The Wrap - Coaches in Car Parks

1. NRL Coaches. The passionate coach can make a difference, but is only there for so long (Stuart, Maguire Tigers current coach). It wears thin on all surrounding them. The strategic, composed, purposeful and brutal ones last longer (Bennett, Bellamy, Arthur, Hasler, Griffin, Robinson, Cleary...even Payten for that matter). I am most concerned for Trent Barrett. Passion and emotion galore. Even tears. He is either unaware or has a player incapable of taking the attack on by approaching the line, engaging defenders, then passing. The work of Kyle Flanagan is quite concerning. He is not fast enough and then catches and passes without taking it to the line. Look at Reynolds, Sam Walker (all of 18 years old), Clearly, Luai, et al. These blokes make defenders make decisions.

There will be no tears at the Roosters after cutting Flanagan and promoting Walker. 

2. NRL Game Changers. Two changes in the game that are emerging are these:

(a). The long floating pass to an isolated winger has resulted in many tries already... and intercept attempts galore. As the outside backs increasingly rush up with their line speed to crowd out sweeping backline raids, the left to right cut out pass (especially) is of high value. Cherry-Evans, Walker, Clearly.. the best of them are all over this.

(b). The patience of the line in the 20 metres defence is reaching touch football proportions from teams with limited attack. Lots of bodies in the line, no one getting excited or rushing up (where would Eric Grothe Junior be now?). Instead, attack stops to a crawl with the sudden turn of speed through the unsuspecting line favoured... or a little kick into the grass behind it. 

(c) Great to see two things on the weekend. Schuster penalised for wasting time and kicking the ball away to prevent a quick restart after a penalty and the Roosters Maschke binned for a professional foul for interfering with a player seeking a quick 25m tap restart. 

The quick tap needs to be encouraged more from a general restart. The death of the scrum is not missed.

A few loose tackles this weekend.. shoulder charges and head tackles! The judiciary needs to be a panel of the same people each week...not a rotating inconsistent panel of ex-players. Ask Latrell.

Not since the great Warren Boland for the Wests Magpies have we seen a captain on the wing, but Tuivasa-Shek did it tonight for the Warriors!

3. Wests Tigers. They have plunged to their worst ever season start of 1-6. They are spoon material at present. I have been critical of the team, but mentally they go to water. They lack leadership. Brooks looks quiet and Douheii is quiet and slow too. Jimmy the Jet is an error machine sadly. No leaders and no direction. They were up and could have been up 12-0, instead they gave up 40 unanswered points. Incredible. Tommy Turbo was awesome. He was sprinting like he did at the Corso!

Saints were awful...so were the Broncos, the Sharks were not much better and then there were the Tigers... horrible. These were forgettable performances.

4. AFL - West Coast Eagles. Terrible, terrible away form. The test for the Swans is now upon them. A crushing loss to the Suns. Jeremy Cameron gives Geelong another dimension. They should waltz in for the premiership, but will generally find a way to stumble. Richmond's loss to Melbourne was bad. They are lacking some composure in the middle, but are struggling to be honest. Melbourne was impressive. Tom Lynch up front is like Edward Scizzorhands... not dexterous and struggles to catch a footy.

Sportsbet have already paid out on Melbourne winning the flag! A touch premature I suspect. Nothing like a bit of publicity.

Love the ANZAC crowd at the Collingwood v Essendon showdown. 78,000 in the world's biggest crowd since COVID! Incredible. No one is deluded however, neither will win the flag.

5. EPL Promotion and Relegation. Nothing beats EPL promotion and relegation for drama. The tears of despair (a long time coming for some like West Brom and Sheffield United) continue to flow... The promoted sides for 2021 include Watford, perennial league hoppers! Nice to see the Norwich City Canaries back again. Time to recruit a few key players to stop their revolving door!

The European Super League Football has been smashed for its greed by fans. It favours the strong clubs, but it should be met with decisive action and penalties. Rich owners who want more are behind it for their investors. Great to see private interests taking precedence. Private ownership is always problematic - ask Nathan Tinkler. Nothing like the FA Cup and League Cup competitions in England to try and allow the small fry a chance to knock over the big pay packets.

6. Ash Barty. Yet another final in a clay court tournament - this time in Stuttgart. She is in fine fettle for the French Open.

7. Australian Cricket just keeps getting in their own way. They announce a reduced number of contracts. Expect to see more players going back to English County Cricket too. This can only help our Ashes preparation. Steve Smith as Test captain is their next hurdle.

8. Rugby. Is it dead? No one even knows when there are games anymore. Identifying players in team lists is nearly impossible too. What we do know is that the Waratahs lost every game - EVERY game - this season. Horrible. Rugby is ranking so poorly, re-runs of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory double its ratings!

Great to see new coach John Muggleton lead the Penrith Emus rugby team to victory v the Two Blues on the weekend. This is despite NSW Rugby trying to kill the game west of the Gladesville Bridge.

The Wrap - Shining Lights and Screaming Duds

1. Masters. A cracking end to the Masters and Hideki Matsuyama's worldwide wave of popularity has sky rocketed. His caddy moreso! Still one of the best worldwide sporting events...even with fewer in the crowd. Such a great course which really tests the skill of players. Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith both did a great job.

2. Sheffield Shield Final. Marnus Labaschagne was sensational. 192, but a double century went begging with some overly slow play from him late in the innings. Prolific and an amazing talent who saves every team he plays for. 

Hard to believe how bad the NSW bowling attack was...and a familiar ring of flat incompetence was there again, like it was in the Indian Test series. Three days only of a five day game. Not surprising after being rolled for 32 two weeks back. Lyon was the leading Shield wicket taker this season, but sometimes you wonder how he ever gets a wicket. Starc can talk a big game, but sometimes he is flat mediocre too. Worrying signs for Australia.

The two Australian IPL mega-signings - Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith - have also been flat and ordinary in the early IPL games so far. Pat Cuummins not much better. Smith and Henriques have not played yet in the IPL. The 'Big Show' is on fire there!

Probably a good decision to avoid COVID for those like Hazelwood and Mitchell Marsh, but hard to believe that Steve Smith, Moises Henriques and Pat Cummins are all there and the Shield is sacrificed. They know who butters their bread.

3. State Funerals. Important if you were a politician, a fashion designer, but no room for former rugby league players. Tommy probably would not have wanted one...the SCG sounded right.

4. AFL. Western Bulldogs 5-0 season start. Best since ages ago. They are speedy and have the tough attitude needed for excellence. The power of Richmond is not far away either. Good to see GWS stand up, but the Swans went to sleep at the end and should never have lost. A big wake up for Adelaide as well... 

Despite the limping win, Geelong are terrible (17 behinds and only 4 rush behinds) and the great Gary Rohan can guarantee a kick out on the full when the team does not need one. Close in the pink footy boots may reveal half the issue... ego and lack of unity. Perhaps symbolically important, but should it be 'all in'? I noted Gary Ablett has indicated he can still play for them if need be too. Odd.

5. NRL. A revival weekend for a few teams - Broncos, Tigers, Bulldogs were all better - but still lost. Souths needed a jolt and got it.  Saints also came back to ground with a terrible loss really to the Warriors. The Eels and Raiders were a good match and an entertaining game. Sadly for both, they have the same issues: good forwards, flat halves and a lack of pace. The Eels win there for the first time in a million years. Storm and Panthers look the powerhouses again.

Dud buys of the year thus far - Kyle Flanagan and Nick Cotric. The big young forwards at North Queensland will eventually be awesome in time. Rangy, skilful and tough.

6. F1 Predictability. Lewis Hamilton nails pole position yet again. 99 pole positions compared to Schumacher's 68 and Senna's 65. Meanwhile Riccardo has an excuse every week...

7. FA Cup. Chelsea v Man City FA Cup semi ended in a shock loss to the dominant Man City. Leicester look set to join them in the final. In the championship, Sheffield United are definitely relegated and West Brom and Fulham are on the slippery slope. Exciting times. 

8. 100 Metre Sprinting - Olympics. Rohan Browning has qualified for Australia in the 100m sprint for the Olympics. The first since 2004 - Josh Ross! Why are we so slow? Slow to the chemist? Slow in the lanes?

9. Cody Simpson swimmer. Not winning, but a good story. Can anyone explain why swimmers need to get up so early to train? Clear access to the pool is easier at 4.00am, but can't the same access be secured in the afternoon too? I wonder if this actually hurts performance and discourages athletes and families long term?

10. Tokyo Olympics. This is looming as a complete fiasco. Lots of changes and moves to make to venues to accommodate anticipated weather temperatures/ humidity and move personnel too because of COVID. Not the best suit for the Japanese when there is unpredictability and flexibility and adaptability is required. Perhaps Hideki has now shown the Japanese a new way of achieving despite the odds!

The Wrap - Mastering Augusta

 1. The Masters. Still one of the best world sporting events. Hideki Matsuyama could not believe his luck. Augusta in the poor weather resembled Japan at its best and he carved it up in the greatest way possible! He will be hard to run down, but Leishman is within distance. The 1996 Masters will need to be channelled for Leishman to win. Loved the drive from some of the lesser names. The skinny Zalatoris is the exact opposite to DeChambeau, but more effective at Augusta.

2. Bulldogs. Broke their duck egg and celebrated like they won the GF. Then got belted by 50 points! The big gaps continued again this weekend. The work of the Titans and David Fifita in particular was exceptional!

3. Tigers Disgrace. Jimmy The Jet is no jet anymore. That must be in the hangar. He is part of the problem at the Tigers. The lack of speed is a big concern as mentioned. Douehii just can't make the ground. Brooks still has terrible defence... so do the Cowboys too. The Tigers' concentration is really poor as a team which tells you they lack leadership. Tamou just does not cut it sadly. Luke Brooks is ordinary. Tries given up on the fifth tackle, tries after errors, terrible completion...  The Tigers never seem to produce when they are favourites (Cowboys had not won in 21 years at Leichhardt Oval!).

Michael Maguire may need to walk away forever with a 28-6 scoreline at half time. Talk about lack of ticker. Time for some new players in key positions for the future.

4. AFL Antics. Geelong seem to be able to capitulate at will. Like North. The performance by West Coast after leading by 30 to lose by 20 was outrageously poor. Yet the close games earlier in the weekend kept the fans happy... Swans (v Essendon) and Port (v Richmond) were excellent winners. Exciting stuff.

Collingwood awful too and will continue to blame the pre-season antics of Eddie no doubt.

5. John Morris. You have to have some sympathy for the bloke, but not sure Craig Fitzgibbon will make that much of a difference. They were on top of the Roosters, but fell in a hole. Townsend needs to be rested. His defensive lapses cost them dearly. Not sure how great Walker is, but they certainly made him look good!

6. NSW Win ODI Marsh Cup. The form of Kurtis Patterson has been abysmal. More low single figures than a Masters field. Abbott, Lyon and Starc all in the wickets. The surfie, Jack Edwards was the star with a ton. A great win, but the curators will be pleased to have a break in April!

7. EPL. Man City lose, but little matter there. Leeds a good upset win.

8. NRL. A rule to mirror the AFL is needed. At the breakdown, surrender possession to your opponent or face a 30-50 metre penalty. This will get things on track and keep the intended speed of the game up. This annoys the viewers and fans more than most things!

Sometimes you get the feeling in NRL that a second ball on the field is the biggest crime known to the game!

The Wrap - Easter Duck Egg Dogs

1. State of Origin. Called out here years back. The involvement of the Pacific Islander players and International talent. I think there is an All Stars game for lots of this, but having one or two reserves max. for each Origin team would be interesting. Origin risks becoming stale. The crowds late in 2020 tell us that the product may need to be rejuvenated. That or a double header of 'North v South' in the NZ/ Pacific Islander talent group.

2. NRL Progress. Some of the results in the NRL this weekend may see some NRL coaches ended soon. Trent Barrett seems relaxed about the duck egg dogs. No points in three games is pretty terrible. Manly look awful and Cowboys will get the spoon on current efforts. The Broncos are barely much better. Kevin Walters actually looks quite pale and sick. They have a culture problem there.

Ryan Papenhuyzen was absolutely superb for the Storm. Four tries in ten minutes, but the Broncos just let them waltz on through. The attitude to defence is a true sign of fitness and attitude. Great to see players like Cook, Walker, Hughes in full flight! Even Matt Moylan looked relaxed and was enjoying running rings around the Cowboys. NRL at its best.

3. AFL. The Swans really looked slick v Richmond in front of a fullish MCG. A superb performance really against all odds. Adelaide v Suns was a cracker as well. Essendon were a surprise package but North Melbourne may need to pack up and move to Tassie soon. They were absolutely dreadful, getting thumped by the Western Bulldogs who look very sharp and September bound. Port Adelaide struggle on the road, making them difficult to back in Melbourne - or Perth. West Coast looked electric. However, St Kilda were not good v Dons... and Shane Warne was not happy either! I wonder if St Kilda FC ever sent tweets to Warnie to get his house in order as he lurched from one controversy to another back in the day?

4. Sheffield Shield. The competition is still bumbling along at very low rating suburban grounds as they take a massive back seat to the football codes. Kurtis Patterson is in shocking form when he really has an opportunity to make his mark. Sangha a first Shield ton... Doran in Tassie making a name for himself. Green no wickets as usual, but why is Mitchell Marsh playing? He is unavailable for the IPL (starting this week) because it is too hard to travel and quarantine. Does this tell you something? It certainly tells me he will be black balled from the IPL in future.

5. Ash Barty - Miami Open Tennis Final. Ash Barty is on fire and has been world number one for a fair stint now. What a top achievement! Bianca Andreescu is an exceptional talent too, but Barty has the killer instinct. Hopefully it converts to more majors soon.

She is a breath of fresh air compared to the whining from greedy tennis players against their own organisation, the ATP. Inevitable that there will be a Super League divide here soon! Sadly, often players do not know what it takes to arrange a tournament and like to whine instead. Their behaviour in Melbourne re COVID hopefully educated a few about a country that took COVID-19 seriously... but there were none of them in the final few days of the tournament...funny that!

6. Masters - Augusta, Georgia. Huge issues are now emerging over the treatment of black Americans in the state of Georgia where the Masters are held. This could impact the tournament if some sanity is not returned to the decisions around voting lines in the state. Otherwise there may be no tournament. The Major League baseball have already moved their All Stars game.

7. Tim Tsyzu. This fellow is devastating the boxing world. Awesome strength, fitness and talent. A world championship belt or two, or three, or four...seems very close.

8. Moses Mbye. He has already signalled his own exit from the Wests Tigers and wants another club. Please... good luck finding a club silly enough to pay overs on what they have seen. The reality of an average wage are tough reality checks for some NRL players. It is a revolving door down in Tiger town at present. Knowing who to keep seems to have been the biggest challenge. 

9. GWS. The drums are beating for Leon Cameron, coach of the GwS. So much talent and so under cooked. Lots of players leaving... They need a change, while their roster is still well stocked. Otherwise it could be a eight-ten year problem.

10. Central Coast Mariners. A great turn around in 2021 at the club. Unbelievable really in leading the comp after many weeks into the season! The Wanderers are looking brighter in 2021, but are too inconsistent. The W-League Sydney FC team look hard to catch now.

11. EPL. There is movement below in the table, but Man City have the trophy engraved. Stunning 5-2 win by West Brom over Chelsea. The thought of relegation post Christmas gets a few trying harder!

12. German Football. A home loss to North Macedonia 1-2 was one of their worst ever mid week. Further evidence that football is played everywhere and well in most parts. If you drop your guard... ouch!

13. The Olympics. Why is it you get the feeling that the Olympic Games are unfortunately a tarnished product these days? COVID impacted of course with cancellations and no international crowds for Tokyo, little publicity...The International Court of Sport Arbitration are weaving their magic once more too and have the Chinese swimmer Sun Yang in the clear. There will be others as well. The mix of sports is comical too. Back to its roots and back to basics may need to be their new mantra soon.

14. 'B' Sample Bronson Xerri. Joining the NFL? It would help to have good hands first. For such a talent, his ball skills are in need of a big shift. He would last all of five minutes.

15. Gonzaga University Basketball. Not often I watch basketball but after a record breaking season of 30 wins - 0 losses, Gonzaga played UCLA in the NCAA Championships (final four teams) today for the right to contest the National Championship final on Monday v Baylor University. 

It was 90-90 until the last second when Jalen Suggs sunk one from mid court on the buzzer to win it 93-90. An extraordinary moment as Gonzago now contest the final to become the first undefeated college basketball team since 1975/76. First draft picks are lining up in this game.

My son Liam heads there to Gonzaga this year for a baseball scholarship - but can't play basketball at all! The baseball team head their West Coast conference at present too, so things are looking up at Gonzaga.