Sunday, October 17, 2021

The Wrap - World Cup of Coaches

1. Great news re the Redcliffe (shhh) Dolphins joining the NRL. Is there any difference to the Manly Sea Eagles, Parramatta Eels, Canberra Raiders, etc. Huge to get Wayne Bennett whose mission will be to beat the Broncos into submission. Suddenly there is a lot more spice in the games they play up there. Four QLD teams - North QLD Cowboys, Broncos, Titans and now the Dolphins - to rival the NSW teams.

It will really shake up the player market and signings.

Regan Campbell-Gillard. Not taking up his option with Parramatta? This could be a worrying sign to come as the Eels try and pin down their off contract players. They seem keen to allow them to hit the open market on 1 November. Could be time to do a bit of signing or pay a heavy price. Will Smith is handy, but he has gone too.

2. Josh Hannay. This guy is the Mr Fix It Coach of the NRL. He was a strong first grader and went from the Cowboys top the Sharks and now to an Assistant job with the new Billy Slater led QLD Origin team. He gets plenty of opportunities, but not a lot of success. Hopefully he can do better here in this role.

3. EPL. Speaking of which, it may be time for ManU to get a new coach. 4-2 loss to Leicester. Unheard of in the past.

4. Cricket. Hard to believe Cameron Bancroft is still in the top WA team. Struggling for runs since the sandpaper incident and should not have really been there either, but for a coach who knew of his potential. Still waiting to see it realised. Khawaja a big Shield ton... always scored before the start of the season and not another one until next year.

5. World T20. Off to a flyer with Oman (host nation) v Papua New Guinea. A 'Group A' contest. Thankfully these are short games. India and England will shine here when we finally get to the main draw next week. Australia were very lucky not to be in this 'secondary' draw themselves. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are there and need to go through that avenue to progress. We could join them soon if we can't lift.

6. IPL. Big win by the Chennai Super Kings. Hazelwood did alright. Have to laugh when "wickets" are taken by bowlers when the ball is rescued from a six over the boundary. Hardly awe inspiring bowling. Probably like a top edged six, but bowlers who are the best in the T20 format are mastering yorkers. I would be looking to sign Moeen Ali in my BBL team. Dominant and humble. BBL needs a player makeover and more cash injected into it.

7. Nature Strip. What a cracking win in The Everest! Get on Masked Crusader for next year! The work of Incentivise in the Caulfield Cup was something else too. Surely the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup double lie ahead. Get on it now!

8. Boston Red Sox. Can they do the near impossible? A wild card entry to the post season and now sitting at 1-1 with the Houston Astros with two home games ahead. The best of seven will be hard fought, but they could be 2-0 up but for a Game 1 meltdown. A super unexpected end to the season.

9. Koroibete. Not going abroad... they will need some strength and speed to replace him and Vunivalu surely has to be the man to step up.

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