They backed him, then sacked him. But could Gold Coast Suns have kept faith in coach Stuart Dew, as Carlton did Michael Voss to reap the rewards?Coach sackings are rarely edifying affairs but every now and then – Collingwood and Nathan Buckley spring to mind – they’re handled with a modicum of class and decency. Yet they’re almost always acrimonious. Stuart Dew’s sacking felt particularly grubby. It was a dog’s breakfast, really. He was made to look like a mug. They backed him, then sacked him.The press release announcing his departure was farcical, even by footy departure standards. It made him sound like he’d just passed away. Footy coaches aren’t building orphanages or splitting atoms, but they’re entitled to some...
As England head into the fourth Test, fans are being confronted with the very same questions the skipper has set his playersIt’s the week after Christmas 2021 and England’s men have just lost the Ashes. Again. After two years of preparation and planning, they have been beaten out of sight in 12 days’ play, the last three at the MCG, where they have been bowled out for 185 and 68, and gone down by an innings and 14 runs to a team who made only 267 themselves.Covid has spread among the squad: three of the coaches have tested positive and so have four family members, despite all the precautions. They have been living in a so-called bubble for much of...
The 50,629 attendance mark will only last a week as Australia go into World Cup opener on Thursday with perfect preparationAt the home of the Matildas, balloons have been tied to the front gate. The table has been set and streamers ring the backyard. The festivities are just about ready to kick off. And while it might have been France who were celebrating Bastille Day on Friday night, it was Mary Fowler who brought the punch.Less than a week before their Women’s World Cup opener, the Matildas defeated a France team ranked five places above them thanks to Fowler’s goal midway through the second half. In an even contest, Australia made the most of their one clear-cut chance, while France...
I worry about the climate but didn’t think more than 40 Women’s World Cup players would sign up to create a positive environmental legacy for the tournamentIf I had to pinpoint one moment when I started to really think about climate change it would be in 2009 when Cop15 was held in Copenhagen. Since then, my interest has just been growing and I have become more and more concerned about the future.My efforts to change my behaviour and reduce my carbon footprint didn’t come all at once, but gradually I have adjusted things in my life to be more carbon friendly. What is driving me is that the countries and the people that are least responsible for this situation are...
The idea of hosts beating all-conquering tourists five times in a row seemed absurd – but now the series is truly up for grabsAfter Australia won the lone Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge in June, Alyssa Healy would have been keen to celebrate. She had spent her rare Test appearances across years playing out draws on surfaces that offered drudgery between thunderstorms: North Sydney in 2017, Taunton in 2019, hosting India on the Gold Coast in 2021, even the Canberra Ashes Test of 2022 where a close finish relied on Australia manufacturing a target.Now she was unexpectedly captain, filling in for the absent Meg Lanning, and celebrating a bona fide Test win in a match that was given the...