Wrap - Dream On

1. Cricket. Shield Final. Strong win by Victoria yet again. Marcus Harris has booked his spot on the Ashes trip. (No Marnus, no Burns?). A tricky deck against some great bowling and he lands 141 out of a first innings of 289. Only Will Pucovski and Kurtis Patterson also got above 50 in the match! That may get both an air ticket to England too. A tough seaming deck (impossible really) with a Duke ball is an excellent Ashes test of skill. Top bowling from James Pattinson (7 wkts) and Trent Copeland (8 wkts). Copeland is my smokey now that Jhye Richardson is struggling with a shoulder. He could do an Alderman - and he fields in the gully or cordon - bonus. Pattinson has been injury plagued and is likely to do a hammy on the plane unfortunately. Lots of talent and pace however.


2. Cricket. ODIs. Australia have finally rested Cummins. He is Ashes gold and should not be in the UAE. Finch back in the runs and Handscomb has shown some good steel under fire. Amazing how you win when your bats get runs. Alex Carey is finished for mine. No runs. Maybe Josh Phillipe may get the golden handshake and call up.


Justin Langer may be losing the plot. He has said that Glenn Maxwell could be our Virat Kohli. Maxwell shows glimpses of greatness for sure, but I will take Virat any day. Entirely consistent and averages over 50 in every form of the game. The best we have ever seen I suspect.


3. Cricket. IPL. What a great tournament it is. Andre Russell is the man who turns games like no other. His batting has been sensational. Warner not far away either. Not convinced Smith has done enough for a recall. They will need to harden up. They will be sledged unmercifully in those small English grounds. Interesting how Ravi Ashwin recovers from his Mankad disgrace. Desperate and the Indian press sounded very silent here for some strange reason. No one brave enough to say anything perhaps? Very sad.


4. NRL. Cameron Smith is zooming in on the all time points record. Amazing work from a bloke who just keeps going and going. He will have broken every record in the game by the time he ends and could then move clubs if he is not wanted. What a Titans or others in England would give for his smarts on the paddock.


5. NRL Top Eight. Put a line through the Warriors and the Knights. Eels OK v Roosters but can't concentrate for 80 minutes. Raiders may surprise and the Dragsters will go close. They need to play Dufty and bite their tongues. Penrith might need to get their skates on soon too. Bulldogs surprise!


6. Waratahs. From the penthouse to the outhouse in one week. They beat the Crusaders and lose to the Sunwolves! Adopting a silly rotation policy of their stars. Ever since sporting "high performance" landed in sport, we all seem to have gone backwards. A deserved loss sadly.


7. AFL. Essendon on the skids and Sydney look like they will struggle. They have not off loaded enough of their mids and still lack pace for mine. Geelong and Port power on too. How bad were GWS? The Adelaide W-League team went well too and become premiers.


8. EPL. Huddersfield, Fulham and Cardiff all look gone. Interested to see Leeds United may be back in the top flight league next year! Huddersfield have been completely decimated this year. A shameful exit so early for their desperate fans.


9. A League. The world's longest comp keeps going. Sydney FC look a long way from Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory for mine. Time will tell.


10. Ashley Barty. What a success story she is having defied the critics and health concerns and powered into the top 10 in the Miami Open. A long way from playing WBBL in Brisbane. She has more business yet and should do really well in the US Open. A complete talent on the back of torturous hard work.
11. Daniel Riccardo. Can there be any more drama around him? Our press love to ham it up, but he needs to get rid of the sunnies and start "podiuming"!

Wrap - Eight Is Enough

1. Top Eight. The top eight in the NRL is almost set for mine after two rounds (early call!):

 

• Melbourne Storm
• Roosters
• South Sydney
• Broncos
• Cronulla
• Penrith
• North QLD
• Warriors/ Parramatta/ Tigers/ Newcastle/ Saints

 

No chance: Titans, Raiders, Manly, Bulldogs.

 

2. Parramatta. Great to be able to say they have one two in a row, which is rare. They only won seven last year in total. Blake Ferguson has a lot of ability. Keeping his ego in check will be the hardest bit. The Eels will stumble along, but a brighter start than usual with plenty of points scored. The biggest challenge will be to keep their forwards fit across the year. I don't see a lot of depth there.


Interested to see Joey Johns suggest that 12 teams is enough in the NRL. Home and away games only and a massive salary cap too.


3. Dylan Brown. Seeking a million dollar pay day after one round? Really? As Sterlo said, he should focus on more gym work and more tackles before he goes to his bank manager. Fair dinkum. He is not that good.

 

4. Winx. What a sensational horse! 32 straight will take some beating. The acceleration without the whip is pretty special. Bowman just lets her go. Winx has made Hugh a very wealthy man too.

 

5. AFL. Brisbane looked impressive with their speed and youth. Port as well. GWS absolutely blitzed the Dons. Sydney also struggled with the Dogs and may be headed for a top ten finish outside of the eight. The Saints almost had a catastrophe. the Suns can collect their wooden spoon straight away and go to Mad Monday tomorrow.

 

6. Tennis. The tennis players are warming up... but being in Miami is not where it needs to be. Clay court season is upon everyone and the French Open beckons. Why play hard courts? Kgyrios is exhibiting terrible manners again and he needs to be banned for a time to get the message. World tennis seems to be enabling him and giving his poor behaviour oxygen.

 

7. The Reds. A top win v the Brumbies. Tough work and has Thorn turned the corner?


8. Sheffield Shield. NSW did well to make the final in the end. Abbott's inswing (7 for...) was like the ball was wet with tape around it. The batting around the grounds has completely collapsed with the Duke ball sliding around everywhere. Trent Copeland has dominated (best Shield bowling average at 18.80) and a good final with plenty of wickets will get him to the Ashes (the new Alderman). Maybe Jhye Richardson still knocks him out of the ring. Marcus Harris remains the highest 2018-2019 Shield run scorer and will end like that too. The others need a triple century each. The Shield final may throw up an Ashes tourist (Holdsworth or Mark Taylor like), so there is hope yet for a few. Pucovski looks good, but is earning a reputation as a 'duck or a hundred' man.


9. Good to see the IPL back in action. What a tournament! It survives without any TV coverage in Australia.


8. The other good news of the weekend is that Allianz Stadium is about to get knocked over.

 

Wrap - Put The Glasses Down

1. NRL. The Melbourne Storm get written off every year. They looked sharp again and I can't see them missing the top eight. Bellamy is the best in the business. Souths were pretty robust as well. Bennett doesn't miss out much either. The Warriors at home looked good, but they had an opposition who were pretty poor. The Bulldogs were awful. Manly were ordinary too. The Tigers might sneak over the line for the eight as they at least have tenacity.


Parramatta surprised with a good looking spine as well. Dylan Brown and Rhys Mahoney were refreshing. Early doors. The new stadium may have them a little excited this season!


"Wank Fest" stadium.


The wet weather may have given us a different warped lens, but it also showed poor fitness. Ashley Clown did his best to make it all about him with the send off of Jennings...he will be back to haunt us all again this season.


Is there an NRL team with any blokes without tattoos? Cronk? Hard to find.


2. The Waratahs have fallen over again when they should have won. Maybe they could have taken a leaf out of the book of Scotland who were 0-31 down and clawed it back to a 38-38 draw. The Welsh will be hard to toss at the World Cup. Their effort in Ireland to crush them and win the Six Nations was highly impressive.


3. Australia v India. A cracking series win. Very unexpected and great work by Handscomb and Khawaja. However, no Dohni in the last two games makes it a bit easier. Talk of World Cup wins is a little premature. Jhye Richardson has made a difference with the ball. A bit of pace can bring an error. Afghanistan in our first game will not be easy.


4. Smith and Warner. A team meeting and a time to listen to others...there's a change. Footage of Steve Smith wearing his Yves St Laurent sunglasses at NSW cricket training never looks good. He needs to get a grip and start looking sincere. He has talked a lot, but as a former Australian captain, he needs to fit in and do better. Warner is a time bomb. When he wants to speak eventually, he will be a very wealthy man.


5. Sheffield Shield. How bad is the comp when they start playing at Drummoyne Oval? Honestly. As soon as we get seam, we collapse. The Duke ball kills us. The batting in the last round was awful.


6. AFL. Finally they start playing next week. They need to get the show on the road - and quick.


7. A League. The Wellington Phoenix are killing it at present while Sydney FC stumble. No one gets near the Perth Glory and Tony Popovic this year however. How long is that season? The Wanderers will be keen to get to their stadium as well and finally get some support.


8. Tyson Frizell. Spare a thought for this guy who endured a ruptured testicle. It feels painful just writing it.


9. F1 - Daniel Riccardo. He goes down as the goose of weekend. That dumb manoeuvre at the start was hard to fathom. He needs to start producing and stop whining. Another bloke who could put the sunglasses down and start driving properly. His shoes will be dry for a long time yet on that effort today.

Wrap - Turfed Out

1. NRL. There is something in the rugby league player. A fight, a naivety, a determination. A bad word and they head straight to the courts. I guess if you feel you are innocent, this is what you do. de Belin would be praying for a quick resolution to this matter. His family even moreso. What a sorry mess it is. Bad choices. Fancy the NRL not having this in their contracts up front...or in paperwork in time for court. They are an amateur show too. The game is in deep trouble. I am sure another bad video or courtcase is not far off... they can't escape it.


By the way, the comp starts next week. I will be interested in the crowds. I can't imagine they will be strong.


2. EPL. A cracking finish lies ahead with Man City and Liverpool fighting out first spot. ManU could jag third spot yet if they continue their winning ways. Tottenham have got the stumbles. Huddersfield and Fulham are gone... one other to join them. Get to 40 points or you are toast.


3. Waratahs. That SCG surface was appalling. Too much water. The whole field looked terrible. We have had no rain and they dish that up. It might go back to the old dustbowl of the 1980s this year! Great win by the Tahs. Brad Thorne might be gone sooner than we think. He needs to recruit hard from NZ!


4. Cricket. Finally Finch hits a few, but India over there are something else. Kohli is the best we have seen. Better than Tendulkar for mine. He turns games on their head. Average of 60 in ODI cricket after 226 ODI games. Extraordinary. Averages 54 in 77 Tests and 50 in T20 Internationals after 67 of them! Every time he misses out you are dreading it...a ton beckons. 25 Test tons and 41 ODI tons! Only 30 years old.


5. Tennis. Typical Kgyrios. Gets rolled on Indianwells in the first round this weekend. As predicted. Temperamental and erratic. No champion yet.


6. Central Coast Mariners. Lost 8-2. fair dinkum. Move the portable goal posts, get a trophy each and don't come back.


7. Six Nations. Wales looking good things again in the Six Nations. Dour, traditional rugby... but that is how they love it over there.


8. Sheffield Shield. A huge week for a few batsmen. Harris is on the plane with a score this week. Marnus is on the runway at present. Carpet needs a score as well. Renshaw is no hope. Wade gone too. Pucowski is there with another score as well. Maddinson could surprise with runs.


9. AFL. For a great code, they can't get their pre-season right. They need to rethink the lot. Too many half interested players in games that are meaningless. Five variations of the code and its rules. Stop!
10. The Autumn Sun. What a cracking horse. Beat a runaway Fundamentalist at pace on the weekend. Reminsicent of the great Chataqua!

Wrap - Selected At First Sight

1. West Indies Cricket. Chris Gayle is no more for the West Indies, but what an awesome hitter he is! His ability to slay the opposition fast/ medium pacer is amazing. He is simply awesome, even if there is touch of the clown about him. He will be in international T20 for a long time to come!

 

2. Australian Cricket. Aaron Finch is in some sort of terrible slump. Bumrah simply nails him each time. It really isn’t good enough and his World Cup is on the line. Australia need every run they can. The batting as usual is not up to speed. Smith and Warner if fit, waltz back in with this lot. Can anyone explain why Khawaja is not in Shield cricket and tuning up with the Duke ball?

That pitch at the Gabba is woeful. Carpet Burns had a chance to make his mark, but slipped up. A score here on a tough deck may be an awesome statement. Marcus Harris may yet accompany him with Warner's elbow comeback still to be finalised. Still like some of these seamers with the Duke ball. Copeland is in the frame. Mature, smart and can bat.

The top run scorers in the Shield are interesting:

 

The top wicket takers - and their averages too... have a look at Copeland.

 

3. Roger Federer. 100 ATP titles, second to Jimmy Connors (109). How did Connors get to 109... maybe it was the Custom Credit Open at the Ent Cent! What an amazing athlete Federer is and his longevity is remarkable. He has no truck with fools, but keeps getting better. Incredible.

4. Nick Krygois. Wins the Mexican Open and knocks over some of the biggest of world tennis guns. He could be awesome, but it would not surprise if he retired tomorrow as well! He may also get on Twitter and do some really silly stuff too. Hopefully not. Beating Nadal, Wawrinka and Zverev is not a bad week's work.

5. Australian Women's Cricket. What an incredible team they are. They are so good at winning they keep doing it all the time! Healy-Blackwell-Perry...

6. Super Rugby - Sunwolves. This team is a big improver. Unlucky to lose to the Tahs a couple of weeks back and they then knock over the Chiefs. The New Zealand hoodoo is well and truly over.

7. NRL. Thank goodness the ARL/ NRL/ League have made their move to ban those facing criminal charges. No one is bigger than the game. de Belin will not be missed - nor will any of the others. There is always another person and one law to obey in society. He needs to get his personal choices in order and make amends. Stop playing the victim and ask yourself why you went back to that room. Barry Russell might be asking if he gets a $500K bonus too!

8. NRL Trials. Ho hum...Would you go any worse if you had no trials? They need to break the tradition here. Coaches need to modernise and get over the old way. Surely in our tech age they can seize these opportunities and bend realistic approaches into their preparation. Who will break this mould? Who has the courage?

9. Winx. What a star! Everyone seems to love this horse and marvel at its record. Happy Clapper is going to be made an even better horse because of Winx. Their connections will be desperate to see the back of the mighty mare.