

* Points Table - After twelve rounds...

W D L PF PA Pts
BRISBANE 9 1 2 288 181 19
CRONULLA 7 - 5 229 161 14
CANBERRA 7 - 5 276 246 14
CANTERBURY 7 - 5 304 277 14
PENRITH 7 - 5 287 265 14
Perth 6 - 6 209 252 12
Hunter 5 - 7 256 224 10
Adelaide 4 1 7 207 268 9
North Queensland 3 2 7 192 277 8
Auckland 3 - 9 183 280 6

Catchya round, Leigh

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Leigh T. Gillespie * "It takes leather balls *
* Phone - Australia (077) 791219 * to play Rugby!" *

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

by **Henry F Franci** » Wed, 04 Jun 1997 04:00:00

Quote:

> Rarely do I attack referees but if Brian Grant is still
> controlling first grade next week then SL just aren't serious. Perhaps I'm
> just betraying my Canterbury allegiances but I just couldn't believe some
> of those decisions. The penalty against Canterbury one metre out from the
> Penrith line for not properly playing the ball was strange to say the
> least but the penalty against Penrith sixty seconds later for the same
> offense was just plain laughable. All I can conclude is that Grant
> realised he got it wrong the first time and decided he had to award a
> payback one. The fact that the Penrith player was obviously prevented from
> properly playing the ball by the Canterbury players didn't seem to matter.
> And the decision to deny a try because of a two man scuffle fifty metres
> away that sorted itself out just defied belief IMO.

> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> * Leigh T. Gillespie * "It takes leather balls *
> * Phone - Australia (077) 791219 * to play Rugby!" *

> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hi Leigh,
quite a few people over here don't like Grant,there is always more
penalties in a Grant game.(Reds count always the highest at a Grant
game)
He's a smart mouth.(Bill Harrigan for prime Minister)
Henry:)

by Ro » Wed, 04 Jun 1997 04:00:00

Quote:

> CANBERRA 34 def ADELAIDE 18 at Adelaide Oval
> Canberra: Tries - Nagas, Lightning, Wiki,
> Daley, McFadden, Kennedy
> Goals - Furner 5
> Adelaide: Tries - McGuire, Mamando, Stone
> Goals - Williamson 3
> Referee: S Clark
> Attendance: 13,894

^^^^^^

Novelty wearing off?

by **Fred** » Wed, 04 Jun 1997 04:00:00

Quote:

><snip>
> PENRITH 28 def CANTERBURY 20 at Belmore Sports Ground
<snip>
> Referee: B Grant
> Attendance: 12,431

<snip>
Today (Tuesday) and last night, I have heard and read alot of anger
, frustration etc at the brawls and the so called `root causes'.
And in many of these instances there has been a reference made to
the Multiculturalism aspect of the marketing of this particular
game.
IMO, this `Multicultural day' slogan did not in any way serve to
ignite the occurances of last night. Rather it
I refer to 1993 and 1994 when successful Multicultural days were
also held at Belmore, in 1993 against Parramatta which drew a well
behaved attendence of 27,804 ? .And the following year the match
against Wests (if memory serves me correctly) which drew 22,000,
in which the crowd was equally well-behaved.
So I believe the only contributing factor from this marketing aspect
was that it served to attract a larger attendence to the game
itself.
It was also reported specifically on 2UE in Sydney and in the
Daily Telegraph Mirror that Police are investigating racial links.
To date no evidence has been found to back this up.
(although I may have jumped the gun and some evidence may crop up indicating this)
Again IMO the trouble was started by a grouip of resident troublemakers,
who obviously incited on-lookers, especially after Mear's no-try incident.
Troublemakers will be troublemakers, a similar brawl (though obviously
not of the same magnitude) occurred towards the end of the
Mariners game on exactly the same side of the hill (not the
Family Hill, but the other side). But in that instance it was
quickly quelled by security.

Quote:

> Finally there was the crowd brawl. I realise the above
> performances are enough to get peoples hackles up but the events that
> occured after this match are just not on in this country. And already
> there is talk that the brawling was largely ignited by racial tensions on
> what was supposed to be Canterbury's "mutlicutural day". If true then it
> doesn't suprise me a bit that what followed was very reminiscent of events
> usually confined to the soccer fraternity. Multiculturalism works? Well
> when it comes to sport it just seems all these people want to do is battle
> out all the ancient ethnic conflicts. Assimilation is often seen as a bad
> concept but IMO it's well past the time that these people realised that
> they're Australian now, just like the rest of us. And Australians don't
> fight and don't need to fight their fellow Australians. No one's a better
> Australian or a lesser Australian, we're all as equal as each other and if
> those who come here can't accept that then they should go somewhere else.

Having said this, I do agree with the sentiments that we should
all accept each other and ourselves as Australians, and we
should not have to
carry on in such a tragic and shocking manner.

Quote:

> (end of political statement)

<snip>
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> * Leigh T. Gillespie * "It takes leather balls *
> * Phone - Australia (077) 791219 * to play Rugby!" *

> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

by **Nicholas Chu** » Wed, 04 Jun 1997 04:00:00

Quote:

>><snip>
>> PENRITH 28 def CANTERBURY 20 at Belmore Sports Ground
>> Referee: B Grant
>I refer to 1993 and 1994 when successful Multicultural days were
>also held at Belmore, in 1993 against Parramatta which drew a well
>behaved attendence of 27,804 ? .And the following year the match
>against Wests (if memory serves me correctly) which drew 22,000,
>(although I may have jumped the gun and some evidence may crop up indicating this)
>Again IMO the trouble was started by a grouip of resident troublemakers,
>who obviously incited on-lookers, especially after Mear's no-try incident.
>Troublemakers will be troublemakers, a similar brawl (though obviously
>not of the same magnitude) occurred towards the end of the
>Mariners game on exactly the same side of the hill (not the
>Family Hill, but the other side). But in that instance it was
>quickly quelled by security.

I tend to agree with you. There's nothing really nothing wrong with
the Bulldogs club or Australian, it's just a group of 'kids' that
would love to make people impress in the wrong way.
Go the Doggies...
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
NICHOLAS CHUNG BSc CNA MCPS
Computer Systems Support
Ph +64 9 3737599 x8108 Fax +64 9 3737468
Engineering Science, Auckland University, NZ.

by **andrew hal** » Fri, 06 Jun 1997 04:00:00

Quote:

> > CANBERRA 34 def ADELAIDE 18 at Adelaide Oval
> > Canberra: Tries - Nagas, Lightning, Wiki,
> > Daley, McFadden, Kennedy
> > Goals - Furner 5
> > Adelaide: Tries - McGuire, Mamando, Stone
> > Goals - Williamson 3
> > Referee: S Clark
> > Attendance: 13,894
> ^^^^^^
> Novelty wearing off?

No, two factors that I could put my finger on:
a - the pitiful way the team played the week before; and
b - the fact that this game seemed to get lost in the publicity leeding
up to the WCC (to whit large crowds are expected)

Andrew.
Go the Rams!

Sport Today

Telstra Cup - Round 12 Results

Telstra Cup - Round 12 Results

Telstra Cup - Round 12 Results

Telstra Cup - Round 12 Results

Telstra Cup - Round 12 Results

Telstra Cup - Round 12 Results

Telstra Cup - Round 12 Results