The Official Organ of LaborNET
click here to view the latest edition of Workers Online
The Official Organ of LaborNET
Free home delivery
Issue No. 132 19 April 2002  
E D I T O R I A L

Brand Spanking
Some of the biggest names in corporate Australia are copping a spanking right now � and while the troubles are of their own making the fall-out may have broader consequences.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Generation Next
The Australian Services Union's Luke Foley is one of a group of thirty-somethings taking the reins of the union movement.

Legal: We�re All Terrorists Now
The Government�s hastily cobbled security laws are so all-encompassing that jamming the boss�s fax could see you eating porridge in Long Bay for the rest of your life, reports Noel Hester.

Unions: Holding the Baby
The concept of Carers� Responsibilities doesn�t appear to have penetrated the ageing walls of the Australian Retailers Federation, reports Jim Marr.

International: Taking It To The Streets
In the past few days 22 million workers have taken to the streets in two countries over the global push to cut workers rights, as Andrew Casey reports.

History: Off the Wall
Creative campaign posters provide a colourful archive of worker struggles from the past, writes Neale Towart.

Economics: Financing International Development
John Langmore details the significance of the first International Conference on Financing Development held in Mexico in March.

Satire: Queen Mum's Life Tragically Cut Short
The world has been numbed by grief and shock, after Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother unexpectedly died last night at the tender age of 101.

Review: Return of The People�s Parliament
The last two weeks has seen the return of the most democratic program on the television, Big Brother. Cultural theoritian Mark Morey reports.

Poetry: Silent Night
Our resident bard, David Peetz, turns his hand to the Senate Inquiry into a Certain Maritime Incident.

N E W S

 Tobacco Giant's New Smoking Gun

 Evidence Proves McJobs A Reality

 Workers Die Waiting For Justice

 Abbot Sparks Nuclear Reaction

 Sick As A Dog Or Pissed As A Parrot?

 Workers� Anthem � Hip Hop or Grunge?

 DOCS Crisis � At Risk Kids Slipping Through Net

 Call Centre Workers Stiffed - Survey

 Broadcast Blues at SBS

 South Coast Medical Centre in Della�s Sights

 Sydney Take-Off For Security Campaign

 Israel On Dangerous Ground

 Technicians Take Aim At Canon

 Intel Faces Email Censure Challenge

 Megawati Reopens Marsinah Case

 Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
The Politics of Unfair Dismissal
Shadow Minister for Workplace Relations Robert McClelland finally nails down the Labor line on the Abbott sackings laws.

The Locker Room
Tipping the Scales
Jim Marr argues that policing of the ten-metre rule is creating havoc for footy tipsters.

Bosswatch
Stand and Deliver
It might be tough for some - but for shareholders and executives, life is just dandy.

Week in Review
Stretching the Truth
The political porkie still reigns supreme on the big stage but, good news in the form of a warning, some tall tales from the past are unravelling with embarrassing consequences�

L E T T E R S
 Free Trade??
 Where's the Silver Tail?
WHAT YOU CAN DO
About Workers Online
Latest Issue
Print Latest Issue
Previous Issues
Advanced Search

other LaborNET sites

Labor Council of NSW
Vic Trades Hall Council
IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation


Labor for Refugees

BossWatch



The Locker Room

Tipping the Scales


Jim Marr argues that policing of the ten-metre rule is creating havoc for footy tipsters.
 

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

MEMO: NRL footy tipsters - If you haven't caught on to the implications of the new play-the-ball regime just yet, wake up and smell the roses, elsewise, think of your weekly contributions as more donation than punt.

Now, it's true to say, this correspondent has been a longtime critic of the NRL, and most other bastard progeny of that promise-the-world, deliver-nothing sire, Super League. In fact, some of my most treasured possessions are communications from the likes of John Ribot, Graham Carden, and Ian Robson, urging previous employers to take remedial action. Instant dismissal, from memory, was the Ribot prescription.

Still, give credit where it's due I always say and, believe it or not, the NRL has got something 100 percent right, and not just anything, but something central to the credibility of the sport.

They haven't changed a rule, just tweaked an interpretation, and the results are dramatic.

Effectively, at the ruck, sides are now only seven or eight metres apart, against the 12-15 that was in vogue when Super League tried to turn Rugby League into something utterly meaningless for the benefit, apparently, of vast American and Chinese audiences chomping at the bit to watch Wendell Sailor run the length of the field.

At least Wendell hung around a bit longer than they did!

But we digress. The point is, that a change in the off-side interpretation has given the sport, on the park at least, its soul back and, from the tipsters' point of view, there will be winners and losers.

One team we have to reassess, right from the off, is Parramatta.

Brian Smith is one smart cookie, sometimes too smart as it happens, but there is no denying he has constructed a squad to take maximum advantage of the Super League style, prevalent until this year.

Essentially, he did away with the variety of body types commonly associated with Rugby League in favour of the all-purpose athlete, best capable of running off the advantage line.

Melbourne was the other side that most clearly exploited the game's move towards becoming a turbo-charged version of touch but it, at least, utilised a halfback with an football brain to guide it around.

Smith went further. Versatility and interchangeability were the hallmarks of his squad, to the point where halfbacks were on and off the field as often as forwads.

It was the Super League contention that a faster game, enforced by greater distances between opposing teams, would be a better game. Well, depending on your take, it might have been but the problem is that it wouldn't necessarily have been football.

Suddenly, footy skills and footy brains are moving back towards the dominant positions they were always entitled to occupy.

This means three things for the punter - think twice about the Parramattas, Melbournes and, to a lesser extent, Brisbanes, of this world; remember, if you can, the value of really tough forwards who can win battles in the middle of the park; and, most importantly, give tight results to the teams featuring the best halves.

It was a central misunderstanding of what the game was about that led to the view that greater time and distance would showcase its best talents. On the contrary, the value of genuine footballers, playmakers and thinkers, rises with each metre and split second they, and those around them, are denied.

All of which probably goes a long way towards explaining why critics are saying Andrew Johns is playing better than ever; his brother has been "re-born" alongside Brett Kimmorley at Cronulla; and Stacey Jones is kicking ass across the ditch.

Bare those players in mind then keep an eye on the Willie Peters-Trent Barrett combination; respect Braith Anasta and the forwards in front of him and you'll find you've fashioned yourself a sturdy anchor to cling to when tipping waters are choppy.


------

*   View entire issue - print all of the articles!

*   Issue 132 contents



email workers to a friend latest breaking news from labornet


Search All Issues | Latest Issue | Previous Issues | Print Latest Issue

© 1999-2002 Workers Online
Workers Online is a resource for the Labour movement
provided by the Labor Council of NSW
URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/132/b_sportspage_tips.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005

Powered by APT Solutions
Labor Council of NSW Workers Online
LaborNET