1. NRL - Finals #1. Manly decimated the Roosters. Diced them really. The value of speed has never been articulated more clearly than the Sea Eagles in 2021. Saab, Trbojevic, Garrick, even Foran...all look sharp. Their speed will win them plenty of key moments, but finally they beat a top eight team. Manly have unearthed some great forwards and adding the likes of Luke Garner and Ethan Bullemor in season 2022 will make them near to premiership favourites. They will wrestle it out with Souths. This could be one of the better games in recent years.
The Roosters are slowing down and need to inject speed...just like Parramatta. How Sam Walker is kept on the bench until 20-0 down is staggering. Injury perhaps - or just defensive concerns. Trent Robinson is following a few (Coach Cleary - Kikau; Coach Holbrook - Fifita; Coach Arthur - Nathan Brown) in keeping strong players on the bench too long... end of year or no end of year.
2. NRL - Finals #2. Parramatta v Penrith. Parramatta need wingers with size and steel for the future. They also need speed... especially in the centres. Penisini defends really well and has been immense with so few NRL games behind him. He may have played more final games than NRL competition games! He keeps Waqar Blake in check.
Blake and Ferguson need to move on. Gutherson has become really slow, but is always a great competitor. In order to beat Penrith, you need to offload the ball and need possession to flow - and Moses needed to run the ball more. They allowed too many Penrith players to land on their stomachs and play the ball quickly. They had too many 'dead marines' caught up in the ruck when play had moved on. Great defence by both teams. No expert dummy half was always a risk for Parramatta. Stone's knock on and muffed pass (knock back?) was pivotal at the 65th and 75th minute mark. Ashley Klein had a reasonable game, but he loves a tight finish and an even up.
Penrith's defence was excellent, but their attack is suddenly quite ordinary. They lack speed and Crichton is not making much of a difference, despite the pay check. Both teams have great defence and forwards... but they both lack speed. The Panthers whinging about referees and the stoppages (the trainer calling an injury?) all seemed to be at pivotal moments.
Parramatta now have not won a GF since 1986 - 35 year drought! Longer than it took them to win their first one from inception into the comp.
Melbourne will not be concerned. They will be quaking in their banana lounges. A Saturday afternoon game at 3.00pm is unusual for a final, but may offer Penrith some hope in the sunlight and dry conditions. Penrith will need everything they can get (as Parramatta would have too!)!
3. AFL. Talk about a break. They have a two week entry into the Grand Final. Great that the NRL has moved its game time, so we can watch both live. Brownlow favourite...Ollie Wines or Clayton Oliver. Bontempelli is there too, but like always it is harder to win when there are other stars around you. Easier if you are the only decent player raking in the weekly points yourself.
4. Wallabies. A top win by the Wallabies v South Africa. Great pass by Tupou for the matchwinner. Lots of good signs, but we are still miles behind the All Blacks unfortunately. Hopefully we can capitalise on a few wins and beat the Argentinian team... and keep improving. The injection of greater pace could help, but the dominance of the TMO is a complete blight on the game. It is out of concern. It is a total stop-start game now. Players are celebrating penalties these days because they know how often they are awarded and how much a referee dominates a game. The advantage rule is a complete joke. Too many whistles and penalties... interruptions and no momentum. Let the game flow!
5. Djokovic-Federer-Nadal - all locked on 20 Grand Slams after the shock loss by Djokovic to Medvedev in the US Open Final. Maybe none of them will never win another one. This could be a fitting end. However, I suspect Djokovic will be back. A rare loss, but so costly. A possible Grand Slam and the 'best ever' title slips by...
6. Shayna Jack. Back in the pool after the drug fiasco. Don't take tablets Shayna... even if you never thought you did! Be alert. Elite athletes get many ASADA information sessions, warnings and drug tests. Hopefully she can recover, but once again, Australia don't look like the clean skins we announce ourselves as being. She'll be back around the same time as the Chinese swim sprinter, Sun, who our media have given a hard time to as well around the Mack Horton saga.
7. Jamie Kah. Party girl jockey and rubbed out for five months. Talk about over the top - despite not telling the whole truth, this seems excessive for a COVID breach. Racfing stewards are a lot harsher at times than the laws of the country. Go figure. She had a season with over 100 winners and it looks like they are keen to shuffle her back a peg or two.
8. Tom Brady. Still the best. Tampa are on track. His mate Gronkowski ('Gronk') is also a complete gun. Both lost from the New England Patriots and both still carving it up.
9. Daniel Riccardo - GP Win. A first win in three years in the Italian GP last week. Such a huge sport through Europe and a 'shoey' to boot. Eight career wins now, but his true talents have not yet been fully seen.
10. Jordan Mailata - NFL. This guy is a supreme talent in that offensive tackle position with the Philadeliphia Eagles. Potentially a $100 million guy. A huge man and tough, who can sing like a bird. He would have scored some NRL tries as a junior! Have a look at the bloke in action as a junior in the NRL lower grades: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH233ZDm-BA (you can see young Harry Grant drop him a couple of times!).
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