Sport Generic Index

Martin Flanagan

Martin Flanagan is a journalist and author who writes on sport, Australian culture and the relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous Australia.

Australian sports story of the year: Michelle Payne after winning the Melbourne Cup.

When women jockeys and American footballers soar

Martin Flanagan A look at the good and bad of the 2015 sporting year.

Bizarre social views aside, some of what Tyson Fury says is true

Martin Flanagan Tyson Fury is like a tarantula in the ring, long arms and legs swaying about, then he'll lurch forward with clubbing punches which don't look all that damaging.

Players are the ones who make games great

Martin Flanagan Games are ultimately about the players, not the ever-growing number of people who buzz around them. Similarly, what make great games are great players.

Cage fight lived up to the hype

Martin Flanagan It has long intrigued me that the number of boys playing Australian football is said to be dropping because mothers fear their sons getting injured while, at the same time, the number of girls...

World of sport an international language

Martin Flanagan I've been asked to address an under-16 soccer team that in its first five matches this season has scored two goals while seeing more than 20 go into the net at the other end.

The life of Reilly: keeper Jack's enduring love for the beautiful game

Martin Flanagan Jack Reilly, Australia's goalkeeper at the 1974 World Cup, is a tall, slim man who speaks in a soft Aberdeenshire accent. "I'm understood by most," he says.

Sultan Zarawani makes his mark in UAE cricket history

Martin Flanagan The area round the Junction Oval had been cordoned off. There were four police cars, multiple security men in lime green tops and, inside the ground, about 15 supporters.

Is Ange Postecoglou overseeing Soccer's coming of age in Australia?

Martin Flanagan Ange Postecoglou may be the most influential Greek-Australian since former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou.

Drums sound defeat for Uzbekistan

Martin Flanagan The Uzbeks numbered 300 in a crowd of 23,381 in their Asian Cup quarter-final and yet, for the whole of the game, they made it sound like there were two teams in the stadium, two proud nations...

Forwards, Uzbekistan! Local fans hope for a repeat of past glories

Martin Flanagan Not many people seek to leave Uzbekistan, which is why drumming up support for the Uzbek national football team in Melbourne is not an easy task.

Christmas truce in 1914 a story for the ages

Martin Flanagan It is now accepted that during the so-called Christmas truce of 1914 - when members of the British, German and French armies laid down their arms and socialised in no-man's land - games of soccer...

Luciana Aymar, the Maradona of women's hockey sets the pace

Martin Flanagan The ball follows Luciana Aymar's hockey stick like an orchestra follows a conductor. Tall, slender and 37 years of age, her on-field manner eludes easy definition.

World of sport can still be a risky business

Martin Flanagan Periodically, you hear it said that sporting crowds enjoy seeing people get hurt, that they enjoy the big hits in rugby league and batsmen being struck by fast bowlers.

Hurling: jewel in the crown of Irish sport

Martin Flanagan Part of the fascination of the sport of hurling is that its repertoire of skills seems endless.

Winning a flag for Papua New Guinea in Melbourne

Martin Flanagan The Hawthorn supporter in my family keeps telling me how much he wants to win the flag this year. I keep telling him he's greedy. "Eleven premierships in 53 years!" I cry.

FFA Cup gives part-timers reason to dream

Martin Flanagan Warner Reserve, Springvale, 6pm Thursday night, light rain falling. I’m looking at a well-lit but slightly chewed up ground with a $3.