What's up with Aussie sport??

[BennyST]

I've heard from mates over there that the latest generation are just soft.

Australians were always known for being tough, rugged and hardy blokes but nowadays as the guy above says a lot of them are metrosexual softies.

It's Benny mate.

[BennyST]

The honest truth is that after being an epic fail in the 1976-1980 Olympics and 78-82 commonwealth games, Australia spent a massive amount of money on sports and became a great sporting nation through the late 80s and 90s, but once other countries such as GB started doing the same it has become hard for Aus to compete.

ThAt and the fact the best athletes play an indigenous game in Aussie rules

I think it's a combination of the metrosexual Bieber disease and AFL. If you're a good sprinter as a kid, you get scouted straight for the AFL. They are plucking the talent from all walks and just churning them through the AFL wringer.

[McGoorty]

Wtf happened lads?

You just lost a series to the Lions, about to get pasted in the Ashes, terrible performance in the Olympics...

Not to mention this happening...



I only ask because you guys (p4p) used to a powerhouse of a sporting nation. My old A level (age16-18) PE teacher used to be in awe of your scouting system for all sports. You were the best Cricket team in the world for many years, up there with the best in Rugby, well overperforming at the Olympics. So what happened?

No argument here mate, the only thing on the up and up downunder is Rugby League, the standard of the world's premier Rugby League competition, the N.R.L. just keeps getting better and this year the season has been enormous, the quality just stunning, (but in England the Super League just gets better and better as well, watch this space, in a decade rugby league will be way bigger). As for the cricket, the poms this year have played against what amounts to almost a one man team, it would be more accurate to call this team, "The Michael Clarke". Australia has gotten what it deserved in cricket, while Steve Waugh was still knocking in tons all over the place many journalists were calling for selectors to sack him because he was "so old" at age 34 or so. That is what the Greeks called hubris and the Greeks believe that mortals were always punished for hubris, Steve Waugh is one of the all time greats of cricket and the best Test captain of any team, any time frame yet some idiots wanted to rush into a new era (ffs it was the greatest test team in history and they wanted to break that team up by cutting off the head, HUBRIS). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We were utterly brilliant at swimming, O'Neill, Perkins, Hackett, Thorpe simply ruled in the pool but a Perkins and a Thorpe come along very rarely. We simply do not have any great swimmers left. I blame X-Box for destroying the generation that followed the Waughs, Warnes, Perkins's, Thorpes etc. Australian kids have been so spoiled and there are more little fat buggers than ever downunder and it looks like the link to the past is severed. Another thing foreigners do not realise about Australians is that basically if it ain't Rugby league or Aussie rules (or cricket in the summer) the vast majority of Aussies today couldn't give a rats azz. I hope I am wrong, I would dearly love to see Australia become once again great at almost every sport under the sun (except for rugby union, I cannot stomach that archaic form of rugby league.).

[McGoorty]

Seeing as though you mentioned something called "the lions" and show some clip of a union game. the reason the "lions" do well against "the wallabies" nowadays is simply because compared to rugby league down here union is small and can hardly attract a crowd at most games unless it is a test match or at state level in the SAf/NZ thingo. Most QLD and NSW kids grow up as rugby league through and through and it is the game of the average Aussie whereas Union is basically mostly for Uni types and snobs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------It is the almighty power of the NRL and AFL that take all the best talent. Rugby League is BIG every weekend for most of the years, Union only when playing the south africans, poms or kiwis. Yes I know there is rugby league in England too but the Union has preserved its control over the southern and mid part of England so the Super League is not as well known as this union thingo. Point is that Union is either 3rd or 4th place in the footy stakes downunder but the gap between Union and the two BIG codes here is massive. When it comes to Victoria, SA or tas or WA and the man on the street it is AFL mania and union is insignificant at any level. POMLAND is at least 4 times more populated as well, you guys should be able to compete eh. It still won't wipe away all the memories of aussies humiliating England in the worlds arenas for oh sooooo looooong mate. You have the cricket ashes but we Aussies have still won so many more tests that England needs at least 50 more years just to catch up.

[AURIDE]

AFL is killing all aussies sports... It sucks up the, membership dollars, corporate advertising dollars, merchandise dollars, air time on news, talent and team management personel, and even the non afl venues are now getting run down. Thats why other sports are in decline. We have AFL drafting, player agency, NAB cup etc right through the off season. We cant escape. I look forward to the Olympics every 4 years so I can get a balanced sports fix...

[Jinkybinky]

lame

their play sucked it's such a dissapointment

[Bodyshot3]

I don't think anyone beats the Aussies in the current Rugby League World Cup...you guys are super-elite at this sport and New Zealand don't look like a side who can get lucky again.

[Tom Cruise]

Spoke too soon on the Cricket. Fair play

[Bodyshot3]

@ Mr Cruise....you said it mate. Mitchell Johnson summons up the ghosts of Lillee, Thompson, McDermott and McGrath and sends our sorry beaten arses back to the dressing room.

[AURIDE]

Forget the cricket... here is some good aussie boxing...

http://youtu.be/fn-BReAdYxQ