David Leggat: Rules rules rule - even on front page

Six days out from the start of the Commonwealth Games and if you want an idea of where it sits in Melbourne's sporting canvas, you only need to take a look at the city's newspapers.

Australian Rules rules, no matter the time of year in this neck of the woods.

So the Games buildup, and other competing elements such as the Australian cricketers in South Africa (Super 14? What's that? This is Melbourne, pal) has to take its place.

The main sports story in yesterday's Melbourne Age concerned letting boundary and goal umpires assist field umpires in making decisions in this year's AFL (and if you haven't a clue what that was all about that's okay, you'll never need to worry about it again.)

The bunting is out, and the city is getting into Game mode. But dig a little deeper and all is not well.

The biggest fly in the green and gold ointment is the tardy ticket sales.

More than 125,000 tickets have been returned; more than 500,000 remain unsold and that includes about 15,000 for next Wednesday's opening ceremony.

Melburnians pride themselves on living in Australia's sporting capital and these sort of figures aren't a good look. Indeed, you can almost hear the Sydneysiders and Banana Benders further up the coast chortling into their schooners.

Melbourne was the only city to bid for these Games and there are some misgivings at the wisdom of that decision.

Still, it might be that the punters are leaving it late and once the medals start rolling in, the Games may develop a momentum of their own.

But there's an inescapable feeling around Melbourne that this four-yearly multi-sportathon is all well and good but the only thing which really matters concerns oval balls, full forwards and ruck rovers.

It is a given that the hosts will dominate the medal table, and so they should. They are an outstanding sports nation.

The withdrawal through illness of their biggest star, Ian Thorpe, was a blow, but new heroes will emerge.

But what of New Zealand's hopes at this 18th edition of the event that began at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1930?

At Manchester four years ago, New Zealand won 11 gold medals, 13 silver and 21 bronze.

That was the best haul of gold since Auckland's Games produced 17 winners in 1990.

But as New Zealand's athletes prepare for their day, the Olympic Games might be at the backs of many minds. The next Olympics are in Beijing in 2008.

For many, particularly athletes, boxers, cyclists, gymnasts and swimmers, Melbourne represents a chance to test themselves on an international stage, at a less rarefied atmosphere.

It is an opportunity to assess if they have the necessary mental and physical wherewithal to graduate to the big arena.

New Zealand will contest all 16 events on the programme in Melbourne from next Thursday until March 26. The best medal chances?

Individually, some usual suspects - Sarah Ulmer and Greg Henderson on the bikes, Beatrice Faumuina and Valerie Vili in the discus and shot put, Nadine Stanton, who won gold in Manchester, in the trap, Athens Olympics 1-2 triathlon finishers Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty.

As for the teams, the Silver Ferns are favourites for netball gold.

They have never won the title and most things seem in their favour, but you'd put your shirt on the Australians, in front of their own fans, being tough in the final (and forget any talk you hear about every game being demanding. With all due respect to Jamaica and England, this is a two-country contest).

The final is on shortly before the closing ceremony in one of the marquee events of the Games.

Then there's the rugby sevens team, who are defending their gold medal from Manchester; the hockey men, who won silver four years ago; the Tall Blacks should be no worse than silver; and bowls are likely to be in the medal hunt.

These Games will scream green and gold. Say what you may about our nearest and dearest across the Ditch, but they're a patriotic bunch. Noisy, cocky, yes, but you know where they stand.

And as the medals roll in, we're all going to have to get used to hearing a familiar refrain. Here's a clue: "Australians all let us rejoice" ... and so on.

Not forgetting Banjo Paterson's tale of the old sheep rustler and that dreadful "oi, oi, oi" carry-on.

Shops selling earmuffs are thin on the ground around here, so the non-Aussies are just going to have to cop it sweet, mate, for the rest of this month.