Wrap - Roger That

1. Bails....are they cricket's equivalent of the footy corner post? Do we need them?

2. Looking forward to the metal ring coming out this summer to check the shape of the ball when a team is getting smacked around the park. Why does a ball only go out of shape when there are no wickets being taken? Why is it so popular in the sub continent?

3. Love an overthrow...the chaos, the mayhem, the defeat. Hate the glove punch.

4. The Matador Cup is an absolute dud. Too many games, no publicity and who cares? Is it a lead up to Test cricket? Strange timing. The winners all get two kilos of thin cut sausages and a Mark Webber barbecue. By the way, as much as this may horrify you, I am backing Ed Cowan (think Chris Rogers' replacement) and Moises Henriques to play Test cricket with best mate Steve Smith. No bowling - just as a batsman. Ed Cowan needs to get cracking. Mo Matthews once said he will hit 5,000 Test runs. I think he has scored 1,001 runs...needs about 80 more tests yet if he can average 50.

5. Wallabies. Let's face it...a  loss to Argentina would be an intolerable joke. It would be one of the great upsets. As good as the publicity machine is...a win should create an All Blacks showdown. Chieka has a great record. No Richie McCaw will even it up.

6. The Hayne Plane. Can anyone believe that the Seattle Mariners wanted JH  and he went to the 49ers? He must have had advice from the Man Mundine. High praise from the 49ers legend Roger Craig overnight. One of the great Rogers in world sport (Federer, Davis, Rasheed...Tuivasa-Sheck...Millward, Cowan and of course Lavis...and on it goes).

7. Speaking of which, when does The Man get the final hammering of his career? Better than Hayne, Nova Perris-Kneebone and Jana Pittman combined...of course. Not as good as Daniel Vidot, the Broncos/ Raiders/ Dragsters winger who has just scored a gig in WWE! The stage name? VIDIOT?

 

8. Did David Smith's exit reveal more than we know about League? Here he is trying to make it more corporate and professional...too many useless staff in there I know...but will he be a revolutionary in years ahead? At the moment no one will miss him, but a few clubs might when the knives are sharpened.

Wrap - Scot Tissues

1. Wallabies. A thrilling close win. Scotland unlucky. Slipper very lucky. We looked loose and shoddy. Scrum was a step back. Foley not brilliant, but a brilliant pressure kick. He is ice. Argentina might trouble us to be honest on that form. An All Blacks-Australia showdown looms. Perhaps the reverse result of the Cricket World Cup. Scotland can whinge all they like. They go home now and let the southern hemisphere countries play the game. Hopefully the stuffy refs do not get hold of the games remaining.

2. Tigers. They continue to implode. Jason Taylor must be relieved as I am sure he expects the axe to swing his way. Instead Ivan Cleary is gone from the Panthers and a great opportunity for the local boy, John Cartwright to return and excel is missed. Gus may have lost the plot here. Anthony Griffin? The Broncos could not get rid of him quick enough. Can't see a happy marriage there.

3. Starc. Killing them in ODI's. Is test cricket that different while bowling. Even if he bowled ten decent overs, form says he might get two wickets. he needs to get more consistent. Steve Smith's brilliance with the bat is unbelievable. Alistair Cook is back in form with 268. There is a minimum year's grace after a knock like that.

4. Idiot Season. Roll up...step right up...Hawthorn have two up for sexual assault allegations...Issac Heaney has a broken jaw...Matt Lodge faces the clink...CEO's must have long nights at this time of year. George Burgess was in good and humbly quiet form at the Gold Coast on Friday night.

5. Noticed Tomic performed well in the Shanghai Open. Djokovic staring at an undefeated season...incredible.

 

6. The Hayne Plane continues to stutter. See above as they land in Baltimore.

Wrap - Tin Cup Half Full

The month of October brings cups of all sorts - World Cups, President's Cups...horse racing cups...the only cup not won this weekend was the Jamie Whincup.

1. Michael Cheika's Wallabies have thrilled us again - unexpectedly - over the past fortnight. First England then a magical defensive performance against Wales. Some tough games which will either prepare us well or take its toll later in the event. No tries is interesting, but once more the referees seemed to actually take a back seat to the players. Unusual. The team is built on some hard heads who remain focused on victory...not excuses. All the while the other Groups meander along. Ludicrous scheduling. Scotland will be quaking in their boots. The rigour of the scrum seems to finally be biting. Foley superb as well. Best since Larkham?

This World Cup organising mob have lost the plot. They let the fans vote on the man of the match...biggest country wins of course...they stuff up the draw and they have farcical match review situations. Bring back the World Court of Arbitration In Sport (and Dean Cappabianco).

2. President's Cup Golf. Hard to imagine golfers actually caring about a team, but it was a good tussle and a nail biting finish. We have not won the thing for an eternity. Jason Day did not really contribute which was disappointing. I suspect the Ryder Cup has more spirit and magic. It needs a permanent home.

3. Liked Criterion, but Press Statement's run in the Caulfield Guineas was particularly impressive. The fifth Sydney-trained three-year-old to win the Caulfield Guineas in the last five years! Get it into the Cox Plate.

4. The form of Mitchell Starc in the Matador/ Riobi/ Gillette/ McDonald's Cup extravaganza is quite something. He is the best white ball bowler in the world at present. Even the Cricket Australia XI under Bug Snappell had a win against Tassie. Too much map and not enough earth. Intriguing to see Watson get to 20, if that, when batting of late and that other talent waste - Shaun Marsh - get low score after low score. His career makes a good phone number: 0402 871 003.

5. Bathurst. They need to build a new dam at Bathurst. It rains there more often than most places. The driving at that event is something else. Those nasty accidents remind you of the skill and danger involved. It is gutsy, earthy and dangerous. Possibly akin to watching a full day of test cricket, some watch the whole race (and they are truly admired). The Peter Brock Cup risks being re-named the Craig Lowndes Trophy. He now has had more podium finishes than the great man himself.

Wrap - GF Special - Nifty Nev's Successor

1. Cowboys. Outstanding. Their never-say-die attitude that prevailed all year (think v Manly and Parramatta for starters and their ability to fight till the end) won out in the end. Superb, but about the fifth time this year. Michael Morgan's class under pressure was built on his QLD Origin initiation this year. Remember the name Kyle Feldt for trivia into the future! The negative Bronco tactics backfired. Why they kicked it out so often and did not pressure for a try is beyond me. Not as though Lachlan Coote was carving them up. Thought Taumoulou was the Churchill Medallist.

The Neville Glover baton has been handed onto Kane Linnett who has given it quickly to Ben Hunt.

2. Wallabies. Defence was surging and they played energetically and hard. This was a scintillating effort under the Twickenham blowtorch. Pocock, Hooper and Douglas were tremendous. Foley was exceptional too. Calm and composed. Why Quayde Cooper is even considered is beyond me. Errors from England killed them. Not impressed with Genia. Two kicks smothered, ran out down a silly short side, some hospital passes and looked slow. Have a look at a replay. Phipps' pass was ambitious, but he brought spark to the game.

3. The main question was who was the dill who devised the draw? How that was ever going to work in Pool A is beyond me. It was foreseeable and should have been changed in advance. To have some of those other nations still alive - and not England - is dumb.

4. AFL. As predicted weeks back, the Hawks were sublime. Absolutely powerful under pressure. A three-peat in the modern era underlines the loyalty and teamwork that the modern club lacks. Players want to be part of their greatness and will sign for less and stay for less. It was telling post game when Luke Hodge eyeballed two players about to give him a Gatorade shower - and they stopped instantly. That shows respect in the playing ranks. Hard to find these days.

5. Why can the AFL have an afternoon Grand Final that rates its socks off and the NRL cannot? The entertainment at the AFL was pretty good too. Halftime is a gross disappointment however. Would not have hurt either code for an encore of some of the overpaid stars to re-appear!

6. Junior Paulo. Joins the ranks of geese who inhabit the Parramatta Eels scrum. Add some more court papers to the bonfire. Fair dinkum. Until these blokes are weeded out, that club will struggle. They need to set some standards - like they did with Jacob Loko - and recruit smart blokes who make good decisions under pressure. Get rid of the jailbirds, the DUI duds and the hard luck cases. Send them somewhere else. Look at Kenny-Dowall in that final and join the dots.

7. EPL. Just two types of coaches: some coaches are sacked and some who will be.

8. Hayne Plane. Plenty of hype, but that team is terrible. Coach under pressure.

9. About to wade through the annual petrol fumes and see a brand new number of Aussie cricketers come to the fore. Bring it on! I did note however that the cricketers Aus XI who were rolled for 60 chasing 300 are coached by one of the great dud cricket coaches...Greg Chappell (aka 'Bug Snappell' on his signed broad brimmed hats).