The Wrap - Jaws Dropping Tries

1. NRL. The inconsistency of each NRL team in 2025 is keeping everyone interested and all teams alive. It is killing tipping comps however! There is not a clean premiership favourite, even when the Storm dominate, they become inconsistent. Suddenly the Penrith Panthers are in the eight! Their next few games: Bulldogs, then Eels, Rabbits, Tigers, Titans, Knights... they could finish in the top four yet. Amazing possibilities. 

A great comeback from Souths when at times they seem asleep, but not enough in the end. Alex Johnston four tries for Souths v Melbourne taking him to 206 tries (Irvine on 212). Suddenly it could well be broken this year! Incredible.

The Broncos had a strong win v the disappointing Sharks who played really well in the first half. The 50th anniversary of 'Jaws The Movie' this weekend did not assist. No fear there and a crushing loss really.

The Roosters are a magnificent strength of a club. They could win the comp yet, dismantling the Cowboys. Sandon Smith would be an excellent pick up by a club, should DCE make the trek to Moore Park.

2. AFL. Carlton have bitten the dust as North Melbourne are finally starting to improve. The Swans are back with a solid away win, but are on the precipice of extinction. 24 points is two wins out of the eight with the competition rapidly closing. GWS registered a top win v Gold Coast after giving up a huge lead. A terrible crowd at the Easter Show Stadium and yet they are in the top eight! A big concern for the AFL. Moving out of Blacktown was ordinary. No one can get to Homebush and the stadium is ordinary - for AFL and worse for the Thunder in the Big Bash!

3. FIFA Club World Cup - Auckland City FC. In the same group as Bayern Munich and Benfica. They were absolutely pumped! 10-0 and 6-0. Minnows in an unfair contest. They play the great Bocca Juniors on Tuesday. We are so far behind the rest of the world it is not funny. World Cup qualification is the best we do - but NZ as our reps is hard to cop.

4. Test Cricket - India v England. Recite after me: "When you win the toss, you think about bowling and then bat - every time". How often do England get this wrong? Headingley is a tricky deck and it is famous for fourth innings victories (Stokes v Australia), so maybe there was some logic there to bowling first, but such a risk.

Jaiswal (5 Test tons), the new skipper, Gill (6 Test tons), Pant (7 Test tons) dominated. All supremely talented younger players. There is no great loss with Rohit and Kohli having retired from Test cricket. The English team got pumped on Day 1 at 3/359. Terrible. 

They have bounced back with some ordinary Indian batting on Day 2 and a ton by Olly Pope. That is a hell of an innings it must be said. They could have paid a heavy price once Bumrah got out there to bowl. He has not been so menacing, but does have all three wickets in the English first innings and should have had a couple more, but for bad hands. Beware the sunshine in England. It changes the game!

5. NHL - Stanley Cup Winners. The Florida Panthers have beaten the Edmonton Oilers 4-2. A crushing series win to make it two championships in a row (2024, 2025) - and on the back of a 2023 final loss. Three final deciders in a row! The Panthers brand world wide is pretty amazing. The Carolina Panthers need to step it up. The front of their ground is excellent:

6. NBA - Oklahoma City v Indiana Pacers. Locked up at 3-3 now and the final of the final series is Monday morning our time.

7. Super Rugby Final. The Crusaders win yet again, this time 16-12. Possibly the most successful franchise in the world of sport. An outstanding comeback after a miserable year last year. Coach Penney can actually coach. Get him away from one of the biggest disappointments of a franchise in world sport (The Waratahs) and he excels. The Chiefs now have three runner up finishes in a row, and their fourth in five years! Perennial bridesmaids sadly.

8. US PGA Travellers Tournament. That man Scottie Sheffler (-7) had a rare poor third round to sit T8 with Rory, 9 behind leader, Tommy Fleetwood (-16). A mild US Open performance from Sheffler, but he is never far away. Jason Day is close too in this event at -11! Tommy's to lose now.

9. Australia v West Indies Test Series. This is a big test for Sam Konstas. Proper Test cricket batting may consolidate his spot in the team. Marnus mercifully has been punted. He needs to re-invent, but still averages 46.2 (11 tons) in tests. Starts this week on June 25-29. Josh Inglis back in the team and looks to be one of our best bats moving forward. No Steve Smith initially will be a test. Time for Head to stand up and dominate. Green is playing for his future.

10. Wimbledon starts next week. The classiest of sporting tournaments outside The Masters. Starts soon.

The Wrap - Great Phinish

1. ICC - World Test Cricket Championship. Well, well, well...firstly a great effort by South Africa and Makram in particular. Had a top IPL and now a ton in the test Championship Final at Lords. Superb. They are a tough nation to beat at any sport.

The really poor Australian top order batting has been exposed once more. Khawaja not moving his feet again, Marnus jumpy and dabbling, Green out of his depth and Head batting too extravagantly as is his more recent custom. Cameron Green is simply not good enough yet. If ever there was a Shane Watson clone, it is him. Lunges with the front foot, plants and nicks - or LBW. He is not seasoned or clever enough for different conditions yet, but he better get his skates on!

Smith is still flourishing (he has won Tests with his hands, but that miss was horrible at the worst time). A stylish player of strength. Our man Beau 'Slug' Webster hit 72 and is a complete cricketer who we would take well ahead of Green. Bring back Konstas (minus the ramp shots). We need proper openers of the future. Khawaja will need a miracle to make the SCG for his announced retirement next summer.

Starc was outstanding and unlucky...every dropped catch was off his bowling. Cummins superb. Hazelwood? I suspect Boland could have been more lethal. Nathan Lyon once again could not make an impression when the pressure was on. The great Shane Warne would have won that for us. He rarely lost to South Africa in any form. Who is our next spinner? Not really seeing any dominant long term option.

When Starc and Hazelwood scored runs late in our second innings, the drums were beating. When the sun comes out in England...the pitch changes... and so it did (for South Africa).

2. NRL. The Dolphins and Roosters are making a run in Origin time as well. The Phins are looking great despite the number of top players injured (Flegler, Gilbert, Saifiti and Plath) yet dominating opponents. Farnsworth is clearly on of the best centres in the game. Behind Crichton. North QLD were terrible. 

The Roosters are scrapping and getting it done. Manly have lost the plot. They are really struggling and it is a coach ender if it doesn't change. Lots of inconsistency this year. Penrith are sitting 9th and are on the move thanks to this inconsistency.

Moses has become a real injury worry and needs to address this fast. Parramatta will fall in a heap again - even if playing the Titans. Origin is great, but gee it ruins the weekly comp.

The Bulldogs are dominant. Even without their stars. Alex Johnston is a machine... yet another try (202 tries now v Ken Irvine's 212...he may be a chance this year!).

3. AFL. The Giants had a top win v Brisbane. The shaky Brisbane team will be encouraging for others like Collingwood. Geelong dominant, the Western Bulldogs, Hawks and Port all eeked out wins to sit pretty on the table. The teams are almost sorted now with further losses ending the fringe teams: Swans, Port, St Kilda, Port Adelaide, Melbourne, Essendon and Carlton.

4. NHL - Stanley Cup. The Florida Panthers have hit the front now at 3-2 v the Edmonton Oilers (best of seven games). A chance for back to back cups. Awesome effort from both teams.

5. NBA Final. The Indiana pacers are surprising the Oklahoma Thunder. Locked at 2-2 (best of seven games), it is anyone's, but the Thunder surely have to hit their straps soon.

6. US Golf Open - Adam Scott. On fire in a high scoring Major. The US Open has produced more winners of par or worse in its history. This could be another. Adam Scott sits one off the pace (-3) but Hovland (-1) and Scheffler (+4) and even Leishman (-4) hover. Two time US Open/ three time US PGA  winner Brooks Koepka (-5) is close enough too. Brooks has been quiet of late but has five majors...rare gold! Only Trevino, Mickelson and Faldo have six majors! This is elite in world golf with only 10-15 golfers ever having done better. If the weather gets bad, there could be a shock result.

We know that Jack Nicklaus won 18 Golf majors, but did you know he was runner up in 19 other Golf majors (and 9 thirds?). What a dominant legend of the game.

7. Canadian FI. Verstappen and Piastri look to be the ones who will fight out this year's title. Max is amazing and George Russell on pole will be the smoky. Such a long season. Plenty of points left up for grabs. Norris has been a little disappointing this weekend but is a fierce competitor.

8. Super Rugby. A familiar tale. The Crusaders and Chiefs yet again in the Grand Final. The two stand out franchises. The history across a few derivatives (Super 12, Super 14, Super Rugby) is that they have 12 titles (and 4 runners up gongs!). Incredible. The Chiefs have two wins (and 3 runners up gongs). The latest bridesmaid seasons were 2023 and 2024. The final contest? Get ready for more post game Crusaders break dancing, but Scott Robertson is the national NZ coach these days.

Rob Penney is in charge of the Crusaders now, having learned all he knows at the Waratahs back in 2020-2021! His 26% success rate there has been improved now!

The Wrap - Glouless

1. Ange Postocoglou. A sad but somewhat predictable end for Ange Postocoglou. Or 'Posto-no clue' as some of the fans saw him. He brought a style of play to Tottenham that the conservatives and traditionalists could not cope with (Bazball?), yet he also brought them silverware that they whinged about not having for a long time. 

However, Ange fills his pockets with their cash and moves on. He will be in hot demand as a European champion who the players loved, no doubt about that. His super athletic surging game is so demanding on player fitness, rapid player burnout results. Injuries were massive under Ange and he pushed limits. By anyone's reckoning, a record number of losses in the EPL was unbelievably bad. A Europa title, unbelievably good. 

He will be remembered well, but the pressure on the next coach will be unprecedented. The tight fisted owner, Levy, sacks the good ones... good luck to the next one. He does not buy players and that makes it hard for a football coach at the elite level. He is clueless. The club is 'Glou-less'.

2. NRL. Manly's inconsistency is incredible, losing a really bad one in Newcastle. The Dragons were even worse, dropping fifty points against the Dolphins. The Broncos surged back and Reece Walshe changed that for them. A super talent. Weeding out the cancers, week by week. Cobbo is on the outer and a few others need to go, perhaps even the son of the previous coach.

The Tigers look better, but keep losing. Losses get them 14th place. The Panthers into 13th. What about the Raiders? So much belief and so much composure, with great discipline. No byes yet and on top of the comp! They are playing finals already when some tipped them for the spoon!

Adam Reynolds hit the 300+ games group. A mighty achievement, but he is a way off some of these legends, including Ben Hunt and Daley Cherry-Evans who are still going and not far away from hitting third position.

The great Josh Papali'i scored two tries and kicked a conversion celebrating his record breaking games played record for Canberra v Souths. He is on 319 (same as Billy Slater), not far away! That is a lot of tough football.

3. AFL. Inconsistency by the GWS Giants is killing them too. The Gold Coast were up to their old bad tricks and the Swans, finally win. A weaker Richmond these days, but all wins count. Adelaide are starting to fire. Geelong are always close to the best. The big games roll on in the AFL on the long weekend...Essendon v Carlton and Melbourne v Collingwood. Huge crowds!

4. Formula 1. How good is Oscar Piastri? Five wins this season now. Awesome. He is on seven career F1 wins behind Ricciardo (8), Webber (9), Jones (12) and Brabham (14). I suspect he will eclipse all at McLaren very soon...and maybe this season the way he is driving that car. The number of races they now have compared to that of years ago (Alan Jones won when there were 14 races), makes it so much harder to win the whole thing. 15 races to go of a 24 race season, including the Canadian GP next week! He is well placed, but both he and Norris are close! Lots of time left yet.

5. Super Rugby. SO hard to get into this season and to see any of it, but the Brumbies continue to excel. Crusaders v Blues and Chiefs v Brumbies now in the semi finals for the two Grand Finalists! The Reds and the Hurricanes exit.

6. NBA. The Indiana Pacers v Oklahoma City Thunder. A shock Pacers victory in Game 1 on the buzzer surprised many. An intriguing week of games ahead.

7. NHL. The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers are all locked up at 1-1...nothing else but an arm wrestle is expected here.

8. Perth Bears. Mal Meninga is doing some superb service here as the ambassador for the NRL as the inaugural coach. He needs some decent leaders and talented players however! Let's hope this leadership role ends better than his political career. See a small summary of his 28 second political career here: Bing Videos

9. Cricket. The glory of Virat Kohli wining the IPL alongside of his other Royal Challengers Bangaluru (RCB) team mates excited the Indian nation, especially with his recent retirement plans announced. He hit 657 runs in the tournament (third highest). Mitchell Marsh was fifth (627 runs). Hazelwood was a strong part of this victory too (third highest wicket taker and third best average - 22 wickets at 17.55).

The Test Championship of Australia v South Africa kicks off this week. Will be interested to see who opens the batting. Marnus is on his last legs, despite an impressive Test batting record.

10. French Open. Coco Gauff won her second Grand Slam v Aryna Sabalenka, who has now lost back to back Grand Slam finals. Gauff is the first US woman since Serena Williams (2015) to win a final. She did it in three sets and has really matured as a player.

Sinner v Alcaraz is the men's showdown tonight. Sinner was drug banned this year and will struggle to recover from this in the eyes of the public for some time. He has three Grand Slam titles (2 x AUS, 1 x US) and Alcaraz has four Grand Slam titles (2x Wimbledon, 1 x French, 1 x US). If Alcaraz wins, he will join Tony Trabert and Frank Sedgman as the only men to have won 5 Grand Slam titles.

11. US Open Golf. Starts this week at Oakmont in Pittsburgh. Rory is in horrific form. What price Sheffler yet again after his USPGA win and the recent Memorial Open victory last week? Four Grand Slam wins would place Sheffler alongside Els and Floyd in rising elite company. Many have won three...fewer four!

The Wrap - Lastly Piastri

1. NRL. 'We didn't see that coming" or "that was not us" (yes it was!). A lot of coaches use these expressions to excuse poor performances or deflect from their players, but the fans marvel at how a team can spend a whole week practising in their salubrious facilities - Centres of Excellence of course - and dish up frightfully inept performances. Sometimes week in and week out.

The Broncos have massive problems. Time for a Netflix show like 'TigerTown' I suspect. They lack enthusiasm and there is a cancer in that place that needs to be called out, fixed or removed. Perhaps it is a star player or two that needs to go. Something is amiss and if they can't identify who it is and the team culture issue, the coaching staff need to walk. Poor old Trent Barrett is again there when a team goes bad. He will wish he never left Penrith as an Assistant Coach. Ricky Stuart is the master of culture. he could lead a review!

2. NRL Wrap. The Titans who score a lot of points, leak even more and Des Hasler is not enjoying life. I wonder how Justin Holbrook is feeling. They had a chance to build a future under him, but threw it away with customary impatience. From afar, the club seems to lack that spirit and culture needed to win regularly.

Sadly, the media love a coach in distress and pile on quickly. Benji is really struggling too. Adam O'Brien as well. Cleary is spared and Ryles for very different reasons. O'Brien is right about the rubbish draw.

Manly were pretty awesome it must be said. They can really fire at home when it counts. Always have. All without the key Trobjevics. There may need to be some harsh calls there soon granted Tom's injuries. He may be better off at another club. Unthinkable of course, but the reality.

St George keep motoring along... they are into the eight now and with a little more poise with their close losses, they could be doing a Bulldogs with at least six additional points! The results of close games define your season!

The Cowboys and Manly are also hovering around the bottom of the eight. All strength to their persistence and resolve. Souths are an amazingly disappointing team. Bennett cannot be happy with this.

After three tries v Warriors this weekend, Johnston may now overtake Irvine this year if he stays fit! 200 tries is some sort of effort. The second ever player to achieve it!

3. The Swans. Pre-game they welcomed back Adam Goodes and old premiership winning players from 2005 and then they got absolutely whacked by a so so team in Adelaide - at home. This team needs some ego checking. I suspect a lot of younger guys (not a lot of hard headed experienced guys in the place) are not aiming up in the tough stuff. They need some leaders and their forward line remains super limited. There are young careers on the line there. The Lizard Blakey touched the ball 11 times... Lloyd 11 times and Campbell 8 touches. Not good enough.

4. Football. How about Melbourne City? 1-0 over Melbourne Victory, cementing their name as champions. City have now won two titles to Victory's four. Sydney FC lead the way with five titles. 

Paris St Germain win 5-0 on the Champions League final v Inter Milan... the biggest win ever.

The axe has been quiet Tottenham way ... surely news this week as trade windows open. Would Gareth Bale be open to a return?

5. NBA. The Eastern Conference Final was tight between the Pacers and Knicks in a 4-2 wrestle leading them into playing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Final. OKT were the team that sent Josh Giddey packing last season and used their trades really wisely. Well positioned to add a championship ring to their last 1979 victory. The Pacers have never won it (the Knicks last won in 1970 and 1973, but have lost a final series SIX times).

6. NHL. Florida Panthers v Edmonton Oilers. This was a cracking Stanley Cup Final last year and it is underway again this week. Both the Panthers and the Oilers won their conferences 4-1. Decisive and clearly superior teams.

7. IPL Final. The Punjab Kings play the Mumbai Indians tonight for the right to play the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2025 IPL final. The Kings are coached by Ricky Ponting and have Stoinis, Hardie, Owen, Inglis and Bartlett in their squad. Inglis is the only one playing regularly at present. The Mumbai Indians have NO Australian players. 

RCB have Virat Kohli and Tim David, but Hazelwood is the weapon! He now has taken 21 wickets in 11 games. Third on the list of highest wicket takers at 15.81 which is the second best to Bumrah (15.33).

The Test Championship Final is fast approaching. This should be excellent v South Africa.

8. Women's Origin. Love the game and the NRLW is awesome viewing. However the NSW try where the ball was not placed down over the try line (no sideline, no held up) was really unfortunate, effectively costing them the game ultimately. Such a basic not done, by a really talented player in Isabelle Kelly. There are a few NRL players who do this too I suspect and have not been called on it. It is not a bad rule, it is THE rule and always has been.

9. The Waratahs. Oh dear. Season on the line, a must win game... they lose by 40. How can you cheer for this mob at present? So disappointing after a bright start to the season.

10. French Open. Novak Djokovic. What an awesome player! 100 tournament wins in the ATP. Into the fourth round v Cameron Norrie with his 99th French Open win. This should be yet another quarter final. Sinner, Rune and Zverev look the only other options to win it. Sinner looks fresh after his pathetic drugs ban.

11. PGA Memorial Open. The amazing Scottie Scheffler looks poised to win again, following his recent USPGA win at Quail Hollow, leading into the final round. Was able to get there on the morning of the first Round of the USPGA. A real buzz.. $US300-400 entry fee for the day!

12. Oscar Piastri. Talk about a driver on the move. More pole positions and victories by an Australian F1 driver in a season since Alan Jones in 1980! Alan won 7 races and the title. Piastri has four wins this season (Chinese, Bahrain, Saudi. Miami GPs...maybe the Spanish tonight!). He is on pole tonight.

The Wrap - Ange Mania

1. NRL. It must be said that the Roosters are certainly one of the favourites for the competition, despite ridiculous suggestions pre-season that a spoon was imminent. They have been a bit up and down, but their younger players are better than most other clubs by a long stretch. A production line of strength and unity and they beat a strong Cronulla who have been shining. They were without a few stars too.

The Bulldogs have not played as many top liners and folded badly to the Dolphins. The Parramatta effort v Manly was one of their best and toughest defensive outings in recent memory. The shocking defensive lapses of earlier in the season are fewer. To win without Moses is a rarity. The Panthers are in a world of pain. Messy without Origin stars. Canberra are a tough team to beat in 2025. A great win by them v the Warriors who finally lose a tight one.

Mercifully, the Galvin saga is about to end. Everyone is looking for more from him and can't be convinced yet that he is some God of the NRL. No pace, no size, moderate kicking game... smart passer of the football and good thinker.

Daniel Tupou is also climbing the ranks of the greatest NRL try scorers with a double this weekend. He is only a season away from being in the top four or five of all time. Amazing humility and quiet strength.

2. Ange - Tottenham. We have ridden this closely, but what a win in Spain v ManU 1-0. Europa League champions brings great wealth and exposure worldwide for the club. He will probably part ways with the club, but he was speaking about a "third season", so maybe not! A superb effort that will pave the way for other Australian coaches in time. This is all despite finishing 17th or so in the EPL!

The brilliant final EPL round which has all games start at the same time kicks off in the EPL tonight. No surprises this year...Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton are all gone already. Some chances to make the Champions League hover for a raft of top teams. Liverpool (champions), Arsenal and Man City look to be locked in...some others have tough games to get there, including the very successful Notts Forest.

3. Sunderland Till I Die - The Championship. The Netflix series (very interesting viewing!) came to life this weekend when Sunderland played Sheffield United in the Championship Final for the right to join Leeds and Burnley in being promoted into the EPL. It is often called the most lucrative game in world soccer because of the incredible EPL sponsorship and TV riches that await the winner. A great 2-1 win! This will form an excellent series if the producers were smart enough to capture it all! Jobe Bellingham is the star player.

Perhaps a Netflix series with Ange may have been a more lucrative and rewarding investment.

Both Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory play each other in the A League final. A dunny seat awaits the winner! 

4. AFL. Collingwood and Brisbane look too strong this year. Freo did well against Port in the rain in Perth (rain there?). Geelong have so much talent (not sure Bailey Smith reduces pressure on the team) and the Gold Coast have a couple of games in hand but are at the top of the table too. This is rare gold. Swans v Melbourne (both on 16 points going in...) presented as a critical game for both teams. The Swans simply lack class and height forward. They are a mess under Cox sadly.

5. Oscar Piastri - F1. Oscar is such a humble talent. A messy practice round at Monaco, but still lands up there third in qualifying! Good luck passing anyone on that street circuit. A win for Verstappen is imminent. 

6. NBA. The Western and Eastern Conference finals are well underway. The Oklahoma City Thunder lead the Minnesota Timberwolves 2-1 (who produced a great home victory earlier today) in the west and the Indiana Pacers lead the New York Knicks 2-0 in the east. A miserable end looms for the impressive Knicks. They are on the road now and well behind with it all to do.

7. Cricket. IPL Finals await but Justin Langer who coaches the Gujarat Titans, may need to move on with a mid table finish. They are brutal on success. Impressive showings this week by Mitch Marsh (fourth highest run scorer) who hit a ton, Pat Cummins (ninth highest wicket taker now on 16 wickets, Hazelwood fourth highest on 18 wickets) and Josh Inglis/ Marcus Stoinis with the bat.

Shubman Gill has been announced as the new Indian Test cricket captain. Interesting. He was overlooked for last year's Boxing Day Test you may recall. You will also remember how he charged Nathan Lyon and nicked it to Steve Smith amidst a flurry of sledging moments before lunch in Sydney. Composure and temperament?

8. NHL. In the western conference final, the Dallas Stars (not lots of ice in Texas!) are locked 1-1 with the Edmonton Oilers. In the east the Florida Panthers (no snow in Florida!) lead the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0. You will recall last season that the Oilers played the Panthers in the final and the Florida team won 4-3 in a tight finals series! Florida are on the cusp of a third straight Stanley Cup appearance (1-1 to date).

9. Tennis. Novak joins Federer and Connors as having won 100 ATP titles now. An incredible record. French Open kicks off this week. Sinner will be in the spotlight after his lettuce leaf punishment for yet another crazy excuse-laden drug bust...toothpaste, mum's pill, too much sex, kissing girls in niteclubs, bad meat, cream from a masseuse? Please...

The Wrap - Moses and the Europa Sea

1. NRL. Mitchell Moses has made a huge impact on the Parramatta team since returning from injury, but five eight for NSW? Not so sure. Luai has a proven connection with Cleary, but the leadership of the team will be tested with both Cleary and Moses. Like the Latrell-Crichton centre pairing with Lomax and To'o. Haas and Barnett...with the best bench in the business: Hudson Young, Connor Watson and Spencer Leniu. Queensland is always tough to toss. Munster, DCE, Grant... and Lindsay Collins is back and always excels in the origin arena.

A fabulous win by the Sharks v Melbourne. The talent of the Storm is incredible, but their inconsistency will be troubling the meticulous Craig Bellamy. An outstanding run continues by the NZ Warriors. Winning tight games defines your season. The Wahs have won 5 games by four points or less (out of 10 games) so far. That makes a huge difference and they sit second on the table!

Alex Johnston (197) now 15 tries away from Ken Irvine's (212) try scoring record. Daniel Tupou is a smoky on 167...one ahead of ET.

2. AFL. The Swans. They love wet weather and a smaller SCG to work on. Hard to toss in those conditions as they play their 'small ball' game. The GWS Giants were abysmal. The Western Bulldogs were back to their best and even Freo had a win. How inconsistent are Essendon? Collingwood just keep finding ways to win.

Great win by Melbourne over Brisbane and the West Coast and North Melbourne even won something. Check for manure under the rocking horse.

3. Italian F1 GP - Imola. Piastri is again storming fast in the lead up. The skill and artistry of these drivers is something else. Such a technical and courageous sport. Norris is slipping a little, but Verstappen is always close by and lurking! Alpine's new driver has also received a one grid position penalty in his first race after Jack Doohan's six point-less races. What a mess that is.

4. IPL and PSL. Both tournaments are back on for those who are game! Thankfully some brains have worked out that close to bombings is bad for the game. Not returning may cost you at the next IPL auction. 

Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket leaving a giant hole in the Indian Test Cricket team now that Rohit Sharma has also left. An incredible Test career, soured of late, but at his peak (esp. when winning in Australia) he was the next Javed Miandad who Australians hated because he served it back to us and he was bloody hard to dismiss. His T20 and ODI form is something else. He could play for ten more years yet!

5. NBA. The New York Knicks have knocked off their arch rivals, the Boston Celtics in Game 6, winning their series 4-2 and thrashing them by 38 points (their greatest ever play off winning margin)! Not helped by the injury to Jason Tatum, but even still the Celtics were totally outclassed. This is the Knicks' first Eastern Conference Final in 25 years. They play the Indiana Pacers. 

In the Western Conference Final, the Minnesota Timberwolves play the Denver Nuggets/ Oklahoma Thunder. The championship is drawing to a peak. It is a big show in the US. The 'big name' teams have been upended - Celtics, Warriors, Cavaliers...will the Nuggets join this sorry list?

6. NHL. The Carolina Hurricanes are surging. So too are the Edmonton Oilers. Both are through with the Dallas Stars to play the Oilers in the Western Conference final and the Florida Panthers/ Toronto Maple Leafs (Leaves?) to play the Hurricanes in the East,

7. FA Cup. Crystal Palace v Man City. A surging 1-0 win for Crystal Palace. Incredible effort against all odds and against one of the super heavyweight teams in Man City.

Ange heads to the Europa Cup final this Friday v ManU. A win will position him grandly to exit Spurs and pick up a new gig elsewhere in Europe. His EPL form is woeful however. Some weeks ago we predicted he would barely win another point there...so far it holds true.

8. Super Rugby. The Waratahs have been pruned and have been sprayed with RoundUp! A terribly disappointing season after a promising start. What a franchise the Brumbies have proven to be? They crush the Reds and climb to top of the table with the Reds in fourth. 

9. PGA Golf. Talk about a surging turn around. Names like Vegas, Pavon, Fox and Homa evaporated after the sun came out on Saturday at Quail Hollow, North Carolina - a beautiful place of the world to visit. The two time Major winners in Scheffler (2 x Masters), de Chambeau (2 x US Opens) and Rahm (1 x Masters and 1 x US Open) came to play and know what it takes to win a Major, although none have won a USA PGA. An intriguing Sunday ahead! It is Scheffler's to lose.

The Wrap - Doohan It Tough

1. Tottenham - Europa League. Ange is fighting on, making the final of the Europa League later in the month. He has proven a few folk wrong and is really bristling now that Tottenham have achieved an honour that few imagined they could. Ange will be written off again, but he is resilient and really gets the players behind him. It would be some sort of fairytale for them to beat ManU and qualify for the Champions League too! It could well be enough for him to be retained.

2. NRL. How a referee and bunker miss the offside from Drinkwater's boot in the Penrith v Cowboys game is stunning. Penrith have really leaked points this year. They also seem to leak water on the ball at each kick off! 30-30 is a bit staggering having led by 12 points twice in the game! 

The Warriors keep winning (Tigers, Broncos by two, St George by one point and North Queensland by four points!) and the Dragons keep losing narrow contests (they have lost three by one point v Souths, Eels, Warriors). As a six point turnaround, they would be coming third if they won all three!

The Wests Tigers were thumped and their hype bubble was predictably popped once they played tougher opponents. 64-0 is a whacking at this stage of the season. The wallpaper in the joint is fraying. So bad. Benji is an interesting character. Last smiled when Ray Price did.

Ryan 'Paps' Papenhuyzen is the master of the early try. 36 points in a single game is some sort of effort. Surely he is the NSW State of Origin fullback - a test for the selectors. Laurie Daley can be a worry as coach who is too connected in the media.

Manly on the slide, especially since DCE has signalled his intentions. Seibold gets a little too used to apologising and excuse making for mine every mid-season.

3. F1. Young Jack Doohan was unceremoniously sacked from his F1 team, Alpine Racing, this week. A cruel end! No points and a first lap DNF in Miami last week. Contrasted with a fourth F1 win to Piastri this season (now 6 wins/ 52 starts).

4. A-League. Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide City have been dumped on their heads with Western United v Melbourne City and Auckland v Melbourne Victory moving ahead in a home and away series each. It is a sudden end to a never ending season for those two sides!

5. Super Rugby. Brumbies (second) and Reds (fourth) head the Waratahs (eighth) and Western Force (ninth)! The crumbling season of the Tahs continues after much early hope. Good signs ahead with the performances and consistency of our top two teams.

6. IPL. Called off due to a war over the Kashmir area... again. IPL and PSL players were sent scurrying amidst Trump cease fires. How anyone in the IPL thought scheduling a game close to Kashmir was a good idea defies all logic. Incredibly silly and dangerous with our international stars scurrying for the airports!

7. AFL. Swans were awful v Essendon. Incredible how their list is so exposed after a number of injuries. The Sunday games were tight. The Giants are finally back winning (bad by Geelong who should beat everyone!) and the West Coast nearly knocking over Richmond - and North Melbourne nearly pipping the reigning premiers, Brisbane. A 71-71 draw in AFL is a tight contest in anyone's book. 

8. NBL - Conference Semi Finals. The Celtics have been stunned by the New York Knicks but bounced back to a 1-2 situation yesterday. The Conference semi finals (best of seven for maximum revenue!) are tight in the East and West Conferences with the four fancied teams all trailing at this point. Indiana Pacers are 2-1 up over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East. In the West, the Denver Nuggets are 2-1 up over the fancied Oklahoma Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves are leading the Golden State Warriors 2-1. Moving week!

9. NHL - Stanley Cup Conference Semi Finals. A few familiar faces hovering...Las Vegas Knights, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. All tight too here with Carolina Hurricanes looking the newer surprise packet.