The Score: Brodie Grundy off-field endeavours rewarded, Olympics break with tradition
He may not have achieved his footy goals in 2020, but Brodie Grundy enjoyed off-field success and Aussie ‘breakers’ hit back at Olympic critics.
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Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy hasn‘t had a lot to cheer about in 2020.
But while his work on the football field didn‘t go according to plan, he did make a significant achievement off it.
On Tuesday Grundy officially graduated from La Trobe University with a health science degree. He came through the university‘s Elite Athlete Program which is tailored to help professional sportsman also achieve success in the academic field.
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DON’T HATE BREAK WITH OLYMPIC TRADITION
Australia‘s top-ranked male and female breakdancers have slammed the “crazy hate” over the sport’s inclusion in the 2024 Olympics.
Breaking, as the sport is officially known, will make its Olympics debut in four years in Paris.
Skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing, which are in next year’s Tokyo Games, will also be part of the 2024 program, but baseball and softball have been axed for Paris.
Breaking’s inclusion has caused the most controversy, with its legitimacy as a genuine sport being questioned by many.
There are around 400 registered breaking competitors in Australia and the number one ranked female, Rachael “Bgirl Raygun” Gunn said it was athletic and deserving of Olympics inclusion.
“Breaking is extremely athletic – the dancers are athletes,” said Gunn, 33, a lecturer at Sydney’s Macquarie University.
“It takes a huge level of commitment and hard work, and you have to be fit in so many different ways.
“To those people that say it’s not a sport, I just wonder if they’ve ever seen any contemporary breaking.
“There’s been so much hate about it – it’s been crazy.”
The nation’s top male breaker, Jacob “Bboy Monsta” Goodridge, 33, echoed Gunn’s sentiments.
“It’s quite difficult. You’ve got to dedicate a lot of time to it,” Goodridge told News Limited‘s Marco Monteverde
“A lot of breakers are essentially athletes. If anyone’s ever tried a move, there’s a level of danger to it. You can seriously injure yourself.“
Australia won’t be guaranteed breaking spots in Paris, with breakers having to qualify through either Asia or Oceania.
GIFT FOR AUSTRALIA’S RICHEST FOOTRACE
It wasn‘t that long ago that the Stawell Gift seemed to be on its death bed.
But while this year‘s event had to be cancelled because of the coronavirus there has been a lot of work going on behind-the-scenes to save Australia’s richest footrace.
Last month a new naming rights sponsor was announced with Powercor signing on for five years.
And now Channel 7 has recommitted to the Easter event with a broadcast agreement that will see the race shown live and free through to 2024.
The 39th running of the Powercor Stawell Gift will take place at Central Park, Stawell, from April 3-5, 2021.
THE WHISPER
WHICH club is dealing with an over zealous parent who is continually expressing their disappointment to key
officials over a recent turn of events?
FORMER SAINT TAKES A PUNT ON GRIDIRON
The migration of AFL players to American colleges continues with former Saint Bailey Rice the latest to make the switch to gridiron.
Rice, who played 11 games for St Kilda after being drafted in 2015 as a father-son selection, is joining the University of Charlotte in North Carolina on the US east coast.
The 23-year-old was delisted at the end of the 2019 season but has since admitted he started eyeing off a career in another code during his time at Moorabbin.
“Halfway through my career (at St Kilda) I probably lost a bit of that passion for AFL and switched across to American football,” Rice said.
“I ended up getting delisted after my fourth year but it ended up being all right for me because I wanted to do this anyway.’’
Rice has been training with The Punt Factory, a group that trains would-be punters and helps them find homes in college football through scholarships.
Last year he visited his former teammate Arryn Siposs who has starred at the University of Auburn and is currently on the on the practice squad for the NFL’s Detroit Lions.
Richmond pair Ben Griffiths (University of Southern California) and Ben Lennon (University of Utah) came up against each other last month.
Former Fremantle player Max Duffy won the Ray Guy Award as college football’s best punter at the University of Kentucky in 2019.
Mason Fletcher, the son of Essendon great Dustin, will punt at the University of Cincinnati from next season, while powerhouse schools Texas (Isaac Pearson), Ohio State (Jesse Mirco) and Florida (Jeremy Crawshaw) have all opted for Aussie punters.
NO COTCH WATCH
When you get used to winning them so often, finding the time to watch premiership victories can become a chore.
Richmond captain Trent Cotchin has admitted he’s yet to watch a full replay of the 2020 Grand Final victory over Geelong.
All the skipper has seen of the Tigers third flag in four years was the second and third quarters.
“I haven’t quite had a chance to sit down (and watch it all), we moved house once we got back to Melbourne,” Cotchin told K-Rock Football.
“It’s definitely on the cards at some point with a quiet red (wine) or the like to enjoy it.”
While training is still another month away Cotchin is confident the Tigers will again be at the pointy end of proceedings in 2021.
“I’m incredibly confident in our group,” he said.
“The premiership 22 still remains at the club, and I’m also incredibly excited by our youth.
“They had a pretty tough year not getting too many opportunities up north with no second-tier competition.
“They’ve shown massive improvement, they’ve all got a lot of talent, and I’m really excited to see how they show up through pre-season and into the early part of next year.”
BUCKS’ PERFECT BIRTHDAY PRESENT
The Milwaukee Bucks have come up with the perfect birthday present for their superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Greek Freak is facing a career-defining dilemma of whether to sign a supermax contract with his beloved Bucks.
So for his 26th birthday on Sunday, the Bucks gifted him something to help that cause … a pen.
In fact lots of pens were left in his locker as a surprise by teammates Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton.
“We definitely sung a ‘Happy Birthday’ after practice,” Middleton said.
“Me and PC thought the perfect gift to him from our teammates is just to give him a pen.
“So there were pens in his locker for his birthday present.
“I told him those should be some of the best birthday gifts he’s ever gotten, so hopefully he enjoys it and uses it.”
The two-time NBA MVP has until December 21, the day before the new season begins, to make his decision.
Potentially the pen could be worth $332 million if he uses it on the new contract.
NEW-LOOK AUSSIES
While a top-order batting collapse was much of the same, there was a different look about the Aussies in the first serious match of the summer.
For the first time the Australia’s men’s Test team shirt will feature a large sponsor logo across the front.
The new look with energy company Alinta plastered all over the players’ shirts was debuted by Australia A against India in the three-day fixture at Drummoyne Oval.
It was introduced on a trial basis six months ago by the International Cricket Council but is set to become a fixture of Test cricket.
While prominent sponsor’s logos have been commonplace in limited-overs cricket, Test shirts and sweaters had been “clean” with only smaller logos permitted on the breast and sleeve.
But the change was approved to help the sport fight back from the COVID-19 pandemic with nations able to recoup losses by selling real estate on their shirts.
England, the West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand have already showed off their new looks but the Aussies haven’t had a chance given their last Test match was January’s New Year’s match against the Kiwis in Sydney.
THE WHISPER II
Which high-profile AFL executive has been saved by the bell with a planned departure turning into a sideways push thanks to a change in optics?
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