Wrap - Out of Love

1. Men's Australian Sporting Teams. It may be just me, but the arrogance and self absorbed nature of a number of our men's Australian sporting teams seems to be getting out of hand - and with it the results are going south with the general public's view of them. Think the Australian Swimmers (drama, drama, drama), the Australian Wallabies and their attitude, the Australian Cricket team and their money obsession, the Australian Rugby league side and their threats of a strike, the Australian Socceroos and their availability/ injuries/ softness under pressure... pay disputes, money, endorsements, partners...$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Are we as a nation falling out of love with our national teams and their attitudes - and more in love with the local scene?

The Norths v Rats rugby Grand Final at North Sydney last weekend may be one of the most significant indicators of a change in Australian sentiment yet. Crowds are swelling for the localised FFA Cup, as the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australian soccer. Brisbane v North QLD in the NRL was a sell out last week. The Western Force by all reports are not going away any time soon either. BBL rates more highly than Test matches.

Are we over the national drama queens?

2. Cricket v Bangladesh. The efforts of our team were appalling. Firstly, I am absolutely gobsmacked that the outdoor furniture chair was not used in the lead- up preparations. I am laying all the blame on that. Warner was brilliant in the second innings and has now hit 19 Test tons whether traditionalists want to admit it or not. The thought of dropping Warner I am sure passed through the minds of the same galloots who picked Maxwell and Wade.

How does O'Keefe being selected work? They have Agar, Lyon, Swepson, Maxwell all there and now they want O'Keefe? Odd.

I have to say that the Victorian batsmen obsession is terrible at the moment. They have all failed to be consistent enough...Handscombe (20-30 run max.) has been very disappointing of late...Maxwell erratic (who would have guessed?) and Wade (hopeless). Wade surely cannot continue. He has never scored runs in the past three seasons. As a young keeper-bat in Australia, surely your career is mapped out for you if you can hit a few pre-season. Maybe the Ian Healey approach is needed...choose a really young bloke of strong character and pedigree.

Khawaja is by far the most disturbing. What was he doing in the first innings run out? His second innings sweep shot was not much better.

Surprisingly, I am also troubled by Renshaw. He is too slow and limited and puts a lot of pressure on the batsman at the other end. He has to play more shots.

3. NRL. The Storm are minor premiers (The $100K cheque might be left in the club ashtray...) and will be crowned premiers too. They will probably beat Parramatta by 40 points. They are all that is QLD. Speedy play the balls when they are in possession...brilliant defensive line speed...never are they seen lying in the ruck ('dead marines')...great lines run by their left and right edge forwards (eg. Harris and Browmich) which often results in points. Speed on the outside and they have possibly the best outside back in the game for mine - Will Chambers. Impossible to beat - especially at home.

Cameron Smith is the most resilient league player ever to have played the game. He is about to beat and then put a heap on the existing NRL 'games played' record of 355 first grade games. Incredible, but it shows you that running the football into the line repeatedly is far more damaging on the body than defending. Either way, he is a legend and yet another immortal. (It's getting crowded in that box - Thurston too).

Who will the Storm play in the GF? I thought Brisbane...but it can only be the Roosters on current form - and even that is patchy. A cakewalk this year. Maybe Cronulla can fire up, but how quiet have some of their stars been - Fifita, Maloney, Bird...? The loss of Ennis has been a major loss. Why can players leave the Storm and it not affect morale and yet every other team whines about it all? Bellamy is a genius.

St George - embarrassing! But how good will the Roosters be with Tedesco? He has premiership winning talent.

4. AFL. Essendon will trouble Sydney this week. A finals surge for a few will start in earnest. There is great anticipation there, but how can the AFL start later than the NRL, then have a week off before the semis? This gap weekend before the semis is a joke. Surely the fans deserve more. The momentum of the season is jolted and then it resumes...I think it advantages the lower rung teams. GWS could surprise with their pace. Hopefully they learned a thing or two from last year as well.

5. Socceroos. The desire and strength for the national jersey is under real pressure. Surely we beat Thailand, but there will be no guarantees with that lot. If japan lose on the road we are cooked. The arrogance and self centredness of the average soccer star is only matched by their coach...Ange has to go. We need the genius of an international figure in that role who has the international respect.

6. Conor McGregor has apparently just finished counting his cash and is absolutely exhausted.

7. How about Lewis Hamilton and his record breaking number of pole positions. Impressive stuff.

8. Winx. 19 wins and counting. Great confidence in the other owners who all participated in the race, knowing two place spots were up for grabs. Keep an eye out for a horse - Merchant Navy - who won on the weekend in Caulfield. A brilliant horse. I also liked the run of Vega Magic. Two to watch!

9. US Open. Surely without Murray, Djokovic and Wawrinka, Federer and Nadal will fight it out. The thought of Federer winning another Grand Slam in a year when he has won two already at his ripe old age, is tantalising! Keep an eye on this name for the future: Denis Shapovalov. Talent!