Sporting Declaration: Why it's time to dump David Warner

In case you haven't been paying attention, the Blues have been going like busteds in the Sheffield Shield for the past couple of seasons, although it probably doesn't help that they provided seven players for the Australian squad during the recent World Cup in India.

Nonetheless, after a comprehensive hammering from Tasmania in Hobart two weeks ago, the axe fell on veteran opener Daniel Hughes.

Another senior batsman, Kurtis Patterson - who averages 144 in two Tests for Australia and scored 114 not out in his last Test innings - hasn't been picked for NSW since failing in the first Shield game this season.

Into the side came a kid called Sam Konstas, an 18-year-old who has been dominating junior-level rep competitions virtually since he first picked up a bat.

Konstas, who recently returned from the Australian under-19 tour of England, is regarded by those in the know as one of those generational talents who is way ahead of his age group, just as Michael Clarke, Steve Smith and the late Phillip Hughes were at the corresponding stages of their careers.

Tossed in at the deep end by batting No.3 against Tasmania on a seaming SCG pitch, the right-hander scored 10 and 23, which might not sound like a spectacular return, until you consider that 40 wickets fell in the match for just 610 runs.

He certainly didn't look nervous, or out of his depth, from what I saw of it, and will surely only be better for the experience.

The point being that the Blues accepted that change was needed and opted for youth, which - until the modern era - was how things worked at most levels of Australian cricket.

When in doubt, give a youngster a go.

It's a shame the men who hand out the Baggy Greens are unlikely to subscribe to that policy when they name their team for the opening Test against Pakistan in Perth.

Nothing surer than they will retain David Warner at the top of the order, for reasons that escape me, other than some misguided sense of loyalty.

Warner, 37, has already announced he hopes that the SCG clash with Pakistan, starting on January 3, will be his last Test.

So what's the point in continuing with him?

I guess you could argue that the selection panel should choose the best players, regardless of age, who they believe are most capable of winning the next game.

But there are two slight issues with this line of thinking.

Firstly, barring inclement weather, Australia will in all likelihood win all five Tests this summer without breaking sweat, irrespective of who opens the batting.

Secondly, Warner's form in red-ball matches simply doesn't warrant selection.

Warner had a reasonable World Cup, but he has scored only one century - 200 against South Africa at the MCG last season - in his past 25 Tests. Since that innings, he has scored 365 runs at an average of 22.8 in eight Tests against India and England.

Meanwhile his opening partner, Usman Khawaja, has been churning out the runs since he was reinstated to the Test side almost two years ago, scoring seven centuries and averaging more than 60 in the process.

The concern for Australia's selectors is that Khawaja turns 37 this month, and while he has probably never batted better, it would be no surprise if he opted to pull up stumps at the end of this summer as well.

The argument that there are no viable alternatives to Warner is easily countered by pointing to Cameron Bancroft's statistics over the past two summers, in which he has been easily the leading domestic runscorer.

But Bancroft, whose Test career was tragically interrupted by the "Sandpapergate" scandal that was apparently Warner's bright idea, is now 31.

And while there would be some poetic justice in the Western Australian replacing the man who was chiefly responsible for him spending nine months in purgatory, I again find myself pondering the need for youth in an ageing Australian team.

The finest young prospect we've produced since Ricky Ponting is all-rounder Cameron Green, now a 24-year-old with 24 Tests under his belt. If Warner plays against Pakistan, there's a fair chance Green will be consigned to state duties.

The solution, for me, is quite simple. Move Marnus Lauschange from No.3 to opener, and bring Green in as first drop, where he will quite possibly end up in the long run.

Labuschange could become a right-handed version of Justin Langer, while Green can continue his evolution until he inevitably becomes the best player in the team.

Green will one day captain Australia. I reckon there's every chance his team will eventually include Sam Konstas.

WHO'S going to be the next rugby league "Immortal"?

That debate is set to heat up exponentially in coming months amid reports that NRL officials have kicked off preliminary discussions about who should join Clive Churchill, Bob Fulton, Reg Gasnier, Johnny Raper, Graeme Langlands, Wally Lewis, Arthur Beetson, Andrew Johns, Dave Brown, Dally Messenger, Frank Burge, Norm Provan and Mal Meninga in the 13-man code's most exclusive club.

Two new candidates have emerged since Billy Slater and Johnathan Thurston, who both retired in 2018, became eligible for selection after serving the mandatory five-year waiting period.

Cameron Smith, who would appear an absolute certainty, will have to wait another couple of years to be considered.

Of the players I have seen over the years, Darren Lockyer would be at the top of my list, with honourable mentions to Brad Fittler, Laurie Daley, Brett Kenny, Glenn Lazarus, Bradley Clyde and Ricky Stuart.

But a conversation with Allan Bell, the Newcastle Knights' inaugural assistant coach and confidant over the years to the likes of Warren Ryan, Allan McMahon, David Waite, Tim Sheens and Rick Stone, provided me with food for thought.

Belly's pick is a player who none of the judges will have ever seen in action, and whose name most fans probably won't recognise - Arthur "Pony" Halloway.

Halloway was one of the original rugby league pioneers, who helped found the breakaway code in Australia in 1908, and enjoyed a remarkable career as player and coach that spanned more than 40 years.

A crafty halfback, he had stints with Glebe, Eastern Suburbs and Balmain, winning seven premierships, including captain-coaching the Tigers to titles in 1916-17 and 1919-20. He then became a coach and steered the Roosters to four premierships between 1935 and 1945.

He went on three Kangaroo tours, captain-coached Australia, NSW and Queensland, and is estimated to have played in more than 100 representative games.

As Belly told me, it seems an oversight that Halloway is not already an Immortal.