The Wrap - A Penney For Your Thoughts

1. Jarryd Hayne. A sad end to a player who is now a convicted criminal - and a complete mess for the victim and her family. The NFL dream was the start of the end. The 2010 glory of the yellow boots...the adulation in the crowd when NSW State of Origin took the throne against all odds with Paul Gallen. It seems a long time ago. He may yet re-emerge with the boxing gloves, but a terrible, painful tale for all concerned.

2. The Bulldogs. They looked awful on the weekend. The key problem is speed. Corey Allan and Kyle Flanagan are too low. Expensive and slow to complicate it. They don’t take the line on and the team is in trouble. Flanagan reminds me of Daniel Mortimer who was skilful, a great goal kicker but not quick or big enough. He needs a serious mentor and size or he will be cooked. meanwhile the Bulldogs are trying to buy everyone and if I was Penrith based on the injury toll this season, I would not be releasing Burton either.

3. Broncos. Finally a win against the potential wooden spooners. The Osaka try for the Broncos was exhilarating. Touch footy in the park stuff. Great step and excitement. A win is a win. 

Manly have really struggled this year too. Their problem? Four talented players eat up the salary cap... crumbs to the rest. No way to win a comp. 

4. NRL Injury Toll. Injuries are out of control this year. Head knocks are so frequent it is scary. The game is hard, but the NRL need to enable teams to replace head knock HIA situations with new bench players. Simple. Playing with 11 or 12 like Cronulla did, is stupid. Good win by the Eels. Reed Mahoney is a good young kid, but he needs to read the room. If ever there was a week Morrison could not afford to look like a drunken lout it was this one. Is the NRL still in a bubble?

5. The Roosters. Their depth will be tested now. An ugly night losing both halves for long periods of time. Adam Keighran may prove to be an exceptional signing. They will need troops. The salary cap for blokes who have season ending injuries may need examination. Jackson Hastings may yet be popular and could return a new fellow and new character at the home of the once great Kevin 'Horrie' Hastings.

6. The Storm. They are really missing Cameron Smith. They don’t lose tight games usually. That is the difference with superstars. Liking the Gold Coast now. A tougher team than possibly ever before. 

7. Indian Cricket. India are typically impossible to beat at home in cricket. They could dominate for a record number of years. They have such depth. Each team - T20, ODI and Test is almost different...with equal or more talent - just amazing. This Pant is a special talent. However Johnnie Bairstow, whose Test form was abominable, and the great Ben Stokes beat them. England have a handy ODI team capable of winning the World Cup. Daylight next...

8. Sheffield Shield Final. 15 April will see the final played. Not sure where, but very late to still be playing cricket. Looming like WA v ? New South Wales look shocking. QLD could surprise.

9. The Swans. They have started the year well. Less focus on Buddy. More options. More speed. Still vulnerable, but doing well early. First 2-0 season start since 2016. The crowds will begin to flock to see the team play now. Interesting Buddy has 50 odd goals to get before hitting 1,000. Full fitness will enable him to get close. Gulden and Campbell 25 disposals each! Impressive start.

10. AFL Winners. Port, Richmond, Sydney, Melbourne and Western Bulldogs all undefeated after just the two games. A few teams looking woeful...the worst of them is GWS. They should have ended the coach last year. There is something really bad going on there. 

11. Waratahs. Coach Rob Penney has been punted by a clueless Board with no plan. Waratahs CEO, Paul Doorn, was actually referred to in the media as Paul "Door". Well he has shown it. They will go winless this year and the great blue jersey will be washing cars in driveways soon. It would be great to hear him lift the lid on the true problems there. Finances are in a bad way from all reports.

12. Daniel Riccardo. YAAAWWWWWWWWWN. More F1 podium finishes and wins. Less media hype.

The Wrap - A Full Plane

1. Wet Weather. It would have been a mess years ago, but how good are the grounds these days? Even Brookvale looked a picture. Extreme conditions.

2. Shield Cricket. New South Wales all out for 32, yet they lead the Shield. Jackson Bird 7/18. Can it get any worse? Sean Abbott injured, but a soft effort by the top order. Ducks galore. A pathetic effort really. Should we still be playing Shield in late March? Someone needs to show some leadership in that ACB joint. Farcical.

3. Parramatta. Great win v Melbourne. Interesting to see Melbourne under pressure. A little bit fractious with each other when old man Smith is not on the scene. Terrible conditions which are a great leveller. Interesting to see a rematch in dry conditions. Still don't think Parramatta have the speed. They did not miss Waqar Blake either. Please note that Mr Arthur.

4. Adam Douehii. There is a clear problem for the Tigers here. On big money and destined for England. Not quick enough for a five eight unfortunately, but has trimmed down but not game aware enough. Moses Mbye is going to be on the same plane. The effort by the skipper, Tamou, late was terrible. Brett and Josh Morris should be re-signed immediately. Really reaching legend status. The Tigers have gotten worse in 2021. Setting themselves for a solid ninth. Luciano is quality...not sure about Joey who is inconsistent. He may need to head overseas too. A full plane.

Throw in Milford as well. The Broncos have huge issues.

5. Waratahs. They will have every shade of brown on their wooden spoon this year. A sad state of affairs for the game in NSW. It is getting embarrassing and despite how wonderful people think Rob Penney is, he is on the rack here, with a shallow roster. Time for a decision.

5. Swans. A cracking win v Brisbane on Saturday night in their backyard. Young Errol Gulden played a great game. He has been a competitor since U/9s when my son used to play against him and then with him at the Swans Academy. Small and tough, but finds the ball and has game smarts. Braeden Campbell not as bright a game, good touches. A great kid who is a Pennant Hills lad. Can't believe the lack of homework from the Melbourne AFL clubs re Gulden. They missed him in the draft.

6. Jarryd Hayne. A big week here before the law. I noticed Sam Burgess was exonerated by the courts last week. Does the Players Association work on post football careers? They would have a busy growth industry here - as sadly do the lawyers too.

The Wrap - Storm Clouds

1. Mundine. There was a time when he was a sharp talking, quick moving talent. To see him hammered with barely a punch thrown makes you question his handlers and his outlook. He needs to move away and move on. It was very sad seeing a great athlete stagger around for a couple of minutes and be damaged reputationally and physically. You fear for their brain in later life. (I noticed Marvellous Marvin Haggler died unexpectedly today too.. a chilling reminder of the perils of the sport).

2. Cameron Smith (NRL). There is something really odd about this whole charade. Announces it the day before the premiership starts? It is not a good look. He should have done it on Grand Final night last year when they absolutely crushed the opposition. His choice of course, but has he also milked the game as well as serving it? He had a testimonial a few years ago, his wife got an NRL ring, there is talk of instant immortal status. Standing next to your own statue is a little odd too. What sort of outcry would there be if V'landys delayed this and delayed it and hinted in the media, then withdrew... and then announced it in the cricket season? Everyone has had enough. No one - not one person - is bigger than the game. It rolls on as it has since 1908.

2a. Cameron Smith (golf). If it is not one, it is the other. Carving it up and tied third at the TPC Sawgrass tournament. A scintillating player who may well win big soon.

3. Storm. The Storm machine are something else. The Bunnies played like Major Semi Finalists. The Storm played like Grand Finalists. That is the big difference. Players of high quality to burn. They send blokes away to some obscure venue and replace every one of them with someone better. Bellamy is quite the club genius. He has made a lot of people wealthy. This is all despite Sydney media trying to unsettle them re re-signing Hughes, Munster and Brandon Smith.

4. NRL. Well we saw some familiar stories. Parramatta still have poor attack. The worst of it is Waqar Blake still rushes out of the line in defence. Is he thick? Ill discipline that will be exploited big time by other clubs. Maybe a swap could be arranged for Jennings and Blake? Where is Takarangi The Great when you need him least? You cannot win a comp without explosive centres. Brad Arthur looks very mechanical in his view of a footy team at times. Broncos still fold in the second half, but looked better. The Titans and Cowboys were the worst. Awful both. Manly were pathetic too, absolutely crushed by the Roosters. Tigers promised a lot (like most years) but ended up in a heap.

Junior Paulo is such a joy to watch. What a supreme talent he is when playing footy. Gee he must have scored some tries in junior footy. Like Josh Papaali.

5. Tom Brady. Signed on again and you get the feeling Tampa will be there to enjoy it all over. A legend. Meanwhile The Patriots stick solid with Cam Newton? I am worried Belichick could be coaching his final year there if Newton fails.

6. Hugh Bowman. A star. He heads to Melbourne when others do not and picks up the win on Mugatoo who showed a great turn of speed in the wet. A brilliant win in the All Star mile in a tough race.

7. Central Coast Mariners. leading the A-League, but for how long? Alen Stajcic the coach has done a great job thus far. Only another eighty games to go in this comp.

8. EPL. How hard is it to stay in the top tier of English football? Sheffield United are cooked (coach gone!) and West Brom, Fulham and Brighton - even Newcastle are not far away from the "drop zone". meanwhile Manchester City (with two extra games played) are now 17 points in front. Awesome power. Liverpool comfortably mediocre in the middle of the table.

The Wrap - Pant's On

1. 2021 Footy. About time it is back! Everyone is looking forward to the contests and controversies. Amazing how you miss the footy! Premiers? It will be hard to toss the Melbourne Storm, Roosters and Bunnies and in the AFL, the Tigers will win if they can sideline the off field nonsense from the pre-season. 

2. Waratahs. At least that footy will also get people away from the misery of the Waratahs. Losing to the Force is an extremely low ebb. I noticed the board have offered their full support to coach Penney. He will be gone in the month now.

3.  T20 Cricket. No wonder they had no doubts over Finch. He has played brilliantly to get two straight wins and will be looking to lead us to a 3-2 win over the NZers. It is the complete lottery this form of the game. A little worried about the form of the big quick Jamieson. 2-3 million richer for the IPL, but still quick to the fence.

A loss in the end. Our inconsistent blokes proved just that... Maxwell, Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh. You wouldn't want any of them in a crisis. Talent, but lack application. They are a complete lottery. You need to find eight batsmen (including the keeper) and can tolerate three full time bowlers in this form. Too often they go with a 'bowler heavy' team. A collapse and you pay the price. Too many inconsistent blokes and you lose.

The love affair with Mitchell Marsh continues... Ben McDermott, Ashton Turner and AJ Tye don't get a game! 

Thank goodness our women's cricket team shine. They provide the hope!

4. Sheffield Shield. Young Cameron Green hit a solid 250. He has starred in the Shield in season 2020-2021 and has a good head on his shoulders. His four tons is not a patch on Michael Bevan who hit 8 and Matthew Elliott who hit 7 in one season. Hopefully he can do it for Australia one day. I noticed Starc went wicketless again for NSW. Not sure why he is back playing. He needs a long break! He must have been told of his future by selectors.

5. England v India Cricket. This wicketkeeper, Rishabh Pant, has the goods. He is a tough nut competitor who has that Gilchrist type skill of taking the game away from you. Brilliant attacking mindset. Another big Test score - 101 - v England when it mattered. He is a man for the pressure moment.

As predicted a 3-1 loss by England. I cannot believe they played Bairstow. You know a team is in strife when they have no top order capable of laying the necessary platform. Dom Sibley (87, 16, 16, 3, 7, 0, 2, 3 - avg 16.75), Rory Burns (33, 0, 0, 25 - avg 14.5) and Bairstow (0, 0, 28, 0 - avg 7). India just carved them up with their spin. Typical nonsense complaints re pitches and conditions. Get used to it, because India is where it happens in world cricket now. They are the key location.

India v New Zealand in England stands to be a fascinating contest in the test Cricket Championship Final.

6. Liverpool. The wheels have fallen off. A new manager is imminent. They are gone.

7. AFL - Trials. Interesting to see the young Swans in action this weekend. A lot more pace (finally), but not a lot of size. Errol Gulden and Braiden Campbell both looked good, but physically they need work or they will be poleaxed by the tougher experienced players and seasoned professionals. Starting to think that Callum Mills needs to be traded. A Rising Star some years back, but two parts of nothing since. He makes a lot of kicking errors. Logan McDonald looked sharp, but again, needs to hit the gym.

8. Golf. Great footage of Bryson DeChambeau hitting a massive drive over the lake at the Bay Hill Invitational 370 yards. Reminds me of a few boys golf games over the years. He'd be handy in ambrose.

9. Iron Man - Iron Cowboy. Not sure if you saw James Lawrence as he attempts to do 100 Iron Man events (3.8km swim, 180km ride and a full marathon every day)  in 100 days. He kicked off last week. He surely cannot achieve this in 14 hours for each one with no real recovery. Stunning ambition.