Roar humiliate Ange's Victory

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

Easy does it ... the Roar's big-guns fired at Suncorp Stadium. Source: Jono Searle / News Limited

Stepping out of Ange Postecoglou's shadow was always going to be hard for Brisbane Roar.

But they put their best foot forward with a record 5-0 second-round win over Postecoglou's Melbourne Victory at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

There was no love lost ahead of the long-awaited clash between Postecoglou and the team that he guided to back-to-back A-League championships.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Adelaide	2	2	0	0	3	6
2	Brisbane	2	1	0	1	4	3
3	Wellington	1	1	0	0	2	3
4	Heart	1	1	0	0	1	3
5	Perth	1	1	0	0	1	3
6	Newcastle	2	1	0	1	-1	3
7	Central Coast	1	0	1	0	0	1
8	Western Sydney	2	0	1	1	-1	1
9	Sydney	2	0	0	2	-3	0
10	Victory	2	0	0	2	-6	0

Especially after he'd taken exception to the Roar's very public desire to send home their former mentor a loser.

And Brisbane danger man Thomas Broich's claim that former assistant and now Roar coach Rado Vidosic was the "brains" of their past championships rather than Postecoglou didn't go down well either.

However, even Postecoglou could not have argued with the result on Saturday night as the Victory suffered a 5-0 loss for the first time in the glamour club's history as the Roar looked to make a point in front of 17,364 fans.

---

Re-live the action with our A-League Match Centre, featuring video highlights and all the key stats.

---

Brisbane brought the crowd to their feet when they opened the scoring when German maestro Broich capitalised on a clever Massimo Murdocca throw-in in the 22nd minute to find the back of the net.

And within a minute big Erik Paartalu made it 2-0 when his header sealed a Broich corner.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

The Victory were on the back foot in the second half when Besart Berisha finished off an end of the field effort sparked by a clever clearing kick by Roar keeper Michael Theo in the 64th minute.

Mitch Nichols scored Brisbane's fourth when he fed off some good work from Ivan Franjic, and the Roar sealed the record win over the Victory when Albanian international Berisha found the back of the net in stoppage time.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

The Victory were always going to be vulnerable on Saturday without the likes of key players Archie Thompson, Mark Milligan (Socceroos) and Marco Rojas (All Whites) due to international duty.

Especially after their 2-1 last round loss to arch rivals Heart.

But it seems nothing prepared Postecoglou's side for the onslaught ahead at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.

"I knew it was a challenge coming up here," Postecoglou said.

"But we are trying to play a style of game. It is going to take some time to come to grips with it, the players are still in a learning process - the players will get there."

Postecoglou cut short reporters when they tried to bring up his Roar background.

"It's not my team. It never has been. To me it's just another game," he said when his former side was inevitably brought up.

"I am coaching the Victory club. My responsibility lies solely with getting this club back to where it belongs and start performing like our supporters think they deserve - that's our focus.

"I have spoken about the Roar. I don't care any more. They had their choice about the way they approached the week - it's a free world.

"They are a great side and congratulations to them. This club has nothing to do with me any more."

23.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kangaroos grind out tough win

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

Kangaroos ... celebrate their win over the Kiwis in the Townsville Test. Source: Renee McKay / AAP

His accent may say otherwise, but Australia front-rower James Tamou says he feels more comfortable than ever in a Kangaroos jumper after being named players' player by his teammates in Saturday's 18-10 win over his native New Zealand.

3 Tries 2
Cameron Smith 23'	Issac Luke 7'
James Tamou 34'	Gerard Beale 38'
Darius Boyd 71'
2 Conversions 1
Johnathan Thurston 36'	Krisnan Inu 8'
Johnathan Thurston 73'
1 Penalties 0
Johnathan Thurston 62'

Tamou was outstanding against the Kiwis in a high-quality Test at Townsville's Dairy Farmers Stadium, scoring a try in the first half, with a sidestep worthy of a halfback.

His partner in crime and North Queensland teammate Matt Scott was named man of the match, clocking up 180 metres with the pair laying the platform for a hard-fought victory against an impressive Kiwi side.

"The two Cowboys props played very well and I was very happy with them," Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens said.

Tamou caused huge uproar across the Tasman when he elected to play for Australia earlier this season, and the 23-year-old revealed he felt much more comfortable second time around across being hounded by the media in New Zealand following his controversial decision.

"There was too much on my mind last time on my debut, but this time I was able to relax and play some good footy," Tamou said.

"It's been a whirlwind of a year. I am looking forward to a rest. But this has been beyond anything I could have hope for."

Kiwi coach Stephen Kearney and Benji Marshall were keen to draw a line underneath the Tamou saga after the game, and the giant front-rower said there was no sledging on the field.

He even briefly donned a black jersey after the game when he swapped shirts with life-long friend Ben Matulino.

"Benny is a good friend, we grew up together and he wanted to swap jerseys and just out of respect for him I swapped, and then put it on," Tamou said.

"Everyone was cool. I just didn't want to show off my Mad Monday guts, which is why I put it on. But the Aussie one fits better."

---

Re-live the game as it happened by clicking on our live blog at the bottom of the page!

---

Tamou's reaction to scoring a try was one of exuberance and he admitted he didn't quite know what to do when he crossed the line, in front of a capacity crowd at his home ground.

"I felt in that situation maybe I should run down to the other end of the ground. I didn't know what to do, I don't score many," he said.

"But it's quite overwhelming. To win the award from my peers in the team is very special. But I am looking forward to the season being over now for a rest."

Marshall rolled his eyes when asked about Tamou's contribution but said the performance of Sam Kasiano showed there is plenty more top-class Kiwi props.

"We're far past that decision now," Marshall said.

"Big Sammy made his decision to play for us and that's all that matters."

Sheens also paid tribute to skipper Cameron Smith, who scored a try and became only the third man to skipper three successful sides in a single season after leading Melbourne to the NRL premiership and Queensland to a seventh straight State of Origin series.

"He's a fair player .. if I had a club, I would want him to play for me," said Sheens pointedly, with his future at the Wests Tigers to be decided this month.

23.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Re-live the game: Roos v Kiwis

Big clash ... the Kangaroos take on the Kiwis on Saturday night. Source: Mark Evans / News Limited

It was another excellent Test match between rugby league's biggest international rivals Australia and New Zealand.

And if you missed it, you can re-live all the action as it happened, by reading through our live blog at the bottom of the page.

Find out what happened from start to finish, in a game full of twists and turns as the Kangaroos finished the rugby league season on a high with their 18-10 win over the Kiwis at Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville.

Click on the icon below to re-live the game as it happened!

23.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aussie cyclist admits doping

Stepping down ... Matt White has admitted to doping while with US Postal. Source: Matt White / AAP

Matt White, one of the most influential figures in Australian cycling, has confessed to doping during his time at Lance Armstrong's disgraced US Postal team.

White voluntarily stood down from his position as sports director at Orica-GreenEDGE and Cycling Australia men's road co-ordinator on Saturday, delivering a damaging blow to the sport's image in Australia.

The 38-year-old is the first Australian casualty from the US Anti-Doping Agency's damning 1000-page plus report on the US Postal team's doping regime.

The report claimed seven-time Tour de France champion Armstrong's team conducted the "most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping program that sport has ever seen".

The document contained the sworn testimony of 11 of Armstrong's former teammates with disgraced Tour de France winner Floyd Landis stating he had shared testosterone and EPO with White in 2003.

"I am aware my name has been mentioned during talks that USADA has had with former team mates of mine in their investigation regarding doping activities at the US Postal Service team," White said in a statement.

"I am sad to say that I was part of a team where doping formed part of the team's strategy, and I too was involved in that strategy.

"My involvement is something I am not proud of and I sincerely apologise to my fans, media, family and friends who trusted me and also to other athletes in my era that consciously chose not to dope."

The admission is a major embarrassment for Orica-GreenEDGE and Cycling Australia.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

It came only hours after Orica-GreenEDGE's general manager Shayne Bannan said White had the team's full backing.

"We fully support Matthew White and trust his integrity as a sports director with us," Bannan said in a statement.

White, who rode for the US Postal team between 2001 and 2003, said he had not been involved in any doping in his roles at Cycling Australia and Orica-GreenEDGE.

"In my roles with Slipstream Sports, Cycling Australia and now at Orica-GreenEDGE, I have always acted within the ethos of clean sport and I am very proud to have worked with the new generation of clean superstars," he said.

"A lot has changed for the better, cycling is totally different now, and I have seen these changes as an athlete and also in management with my own eyes in the last decade.''

White stopped racing in 2007, his last team being Discovery Channel which was a continuation of the US Postal Service outfit.

He moved into management with Slipstream-Chipotle (now Garmin-Sharp) and said one of the main reasons he stopped racing was the desire to help change the sport with the team's founder Jonathan Vaughters and British rider David Millar.

"I stopped my racing career because I had the opportunity to be part of something that had the potential to actually change cycling," White said.

"The ideas about a clean team that Dave Millar and Jonathan Vaughters spoke to me about back then, were ones that the sport desperately needed."

White said he would not be making any further comment beyond his statement until Cycling Australia and Orica-GreenEDGE had decided on his case.

23.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aussies fire at Gold Coast sevens

Pama Fou ... was a constant threat for Australia on day one. Source: AAP

Amidst the colour and carnival atmosphere of the Gold Coast international rugby sevens tournament, Australia are making a serious bid to win the event.

Australia haven't won a sevens tournament on home soil in a decade but they go into Sunday's finals day in a strong position to end that drought after winning all three of their pool matches on Saturday.

Top spot in Pool B and a quarter-final against Kenya was the prize for a thrilling 15-14 win over defending champions Fiji in the last match of the day.

Jordan Tuapou was the hero for Australia, diving over in the corner late in the second half to seal the stirring three tries to two victory.

Fiji scored in either half through Joji Baleviani Raqamate but a double to Allan Fa'alava'au and Tuapou's brave effort secured Australia's first sevens win over Fiji since May 2011.

"To finally finish it off was a great plus," Tuapou said.

"It was a team effort but obviously in the end I ended up getting the ball just to put it down.

"It's a great confidence boost for us ... it doesn't matter about the first day, it's what you put on the paddock the second day that counts."

Only Luke Morahan's knee injury less than a minute into the tournament dampened the party atmosphere among the 12,558 fans at Robina Stadium dressed in all sorts of fancy-dress outfits.

Morahan limped off the field with medial ligament damage to his knee in Australia's opening match against Tonga, a game the hosts won impressively 31-14 to get their sevens world series campaign off to a good start.

"It's not looking too good, I don't think he'll be back out tomorrow unfortunately," captain Ed Jenkins told reporters.

In fact, the injury is all but certain to end Morahan's hopes of going on the Wallabies end of season tour of Europe, after the Queensland Reds back rushed back from international duty in Argentina to be part of the sevens team.

His teammates didn't seem to miss the flier however, sealing a quarter-final berth with an emphatic 22-0 thrashing of Scotland in their second game in Morahan's absence before their epic win over the Fijians.

Jenkins has labelled South Africa as the competition favourites after they completed a trio of wins in Pool A by upsetting the fancied New Zealand 31-21 in the penultimate match.

South Africa now face France in the quarter-finals with the winner of that match to meet Pool C winners Samoa or Fiji in the semis.

Australia will face either Argentina or their great rivals New Zealand if they overcome Kenya.

---

Watch all the day two action of the Gold Coast sevens LIVE from 11.25pm (EDT) Sunday on Fox Sports 2 and Fox Sports 2HD.

23.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Junior Roos thrash Junior Kiwis

Flyer ... Jack Wighton starred for the Junior Kangaroos. Source: Alan Porritt / AAP

The Junior Kangaroos strolled to a 48-16 win over the Junior Kiwis in the curtain-raiser to Saturday's rugby league Test at Townsville.

New Zealand took the lead through Carlos Tuimavave's early try but Kelly Egan's side hit back through efforts from Edrick Lee, David Klemmer, Jake Stockwell, Cheyse Blair and Jack Wighton, with Wests Tigers halfback Jacob Miller kicking five goals.

Ngataua Hukatai pulled four points back for the Kiwis with a well-taken try, but the hosts led 30-8 at halftime after Penani Manumalealii missed the extras.

The second period saw the Kiwis cut the deficit when David Fastiua raced 90 metres to score after intercepting a Miller pass.

However, any hopes of a stirring comeback from the tourists were dashed following a sustained spell of pressure from Kangaroos that yielded quickfire tries from Wighton, exciting young Melbourne winger Mahe Fonua and Canberra's Lee.

The Kiwis, struggling in the humid conditions, did almost score again through Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, only for the Sydney Roosters winger's try to be chalked off for a double movement.

But their efforts were rewarded with a second for Hukatai.

The Kangaroos had the final word when giant Sydney Roosters centre Tautau Moga brushed aside two tackles to score in the final seconds of the game for his side's ninth try.

That led to a scuffle between both sets of players with Jason Taumalolo and Kane Evans going toe-to-toe.

Miller then missed the conversion to end the game with six goals.

23.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Djoker powers in to final

Djokovic ... wins through to the final of the Shanghai Masters. Source: AAP

Red-hot Novak Djokovic accelerated his push for the year-end No.1 ranking on Saturday, dismissing the challenge of Tomas Berdych in a one-sided semi-final at the ATP's Shanghai Masters.

The Serbian second seed entered the match with an impressive 9-1 lead against the Czech player in head-to-head match-ups and immediately took charge, dominating the contest to win 6-3 6-4.

Yet to drop a set in Shanghai, the Australian Open champion was ruthless, breaking at the first opportunity and repeating the feat as he threatened to run away with the opening set.

But Berdych, 27, bidding to reach the elite ATP World Tour Finals in London, slowed his charge, retrieving one break as the five-time grand slam champion served for the set and making him work to close it out.

A single break in the second set was enough for Djokovic, 25, to progress to a final against either Roger Federer or defending champion Andy Murray.

Djokovic faded towards the end of a stellar 2011 but looks fresh as he hunts down Federer at the top of the rankings, looking to add the Shanghai Masters title to the China Open crown he won last weekend.

Because of his limp end to last season, Djokovic has relatively few points to defend in the rolling 12-month rankings whereas Federer has more to lose after a successful spell towards the end of 2011.

The second semi-final between Federer and defending champion Murray comes after two high-profile duels. The Swiss drew first blood, winning the Wimbledon crown in July but Murray demolished Federer to take Olympic gold before going on to win the US Open.

Federer, 31, who will be world No.1 for a 300th week when the new rankings are issued on Monday, is looking to win a record 22nd Masters title, which would take him one above injured Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

There are four positions remaining in the eight-man field for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals next month, with Berdych currently in sixth spot in the Race to London.

Djokovic, Federer, Murray and Nadal have all qualified for the end-of-season showpiece.

23.51 | 0 komentar | Read More