Received
- Details
- Written by Grant Broadcasters
- Category: Received
- Hits: 83
Sydney "buggered" everything up in their nightmare AFL grand final, coach John Longmire says.
The Swans were belted by 81 points by Geelong, with Longmire saying his club got nothing right - from selection to mindset to performance.
Longmire admitted picking veteran forward Sam Reid was a mistake and said his players were mentally and physically overawed in a defeat that will be hard to digest.
Sydney punted - and lost - on Reid's fitness, with the 30-year-old battling a groin injury suffered in the preliminary final.
The key forward was substituted out of the grand final early in the third term after hobbling off late in the second quarter after having just four handballs.
"We were obviously confident, that is why we picked him," Longmire said.
"But we made a mistake."
On-field blunders followed with Longmire lamenting Sydney's lame display from go to whoa.
"From the first bounce, the game looked as foreign as what we have played it this year," he said.
"There was no element that we got right.
"No aspect of the game looked like the way we wanted to play it ... from the selection of Sam to the way the game looked, we just didn't get it right."
Asked if his team was overwhelmed by the occasion, Longmire replied, "That is what it looked like".
"We just didn't have our heads in the game from the very start.
"When they were getting defensive stoppage goals in the first quarter that we had planned for and done well before - it was one of our great strengths and they were able to do it.
"We weren't able to think clearly or perform at that level that we should have.
"They had 11 (scoring) shots to one in the first quarter which wasn't a good start.
"And some of the things we started with, you look for our structural stuff, our intent in scramble, our shape - normally we have got a very distinct way and we will look back on this and reflect and it won't look anything like it."
Longmire said the Swans had let down themselves and their supporters.
"Everyone wants a black and white answer, it was this or it was that," he said.
"There's never one thing. It's always just a number of different things and we will look at the reasons why.
"But I am confident that our playing group, they're a really good group and we have had some wonderful achievements and taken some real steps forward as a footy team, most of our players would have improved this year.
"We have just buggered it up today."
© AAP 2022
- Details
- Written by Grant Broadcasters
- Category: Received
- Hits: 87
A five-year-old boy has died after becoming trapped in a car that was swept away by floodwaters in central western NSW.
Two vehicles, including a Toyota Hilux, became trapped in floodwaters at Tullamore, northwest of Parkes, on Friday night.
Emergency services used a boat to rescue four people from the Hilux who were found clinging to trees, including a 37-year-old man, a 28-year-old woman, and a young boy and girl.
However, the five-year-old boy was still trapped in the car when it was swept away.
NSW Police officers started searching on Saturday for the Hilux and the boy's body was found by police divers at about 3.20 pm in the submerged car.
His family was taken to Dubbo Base Hospital for observation. The occupants of the second vehicle weren't injured.
The Hilux has since been retrieved and police are investigating ahead of a report being prepared for the coroner.
Chief Inspector David Maher said the family was distraught, in comments reported by the ABC.
He said the parents had been able to remove the car restraints from the younger children and pull them out, but weren't able to free the older boy.
Tullamore has been hit by heavy rainfall in recent days.
A low-pressure system that brought torrential rain and flooded dozens of river systems in inland NSW and the state's north in the latter part of the week was moving offshore on Saturday.
Weather easing off in the state's northeast was welcome news for those communities, however there was an ongoing flood risk for areas of western NSW, and west of the Great Dividing Range, the State Emergency Service said.
Major flooding was also happening on Saturday in the Bogan, Macquarie, Gwydir, and Lachlan catchments, as well as the Narran and Macintyre Rivers.
Bureau of Meteorology forecasters were turning their attention to Tuesday and Wednesday, when more rain was anticipated. Northern and inland areas were expected to be spared the worst of it.
"People in the catchments a little bit further south (and in) central areas like the Bogan and lower Lachlan catchments ... could get some considerable rain," senior meteorologist Jake Phillips said.
In the town of Gunnedah, home to 9000 people, the Namoi River peaked at the major flood level of 8.24 metres on Saturday morning.
The water was progressively going down, SES spokesman Greg Nash said.
"We ask people that are currently downstream of places like Gunnedah on the Namoi River ... to keep advised of information," he said.
"It's anticipated that water will move downstream slowly and may isolate some areas."
At Wee Waa, just 120km northwest, major levels of flooding would persist for at least a week, Mr Nash said.
The cotton town is protected by an 8km levee but Narrabri Shire mayor Ron Campbell told AAP the rainfall had destroyed local roads.
"If we get substantial rain across the summer, we could have a record flood for sure - probably something not seen since the 1970s," Mr Campbell said.
The SES has additional resources in Wee Waa and was starting to see resupply requests, including for the local pharmacy, Mr Nash said.
The town of Warren, about 250km southwest of Wee Waa, will also experience major flooding for at least a week, he said.
A severe thunderstorm warning was cancelled on Saturday afternoon for the mid north coast, while flooding was also no longer expected along the Brunswick, Richmond, Coffs Coast, Hastings, Camden Haven, Manning, Gloucester, and Hunter Rivers.
However, flood warnings were still in place for several other catchments in the Northern Rivers, mid north coast, and inland NSW.
The SES is warning people confronted by flooded or damaged roads to stop and turn around.
© AAP 2022
- Details
- Written by Grant Broadcasters
- Category: Received
- Hits: 97
The AFL grand final is back home.
After two years affected by COVID-19, forcing the AFL's biggest game of the year to move to Brisbane and Perth, the MCG was buzzing again.
One of the most compelling AFL seasons in memory produced a fizzer of a conclusion, as Geelong produced a near-perfect performance to smash the disappointing Sydney Swans and claim their fourth premiership since 2007.
But it hardly mattered with the fear, isolation and pain of the pandemic years becoming a distant memory as Melbourne truly came alive to host its first grand final since the 2019 decider between Richmond and GWS.
There were AFL games played behind closed doors during 2020 and 2021 but the MCG was at 100 per cent capacity on Saturday as 100,024 fans packed into the famous ground.
Everything about the week in Victoria felt like it did before COVID-19 changed the world in March, 2020.
UK pop star Robbie Williams delivered one of the best pre-game shows in AFL grand final history, bringing everything outgoing league boss Gillon McLachlan hoped for, and more.
If the AFL's entertainment low point is Meatloaf in 2011, Williams was right at the top end with a blistering set of his biggest hits and Delta Goodrem filling in for fellow Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue to sing 'Kids'.
Williams knew his audience perfectly, giving a tribute to Shane Warne in the first grand final since the MCG's biggest stand was named in honour of the late Australian cricket legend.
The Cats grabbed a 35-point quarter-time lead - the biggest in a grand final since 1989 - to set themselves up glory.
Star veteran forward Tom Hawkins set the tone by booting the first two goals, both snaps after grabbing the ball at ruck contests.
Things went from bad to worse on a nightmare day for the Swans.
Known for their fighting spirit, Sydney could show little of it in their first grand final since 2016.
Even a Sydney fan had enough midway through the third quarter as a red and white scarf dropped down from the top stand past the media box.
Geelong were led impeccably, on and off the field, by veteran skipper Joel Selwood, who broke Michael Tuck's record for most finals played in VFL/AFL history.
The 34-year-old is yet to make a call about if he plays on in 2022, but it would be fitting if he signs off with a premiership in his final game after winning one in his rookie season 15 years ago.
A sometimes polarising figure for opposition supporters, even Geelong haters would have been won over by Selwood's pre-game gesture.
Selwood ran through the Cats' banner with Levi Ablett, son of Cats legend Gary Ablett Jnr, in emotional pre-game scenes.
Ablett, Selwood's premiership teammate in 2009 and 2011, retired after Geelong's 2020 grand final loss but wasn't able to carry his son, who has a rare degenerative disease, on to the field.
Not everything went perfectly for the AFL, with Friday's grand final parade on the Yarra River copping its fair share of criticism.
Even Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was up for joking about it at the return of North Melbourne's famous grand final breakfast.
"Having watched the parade on the Yarra yesterday, to quote a former prime minister, we do need to stop the boats," Albanese quipped.
© AAP 2022
- Details
- Written by Grant Broadcasters
- Category: Received
- Hits: 81
Optus customers whose passport or driver's licence numbers were stolen in a massive data breach are being contacted first, amid warnings scammers will try to profit from the cyber attack.
The telco is contacting customers about the breach and prioritising those whose identification documents may have been compromised.
These customers will be notified by Saturday, while those who aren't affected will be last on the list to be contacted.
Optus also warned its text messages or emails to customers won't carry internet links, so if anyone sees a link they could be being set up for a scam.
"Please do not click on any links," Optus said in a statement on Saturday.
The Australian Federal Police is also looking into reports that stolen customer data and identification numbers could be for sale through a number of forums, including the dark web.
"The AFP is using specialist capability to monitor the dark web and other technologies, and will not hesitate to take action against those who are breaking the law," a spokesperson said.
Anyone who buys stolen credentials faces up to 10 years in prison.
Optus also warned its announcement of the cyber attack on Thursday could trigger a rush of scams by criminals, including phishing calls, emails and text messages.
"As the cyber attack is now under investigation by the Australian Federal Police, Optus cannot comment on certain aspects of the incident," it said.
"Given the investigation, Optus will not comment on the legitimacy of customer data claimed to be held by third parties and urges all customers to exercise caution in their online transactions and dealings."
No passwords or financial details were compromised in the attack, which Optus vice president Andrew Sheridan described on Friday as "very sophisticated".
Some 9.8 million customers were impacted but human error was not to blame for the breach, he said.
Optus, which began contacting millions of customers on Friday, has apologised for the breach.
The telco said getting information out through news channels was the "quickest and most effective way" to alert customers and communicate the severity of the situation.
© AAP 2022
Page 672 of 1496