Coast clear for run to finals as underdogs' bite stops the barking

SINCE the A-League was formed five years ago, the Central Coast Mariners have carved a niche for themselves as perennial underdogs, a tag happily cultivated by the club and accepted by the broader football community.

Garnaut On Tour As Fight Heats Up

ROSS Garnaut will play to capacity audiences in the town halls of Australia's mainland capital cities this week, starting his roadshow in Perth today and performing in Melbourne on Wednesday. Bookings are strong - climate change is a popular issue.

Getting Up Close And Personal

A map of your genetic destiny and tailor-made medications are closer, and cheaper, than you think, writes Steve Dow.

Captain Sniffy And The Blokey Blokes

Boys will be boys, nowhere more so than Perth, it seems. David Humphries reports.

Who's Who Of Premier Producers

Destination: Margaret River WA Car: Mazda CX-9 Luxury Round trip: 600km from Perth

Molik Has Map To The Summit

The former world No.8 knows what is takes to be an elite player, writes Jake Niall.

$4m Challenge Puts Wa Back On Map

WA RACING is back on the national agenda for owners and trainers with the $4 million Australian Mile Triple Challenge announced yesterday.

South Dragons Hope For Big Things From Ex-wildcat

SOUTH Dragons have added the first big player for their National Basketball League debut, signing young Perth centre Matthew Burston for one season.

Ab Opens Up On The Highs And Lows

He put Australian cricket back on the map as a player, as a selector he helped make our international teams the envy of the world. He's perhaps our most recognisable cricketer. In an exclusive first interview since his resignation as an Australian selector, the great Allan Border spoke to Will Swanton.

Stay Home, Young Stars Told

STEVE McMahon won three English League Championships, two FA Cups and played in an England team that reached the World Cup semi-finals - credentials that make the former Liverpool midfielder and new Perth Glory manager worth listening to.

Behind Closed Doors, Nine-man Panel Will Scrum Down To Choose Super 14 Side

The time has come to decide between Melbourne and Perth, writes Ben Kimber.

News From The Basin Gives Juniors Cause For Celebration

A flurry of recent announcements suggests that the Perth Basin is likely to remain an exploration hot spot.

Investors Drop Half

Investors in Sydney Airport owner Macquarie Airports (MAp) officially halved their money yesterday, as the deadline for the obligatory second payment for its stock came and went.

Devon A Load Of Polony

IN NSW we know it as devon, in South Australia it's fritz and in Perth they swear it's polony. Macquarie Dictionary editor Susan Butler said the Australian Word Map project showed the country had a wealth of interstate and inter-regional word differences.

New Scientists

The Scientists Where Annandale Hotel, Parramatta Road (cnr Nelson Street), Annandale When February 8 and 9 How much $21.50 plus booking fee Bookings 9550 1078 More information The Human Jukebox: 1984-1986 is out now on Citadel Perth's grunge godfathers are back on the road, writes STEVE TAUSCHKE.

Now, One Festival To Rule Them All

CITIES and communities all around the world and across Australia seek a hallmark, or signature, event that will each year put them on the tourist map as the place to be or as a place to visit.

Punters On The Ball As Titans Firm For The Title

Victoria's charge through the premiership rounds hasn't been missed by punters, with the Titans into equal favouritism with Perth to win the National Basketball League title.

Outrage At Plan To Hunt For Oil Off Barrier Reef

A Perth company wants to explore for oil just 50 kilometres from the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Monday 15 January

11 dys until some cockroaches scramble across a map of Australia for the Australia Day Cockroach Races in Queensland. Birthday of civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King Jr. 204 years since James Hetherington, a London Haberdasher, was fined for wearing his newest creation - the top hat. &quo

For Those About To Rock, Melbourne Suits You

It's easy to take Melbourne's thriving live music scene for granted when it's right under your nose. But when you are punk band Mach Pelican and you have slogged it all the way from Japan, via Perth, Melbourne's inner-city venues are a rock 'n' roll heaven. The band's eventual members moved fr