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About Richard Hinds
About Richard Hinds
Richard Hinds is the Melbourne-based sports writer for the Sydney Morning Herald. Hinds has covered the AFL for almost two decades, several Olympic Games, international golf and numerous Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Hinds grew up in Victoria where he witnessed the expansion of the national competition and, during his time with the SMH, has reported on some of the key moments in the Swans' gradual rise from unloved interloper to Sydney icon - including their stunning 2005 premiership victory.
Mending fences Sydney's priority
SYDNEY pay more than any other club in the AFL to run their football department. So perhaps they can find room in the budget for a structural engineer. This is a club with some bridges to build.
Hawks up but it's only round one
UNLIKE other deposed heavyweight champions, Geelong get no automatic re-match. No instant chance to prove they had merely been caught with their guard down. No easy road to redemption.
Swans can learn from Hawks
There are lessons for Sydney in Hawthorn's strategy.
Swans stagger to end of an era
THIS time, there was to be no twist in the tail. Sydney's season ended last night in the manner that seemed likely for most of a competitive but not stellar year, with defeat to one of the handful of teams that now stand above them in the competition's pecking order.
September stars aligning once more for trench-warfare Swans
Is it an indication of the strength of Sydney's belated resurgence? Or is it the consequence of a slump that has seen the Western Bulldogs lose six of their past eight games?
Swans need to still show the Goodes
What benefit is playing finals for the Swans, who - unless they can
produce a September miracle - have little chance of winning the
flag?
Big crowd at ANZ? Don't bank on it
It appears the Swans could do well to reach a crowd of 40,000 for Saturday night's elimination final against North Melbourne at ANZ Stadium
Swans are out of sight, but they don't mind
IT IS hardly surprising the Swans have disappeared from the media
radar in the past few weeks.
One giant leap for stupidity
St Kilda's 15-point victory over North Melbourne at Carrara Stadium on Saturday was meritorious for all sorts of reasons.
Goodes is the thief booked for jaywalking
It was not an act of brutality or even significant negligence that brought Adam Goodes's unbroken streak of 204 games to an end.
When clubs are ready to pay any price for a flag
Despite AFL's lofty ideals, punishment does not always fit the crime.
Swans in his blood
As Jude Bolton prepares for No. 200, insiders know his great worth to the Swans.
Franklin can play as bump gets reprimand
A WEEK after Sydney's Adam Goodes was ridiculed as a protected species because he was reprimanded for a high bump on West Coast's Adam Selwood, Hawthorn's young superstar Lance Franklin has been offered the same lenient treatment despite the AFL's early season crackdown on high contact.
Big 3 have something to fear as Swans step it up
Any given season is supposed to be like a marathon, with a tight-knit pack gradually reduced to a handful of contenders.
If you fix them, fans will flock
First Collingwood, now Carlton - the AFL is always keen to help clubs that have strength in supporter numbers.
Protected species will certainly become the hunted now
FOR reasons he may or may not appreciate - Swans players seldom agree to talk about anything more controversial than their golf games - Adam Goodes was unlucky not to be suspended for his head-high bump on West Coast's Adam Selwood.
Pressure rises on 'ugly' Saints
The most recent lament of success-starved St Kilda fans is that Sydney have ruined their lives. Or at least ruined their team.
Goodes may pay the price for past 'sins'
Adam Goodes faces the possibility of a suspension that would end his run of 202 consecutive games.
It's the recession West Coast had to have
In the West, there's equanimity about a season going pear-shaped - a rebound is certain. Is the faith misplaced? Richard Hinds reports.
It's all quiet on the western front
Sydney's unexpectedly quiet build-up to its match against West Coast seems like a case of the calm before the calm.
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