1. Olympics. Some great Aussie moments, including Rohan Browning and Peter Bol. The Decathalete looks the goods and our distance runners seem to have lifted dramatically. Rare we are there. Starc looked good in the high jump (jumping higher than his brother's bouncers), so did our discus throwers, but we are fourth and fifth so much...not terrible, but no medals there. Most have been to US Colleges to strengthen their understanding, training and ability. The Nicola McDermott high jump silver medal was a great effort. How that bar dropped off on the last jump I will never know.
Really enjoyed the track and field coverage - Bruce is gold and Dave Colburt was also very funny and knowledgeable. One of his lines in the high jump..."A close shave for the Brazilian".
How Emma McKeon doesn't carry the flag at the closing ceremony is beyond me. Seven medals? Sounds like a classic Olympic administration decision. Had anyone thought to put her in the penthouse of the Toyko Hyatt or similar and keep her there for a week to deservedly lead the nation into the stadium? Don't give the COVID excuse...
What about our Australian hurdler that knocked down every hurdle? That is the stuff of the Year 9 heats at a school athletics carnival. Drunkeness on the plane going home...sneaking out to get a few beers... Very Aussie!
Interested to see how the US track team has lost some of their mojo - but not in the 4 x 400m relays! The absence of drugs generally is noticeable with the times and size of athletes. Hopefully the 100 metre champion Italian, Jacobs doesn't fall for the old post Olympics steroid trick. The same for the 4 x 100m. Can't cop the ROC being involved. How does that work after a ban?
Loving that new track and field entry point and introduction start - and the tense music pre-race. One for Spotify. Good innovations!
2. NRL. Manly v Storm was their first real test in seventeen weeks! Manly did really well, but were still not good enough to beat them. The Storm are so far in front it is ridiculous. Christian Welsh is outstanding. He is also very smart. So is Jarome Hughes and Brandon Smith, let alone their superstars. Brilliant team and coaching. Their discipline is amazing...not a silly boring inside ball in sight! No charge downs, no loose play and rarely is there poor discipline. Conversely, is there a reason Will Chambers was not wanted back?
The Panthers miss Cleary, but they also need more speed in their team too. Quick and quality outside backs are hard to find. Manly have made some sort of comeback. Tommy Turbo is the Dally M winner clearly and it is amazing to see how good Foran is playing at present too. A different player to his efforts at the Bulldogs. The Dogs will be happy to get Burton however. A gun.
3. AFL. How bad were the Swans when a top four spot was on the line? The pressure and intensity of the St Kilda team really exposed the Swans. Buddy was barely seen. Very disappointing. Geelong were even worse v GWS with such a star studded roster. At least Port held on. The Western Bulldogs collapsed too. The desperation of teams to make the finals is a powerful motivator.
Extremely disappointing re racist comments by players and fans to other humans. Tex has had a great year on the field. A sad disgrace. Allir Allir has made a massive difference at Port Adelaide this year and was the MOTM on Saturday night...he too cops it.
4. Australian Cricket. Out and out dud performances, but a consolation final win. We truly are flat track bullies and the Bangers smashed us. Our arrogance is unbelievable in cricket. It is a team that the nation barely cares much for these days. Our T20 team could well be the worst in the world.
Great series of India v England at present. Jimmy Anderson still has the goods and on English decks he could rip through Australia for years to come! Our batting is just awful and the nation needs some serious work here or we will be whipping boys for years to come. You see it in England too. All flashy T20 bats and money vacuums.. no hard grinding bats.
5. Rugby. All Blacks v Wallabies. We are just an automatic loss to be frank. Our late tries flattered us, but we simply do not compete at the key times. You do wonder if there is a plan at all. Rennie says we are getting closer. Closer to what? Closer to respectable losses perhaps? We look so out of our depth.
6. Parramatta and Brad Arthur. Brad has the full support of the Board. Watch out! Not sure how Jake Arthur figures here, but this may be the undoing of Brad Arthur. The slide has coincided with this meteoric rise to first grade. A good young talent, but maybe a good leg up or two at times too. Brad may not be splitting that fine line between family and business well enough. With Manly, Storm and Panthers to come, they will be out in the first week of the semis if they get there.
The downhill slide has also coincided with the lack of adventure in their play. Offloads need to happen! Simple. They have dried up and Paulo needs to be able to play footy. The forwards are certainly good enough, but their backs.. get rid of the lot of them. Campbell-Gillard is a real loss when he is injured.
Haze Dumpster is not first grade material. Opacic, Ferguson, Blake... trade the lot. If they were footy cards, you'd leave them on the bus. They are not good enough and certainly not fast enough. The club lacks speed - simple. Speed wins, especially with the current rules adjustments. There are no speedsters in the club. Poor recruitment.
While Gutherson is a talent, I would also give the captaincy to someone else. Lack of composure. I am not convinced Moses is your only option as well, but a top half back is hard to find. Gutho has suddenly lost all speed too. This nullifies his abilities. Re-sign him? I'd be in New Zealand looking at young rugby talent, with Dylan Brown before he walks out the door. Dylan Brown is a premiership winner. He just needs backs who are too. He played at his best without Moses. I would put him at half back and buy a five eight.
7. Oh Brother. Has anyone in NRL or Parramatta approached Beauden Barrett? He and his brothers (Jordie and Scott) would be better than the other famous NZ brothers: the Crowe brothers (Jeff and Martin RIP), the Bracewell brothers (John and Brendan), the Marshall brothers (Hamish and James), the McCullum brothers (Nathan and Brendan) and the Paul brothers (Henry and Robbie) - or the Gear brothers (Hosea and Rico) or the Brooke brothers (Robin and Zinzan).
8. Skateboarding/ BMX. If nothing else is ever gained from lock down, we may have produced a generation of future gold medallists in these two sports!
9. Lionel Messi. Gone from Barcelona? It's like Cameron Smith leaving the Storm and playing for another club! PSG may pick him up. Great if an EPL team did. Noticed Leicester won the Community Shield game v Man City on the weekend. What a great success they have been in the past few seasons.
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