Just like old times...

Sometimes people ask me why I support the Bulldogs even though I grew up in the Eastern Suburbs where I still live. This blog post is the best answer I can give.

I remember the early 1990s rugby league heyday. Back then the comp was called the Winfield Cup, there were no joint ventures and Tina Turner's "The Best" spruiked the code on television screens across NSW.

As a high school kid we were lucky to get free season tickets to regular round matches, and we made good use of them. (Even without them admission for us in those days was only $3!) Every weekend, a bunch of us would meet outside Grace Bros in Bondi Junction and jump on a train, or a bus or whatever mode of transport we needed to get out to the footy.

Now I'd been a Canterbury fan since 1985, when they were the reigning (and soon to be back-to-back) premiers. 1985 was the year I started collecting Scanlens footy stickers. I remember as premiers the Dogs had a special middle section in the sticker album, and all the stickers were bordered in silver.

But after around 1986 I had a couple of years where I lost a bit of interest in footy. Coming up through primary school I was distracted by my first crush in year five then a year later I discovered rock music. If you'd asked me who my footy team was in those years I would have answered that it was Canterbury but I had no idea how they were faring in what was then the New South Wales Rugby League. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't even watch the 1988 grand final victory.

1992 was the year it changed, and the year my true love for the Blue and Whites was cemented. Which brings us back to the beginning of this tale.

The core group of us was Cliff, Mark and myself. Sometimes other guys joined us, depending on who "we" were playing. I remember that year, in what used to be a 22 round season we went to at least 16 regular games. Every other weekend it was at Belmore, and in the rounds in between we went to North Sydney Oval, Jubilee Stadium, Caltex Field (now Toyota Park), the Sydney Football Stadium and Brookvale Oval, to name a few.

Our heroes were Terry Lamb and Ewan McGrady. Coming up through the ranks we were entertained by legends in the making Darren Smith, Dean Pay and Jarrod McCracken. I remember current Dogs coach Kevin Moore running around in the number seven a couple of times, though the first-choice half was Craig Polla-Mounter.

Canterbury struggled that year. We won a couple of good games, one notably against that year's eventual premiers the Brisbane Broncos, but lost more than we won, including capitulating to a then-terrible South Sydney outfit and going down by a point to Newcastle after "Baa" kicked a field goal thinking it was 10-all when we in fact down by two.

Canterbury finished that season on 22 points, just missing out on the top five. But they were good times. We were teenagers without worries. I wasn't paying rent or running a motor vehicle. I wasn't concerned about building a career. The only thing I had to worry about was that weekend's game.

The years flew by and my love for the Bulldogs never waned, even if the number of games I went to shrunk year by year. I always made sure to go at least once in a season, and in more recent times have managed around four games per year. I have even flown to Melbourne twice and up to the Gold Coast to see the team play.

Yesterday (Sunday) I went to the Roosters vs Bulldogs game. Cliff organised a bunch of us to go - he'd been living in Melbourne for the four years up to December 2009 and is now married with a baby due next month. Through Facebook he'd started talking to Mark again for the first time in years and invited him along too. Hence the core of our 1992 Bulldogs fan group was reunited.

As you know the Roosters prevailed in a roller-coaster ride of a match. The Chooks kept one foot in front for most of the first half before Canterbury finished the first 40 ahead. The start of the second stanza belonged to the Dogs who looked like winning it until the Roosters came back stunningly with two tries in the final ten minutes to seal the win.

All through it the three of us shared the agony and ecstasy of every play as if no time had passed since 1992. Canterbury tries brought high-fives, Roosters tries glum silence. Ref calls against us met with cries of "whaddaya mean, ref?" or "open your eyes!" while decisions in our favour (and there were some sketchy ones, I'll admit) were greeted with "we'll take it!". We stood in our seats every time the line was broken, uttering "ooh" and "ahh" as the game played out. I sat next to Mark, who I hadn't seen in years, discussing players and team tactics as if the last time we'd done so was only last week.

And in doing so, even though we lost, I was reminded of one of the things I love so much about the game of rugby league. I can watch other sports, but none will take me back to a time I remember so fondly. In the moment, watching our beloved Dogs, there we were again, those three teenagers barracking for our beloved team.

So much has happened in the years since 1992. I have studied at a variety of tertiary organisations. I have tried three career paths before settling into my current one. I have lived overseas and travelled to different parts of the world. I have fallen in love and have had my heart broken. But on Sunday I was taken back to the 16-year-old that was yet to live those experiences.

As the game played out on the field before us, our jobs weren't in our minds. Rents, mortgages, bills - we were in a dimension where none of it mattered. Our responsibilities could wait until later.

The Bulldogs were playing.

The Wednesday Rant

So much has happened in the world of sport that I need to throw my two cents in about. So without further ado here we go.

Rugby League

Loyalty is alive! After being linked to the cashed-up Sydney Roosters, promising young fullback Josh Dugan has extended his contract with the struggling Raiders. I said at the start of the year that Canberra have some gifted young players coming through but their challenge would be to keep them. Now that Dugan has repaid the club's faith lets hope some of the other young guns follow suit.

South of the border Greg Inglis has also rejected an offer from the Broncos and expressed his desire to stay at Melbourne.

Refereeing is back in the news for the wrong reasons with legendary whistle blower Greg "Hollywood" Hartley declaring the current batch of refs to be the worst in 50 years. Now I'm not in a position to agree or disagree but there certainly have been plenty of sketchy decisions this season, some at crucial stages in matches.

In an example, big Sam Burgess has every right to be filthy for being penalised for his tackle on Mitchell Pearce at the weekend. What should have been a knock-on and a Bunnies ball became a Roosters penalty. The match review committee later found nothing wrong with the tackle. The Roosters won a game that could very well have a bearing on the final top four placings 18-14, and we will never know what could have been.

Motorsport

Congratulations go to Aussie Mark Webber for his victory at the British Formula One Grand Prix. The victory was especially sweet given that Webber was not only competing against the the other drivers and teams but his own team as well.

Red Bull's treatment of Webber was disgraceful. Team officials swapped his car's front wing with that of teammate Sebastian Vettel in a clear sign of who they saw as higher in their pecking order. Webber's subsequent victory over Vettel was a beautifully raised middle-finger.

Soccer

It's time to pack away the vuvuzelas and stop listening to octopi - World Cup 2010 is officially over. In the end Spain prevailed over the Netherlands in a frustrating game that remained scoreless right up until the death.

But the thing this world cup will be remembered for most are the many refereeing controversies. Everyone involved with soccer except FIFA wants video technology introduced into the game - it's time they listened.

On another note, it will be interesting to see if Australia's world cup fever carries over into the domestic A-League season. I predict it won't - most people didn't give a toss in the four years between this world cup and the last. It's about jumping on a bandwagon. Now I'm not saying I'll be first in line at the next Sydney FC game but I nor did I watch much of the world cup. I'm a "Leaguie" through and through.

Heroes and Villians

As everyone predicted, Queensland completed a 3-0 State of Origin clean sweep on Wednesday.

What not many predicted is how close the game was in the end. It is generally accepted that if not for a penalty against Blues hooker Michael Ennis in the closing stages of the game, NSW may well have held on and saved some pride.

But before I launch into my Ennis diatribe, praise must go to the players who really tried. In his return to Origin, Greg Bird was sensational. He never gave up, scoring what should have been the winning try.

Kurt Gidley also deserves some praise. I have been severely critical of him in the past, and again questioned his selection this year. But he proved me wrong, his never-say-die attitude shining through and proving that Origin is not necessarily about being the most gifted player. It's about heart, and Gidley showed plenty of it.

In the end, a five point lead was squandered when Nate Myles tempted Ennis into a punching match, resulting in a penalty that set up a Queensland try. Desperation football then not only failed to put the Blues back in front, but gave the Maroons another try before the siren to knock the nails into the coffin.

The obituaries have been particularly scathing of Ennis, who is insistent that he did no wrong because Myles struck first.

It doesn't matter, Mick.

You had minutes to go with Queensland's line in reach. I don't care if Myles had head-butted you. If you're desperately clinging on to a five point lead, you don't allow yourself to be drawn in.

Mick Ennis should have known better. Crying that Myles started it is akin to to a schoolboy in a playground fight claiming innocence for the same reason. Mick Ennis had a chance to show that the Blues are above Queensland's thuggery.

He blew it, and in doing so surrendered a lead that could have won us the game.

Farah for 2011.

Goodbye Pricey, Hello Again Gasnier

Rugby League has farewelled one of its true champions after Steven Price decided to hang up his boots last week due to injury.

The New Zealand Warriors captain retired with 313 first grade games, 28 State of Origin appearances for Queensland and 16 Australian test jumpers under his belt.

"Pricey" debuted for the mighty Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 1994. He was a part of the Bulldogs premiership winning side in 1995, scoring a try, and a few years later caught the eye of the Queensland selectors for the 1998 State of Origin series. He was selected in the Kangaroos squad that very year.

Price captained the Bulldogs from the start of 2002 until he left for New Zealand after the 2004 season. He cruelly missed Canterbury's 2004 Grand Final win with injury after inspiring the club all the way in what began as a tumultuous season.

He then captained the Warriors for five seasons until injury prevented him from starting this year. This was to be his final season; last week he announced he would not recover from his injury and would not play a single game.

Off the field, Steve Price was as much a champion as he was on it. A model footballer, Price set an example in everything he did.

From this Bulldogs fan, I'd like to wish Pricey the best of luck for the future. I would have loved to have seen him finish his career in the blue and white.

In other news, Mark Gasnier made his return tonight for St George-Illawarra. It was far from a fairytale return, with the celebrated centre making a few crucial errors towards the back end of the second half when the Dragons were playing catch-up and needed him to fire.

Anyone watching with the ability to lip-read would clearly have seen that "Gaz" was filthy with himself and will no doubt work hard to readjust to the game where he once enjoyed so much success. The Dragons are far from my favourite team but I wish him well.

Lastly, it was good to see the mighty Bulldogs string two wins together on Saturday night. Clearly the decision to finally start Ben Barba is paying dividends; one can only wonder how different the tune of season 2010 might have sounded for the Dogs had Barba been promoted to the number six earlier.

However, it is of no use to ask "what if", its all about the remainder of the regular season now and the big challenge to make the top eight, starting with a must-win clash against Melbourne this weekend. If Canterbury can prevail it will do wonders to their confidence going into the business end of the season.

Who should play in Origin III?

The series is lost. Queensland have once again shown that they are the far superior team. Origin II was nothing short of a nightmare for Blues fans.

Origin III presents a chance to try and regain some pride by avoiding a whitewash, but how realistic is this? The Maroons are THAT good that any team NSW fields is likely to end up on the wrong side of the scoreline.

There's already talk of an upheaval from the top down in the Blues ranks, from selectors, to coaching staff, to players, for next year. But the question is, for game III, does NSW stick with the team that got obliterated in game II? Or do we start looking to future now?

I say we start looking to the future now. Chances are we'll lose anyway, so let's give some younger kids a run.

For game II the selectors did away with Brett Kimmorley (who actually wasn't bad in game 1) in favour of young gun Mitchell Pearce. But they fatally stuck with Trent Barrett at five-eighth, himself in the twilight of his career - having never been exceptional even in his heyday. It's time for new blood in the number six.

Jamie Soward has been playing his heart out over the last two years. As the form five-eighth in the comp, it's time to see what he can do at state level. He would be my first pick for Origin III alongside Pearce.

Let's look at the backs. Finally the selectors saw sense and picked Jarryd Hayne at fullback. Even though he had a quiet Origin II, we know what he can do, and what he will do in the future. Lock him into the number one jersey.

Brett Morris is one of the most exciting young wingers in our game right now. He absolutely deserves his spot on the wing. His centre partner can be none other than his twin brother Josh. Overlooked this year after playing for the Blues in 2009, Josh Morris should be rushed back for game III. His ability to cut through defenders and score tries is well documented, while the unspoken communication he and his twin enjoy could be exploited to cause headaches for Queensland.

The other centre spot should go to another man overlooked this year after starring in 2009, Michael Jennings. The Penrith centre has it all in attack. Especially considering the Maroons have arguably the most explosive centre in the game in Greg Inglis, NSW needs to counter his freakish talent with a hugely talented centre of their own.

For the other wing spot, what more does Nathan Merritt have to do to get picked? He is one of the best finishers in the game, with 13 tries so far for the season.

We need forwards with grunt, which is why Paul Gallen gets my nod to retain his spot at lock. Luke O'Donnell would slot into the second row if not for suspension, in his place should go Anthony Watmough. Now Watmough hasn't had the most brilliant of years, but again, we've seen what he can do - and if NSW are serious about building a team for the future the selectors will put their faith in a group of players and stick with them rather than chopping and changing with each defeat.

As for the other second row spot, its between Nathan Hindmarsh and Ben Creagh - and as huge a fan as I am of Hindmarsh, having criticised his omission for Origin I - if we are building the team of the future we need to pick the players of the future. Creagh it is then.

Michael Ennis had his chance at hooker and failed to impress. It is time to hand the number 9 jersey back to the man who waited years for his chance - Robbie Farah, who has been playing at a far superior level recently.

Michael Weyman has done enough for one front-row berth; Brett White most certainly has not. I would look at either Brent Kite or Aiden Tolman for the other jumper, with the player missing out on a start going to the bench.

Which leaves us with three bench spots. Luke Lewis gets one, while it's time another South Sydney player, John Sutton, got a NSW call-up. In the interests of looking to tomorrow the final bench spot goes to the Sharks' Kade Snowden.

The final team is therefore:

1. Jarryd Hayne
2. Brett Morris
3. Josh Morris
4. Michael Jennings
5. Nathan Merritt
6. Jamie Soward
7. Mitchell Pearce
8. Brent Kite
9. Robbie Farah
10. Micheal Weyman
11. Ben Creagh
12. Anthony Watmough
13. Paul Gallen

14. Aiden Tolman
15. Luke Lewis
16. John Sutton
17. Kade Snowden

Now I'm not saying this team will win game III - but they won't do any worse than the teams for games I and II, and the future of State of Origin is at stake. Who knows, in a few years when Queensland's freakish stars start to tire, the names above could be the ones that bring the trophy back to New South Wales.

The Joey Race Debate

Apologies that this posting comes a few days late... by now this issue has been debated and dissected numerous times, unfortunately work and uni deadlines have meant I've only gotten around to writing about it now.

But here we go.

By now everyone knows that Andrew Johns referred to Greg Inglis as a "black c***", leading to NSW winger Timana Tahu walking out of the team in protest. A recent article has also stated that it was not just one comment that made Tahu walk.

This is what I think. The fact that Johns was arguably one of the best players to strap on a boot has allowed him too much leeway over the years. A few years ago when he was caught with drugs and managed to turn the whole thing around to get sympathy, I said then that he was no victim, that he knew what he was doing and he was only sorry for getting caught.

That is why his apology is meaningless again now. Clearly Andrew Johns would have carried on making unacceptable comments with zero remorse if no one had complained. It was only after Tahu took his commendable stand that (all of a sudden) apologies and regret gushed forth from Johns' mouth. An article I read today says he is emotionally distraught over the whole affair now too.

Sorry, Joey, there's no sympathy for you this time.

Andrew Johns has crossed the line again. NSW team management have rightly said he is not welcome back in the fold this year. But the time has come to stamp out racism in rugby league, and not for years will there be another opportunity this ideal.

What better way to send a message out to players, coaches, clubs and fans than by making an example of one of the game's most celebrated players? Ban him from coaching NSW for life. Ban him from any official NRL duty. And while we're at it, how about Channel 9, who so willingly disposed of his brother Matthew, show some balls and fire him too?

Then every player will know that racism will not be tolerated. If that's what they'll do to one of the game's best-known champions, then everyone will see that the league and its partners are serious.

As for Timana Tahu - its a shame that he had to leave the team to make his point. I am of the view that he could have - and should have stayed in the camp, while still blowing the whistle on Joey's myopic ways. Timana shouldn't have to miss playing for his state because of someone else's poor judgement. Here's hoping he rejoins the fold for Origin 3.

... which will be a dead rubber after Queensland make it five series wins from five on Wednesday night. NSW were outsiders even before this ugly Johns incident. The incredible disturbance the whole mess has caused to NSW's preparations is bad enough - and then factor in a Queensland side featuring several stars of indigenous lineage, who wouldn't have taken to kindly to the comment either, and will be looking forward to refuting it - with their football doing the talking.

News Limited vs News Limited

Today on DailyTelegraph.com.au, a very interesting article. Rugby League's favourite newspaper is calling on all Sydneysiders to "Boo the cheating Storm" when they are in Sydney to play Parramatta this Friday night.

It's the first time the Storm are playing in Sydney since the club had its 2007 and 2009 premierships stripped from them for cheating the salary cap. And the Daily Telegraph is hell-bent on making sure they remember it:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/after-42-days-the-storm-should-hand-the-nrl-trophy-back/story-e6frexnr-1225875113015

A "Give back the Trophy" poster will appear in tomorrow's Daily Telegraph which fans are being encouraged to take to the game. Which all sounds like a bit of good fun to poke at the club whose management deceived us all by deliberately hiding player payments to stay at the top.

But the MOST INTERESTING thing of all about this, is that the Daily Telegraph and the Melbourne Storm both have the same employer -News Limited. The media giant has thrown too much money at the Storm to let its recent monumental troubles bring about its demise.

Could the Daily Telegraph's campaign be a stroke of brilliance?

Think of it this way. On a bigger scale, what is one of the greatest rivalries in our fair country, and I am not just talking about sport?

Sydney vs Melbourne. Or Melbourne vs Sydney, depending in which city you live.

The Storm risked alienating and losing their Melbourne support base after their salary cap rorting was outed. Indeed in this very blog I predicted the team would wither and die. But News Limited aren't a successful multinational company for nothing. There's a bunch of smart fellas (and lasses) making things tick along and they've caught a sniff of something that can save the Storm.

There's an undercurrent within the Melbourne public that the severity of the Storm's punishment was a Sydney vs Melbourne thing.

In the weeks following the metering out of the club's punishment, attendance at their new home ground AAMI Park has been in defiance of post-rort predictions. The reason? They want to show up the Sydneysiders that took away their premierships and points. They want to stick their middle finger up at the Sydney-based NRL.

That considered, what better way to get Melburnians behind the Storm? You guessed it. Keep 'em under siege. Demand they return the silverware. Call them cheats at every game they play up here. Never let them forget that us Sydneysiders hate their cheating team.

That will rile them up. And that will get them behind the Storm. And perhaps after all the club with weather its own Storm, and Rugby League will have a future in Victoria yet.