Raiders cut Dunemann, Ricky rolls in

Andrew Dunemann is leaving the Raiders. Source: kym smith / News Limited

CANBERRA Raiders interim coach Andrew Dunemann has been cut by the NRL club.

Ricky Stuart signed on as 2014 NRL coach this week.

"Under a new restructure, Dunemann agreed to take a payout and accepted there is no position for him," the club said in a statement.

Dunemann said: "I wish the club all the best and thank them for the opportunity given to me by David Furner to come and work with the Raiders. I owe the club a great debt and I believe the club has plenty of good years in front of them...

"I'm working to find a position at another club and hope to continue my coaching career at NRL level. I would not have any hesitation to return to the Raiders one day if given the opportunity."

Dunemann has been linked to the North Queensland coaching job vacated by Neil Henry.

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Which Carlton will show up?

Chris Judd led the good Carlton against Richmond in the second half. Source: George Salpigtidis / News Limited

THESE two teams approach today's game with vastly different momentum.

Carlton comes in on the back of two pulsating wins, Sydney after back-to-back losses to Hawthorn.

One key for the Swans will be to get more outside uncontested ball because this will allow them to capitalise on the opportunities they created last week.

They won in contested possessions and clearances yet, with their lack of run, they were unable to enter the forward 50 enough times to give them a chance to win the game.

If they do run and spread, that will mean Carlton defenders will have to sit under the long, high ball all night, which is a massive challenge because Sydney has a multitude of tall marking targets, in Tippett, Mumford, Pyke and White.

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This battle will be one that will have a massive impact on the game.

The question for football fans is which Carlton will show up?

As good as last week's win was, the Blues' first half was woeful. They were beaten in almost every facet of the game but, to their credit, they turned it around in the second, finishing the game on top of the Tigers in most statistical categories except inside 50s and overall disposals.

If the Carlton from the second half last week shows up against Sydney, it will no doubt make for an extremely hard-fought game.

The Blues showed in this period they have enough experienced stars to trouble any team.

As John Longmire suggested earlier in the week, I suspect Chris Judd will be paid very close attention every time he is injected into the midfield.

Last time Judd played in a final at ANZ Stadium, he tore the game apart, a similar feat to last weekend.

CLEARANCES

IT IS no secret Sydney is one of the best clearance teams in the comp, with a class midfield. Carlton will have its hands full trying to negate Kennedy, Jack and Hannebery around the stoppages. But with the form shown last week from the likes of Gibbs, Judd and Murphy the midfield battle is shaping to be the main event.

Gibbs, in particular, had arguably his most influential game as a Blue. His 12 clearances were the difference. He may have finally found his position as a hard edge inside midfielder. Whoever wins the clearances I suggest may win the game — particularly at centre bounces.

MIDFIELD DEPTH

THIS is where Sydney has a significant edge. The Swans' ability to run multiple players through the middle of the ground should wear down the Blues. There is talk the players are mentally tired but they have the capacity to inject the likes of Parker, Mitchell and Bird if the stars wear down.

On the other hand, Carlton has three small forwards that very rarely go into the midfield. Yarran, Garlett and Betts can't take the pressure off Carlton's prime movers and this will hurt in the end.

TIPPETT v JAMISON

TIPPETT'S height has worried most defenders this year. With the hands in the back and chopping the arm rules it becomes very difficult for key defenders playing against the genuine monsters of the game.

I suspect Tippett won't have two poor games in a row and if the delivery is spot on from up the field Jamison will need help from other defenders zoning off.

Sydney's Kurt Tippett celebrates a goal at ANZ Stadium. Picture: Phil Hillyard Source: DailyTelegraph

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Sreesanth guilty of spot fixing: report

Shantakumaran Sreesanth is charged with spot fixing in the IPL. Source: Gemunu Amarasinghe / AAP

TEST fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and three other players have been found guilty of spot-fixing during the Indian Premier League by an internal probe conducted by the national cricket board, a report said on Friday.

The probe by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s anti-corruption chief Ravi Sawani, also found two other players guilty of not reporting approaches made by bookmakers, The Indian Express said.

Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were found guilty on multiple accounts, including conceding a "pre-determined number of runs per over in exchange for bribes", the paper quoted the leaked report as saying.

The fourth player, Amit Singh, who played in the IPL till last year, was seen as the conduit between the cricketers and bookies, and described by Sawani as "the bad fish that spoils the entire pond".

Siddharth Trivedi and 21-year-old Harmeet Singh were absolved of spot-fixing, but were found guilty of the lesser charge of not informing officials about approaches made by bookmakers, the newspaper said.

Sawani, whose report will be placed before the BCCI's disciplinary committee, has recommended the players be banned for a period ranging from five years to life, the paper said.

"The disciplinary committee may consider my report and impose such sanctions as considered appropriate to send out a strong signal indicating the zero tolerance policy of the BCCI to any corruption in the sport that is so dear to millions of Indians and fans abroad," the paper quoted Sawani as saying in the report.

"Obviously, the anti-corruption education given to the players had no impact on the conduct. Therefore, the players deserve no leniency whatsoever."

A BCCI spokesman declined to comment on the leaked newspaper story, saying Sawani's findings would be discussed by the disciplinary committee and may be placed before the board's annual general meeting on September 29.

The four players found guilty of spot-fixing are among 39 persons who have also been charged separately by Delhi Police in the corruption scandal that rocked this year's IPL.

All four players belong to the Rajasthan Royals franchise, but Sreesanth, 30, is the only one to have played for India. He was part of the teams that won the World Twenty20 in 2007 and the World Cup in 2011.

The players were arrested in May along with scores of bookies as part of a police investigation into the spot-fixing scandal, which had caused outrage among fans in the cricket-mad nation.

BCCI chief Narayanaswami Srinivasan voluntarily stepped aside from the post in June after his son-in-law was arrested, and later released on bail, over alleged links to illegal bookmakers.

Son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan is one of the owners of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, a team bought by Srinivasan's India Cements conglomerate when the popular Twenty20 league was launched in 2008.

Gambling is mostly illegal in India, but betting on cricket matches thrives through networks of underground bookies.

Spot-fixing -- in which a specific part of a game, but not the result, is fixed -- is also illegal.

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