1. The Socceroos. Great tactics by Andrew Redmayne for the extra time win over Peru... time wasting, throwing the Peruvian goalkeeper's instructions on his drink bottle over the fence, arguing with the ref, dancing like the 'grey wiggle' and winning the mind games in handing the ball over to each Australian kicker.
Out of imminent despair, Graham Arnold remains one of the premier coaches in Australia and has shaped Keith Currie into a handy striker too. It is a great list of famous Socceroos coaching names in our time: Eddie Thomson, Les Scheinflug, Raul Blanco, Terry Venables, Frank Farina, Guus Hiddinck, Pim Verbeek, Holger Osieck, Ange Postocoglou, Bert van Marwiik... and now Graham Arnold. Credit where it is due.
We make the Group Stage of the World Cup again and profit from the national move to the Asian qualifiers once more. An impressive result against the odds.
2. State of Origin. NSW have the panics again. They've chosen a rugby union touring side with a million players. Too many changes for no good reason. No Addo-Carr is a massive mistake. How Gutherson makes it is beyond me... too many mistakes, too slow and not a team man. Throw in Koroisau (life ban last year?), Angus Crichton (busted?), Victor Radley (discipline?), Jordon McLean and Siosifa Talakai... lots of worker bees and perhaps they lacked that. Looks like too many green shoots and no trees. Jake Turbo's return is welcomed however. No idea where you play Nicho Hynes. Dropping two Parramatta forwards may be smart.
3. NRL. Big wins by St George, the Cowboys and Parramatta on the weekend. The Eels were very impressive and kept in step with Brad Arthur's 50% winning edge (one win - one loss - one win - one loss). The offload can kill a team if done well. Playing footy, not robot-ball can work.
The Bulldogs were impressive of course. Potter is firming as the right coach. Amazing how the memory of Trent Barrett can be erased so quickly. Compelling defence and the players look like they enjoy playing!
4. AFL. The Swans are clinging by a thread. Still in the eight, but are losing games they would normally win. They seem to have one diabolical quarter and then don't recover. A young side in many respects, but they need to improve massively.
The Dogs keep scurrying along and the Richmond Tigers are gaining momentum too. Port Power are suddenly needed more than ever on the East Coast and they are playing like the whole country need them... actually...
5. Nature Strip. Top win by the Chris Waller-James McDonald combo at Ascot in the King's Stand Stakes over 1000m last week. That is the pinnacle for an Australian horse/ trainer/ jockey combo!
6. US Open Golf. Between Rahm and Scheffler for mine. Not a lot of 'LVI' golfers (adding two holes for the a-holes running it) in the mix. It is hard to carry the cash and the guilt that far. However, each to their own.
7. Giants. Mighty netball win. Young Sligar a star of the future. Into the Semi-Final and possibly a GF.
8. Sri Lankan Cricket. 1-1 in the ODI series and Australia's batting looks entirely lost once again on turning decks. Has anyone thought to ask Matt Hayden what work he did in advance of his record breaking series in India all those years ago?
9. English Cricket. Brendan McCullum has brought two wins to England and a mighty chase in the fourth innings to win the last test for a 2-0 series lead. The hitting from Bairstow was something else. Check this out if you missed it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m22QJQZUSag (starts at 7 mins 30 sec. on the clock).
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