For and Against

I know what you’re thinking. If For & Against can take a week off between episodes, then surely it’s okay for the AFL Finalists to do the same…well, think again! Because the team have something to say it. About that and about Sydney derby TV timeslots, the Carlton-Coach-turned-Coffee-Carrying-Superhero and when a Rugby League Immortal truly becomes immortal. And that’s all before Red Card Yell...

I know what you’re thinking. If For & Against can take a week off between episodes, then surely it’s okay for the AFL Finalists to do the same…well, think again! Because the team have something to say it. About that and about Sydney derby TV timeslots, the Carlton-Coach-turned-Coffee-Carrying-Superhero and when a Rugby League Immortal truly becomes immortal. And that’s all before Red Card Yell...

Every now and then, there’s something in the quasi-not-quite-sporting world that catches For & Against’s eye. So imagine our delight when a string of It’s Not Sport But We Like It stories emerged at once in our post-Olympics haze! There was only one solutions – a show dedicated to the passionate, competitive, skilful and oh-so-sporting-in-their-own-way worlds of Hobby Horsing, Snail Racing, Sp...

Did we love the Olympics in the city of love…discuss, rant, rave, rate! That’s the mission of the For & Against team as we justify too many late nights, early mornings and frustrations using the official app! There’s also an acronym overload of NBA TV deals, AI overreach, EPL OS to work through. All that plus a special gold-silver-bronze segment of red card yellow card. Oo la la indeed! See om...

Toyota have announced they are leaving The Olympic Partner program after the Paris Olympics – sacre bleu! Quel happened? Well, For & Against is here to break it down. We also look at how the Olympics has flexed its muscles by re-routing the most famous finish in all of sport. Sports funding, sporting capitals, sports diplomacy, sports streaming and Major League Eating. And then the most intera...

But did anyone in Australia know? And should a world cup ever be televised by one of these upstart new-fangled streaming services instead of our much loved traditional advertising-supported free-to-air TV channels? Well, you know who knows? The For & Against Team, of course! They’re also keen to tackle the offside rule in football, the AFL’s drug policy and the holy/unholy alliance between spo...

Preaching to the converted, but science has finally confirmed what we always knew, Sport is good for the world – financially, socially and emotionally. And For & Against is here to take you through why! Add in the Holy Grail of selling cricket to the Yanks and MotoGP to Liberty Media, plus a shake-your-head, celebrity-infused segment of Red Card Yellow Card, and you’ve got another great episod...

Sacre Bleu! Who you gonna call when athletes get prizemoney for winning gold and aspiring Australian Olympians get turfed for drinking a beer between qualifying rounds? For & Against, of course! And what do you wear to the opening ceremony at the fashion capital of the world? Well, you’ll have to listen to find out. We also talk Caitlin Clark, WTA/ATP Merger and, most outrageously of all, Roac...

For & Against goes deep into the existential crises facing Tasmanian and Brisbanian sports fans as politicians hold their once-promised stadiums to ransom! But can a stadium be anything other than a white elephant? The team investigate and are pretty clear about what they find. In the Shootout, investment banking takes on sport and brokers take on LA tee times! And then there is arguably the m...

What to do when a Federal politician suggests that a player sitting out for a side strain might actually be because they tested positive to recreational drugs in off field testing? Well, two things: 1) hold a press conference that yields a thousand headlines and opinions, and 2) listen to For & Against to help make sense of it all! For & Against has always been synonymous with Integrity -...

What does the WWE, eSports, Olympic Breakdancing and Pigeon Racing have in common? Well, they all make Roachy's blood boil for a start - that anyone thinks of them as sport! Is he right? There's only way to find out, as For & Against once again tackles the big issues. Seriously (sort of), that's what we do - like whether Wentworth Park should be turned into apartments, or Channel 9 have wasted...

For & Against predicted this over a decade ago, now a gaggle of billionaires are making it true: an alternative to the Olympics where anything goes! And some of us are NOT happy! Will athletes be go faster, stronger, higher. Will viewers watch a supplement-supported world record! Will Roachy's head explode before the 100m champion's heart?? The team also talk Tay Tay and the Super Bowl, Sports...

The For & Against team have seen a few summers of sport - perhaps too many, but still never enough. And every summer, we see challenges to the status quo: basketball on Christmas Day, shorter then longer then shorter BBL seasons, the eternal optimism that football will take over riding the wave of the miraculous Matildas or a shift in broadcast rights that promises to redefine summer sport. Bu...

What would the 80s think of cricket in 2024? Well for one thing, they would think we would be discussing whether we should or shouldn’t play cricket on Australia Day. Or that it’s a surprise the Windies won a test. Or that the Poms would get upset about Alex Carey being picked in the Test Team of the Year (well, they couldn’t, because Alex wasn’t born yet). Or whether Private Equity should buy a s...

Just when Rugby thought all hope was lost, Netball and For & Against’s team are here to reminds us all that any sports administrator can have an annus horribilis. The team’s Wing Attack breaks down the pros and considerable cons of Amazon Prime winning the rights to the next few Cricket World Cups. Our Goal Defence weighs up defragmentation (after figuring out what it is) and how Gen Z sees sp...

Football Fair Pay, Fair Play and Rahm’s Giant Pay Day…it’s all about the money as For & Against dissect Australian Football’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which breaks new ground achieving pay parity for the Matildas and the Socceroos. They also rage against the VAR that penalises Everton but is yet to blow the whistle on Man City. And of course, once again to Roachy’s chagrin and John...

FIFA are handing out World Cup hosting duties like they’re Oprah… “You get to host a game! You get to host a game! You get to host a game!” …and so it falls to your fearless For & Against team to hold the world’s biggest sporting machine to semi-serious account. Meanwhile, there’s a lot of fun and judgement to be had as Netflix make their own cross-over for TV sport and the AFL make plans for...

Whoa, that sounds serious! Well yes, contrary to popular opinion, For & Against does take sport seriously…sometimes. And so, after their winter hiatus, the team put what passes for their game faces on to discuss the calamitous state of Rugby Union. In other segments, Roachy continues his impassioned if misguided defence of One Day Cricket, Johnno continues his doomed defence of public golf cou...

It’s the most traditional rivalry in the world: the Ashes! But can it survive in a world where tradition is for sale? You bet it can as Pat Cummins, Bazball and For & Against come to the rescue!  Plus we ask if Esports has jumped the eShark, if Tasmania can jump its AFL stadium issues and whether the Westminster Dog Show is sport or not (hint: it’s not sport, but we like it). Please join us fo...

As sports across the country line up to support the Voice, the team asks why. To understand should they or shouldn’t they, and why it matters, the team brings in no less than PR expert Lachlan Johnston. It’s a great conversation about how times are a-changing and the rise of player power. Then there’s coach burnout, CEO shakeout and the world’s most valuable football match (hint: it’s not what you...

ChatGPT would never create an episode like this...would it? If For & Against has proven anything over the years, it's that intelligence in sport is rare. So if you think artificial intelligence would be welcomed to a coach's strategy, a player's training, a commentator's analysis...well you'd be right! Join Roach, Johnno and Reills as they document the rise of AI across the sporting world. The...

Could Adelaide actually be the centre of the sporting universe? The Gather Round, LIV Golf and our special guest, Andrew McGarry, certainly suggest so. Or could it be Las Vegas, which is collecting sporting teams and events like they were Celine Dion or Frank Sinatra. And the NRL wants to go there too…what could possibly go wrong? Well, that’s what For & Against is here for! All this and more,...

As litigation relating to concussion and CTE mounts, is some of the physical confrontation that is inherent in sport at risk of being regulated out? Also, the launch of Major League Cricket, crazy sporting related dinners, and Slamball....when basketball meets trampolining! Produced by DM Podcasts.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gary Linekar assists a BBC own goal in the Free Speech League, while locally, Pat Cummins gets a free kick. We’re assisted in our discussions by journalist Kevan Sangster. Also, the NRL and A-League bloat…sorry, float expansion plans, FIFA sees the light on Saudi sponsorship, and is Supercars starting to run out of the ‘cars’ bit? Red Card Yellow Card throws up the usual joys, including in-flight...

Saudi money is creating controversy in golf, football, F1 and more. But is the Saudi Arabian investment vehicle, PIF, government affiliated or not? Well, it depends on who’s asking - so to cut through the different answers going on around the globe, now it’s the For & Against team asking! Joined by F&A Alumni and global footballing guru, David Gill, the team get stuck into the truth, not t...