Sunday, May 27, 2018

Wrap - State of Origin Broom

1. NRL. How good were the Panthers v St George? Their defensive line speed and fitness is better than nearly everyone else at this time of the year. The hyphenated powerhouses - and Kikau off the bench - they will be hard to toss in 2018. Clearly and Maloney are a great combination (not a lot of tears for Matty Moylan at present), but Origin will wear them down big time. Saints can ill afford to drop games too because half their pack will be in the NSW colours. Impressed with Souths this year too. They have the Burgess boys firing again and they are dangerous.

2. Origin. A little worried about Fittler's big broom approach in Origin. About time, but you can do it to some extent, but need to watch experience levels. It opens the door for a QLD team without Cronk, Thurston and Smith. (Surely Slater bails out soon too).

However, getting rid of the goose element (Ferguson, Dugan, Klemmer, Bird, Fifita, Pearce) will be good for the team. They need to be more professional with fewer drama queens. Don't like this Latrell Mitchell yet. Still too raw and undisciplined. Like the Fox and Jimmy the Jet. Sheer pace and tough! Tom Trbojevic is a champion! Cook is exciting from dummy half and will do really well. But where is Gal and Robbie Farah? My smokey is Angus Crichton. What a player and can play both in the backs and forwards. Fearless.

3. My NSW State of Origin team:

1. James Tedesco
2. James Roberts or Nick Cotric
3. Tom Trbojevic
4. Euan Aitken
5. Josh Addo-Carr
6. James Maloney
7. Nathan Cleary
8. Trent Merrin
9. Damien Cook
10. Paul Vaughan
11. Boyd Cordner
12. Tyson Frizell
13. Jake Trbojevic
14. Reagan Campbell-Gillard
15. Angus Crichton
16. Jack de Belin
17. Dave Klemmer or Tariq Sims

3. Football. That Gareth Bale scizzor kick for Real Madrid in the Champions League Final to win 3-1 was outrageous. Play of the year. In the moment!

4. Test Cricket. Mohammad Amir (He's here Ritchie!) has bounced back at Lord's in the first Test v England. Four second innings wickets has them poised for victory, needing 63 to win. Will be interesting to see if they can grind across the series. Micky Arthur has done well with this lot!

5. IPL. Glenn Maxwell was a complete disappointment this IPL...as were most Aussies. Tye and Chris Lynn are about the only ones who can hold their heads up. Darcy Short was terrible. Laughlin OK, Stanlake erratic, most were relegated to the bench and never saw the field. Embarrassing really.

The final after 60 games (!)..the Chennai SuperKings v Sunrisers Hyderabad. I would love to see the Indians join our Big Bash League - Darwan, Kholi, Rohit, Pandey, Dhoni...they would electrify it and take it to another level.

The biggest fish in the sea at present will be AB DeVilliers. Interesting to see who might snap him up in the BBL. Tipping the Sydney Chunder. Andre Russell has absolutely killed them in the IPL. He would be a sensation again too.

6. AFL. Suddenly Melbourne look OK. Geelong bounced back and Sydney continue to win ugly. West Coast will be favourites this year for mine. The Western Bulldogs have fallen in an awful heap. GWS have a lot of injuries - and a lot of excuses. No sympathy there. Adelaide appalling. North stronger than many thought.

7. Moatless Castle. What about Aaron Woods being shopped around already? I suspect Foran will not be too far behind. A mess and Raelene Castle has done well to deflect it!

8. NBA. Cleveland Cavs v Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors v Houston Rockets...down to the wire. Something great exists in the best of seven series for the NBA finals. A wicked money spinner!

9. F1 - Daniel Riccardo. Hopefully he can crack it and not melt with his engine in tatters again.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Wrap - Married to the Swans' Trombones and Tubas

1. AFL - The Swans. Getting better speed on the break as the year unfolds. They have smalls doing some fabulous on-ball work. By rotating these guys, the slower experienced blokes are being faded out. McVeigh is still the most composed player in the AFL. Unbelievable vision and control.

What is happening at GWS? They have all the best players and are languishing in 11th! Injuries sure, but there is something wrong there... Geelong have also been incredibly disappointing too sitting in 8th position. Awesome roster and terribly inconsistent performances.

West Coast look the goods, beating Richmond comfortably. The form of the Hawks losing to the Brisbane Bears is terrible.

2. NRL. The Rabbits have bounced back in 2018. They keep winning when no one expected them to do it. George Burgess is in fantastic form. Saints keep charging on and Cronulla win ugly more often than not.

Cameron Smith. How good is this bloke? Cooling the heels at present, but retired from State of Origin with a cracking record. However, it was a bit of a surprise.

I need to ask the question about Kevin Walters. Is he as good as they say? I suspect this may have swayed Cameron Smith. He has fallen out with Bennet, overlooked Slater last year, fell out with Bennet again...left the Broncos. I suspect there may be a few who are over him.

3. Biff. The effort of Manly in Melbourne was impressive. The Storm have more errors in them in 2018 than ever before. The biff from Curtis Scott was ridiculous behaviour. Sucked in a beauty by Dylan Walker who is famous for his niggle. Two sin binned for Manly was a silly get square. The Storm go on like they have lost the comp when they lose a game. Maybe that is what makes them do good.

I must say, a bit of biff is good for the game in a weird sort of a way too!

4. NRL Joke. The stupidity of the NRL is amazing. How can the sin bin not be timed officially? Hello, maybe the bunker has a job there...? Absurd. Amateur hour.

5. Waratahs. The Tahs seemed incapable of concentrating for extended periods. They led and surrendered it badly last week v Crusaders. However, 15-0 up at half time v Highlanders ended in a great win. First Aussie Team to beat an NZ team in two seasons!

6. Cricket. The new Foxtel Cricket Commentary Team of Adam Gilchrist, Mark Waugh, Allan Border, Brendon Julian, Mike Hussey, Mel Jones, Isa Guha and Michael Vaughan could be a refreshing change. Timely to see Slats, Chappelli, Healy, Taylor, Clarke in the commentary dustbin. Sad, but true. Once Richie and Tony went, the writing was on the wall. 

I still think Kerry O'Keefe and Damien Fleming are two commentators you need on your team to make it more human.

7. A Goose On the Loose. Is anyone upset that Kenny Edwards has been sacked? Finally one less clown at Parramatta. Ten to go. The NSW Police transcript of the latest incident:

“Gees, check that licence plate...that car might have a banned driver... yep, suspended licence” 

“Yep (sirens)”

(Cut to...person running away from said car).

“What about that? That’s Kenny Edwards. I can tell from the man bun and the wooden spoon in his back pocket. Who would have thought?”... 

8. FA Cup Final was always an iconic game for us growing up. Often it was the only soccer we ever saw on TV. Chelsea v Man United. A battle for the ages. Typical shocking decision which sways big games. I wonder what would happen if the rule was you have to win by two goals to take the bickies?

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Wrap - Air Swings of Life


1. Australian Cricket. Justin Langer appointed coach.  One of the great sledgers and competitors. Maybe he will bring a new attitude that won't involve and dodgy tricks or ploys. I recall a trick Justin played in a test with knocking off bails in Sri Lanka that raised a few eyebrows. Hard to see our intensity lessening under Langer, but standby for the selection of Hilton Cartwright and a few others from WA....Shaun Marsh, our perennial under performing batsman will be delighted too. Both have not done a lot in England county cricket this summer either.

2. NRL. The strength of the Storm and the Roosters is starting to rise. What a pathetic effort from the Warriors who at home lost 32-0. They started well this year but it may have been a mirage. The Roosters’ forwards were strong. Big hits! The strength of Souths under their new coach is starting to bite. A great win v St George.

Cameron Smith is a legend, but there is a grubby underside to his play sometimes, including his work on destroying Kevin Proctor’s groin this weekend. He needs to be rubbed out for a few weeks to galvanise his respect for the game. Disappointing and unnecessary.

Clint Gutherson was meant to save Parramatta. His air swing to cost his team a win sums up their season. They have nothing as a team. Ageing players and no hard nose leadership. Recruitment of players who make poor decisions on and off the field never helps. Spiralling. Now Kenny Edwards is involved in yet another incident of ill discipline fleeing police on a suspended licence. The ill discipline just rolls on. Who do you recruit then? Paulo who has a chequered past too.

3. AFL. The Adelaide showdown. Both Adelaide AFL teams look red hot this year. The West Coast will be hard to toss and both Swans and Hawthorn look to be declining at the same rate. GWS need a rocket with their mediocre efforts proving very troubling. At least Carlton broke their duck.

Such is the strength of the AFL, every game is so intense and the crowds so big that each takes on a finals feel, no matter what position they are on the table.

4. Super Rugby. The Reds pathetic. Fancy letting the Japanese team put 50 on you. Rebels and Brumbies played in front of three dogs. The Tahs blew a 29-0 lead and lose 32-29. How can you do that? Foley’s boot didn’t help. Our losing streak v NZ teams just keeps growing. We are sliding away ever so slowly. They booted the Penrith Emus...who's next? The Waratahs?

5. F1. Riccardo in Spain is again too far back on the grid. He does this too often in qualifying. Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton surges on, pressing to be the best ever!

6. Tennis - Clay Season. Dominic Thiem from Austria looks sharp on clay, beating Nadal in a shock loss. No matter, Nadal will be hard to beat at Roland Garros.

7. New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. They are enjoying the greatest of seasons at present. Both have had record streaks and the intense rivalry is captivating! The best in the business right there.

8. EPL Relegation Race. The drop has almost been finalised - Stoke, a fast finishing West Brom and  Swansea (unless an unlikley ten goal disaster strikes). All others breathe a sigh of relief and start recruiting. The financial loss by being 'dropped' is immense. Very few recover within ten years!

9. Tiger Woods. Streaming up the leaderboard in the Players Championship at Sawgrass (love that name)...can he do it? It would have happened ten years back, but now (?). Playing with Speith will lift him on the homeward turn.

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Wrap - Knock Knock...Owen Who?

1. St George. Oh when the Saints...What a cracking team they have this year. McGregor has not really been sighted and his typical whining voice and negativity seems to have evaporated. Ben Hunt has been superb. Euan Aiken outstanding. Dufty too much speed. James Graham has really added a lot up front to them too, while his Bulldogs teammates flounder. I wonder whether we are going to select three Bulldogs forwards again for NSW in 2018...Klemmer, Woods, Jackson. Surely not. It should be Frizzell, de Belin, Vaughan. A toss up between McInness and Souths' Cook. He has pace to burn. This worries tired defences.

The NSW backline will look really different in 2018. Addo-Carr will have to be there. Pace! Damien Cook and most of the Saints pack...Can't see any players from the Tigers, Sharks, Raiders, Warriors, Broncos, Cowboys or Eels making it.

2. AFL. I must say that the Swans were horrible this week. No rhythm. Their form at home this year has been abysmal. Losses to Port, the Crows and now North, who are generally dreadful. They did worse last year at 0-6, but they are not helping the faithful. No banjoes, trombones or tubas required for the song this week.

3. Super Rugby. Only outdone by the Waratahs who faced the humiliation of being sent to Brookvale for a gig that no one cared about. The Crusaders blew the Rebels away and the Blues brushed the Tahs aside as pretenders (which we all knew).

4. PGA Golf. Nice to see JDay in contention in the Wells Fargo Championship. Great name for a tournament. Hopefully he can hold his nerve in the final round.

5. A League. The Melbourne Victory are the gun side under pressure domestically. How the Sydney FC side can think they are the best team is beyond me. Premier's Plate, but no premiership. Not good enough and their demise was picked some weeks back. Berisha is a name that will be remembered for many years to come. Great season by the Newcastle Jets, but not good enough sadly.

6. EPL. The late season resurgence of West Brom is staggering. No hope to stay in the top flight a month back, they are now leaping skywards, but could be too late. Three perish. Stoke (30 points) are gone, but West Brom (31), Swansea (33), Southampton (33) and Huddersfield (35) are looking over their shoulders. Man City have the premiership banked. The race is almost run and won.

7. IPL. Getting quieter for the Aussies. Mitch Johnson has barely taken a wicket. Lynn can't get past 10 all of a sudden and Darcy Short is out of the Rajasthtan Royals team altogether. Christian and Maxwell are silent. Cutting not doing a lot. Tye still picking up a few wickets here and there.