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.