Why the A-League has no place in the Sutherland Shire

It's a junior nursery, but for how long?

It’s the story that I hoped would simply go away, but now it’s starting to scare me, with Tim Cahill and Cronulla Sharks chairman Lyall Gorman giving the proposal their backing .

The idea that a third Sydney A-League side should be placed in the Sutherland Shire is farcical.

Being someone that’s lived in the area most of my life, with my family a part of the Menai Hawks and having had an involvement with the Sutherland Sharks in the NSW Premier League, I speak from considerable expertise.

Plus, this idea isn’t exactly a new one.

Sydney Olympic became the ‘Olympic Sharks’ for two seasons in the old National Soccer League, playing their home games out of Shark Park and moving their youth teams to Bates Drive at Kirrawee.

The Olympic Sharks even won the NSL title in the 2001-02 season, and were Minor Premiers in 2002-03, only to lose in the Grand Final. The Olympic Sharks were as successful as can be on-field, but still, no one in the Shire seemed to care too much.

Sure it was a repackaged Sydney Olympic, and that could have been the issue, but my father and I still went and watched, despite being Marconi fans, unfortunately not too many of the other locals got on board.

Now the region does have the largest junior participation, and back in the day, the Menai Hawks and Lilli Pilli regularly battled it out for the honours of being the biggest junior club in the southern hemisphere.

But the demographic of the area is changing.


Families are being priced out and those that grew up in the area, such as myself, can’t afford to hang around the area, and even those who pay the lofty house prices, a day at the A-League may just be a stretch too far when the weekly budget is calculated.

Why do we need to expand to a third team in Sydney?


Sydney FC are only just finding some solid ground after a few lean years before the arrival of Del Piero and whilst the Wanderers have made a stunning start to life, we cannot get too complacent, with the Western Sydney market only expected to become more competitive.


Why not have both Sydney teams averaging 25,000 a week? Why introduce a third team which will only take fans away from the existing franchises.

The Newcastle Jets are in disarray, with the Hunter Sports Group seemingly running the franchise into the ground and the Central Coast Mariners are experiencing similar economic issues.

How about ensuring the solidity of the existing franchises before we start adding anymore?

We saw what happened with Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury, which the league has only really recovered from in the shape of the Wanderers.

Let’s get all the current A-League sides to an economically sustainable level. I know many have a ‘dream’ of Australia having a second-tier and therefore promotion and relegation, but I don’t think people understand how far away that day actually is.

Just having 10 A-League teams competing is a task for Football Federation Australia, both economically and logistically, especially when sharing infrastructure and stadiums with other sports.

If we built our own stadiums and academies then great, but it’s been hard enough for A-League clubs to break even, let alone look too far ahead.

That’s not to say that there aren’t realistic options to expand to when the times is right.

I'd be looking towards Canberra and Tasmania as possible expansion targets.

The ACT are crying out for football and whilst it was tried previously with the Canberra Cosmos, recent attendances to significant football matches in the region , such as the FFA Cup and Socceroos highlight the potential.

Locals haven’t really warmed to the GWS GIANTS attempts at embracing the place and the Canberra Raiders aren’t exactly setting the world on fire at the moment and I wouldn’t expect them to return to their glory days anytime soon.

Canberra United has built a solid foundation through the W-League and Canberra Stadium and the AIS facilities provide a solid base to build an A-League club from.

Tasmania has long been a dream of mine. The argument is always that it is not 'commercially viable', but I don’t know how that argument has weight when you have teams in Newcastle and Gosford.

The Apple Isle is crying out for national sport and they have shown their appetite in supporting the AFL games taken to the state in recent times.

No other sport will bite the bullet in the region, and football showed what can be achieved through initiative with the Wanderers.

But expose the game to a new market, rather than diluting one to provide for another.

I’ve regularly attended Sydney FC games, catching the train from the Sutherland Shire into Central Station and making the walk up to the Sydney Football Stadium.


The trains are regularly filled with Sydney FC fans and almost every football person I come across in the area calls themselves a Sky Blue.


There’s talk of bringing the South Coast into the proposed side, but again, we’ve seen the challenges that the Wollongong Wolves faced and the continued economic challenges facing the ‘rebirth’ South Coast Wolves.


The Cronulla Sharks have long been a financial basket case, which hasn’t been helped by recent events. Commercially the region isn’t strong and the Sharks are regularly chasing sponsors, a sign that the area isn’t exactly the gold mine many believe it to be.

Whilst David Gallop hasn’t explicitly come out and said he supports a move to the Sutherland Shire, the media coverage and discussion continues to grow.

I just hope someone from head office actually looks at the bigger picture and doesn’t expect that the success of the Wanderers can be replicated in any market they choose.

As someone who has lived, played and followed football in the area for most of my life, I believe bringing an A-League team to the region would only undo a lot of the positives steps the A-League has made in recent times.

CM Punk to the UFC - 'No we're not being Punked'

No we’re not being 'Punked', Phil Brooks aka CM Punk has signed a deal to fight for the UFC.

The organisation announced the news as part of the UFC 181 broadcast, catching most by surprise.

Punk made an appearance on good friend Colt Cabana’s podcast last week and although he firmly closed the door on a return to the WWE, he didn’t give the indication that this announcement would occur just days later.

Now that the initial shock has dispersed fans are coming out divided over the signing.

It is a strange one, but I’m excited by it and certainly wish Punk well.

Naturally fans are comparing Punk to current WWE Heavyweight Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar entered the Octagon with a fair pedigree behind him, being the NCAA Heavyweight champion and has since said he would have joined the UFC over WWE initially, had the UFC been as prominent as it is today way back when.

‘The Beast’ certainly wasn’t handled with care upon his entry to the UFC, being matched with former champion Frank Mir on debut.

Lesnar was probably used as a ‘sacrificial lamb’ in some respects by UFC President Dana White, at least until he realised that Brock could actually fight and the UFC could make a hell of a lot of money out of it.

Brock Lesnar’s PPV numbers were more than impressive; in fact the two biggest selling UFC Pay-Per-Views of all time had him in the main event.

Just like Lesnar brought over a tonne of wrestling fans, Punk will do the same.

The fact he has 2.1 million followers on Twitter alone, shows his value, coupled with the fact his podcast with Colt Cabana, where he broke his silence over why he left the WWE, virtually broke the internet last week.

Now he’s probably not going to win a UFC title and perhaps not even fight a ‘big name’ fighter, and it may all go horribly wrong.

But I’ll pay my $50 to see it, and frankly that’s all that matters.

There are a lot of questions that need answering.

Can he actually fight? Well that’s to be seen.

He doesn’t come from a fighting background, but there is somewhat of a base.

Punk has been training in Jiu-jitsu for years with Rener Gracie, has a Kempo background and has had an exposure to Muay Thai.

It may be ‘fake’ in WWE, but he certainly has the right idea behind all of his kicks, knees and elbows.

Another question, Can he take a punch?

We all saw what a weakness it was for Lesnar and you just can’t be one dimensional in the UFC. You don’t have to be perfect everywhere, but you’ve got to at least offer something in a few areas, with decent striking, ground game and solid defence.

As someone who stepped into the boxing ring a few years ago, with no prior experience, I have to say I understand the motivation. I’d followed boxing for years, covered the sport as a journalist and hit the pads, but jumping in between the ropes was a dream and it’s something I’d love to do again.

For the record, I wasn’t very good and I technically lost my debut, thanks judges, but I loved it. I found I could take a decent shot, and I took several, but the experience was the ultimate challenge and I’m glad I did it.  

But you just don’t know whether ‘it’ is in you until you do it. You don’t know whether you’ve got the chin until it’s tested and you don’t know whether you’ve got the heart for it, until it’s required.

For taking up the challenge, Punk has my respect and there’s certainly no bigger challenge than the UFC.

The final question, Will his body hold up?

He is 36-years-old and has been riddled with injuries throughout his professional wrestling career. He has significant wear and tear on his body and MMA is a very unforgiving sport.

Only time will answer that one.

The organisation has been criticised in some parts and classed as ‘selling out’ for signing the former professional wrestler, but if the UFC hadn’t signed Punk, someone else would have, most likely their rival promotion Bellator.

Why give your rival an opportunity, that’s guaranteed to make money and bring new eyes on your product?

UFC president Dana White has already said that Punk will be fighting guys of similar experience, those with perhaps a couple of fights or less. This in itself is new to the UFC, with most fighters building their resume in other lesser known promotions before being given an opportunity by the premier mixed martial arts promotion.

If White wanted to make an example out of Punk or wanted him to ‘earn’ his opportunity, he would have made him go through the Ultimate Fighter, as he made ‘Internet Sensation’ Kimbo Slice.

The fact he hasn’t, gives you an indication of the level of opponent Punk will be afforded. White is a smart business man. He knows the box office draw that Punk will be, why set him up to fail on the first outing, when you have a multiple fight contract that will make both parties a lot of money.

Punk now has six months to train and learn as much as he can, although there’s only so much you can learn in that time, as he looks at a June 2015 debut.  

Whatever comes to pass, I’m looking forward to watching it unfold and there will be millions of other fight fans along for the ride with me. 

Follow Adam on Twitter here. 

Soa ‘The Hulk’ Palelei hungry to fight on

HAVING a change of opponent just three weeks from fight night causes chaos for most fighters, given they've spent months scouting their opposition, tailoring training to work on a specific fight plan.

But Newcastle-born Soa "The Hulk" Palelei is so focused he's only concerned with the things in his control, and given the shape he's in, whoever steps into the UFC Octagon at Allphones Arena in Sydney will be hard pressed to stop him.

Originally scheduled to fight tough Daniel Omielanczuk from Poland, he'll now face American Walt Harris at UFC Fight Night 55.

Speaking to Palelei from Thailand, where he's preparing, you can tell he's all business.

"I'm here to train and focus on training. All you do here is wake up, train, go home, sleep, eat, wake up, train . . . so there's no distraction."

The 36-year-old, who was raised in Mayfield, is training at the Thai arm of the famed A.K.A. - home to current UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and light-heavyweight title contender Daniel Cormier - and "The Hulk" is in career-best shape.

Today, November 8, he meets a man who he knows will be desperate.

Harris was cut from the UFC after tasting consecutive defeats to Jared Rosholt and Nikita Krylov. But an injury to Omielanczuk saw Harris granted a reprieve - something Palelei knows a thing or two about.

Palelei had his first taste of the UFC in 2007 when he arrived in the promotion with much fanfare before suffering a disappointing third-round TKO defeat to Eddie Sanchez.


The loss saw the UFC send Palelei packing at a time when the Australian was going through a turbulent period of his life.

But it was a loss that changed everything.

"A lot of things happened in 2007, just with family and things like that," he said. "After that fight, I went back to Perth and sat on the couch for a couple of years and I woke up one day and thought, I don't want to be 50 years old and thinking to myself, 'I should have given it another shot'.

"That's when I started pushing and training hard, and here I am."

The long climb back to the UFC began, with the fighter splitting his time between several local promotions, before 10 wins in 11 fights saw Palelei given his chance at redemption.

His second stint in the promotion began well, with a TKO victory over Nikita Krylov, a man who has previously vanquished his UFC Fight Night 55 opponent Harris.

He followed that win with a first-round demolition of Pat Barry, repeating the dose in his next bout with Ruan Potts.

But in June this year, the plan came unstuck. Jared Rosholt brought Palelei's climb up the rankings to a halt with a unanimous points victory. It ended Palelei's 11-fight win streak.

But it won't derail his dream: "It's not really a setback; you just have to keep going forward. If you lose, you lose. You just have to get back on the horse and that's what I've done.

"You're going to lose, everyone has their losses, and it's a wake-up call. After that fight it made me not want to lose again and that's why I'm in Thailand. A lot of my camps were done in Australia but I've changed everything now and made the move over to Thailand and we'll see what happens on November 8."

For now, Palelei's aim is to continue to climb the UFC heavyweight rankings to his MMA dreams, with defeats ensuring his UFC contract hangs in the balance.

"I want to make the top 10. I want to get the gold strap, but I want to keep pushing and keep improving and I'm excited for this fight, especially being in Sydney."

*Article originally appeared in the Newcastle Herald

Broc Parkes living the dream in MotoGP

TWELVE months ago Broc Parkes was looking at having to find a real job, after being forced back to Australia without a ride, yet now he finds himself in the premier class of motorcycle racing, MotoGP, living out his childhood dream.


It’s been a wild ride from the motocross tracks of the Hunter to the glitz and glamour of MotoGP, and it certainly hasn’t been easy for the Cessnock product.

He’s spent 13 years in Europe, bouncing from contract to contract, bike to bike, hoping to keep the dream alive.

Parkes was forced back to Australia in 2013 after failing to find a ride that would finance staying in Europe. He came back to the Hunter for Christmas with no offers, and faced the real prospect of giving the sport away.

His career was on the ropes after he had been so long a contender in the World Superbike and World Supersport championships.

Eventually, Yamaha offered him a spot in the factory team for the Australian FX Superbike Championships.

By season’s end Parkes would hold that trophy aloft .


That success brought further opportunities in the World Endurance championship and a wildcard into a World Superbikes race, which helped put Parkes back on the map and firmly in the shop window.


Then he received the call he never expected.

It came from friend and current team owner Paul Bird, offering Parkes a ride in MotoGP for season 2014, helping fulfil a childhood dream in the most unlikely circumstances and capping off a crazy year for the 32-year-old.

“Last year I was in the mind of maybe never having another ride again. A lot of things went through my mind during that time, because I was home for so long with nothing, and there wasn’t really anything on offer. There were times when I was thinking that maybe I’d have to go back to a normal job in Australia.

“When I got the call-up from Paul Bird it was a really big surprise. He’s a friend of mine, I’ve ridden for him before and he believes in me as a rider, and luckily enough he took me on.’’

But things haven’t necessarily become any easier for Parkes, despite making the jump to the premier class.




Parkes’s team, Paul Bird Motorsport, is the smallest in the field and the only one without factory support. When he signed with the team, they were meant to be riding factory supported Aprilia bikes, only for those plans to quickly fade. Instead, the team’s bikes are built in-house at Paul Bird with Aprilia engines.

It’s part of the reason that the team won’t be returning to the MotoGP field next season. Simply fielding an entry in the class costs upwards of €8-10million, money that is not easy to find.

Parkes’s first season in the top class has been a steep learning curve. He’s had to learn new tracks, a new bike and learn how to ride on the new Bridgestone tyres, something that takes most riders in the field 12 months to master.

The limited financing and lack of factory support also ensures challenges in developing the bike. Parkes’s team have struggled early on race weekends, with the rider regularly qualifying at the back of the field, but showing improvement in races.

“Because we only had the bike for a year, it wasn’t developed at all. This year every track we go to, we are always around two seconds faster than last year on that bike.

“All the other teams roll up to the track with a base setup and they don’t really go that much faster from the first session to the race, whilst we’re making up something like 1-1.5 seconds every time we go out on track. We’re a lot smaller than every other team, so it takes a little bit longer to catch up.”

But in true fashion, Parkes continues to punch above his weight. At the time of writing he sits in 20th place in the Championship on seven points and has the distinction of scoring a World Championship point in his first MotoGP race.

The team scored just three points for all of the 2013 season between two riders.

Many see the glitz and glamour that exists on the MotoGP circuit and assume Parkes would be riding all the way to the bank, but that is not the case. While Valentino Rossi earns a salary of $17million a season, the money drops away significantly at the back of the field, but the financial side of things doesn’t faze Parkes. “I’m happy to just be in MotoGP and maybe have the opportunity to have something for next year. It’s been a lifelong dream for me and, money-wise, for sure it’s not big money. I just want to be here and I’m lucky enough to have some personal sponsors in Newcastle, such as SRO Group, that have got behind me. They understand racing and it’s really nice to have their support.”




The financial game plays an important part in helping riders secure positions in teams, and it makes life difficult for those like Parkes, who don’t have a lot of money behind them.

“That’s how it is, for Australians it’s quite difficult to have a lot of money behind us, because Australia is not really as big into motorcycle racing as compared to Spain or Italy.

‘‘Dorna, who own MotoGP, are Spanish, so they push their riders hard and a lot of guys come in with a lot of money behind them, and it doesn’t matter who you are, they’re going to take the money over talent, as they then have the money to run the season.”

With the dream of MotoGP ticked off the bucket list this season, Parkes will complete another when he represents his country at Phillip Island when the circus comes to town for the Australian MotoGP from October 17-19.

“I can’t wait for that; I’m looking forward to it. I know it’s going to be difficult because I’m used to going to the Island and going for the win. I don’t want to disappoint, I want to go there and do the best I can. It’s nice to have all of Australia behind me, and if we score points it’s a big thing.

“Hopefully we can be on the pace. I know the track really well and had good results there in the past. It’s just a question of whether the bike is going to work there for us, and hopefully make everyone happy and they can get behind me for next year.” Again without a ride for 2015, Parkes’s future is uncertain. But unlike previously, there are opportunities. He’s in discussions with Yamaha about a testing role for next season and offers are continuing.

“At the moment I thought I’d have maybe one more year in MotoGP. If I can’t be in MotoGP, I’d like to be in World Superbikes. If I can’t be in World Superbikes, I’d like to go to the British Superbikes, which is a good championship and the biggest domestic championship in the world. Paul Bird’s offered me a ride there next year, which is really nice; it gives me a fall-back plan.”

But regardless of what happens in the future, Parkes is just happy living out his childhood dream that was forged in the Hunter and fuelled by 13 years of hard work and determination.

“It’s a dream of mine to be in MotoGP and to be here this year and do what we’ve done I’m pretty happy with it.

‘‘My other dream is to be a world champion. That could happen, but time is ticking, I’ll keep trying my best and see what happens. I’ve been pretty happy with what I’ve got out of my career”.

*Article originally appeared in the Newcastle Herald 

What's really wrong with Manchester United

Everyone who’s everyone is having their say on the issues that Manchester United are currently facing, so here’s my view.

Most pundits are pointing to the back three/four as the problem area, but I would argue the defensive frailties are simply a by product of what’s happening further up the pitch, in midfield.

A glaring issue overnight against Leicester was United continually getting overrun in midfield, due to the side lacking a strong presence in the centre of the park.

Van Gaal’s line-up overnight featured Falcao and Van Persie playing as a front pair, with Rooney in behind as a No.10. His midfield was then Di Maria on the left, Herrera right and Blind central, in a holding role.

This is the problem.

We saw just how lethal United can be when they attack, but Van Gaal will soon learn that won’t win him the Premier League.

Jose Mourinho knows best, the Premier League is about picking up points; it’s a marathon where every game counts.

The United side is too heavily weighted towards attack.

Against Leicester they couldn’t hold the middle and consequently they were overrun and their defence was stretched, from there, any decent side will simply isolate the defenders and pick you off, which the Foxes did, multiple times.

It works both ways too. Not only is having someone solid in a central role important in defense, but also going forward.

Cambiasso showed that against United. He was the focal point in midfield where everything went through. As soon as the ball turned over, the ball was into the Argentinian and away Leicester went. 

Daley Blind can play the holding role, but he is certainly not as much of a presence as someone like Nemanja Matic or Yaya Toure.

Blind is versatile and it’s one position he can cover, but during the World Cup he wasn’t even playing there for Holland. You also have to remember he’s new to the Premier League and it’s a significant step up from the Dutch Eredivisie, in terms of quality, pace and intensity.

I am a huge fan of Matic and the role he plays. 

He’s a big strong body and he has great distribution, which helps with the fundamental rule of football, win the ball first, then you can use it.

The midfield battle is often overlooked in football and its growing increasingly important, given managers tendency now to play with a single striker and pack the central areas.

United simply haven’t got the balance right.

Rooney does offer something as a No.10, but he’s a striker and we all know how much they like tracking back. He will work for you, but his setting is firmly switched to ‘goals’, as is the same for Falcao and Van Persie.

Di Maria can play in the front line, and he wasn’t exactly known for his love of defensive work at Real Madrid, and Herrera is also an attacking minded midfielder.

Blind can’t do the job alone.

Question is, who do they turn to?

Carrick and Fletcher are options, perhaps even Phil Jones, but they still don’t offer you a strong physical presence that’s going to hold the centre of the park, win you the ball and distribute.

Fellaini could be an option in that role given his size, but Van Gaal has already given an indication that he’s not entirely a fan of the Belgian and we already know what United fans think.

If United can somehow find a solution and plug the gap until January, then they have the attacking firepower to win plenty of games. 

Come the window, they may take another look at Arturo Vidal, who is exactly the type of player they need. If I was shopping for someone, I’d go for Daniele De Rossi personally, but I don’t know how keen Roma would be to sell, nor De Rossi to leave. Realistically Vidal is probably the best bet. 

Van Gaal has forced himself into playing Rooney as his No.10, given the plethora of options he has with Van Persie, Falcao and the England captain in the mix, but playing with a No.10 is a luxury.

Often the No.10 has cover placed in behind, sometimes with two screeners which provide protection, or the attacking midfielder sitting at the top of a diamond.

Sides that use it best are those that command the midfield, dictating the game and enjoying the bulk of possession. At the moment that’s not United.

The first lesson Van Gaal and United must learn is this.  

At the end of the day, it’s not how many goals you score, its how many points are next to your name come the end of May.  

Mourinho is often criticised for his ‘negative’ mindset, which is tailored with the above philosophy in mind, but you only have to look at The Special One’s trophy cabinet to see that it works. 

Finding my voice - The long road to superstardom

How was your Friday?  I assume your day was a little different to mine.

My working day started at 7am at the Newcastle Herald offices. I’ve come in to work a couple of hours early to ensure the boss has no issues with me skipping out a little prematurely in the afternoon.

I’m off to Sydney to call the Australian Lightweight Title fight between Robert Toomey and George ‘ Ferocious’ Kambosos at Club Punchbowl later that evening.

I’m meant to arrive at 6pm, which means I have to be out on the road by at least 3:30pm.

The early mark means I don’t take a lunchbreak, but it helps me get on the road on time and off on my journey.

I begin my journey to Club Punchbowl, a route I’ve taken previously, which is a 2.5 hour drive, on a good day.

Today is not a good day.

It’s wet, conditions are tricky and I need everything to fall nicely into place.

Radio reports tell me that there’s a breakdown ahead, great! There’s a slight delay, but I get off the highway relatively on track and I’m now facing the dreaded Pennant Hills Rd.

It’s a slog and I’ve hit it smack bang on 5pm, but fortunately it’s not too bad and I’m still on target.

Another delay at Lidcombe almost brings me unstuck, but I pull into Rickard Rd McDonald’s at Bankstown with minutes to spare.

I swallow the only thing I’ll have eaten since a 6.30am Banana in the five minute drive to Club Punchbowl and walk through the doors of the event at 6.05pm.

Job done. Everything has gone to plan.

Or has it.

The man behind the live stream I’m working on can’t get the audio equipment to work.

“Do you know how to work this stuff? I’m not used to this equipment,” he tells me.

 I’ve setup similar operations during my time calling sport on community radio, so I try my best to help. I turn on the power switch ( YES!) and fiddle around with the different buttons and switches, testing, hypothesising, testing again.

After half an hour of fiddling, I’m handed an instruction book.

“See if this helps” the man says.

It didn’t.

Long story short, the commentary didn’t happen.

The man in charge ended the search for microphone volume with this line.

“I’m more interested in getting these cameras right, I don’t really care about the commentary.”

Awesome.

So I bite my tongue, pickup my notebook, containing the research I’d spent three nights working on, find a seat at ringside and enjoy the event.

The promoter comes over, apologises and hands me $100 for my trouble. It’s quite a bit less than what I was meant to make, but I appreciate the gesture.

He’s a friend and he couldn’t be more apologetic. It’s not his fault.  

The funny thing is, it’s not the worst story I have to tell.

That would be the time I called a National Youth League match in Gosford, between the Central Coast Mariners and the Perth Glory.

I arrived in the commentary box to find that the council had ripped out all the phone lines during the week, meaning we couldn’t connect our audio gear as required to get the broadcast back to 6RPH in Perth.

So, I called the game with my IPhone on speaker, with a co-commentator sitting alongside. 

There are plenty of other stories too, but it’s all apart of the crazy ride I started on when I began life in the media as an 18-year-old.

So far it’s taken me to Koori Radio, 2SSRFM, Network Ten, Greater Western Sydney GIANTS, Gold Coast Titans, Newcastle Herald and hundreds of commentary gigs across the country.

It’s cost me friends, I’ve missed people’s weddings, and it’s cost me relationships.

Apparently calling a football match for free on a Saturday night instead of spending time with your girlfriend is not on. 

I’ve stalked, harassed and networked with all the right people and I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the line – “Keep getting experience”

If only they knew.  

There’s times when I think of packing it in, but then I realise that everything I’ve put in over the last nine years would be for nothing.

I’m starting to book commentary gigs with more regularity and all the right people know I exist, well at least I hope they do.

I’ve peppered their emails and post boxes that often over the last few years; they should know I’m around.

 I occasionally get allowed into commentary boxes at different events and get the chance to see the ‘pro’s’ do their work.

I sit quietly at the back, scribble some notes and generally stay out of the way.

It sure looks easy.

Maybe it’s because of the multiple screens they have to watch the game on, or the stats man sitting beside them, or the producer in their ear, telling them about the substitution that’s about to happen.

Or it could be because they’re just very good!

There are definitely no technical problems, no incorrect team sheets, no tinted glass, no IPhones, no poor lighting, no open air boxes. There’s catering, correct payment, no lost invoices and they don’t have to transport or setup the gear.  

I pull into the service station on my way back to Newcastle and refill the tank that had been drained by the journey down.

I look at the fuel pump, it reads $87.03.

I pull out the $100 I’ve been handed hours earlier and pay the cashier.

He hands me back $12.80 in change.

“All that for that” I say to myself.

I jump back in the car and restart the journey home, with work starting again in a couple of hour’s time.

I slump back into my desk and clock on for another day and begin typing what you’ve just been reading.

“How was the boxing last night?” a colleague asks.

“Priceless” I reply.

Priceless, indeed.

Daniel Geale gambles big with Golovkin fight

*Article originally appeared in the Newcastle Herald on July 25, 2014



Sunday’s World title fight between Daniel Geale and Gennady Golovkin should really be scheduled for Las Vegas rather than New York, given the gamble the Australian is taking.

The Golovkin fight is high in risk for Geale, yet high in reward.

A fight with Golovkin was always the final part of Geale’s master plan; however events have conspired to grant him the opportunity sooner than expected.

The plan hit a massive speed bump in August last year, when Darren Barker climbed off the canvas to outwork Geale and steal his world title via a split decision. It wasn’t meant to be that way, in what was Geale’s American debut. The fight was Geale’s showcase to the American public and the Barker fight was meant to be a test, but end in a Geale victory all the same.

But Geale has made a habit of doing things the hard way in his career.

He won two world title fights against Sebastian Sylvester and Felix Sturm in their own backyards in Germany, a place many fighters refuse to go, and he’ll have to shock the world again to claim the IBO and WBA Middleweight titles on Sunday.

Geale could have faced Sam Soliman for his newly won world title or scheduled a rubber match with Anthony Mundine , making good money facing either and having a far easier night.

But instead Geale faces the most devastating boxer in the world in Golovkin.

Golovkin is that devastating he has a knockout percentage of 89.66% and is undefeated in 29 professional fights. His last sixteen fights have ended by knockout and the last time one of his fights went the distance was in 2008.

Geale’s biggest asset - his work rate and his non-stop pressure and volume punching - won him his two world title fights over Sturm and Sylvester in Germany. Golovkin has never gone the full twelve rounds in any of his 29 professional fights. Geale has fought just three fights more than Golovkin in their respective careers, yet Golovkin has boxed 113 rounds less than Geale.

 If Geale can take the fight to the final minutes, his work rate and will to win may just prove the difference.As scary as those statistics are, it in fact, could be the Achilles heel for Geale to exploit, if indeed one exists.

Golovkin has devastating power and as much as Geale needs to be cautious coming forward, he still needs to fight in his natural style and trust his instincts. Geale’s extensive amateur experience ensures he is good technically and he has a solid defence, backed up by the fact he has never been knocked out in his 32 fight career.

Geale must drag Golovkin into the deep water and try and drown him. Geale does not have the knockout power to stop Golovkin, but he can outbox him and out work him, and the only way he’s winning on Sunday is if he goes the distance.

Many boxing writers in the US aren’t giving Geale much hope, but as good as Golovkin is, he fails to have a significant scalp on his resume and I would argue that Geale is the best credentialed fighter he has fought.

Geale has wins over world champions Roman Karmazin, Anthony Mundine, Felix Sturm and Sebastian Sylvester, which ensures he won’t be overawed.

Golovkin boats wins over Matthew Macklin and Osumanu Adama, who have both had history with Geale. Adama fell to the Tasmanian back in 2012 in a twelve round decision, while Geale was scheduled to fight Macklin earlier this year before injury in the main event on the card saw broadcaster HBO cancel.

That fight was meant to be a reported ‘box-off’ with the winner moving onto Golovkin, but the cancellation has in fact worked in favour of the Australian. Geale is seen as the bigger box office draw and therefore he landed the opportunity.

Geale will be well remunerated for his efforts in the ring, with the fight going worldwide on pay-per-view; he’ll also have the chance to restart his master plan with multiple world titles at stake.

But lose on Sunday and who knows where Geale’s career will go.

A crushing defeat will see Geale once again rejoin the pack and after a long climb to the top, at 33, does he have it in him to do it all again?

It’s refreshing after all these years of seeing Anthony Mundine and Danny Green cherry pick opponents to have a fighter simply line up the best and attempt to knock them down.

Up until now, he’s beaten them all.

Do it on Sunday and he may just become our best ever.*Geale-Golovkin is on Main Event Pay-Per-View from 11am Sunday


TALE OF THE TAPE


Daniel Geale – 32W-2L Gennady Golovkin – 29W-0L


Alias – The Real Deal Alias – GGG


Height – 5’10 Height – 5’10 ½


Reach – 180cm Reach – 179cm


Knockout Percentage – 50% Knockout Percentage – 89.66%


Rounds Boxed – 237 Rounds Boxed - 124