2. Ninja Warrior...anyone of the contestants bullied there in the past? Rare that this fine sport would be mentioned in this blog, but there is some outstanding work there. The aim is to get to the top of Mount Midoriama - on Ninja Island. Apparently free midori for life. Brilliant work - "Jack has lots of guts"..."tougher than the Olympics"...some minor exaggerations. Love the replays and the analysis. Gold! Everyday blokes and women...who train 20 hours each day on their six packs...
2. Origin III. How busy is the bloke at Queensland Origin training on the golf buggy. Weaving in an out of broken and busted Queenslanders lying on the deck after yet another bruising training session against the Burleigh Bisons... hauling them off to the waiting media to trumpet how they are underdogs. With Thurston out it was a tough decision as to who should do it this time...winner, winner chicken dinner: Billy Slater.
How can anyone with football brains dispute Cherry-Evans being overlooked for Queensland;s team in Origin III. They needed a five eight - not a half back. Why would he be considered? Really... Trent Barrett should know better. Now, if he was overlooked for halfback, that would be a different story. Game 3 in Brisbane...NSW will struggle for mine yet again. Unless their forwards keep second phase ball coming through sensible offloads, they will be run off the park. While a great defender, Nathan Peats lacks critical speed and spark from dummy half for mine that cannot counter the rapid line speed of the Queensland defence.
3. Cricket. Would a year of no Australian cricket worry too many? I must say the stupidity of both parties is breathtaking. It will give many of the top players time to count their IPL rupees.
How good is Elyse Perry, Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healey and their team? Perry/ Lanning in particular are stars who deserve more money than most male cricketers.
4. Joe Root pulled out a tremendous 190 v South Africa in the first test at Lords. Under pressure and first innings runs. I continue to marvel at the work of Moeen Ali. His batting rarely fails and he takes wickets. He is a pressure player. Outstanding and possibly in the top five most influential Test cricketers worldwide for the last two or three years.
4. Joe Root pulled out a tremendous 190 v South Africa in the first test at Lords. Under pressure and first innings runs. I continue to marvel at the work of Moeen Ali. His batting rarely fails and he takes wickets. He is a pressure player. Outstanding and possibly in the top five most influential Test cricketers worldwide for the last two or three years.
With the power of Stokes and add the brilliance of Broad and Anderson, they will crush us in the Ashes....again!
Quentin de Kock is some sort of talent. He can really dominate an attack. He has the full range of shots. Where are de Villiers and Steyn? Not sure they have retired from Test Cricket just yet.
5. Waratahs. What an appalling team they are in 2017. Down 25-3 against the Jaguarians after 30 minutes. Wallabies galore too. An utter disgrace. They do not defend but have been able to attract an amazing number of fans (maybe 30,000-35,000) who wear blank blue seat outfits. Great fancy dress. 40-27 full time?....That coach Gibson needs to be ended. Chieka has him on his payroll...incredible. Time for him to share his excellence elsewhere. First loss ever at home to the Jaguarians in front of one of the worst ever crowds!
6. Lions v All Blacks. A strong end to an entertaining series. Special talent on show but really hard not to think that it takes the best from multiple rugby nations to DRAW at Eden Park against the All Blacks. What hope does Australia have? Zip. There needs to be a stat held on the referee's whistle in this game - and the number of game changing penalties in the last three minutes of a rugby game. QLD beat the Brumbies in these exact circumstances this weekend too. At least the Lions TMO had the sense to stop the series being decided by a ridiculous call.
7. Swans. A tremendous turn around in a year where the lid has been kept on the highest flyers. Their mids are finally stepping up. Keiran Jack is playing like a man whose contract is up. Parker has been helped by the pace and skill of Rohan and especially Lloyd and Zac Jones.
Quentin de Kock is some sort of talent. He can really dominate an attack. He has the full range of shots. Where are de Villiers and Steyn? Not sure they have retired from Test Cricket just yet.
5. Waratahs. What an appalling team they are in 2017. Down 25-3 against the Jaguarians after 30 minutes. Wallabies galore too. An utter disgrace. They do not defend but have been able to attract an amazing number of fans (maybe 30,000-35,000) who wear blank blue seat outfits. Great fancy dress. 40-27 full time?....That coach Gibson needs to be ended. Chieka has him on his payroll...incredible. Time for him to share his excellence elsewhere. First loss ever at home to the Jaguarians in front of one of the worst ever crowds!
6. Lions v All Blacks. A strong end to an entertaining series. Special talent on show but really hard not to think that it takes the best from multiple rugby nations to DRAW at Eden Park against the All Blacks. What hope does Australia have? Zip. There needs to be a stat held on the referee's whistle in this game - and the number of game changing penalties in the last three minutes of a rugby game. QLD beat the Brumbies in these exact circumstances this weekend too. At least the Lions TMO had the sense to stop the series being decided by a ridiculous call.
7. Swans. A tremendous turn around in a year where the lid has been kept on the highest flyers. Their mids are finally stepping up. Keiran Jack is playing like a man whose contract is up. Parker has been helped by the pace and skill of Rohan and especially Lloyd and Zac Jones.
GWS have to be hurting. Lots of injuries, but two draws in back to back weeks (Geelong and Hawthorn) continues to teach them a lesson about September footy. Don't think it is over. I thought they had gotten through this with some tight wins in 2017, but the lessons dealt to them by the Western Bulldogs late in the 2016 semi seem to be fading at the wrong end of the season. This year GWS have beaten Western Bulldogs (by 2), Collingwood (by 3), Richmond (by 3) and West Coast (by 8) and lost to Carlton (by 1). These results can turn a season...both ways.
That last bounce v Hawthorn was pretty unbelievable however. Western Bulldogs could be just about finished based on their effort v Adelaide. Poor. Not as bad as Richmond who are heading a familiar way (south) yet again. Geelong still the team to beat I suspect. Adelaide look sharp too. The resurgence of St Kilda, Melbourne and Carlton - and even Essendon - is giving hope to Melburninans.
8. Wimbledon. Hard to imagine Roger Federer won't be there at the end, but with the heat in London, look for those with the booming serve to dominate - and surprise in week two. The whinging of tennis players is something else. Tomic aside...Kygrios aside (they know how to party at least, but how embarrassing - they should be banned by Wimbledon for a year each)...the rest of those bagging the courts and grounds staff for uneven surfaces or quick courts....please. The only voices not bagging them? Djokovic, Murray, Rafa and Roger. Now who will make those men's semis?
No comments:
Post a Comment