Ref Cam set for Super Rugby debut

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Ref Cam ... The latest innovation in broadcast technology will be unveiled in Brisbane. Source:Fox Sports

Fox Sports' ground-breaking use of technology will continue this weekend when Australia's first "Ref Cam" is unveiled in the much-anticipated Queensland Reds-New South Wales Waratahs Super Rugby clash.

Following on from a KFC T20 Big Bash League season that featured FoxKopter, Helmet Cam and Zing Bails, Fox Sports will unveil "Ref Cam" as its latest piece of broadcast innovation.

Trialled in the Super Rugby pre-season, referee Chris Pollock has been given the okay to don the specifically-engineered camera - which transmits live vision via an earpiece camera - in Saturday night's clash at Suncorp Stadium.

One of the biggest matches on the Super Rugby calendar, Aussie fans will now find themselves a step closer to the always fiery Reds-Waratahs showdown.  

"Rugby fans will be blown away by some of the angles this camera can produce," Head of Fox Sports Channels Gary Burns said. "You don't get any closer to the thick of the action than this.

David Pocock ... Ref Cam's extreme close-up. Source: Fox Sports

"The referee has the best view of anyone on the field, but now we are able to share that point-of-view with those watching at home and at Fox Sports venues.

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Watch Ref Cam in action from 7.30pm (EDT) Saturday night on Fox Sports 2HD!

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"The sound that it captures is great too. Through this camera you get a real appreciation for how tough it is out there, believe me."

Burns paid tribute to the Australian Rugby Union and SANZAR, who were both keen to see the latest in broadcast technology implemented in Super Rugby.

"But this wouldn't have been possible without the support of the ARU and SANZAR, so we really must thank them for seeing the benefits of the technology and working with us to give their fans the opportunity to see something very unique," Burns said.

"We also thank referee Chris Pollock for volunteering to wear the camera and allowing us to make it all happen in such a big game."

Fox Sports rugby reporter Sean Maloney will have a behind-the-scenes look at "Ref Cam" on Rugby HQ on February 28.

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Nugent: no idea of toxic culture

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Leigh Nugent ... denies having knowledge of a "toxic" culture in London. Source: Kym Smith / News Limited

Leigh Nugent says he'll fight to keep his job as Australian swimming's head coach despite damning reviews uncovering drug abuse in a "toxic'' culture in the sport.

Reviews found Australia's swim campaign at last year's London Olympics unravelled amid a lack of leadership, collapsed morale and animosity between swimmers.

But Nugent, who oversaw Australian swimming's lowest medal haul at an Olympics in two decades, said he had no idea of the cultural failings.

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"A lot of these things have come out in reflection,'' Nugent told reporters in Canberra.

Two separate reviews were released publicly on Tuesday, both condemning swimming's culture and management.

One review cited a "toxic'' culture in Australia's swim team at last year's Olympics, saying incidents of "getting drunk, misuse of prescription drugs, breaching curfews, deceit, bullying'' were not addressed by team hierarchy.

Claims some swimmers devised an initiation ritual involving the use of sleeping drug Stilnox were being further investigated, with the Australian Olympic Committee warning of likely sanctions for using the banned prescription drug.

Australia's swimmers won just one gold medal, six silver and three bronze at last year's London Games, the lowest tally in the pool since 1992 in Barcelona.

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Read "The Bluestone Review" in full.

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Australia also went without an individual gold medal for the first time since the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

The London team was undermined by a lack of moral authority and discipline which manifested in a "schoolyard clamour for attention and influence'', said the Bluestone Review into culture and leadership.

"Situations were left to bleed,'' the report said.

The festering and lack of leadership caused swimmers to feel alone and without support.

"Swimmers described these Games as the lonely Olympics and the individual Olympics ... swimmers felt undefended, alone, alienated,'' the report said.

The review said some older athletes saw the storm brewing, with stalwart Libby Trickett admitting she was among them.

Trickett said she heard rumours of swimmers abusing prescription drugs and others being bullied.

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"Definitely there were some things that were toxic,'' Trickett said.

"It wasn't one thing or a particular person that was toxic. It was an unfortunate series of events that led to that outcome.''

Trickett backed Nugent to continue as head coach, despite the review finding a disconnect between swimmers and the coach, and also veiled criticism from Australian Sports Commission (ASC) chief Simon Hollingsworth.

"It is fair to say that the head coach should have oversight over the broad happenings of the team,'' Hollingsworth said.

The ASC and Swimming Australia commissioned the other report, the Independent Swimming Review, which identified serious management shortcomings.

The review highlighted a lack of clear national vision, poor accountability, transparency and communication, and questionable use of funds.

It also found Swimming Australia's board was unable to deal with issues and did not critically evaluate performance, and made 35 recommendations to improve governance and the high performance program.

Swimming Australia president Barclay Nettlefold said an integrity panel had been created to examine recommendations from both reviews.

"Before we look at winning gold medals, we want to win back the admiration of the nation,'' he said.

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Demons fined $500k but won't fight AFL

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Suspended ... Dean Bailey (L) and Chris Connolly have both been punished Source: Colleen Petch / News Limited

Melbourne Demons have been spared of draft penalties and technically cleared of tanking while the AFL have avoided a costly and drawn-out legal fight.

But the Demons were on Tuesday fined $500,000, the third-largest fine in AFL history.

Then-football manager Chris Connolly and then-coach Dean Bailey were both suspended as a seven-month investigation of the club's actions late in the 2009 season was finally resolved.

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While no one at the club was found to have deliberately lost matches for draft picks, Connolly and Bailey were both found to have acted in a manner ''prejudicial to the interests of the AFL''.

Connolly, now in a marketing job with the Demons, was banned from serving any role at any AFL club until February next year.

Bailey, now an assistant coach with Adelaide, has been suspended for the first 16 rounds of the coming season.

That adds another blow to a horror off-season for Adelaide.

The Crows were already without chief executive Steven Trigg, suspended until July, and football manager Phil Harper, suspended until March over the Kurt Tippett saga, which also cost them draft picks and a $300,000 fine.

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Connolly and Bailey will both remain employed by their clubs.

The Crows will continue paying Bailey during his suspension and the Demons will consider doing the same for Connolly.

The finding against the Demons centred on a comment Connolly made in a 2009 football department meeting regarding the team's performance and the desire to secure a priority pick.

While there have been suggestions the comment was light-hearted, AFL acting general manager of football operations Gillon McLachlan said Connolly now accepted that it was stupid of him to say it and that people in the room took him seriously.

That included Bailey.

''He (Bailey) felt pressured after that meeting and made decisions to appease ultimately Chris and made decisions around resting players and around positional selections of players,'' McLachlan said.

But McLachlan said there was no evidence that Bailey didn't coach to win on game days, that players didn't give their all or that club officials had issued any directive to lose games, so the Demons were not charged with tanking.

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Demons president Don McLardy said while the club were unhappy with aspects of the process and outcome, they wouldn't fight it.

''A legal avenue is the last resort, not the first resort,'' he said.

''We sought to discuss openly with the AFL the situation and we feel that this is a resolution that we can accept.''

He said the fact the Demons could play their first pre-season match on Friday night with the issue resolved was a big consideration.

''We need clear air,'' McLardy said.

But while McLachlan said the AFL had drawn a ''line in the sand'' by creating a beefed-up integrity department, McLardy said clubs were none the wiser as to what separated experimentation from tanking.

''Nobody has got clear-cut ideas about tanking and what it means,'' McLardy said.

''But I still respect the AFL's right to protect the integrity of the game.''

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RLIF extends shoulder-charge ban

Ban backed ... The NRL's ban on shoulder charges has been endorsed by the game's governing body. Source: News Limited

Rugby league's international governing body has endorsed the NRL's ban on the shoulder charge by extending it across all competitions.

All rugby league matches - starting with this weekend's World Club Challenge between NRL premiers Melbourne and Super League champions Leeds - will now be played under the new rules prohibiting the shoulder charge.

Rugby League International Federation chairman Scott Carter said competitions already in progress - such as the Super League - will be allowed to separately determine if the rule is implemented immediately.

"Reviewing rules such as the shoulder charge is an important part of ensuring we have created the right environment for our players,'' Carter said in a statement.

"Player safety is a fundamental principle and the latest research and current trends show that the shoulder charge has the potential to create an unacceptable risk of injury for players.''

The ban has been met with a largely negative reaction by NRL players, who argued tougher penalties for contact with an opponent's head would have been a better response to a spate of ugly shoulder charges last year.

The matter came to a head last year when St George Illawarra utility Dean Young was flattened when hit by South Sydney's Greg Inglis, who was banned for three matches as a result.

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Inglis' Rabbitohs teammate Sam Burgess - a keen exponent of the shoulder charge - said he wasn't in favour of the ban.

"If I'm honest I think it's a crap rule change, because everyone likes seeing it - it's on every highlight reel with all the big hits,'' Burgess told Triple M's The Rush Hour.

''You do have to change (your tackling technique) in a sense because the decisions to make a shoulder charge are split second, so you have to change your whole mindset defensively.

"I think we'll see a few penalties early on in the year.''

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Sayers emerges as Ashes bolter

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Chadd Sayers ... emerges as an Ashes bolter. Source:News Limited

NSW quicks Trent Copeland and Doug Bollinger claimed quick wickets as South Australia lost their early grip of the Sheffield Shield match in Adelaide.

The Redbacks bowled NSW out for 157 but in reply wobbled to 5-101 at stumps on Tuesday's opening day.

Copeland (3-22 from 14 overs) and Bollinger (2-32) triggered a South Australian collapse of five wickets for 14 runs.

Copeland grabbed the first three scalps and Bollinger then claimed victims in consecutive balls.

Bollinger's hat-trick attempt was a bouncer which cracked into the helmet of SA's Jake Brown, leaving the batsman dazed but not dismissed.

Earlier, SA's in-form paceman Chadd Sayers destroyed the Blues' batting line-up.

Sayers, the Shield's leading wicket-taker this season with 35 victims, claimed 5-54 from 20 overs including the initial four wickets, as NSW crashed to 4-33.

Sayers, who this season has played eight of his 10 first-class games, refuses to rate himself an outside chance for Australia's Ashes tour of England this winter.

"If you keep performing, then your name gets thrown up there. If that does happen, then I will grab it with both hands,'' Sayers said.

"I'm not thinking that far forward ... I will just keep performing for the Redbacks and you never know what happens.''

Sayers stands only 1.80 metres tall, or 5'9 in old-speak.

He's not overly quick, bowling around the 130-135kmph mark.

But he can swing a ball, mainly outswing. And he can jag it both ways off the pitch.

And Sayers has uncanny accuracy, operating with a simple mantra of making the batsman play at each ball.

"When you're asking a batsman to make a decision 100 per cent of the time, the odds are in your favour,'' he said.

"Not many people around Australia at the moment can play outswing bowling so if you can swing the ball, you're in the game.''

His pace partner Joe Mennie took 4-39 from 20 overs, with only Blues veteran Brad Haddin playing an innings of substance.

Haddin top-scored with 56 but opener David Dawson (26) and Copeland (26) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures.

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Ryobi Cup final hopes over for WA

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So close ... Ricky Ponting fell just five runs short of a century in possibly his last one-day match. Source: Richard Jupe / News Limited

A maiden one-day domestic century from the returning Mitch Marsh was not enough for Western Australia to book a place in Saturday's Cup final, with Tasmania winning by 51 runs at the WACA Ground on Tuesday.

Having won their past two one-day cup games, WA needed to beat the Tigers with a bonus point to feature in the final at the MCG against Victoria.

WA skipper Michael Hussey won the toss and sent Tasmania into bat, so the Warriors would know exactly what score they would need off 40 overs to win with a bonus point.

But the fairytale looked decidedly unlikely when Ricky Ponting's 95 led the Tigers to 6-307 from their 50 overs.

The Warriors needed to score at 7.7 runs an over from the outset and in an attempt to get off to a flying start slumped to 5-78 with Liam Davis (28), Sam Whiteman (13), Hussey (four), John Rogers (12) and Tim Armstrong (one) all falling relatively cheaply.

However, the one positive for WA was having 21-year-old Marsh at the wicket in his first match since tearing his hamstring on November 17 last year.

Hilton Cartwright briefly joined up with Marsh before he fell for 20 from 24 balls.

But then debutant Ashton Turner came to the crease and he and Marsh, for a brief moment, gave the Warriors some hope of what was becoming a near impossible task.

The pair put on a partnership of 86 in just 75 balls before Turner fell for a swashbuckling 51 from 43, with six fours and two sixes.

Marsh continued on, though, and brought up his maiden one-day century for WA before falling for 104 to a brilliant direct-hit run out from Ponting, who was near the circle at backward point.

That ended Marsh's knock on 104 from 96 balls with six boundaries and five clean sixes.

With the bonus point win and place in the final gone, WA went on to be bowled out for 256 to lose the match and finish the one-day season on the bottom of the table.

Faulkner took 3-62 for Tasmania, with Evan Gulbis claiming 2-57, Timm van der Gugten 2-44, Ben Laughlin 1-37 and Harry Allanby 1-50 in a solid bowling display against some big hitting.

Earlier, Ponting made 95 for Tasmania from 105 balls with 13 boundaries after being dropped twice when on four and 35.

He was run out due to a bad call from Jordan Silk who went onto bat well himself making 66 from 66 balls and James Faulkner remained not out on 59 from 37.

Marsh was disappointed not to lead WA to the bonus point win to book a spot in the final, but was delighted to score his maiden one-day century after three months out injured.

''It was obviously good to come back like that and it was just a shame that we lost that way,'' Marsh said.

''We dropped a couple of chances and we learnt today that you can't really drop Ricky Ponting on four and 35. On a personal note, it's a good reward for my hard work and rehab though.''

Faulkner had a terrific day with the bat and ball for Tasmania, but was more impressed with the batting form of Ponting and Silk - and then with the whole bowling unit to get the win.

''Any time you start well with either the bat or ball I think it gives you confidence naturally, and it was good to be part of it,'' Faulkner said.

''But it was set up by Punter's 90-odd and I thought Jordan Silk batted really well in his second game.

''We obviously knew they were going to come hard and try to get the runs in the 40 overs, but for us it was just about concentrating on what we do well and we did that by creating opportunities in the first 20-odd overs. It was good to get a win today with a solid effort.''

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