The alternative Halberg awards · Yellow Fever Nga Wana Kowhai

This is more like it. With actual reasoned points as to why those should and shouldnt have won.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/3297062/The-alternative-Halberg-Awards-winners-list

The Halberg Awards always leave themselves open to hot debate with their choices of champions so here's an alternative list of winners to the conservative bunch announced in Auckland.

The best thing about the Halbergs is there's an argument for everyone. The hardest thing is making the big decisions.

Hamish Bond, a member of the winning rowing team, got it spot on when in accepting his award he said: "I don't envy the judges separating the fruit bowl ... picking the apples from the oranges. It's an impossible task and I wouldn't want to be one of the judges."

Here then are the oranges that got pipped by the apples.

Sportswoman: Forget the likeable large lady who throws cannonballs for a living. Watching the shot put is about as exciting as putting gas in your car only the latter is a necessity. Let's get the kids interested in these awards. A world champion is a world champion and there are more cyclists on the globe than shot-putters. Pursuit champ Alison Shanks could have ï¿½ and perhaps should have - won the Halberg but how about a vote for the youth with BMX champ Sarah Walker?

Sportsman: Mahe Drysdale and the rowing fraternity get more chances to win world titles than anyone with their annual championships. And world titles or Olympic medals seem to mean everything to the Halberg judges. It's virtually impossible to win this solo award from within a team environment. But Dan Vettori established himself as one of the most powerful figures in New Zealand sport last year ï¿½ and that only had a little to do with being arguably the best allrounder in one-day and test cricket and one of the biggest improvers with the bat. He also did it while single-handedly keeping a wobbly side competitive.

Team: The All Whites brought more joy to New Zealand on that fairytale night in Wellington than any other "team" last year. OK, they didn't win a title. But they punched above their weight to make the final 32 in the world's most popular sport. This is serious over-achievement even if the gods smiled on them with their kind route to South Africa. They beat what was put in front of them and that victory will live longer in the wider sporting community's mind than the relative efforts of the other Halberg finalists in this category.

Coach: Did everything look and feel familiar at the Sky City Convention centre on Thursday night? None more so than Richard Tonks winning this category. It was his fourth win and he's been nominated every year expect one since 1998. That's a fine record and guiding two world title winners is a massive achievement. But it could be argued that Tonks is simply doing what he always does ï¿½ coach well. Then someone like Riki Herbert steps up to the mark and produces something special out of the blue. The All Whites' World Cup qualification was a coaching master-stroke, a cleverly orchestrated campaign to get a result in Bahrain with a radical three-man attack and then outdo the Arabs with a more orthodox approach in Wellington. All this achieved with limited resources and the burden of guiding a professional club as well.

Allegedly