Memorable Moments in 2005

Another year has come and gone, leaving behind some magical moments that will be remembered forever: as Adam McBride reports;

Popular because it only recently occurred is the Socceroos qualification for the FIFA World Cup finals however, that was only one of many magic moments.

Whilst I am an avid West Coast Eagles fan credit must firstly go out to the Sydney Swans for the courageous way in which they responded to the criticism levelled at them by the AFL Chief Executive Officer Andrew Demetriou, who publicly expressed his views on radio back in May.

Sure, the Swans may play "boring football" but it is a comment you would not expect to hear from the league's Chief.

Winners are grinners though, and the Swans finally claimed the trophy that has eluded them for seven decades, while the Eagles were left to ponder what could have been after a stellar season that until the last month of the regular season was near faultless.

There were so many memorable moments that not all can be listed here by myself, as they were not restricted to just AFL.

Rugby League also captured the headlines when two ranked outsiders, the Wests Tigers and North Queensland Cowboys, played-off for the NRL trophy in October.

The more fancied trio of Parramatta, St George-Illawarra and Brisbane all stalled in the finals, though Brisbane's early exit was anticipated as the player drain from the Origin series hit them hard as the regular season wound down.

Speaking of the Origin series, the NSW Blues edged ahead of the Qld Maroons team on the head-to-head tally for the first time with a memorable come-from-behind series win in Brisbane. Orchestrated by Andrew Johns the Blues rocked the Cauldron of Lang Park (Suncorp Stadium) in game three.

Much has been written about the Socceroos and, to be honest, it is about time they have made it onto football's biggest stage. John Aloisi swept previous heartbreaks of 1997 and 2001 aside with that kick, though the two saves by Mark Schwarzer were the main reason why the Australian team is going to be there next year.

Coach Guus Hiddink has been to the semi finals in his two previous cup campaigns, third time lucky with the Socceroos and a spot the Final?

Unlikely, though the lucky red hat may be called for to keep the superstitious at ease.

The changing of the guard in Cricket with the Australian decade long dominance tested and beaten by a resurgent England team. Positions within the team are no longer guaranteed as Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke have since found out.

One-day cricket provided many highlights too, the Aussies batting collapse against the West Indies back in January at Brisbane before the match was rain abandoned. The Aussies won the VB Series again and then crossed the Tasman for a five-match clean sweep of the series against the Black Caps.

The closest the Kiwis came to winning was in the first match of the series, falling short by 10 runs. The two teams faced each other for the Chappell-Hadlee trophy last month with Andrew Symonds blasting 156 runs at Wellington. Another game in which the Black Caps were denied, though, they would claim victory in the third and final match with a record second innings run chase.

The newest form of the game, Twenty20, leapt out of county cricket in England and onto the world stage in February with New Zealand and Australia going 'retro' for the debut international match. Spectacular indeed as the Black Caps really got into the fashion style from the golden era that was the early 1980s.

Next weekend Australia will host its first domestic tournament for the new type of cricket, one that is almost certain to recapture crowds numbers that many years ago flocked to the ING Cup games.

For the Wallabies it was forgettable moments, rather than memorable, as they crashed to a seven-match losing sequence only broken by a win over Ireland, on their recent Spring Tour of the UK, before losing to Wales.

Coach Eddie Jones was shown the door on return home following that tour, while captain George Gregan has been retained to merely etch his name as the most capped Test Rugby player before he is told to hang up the boots.

Basketball waved goodbye to the playing careers of Ricky Grace and Andrew Gaze in 2005, both began when the NBL was at its peak in the early 1990s. Lindsay Gaze joined his son in retirement after coaching the Melbourne Tigers for 22 years.

Sydney in 2005 was indeed the place to be. The Kings completed the three-peat of NBL Championships in March, and a week later the NSW Blues won the Pura Cup Cricket trophy.

There are a number of events that could draw for a place and many would say that the magic of Makybe Diva winning a third Melbourne cup on the trot (more like a gallop) would take precedence over any others however, this is my column and, some license has been taken.

My Top Five Memorable moments

• Grand Final AFL 2005, though a loss for my team on the day.
• Rugby League State of Origin Series win by NSW.
• One-Day Cricket - Batting collapses, powerful hits and thrilling finishes.
• Socceroos reach World Cup.
• Basketball - Legends say farewell to playing careers.

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