The Wrap - Hoax, Stokes and Jokes (and Foakes)

1. NRL. The prospect of a loss this weekend brought out some excellent footy (except for Manly and Brisbane). Parramatta have managed to string two wins together (!) and with an unexpected crack at the Storm for a top four finish ahead. They are due for a loss on their season long 50% win-loss pattern. Paulo is a cracking player. A ball playing wrecking machine with quick feet and blissful hands...hard to find on the open market. Mitchell Moses is an enigma. A superb goal kicker and a better defender than attacker, which is rare in a number seven.

The game between Storm and Roosters was outstanding. JWH is a dill sometimes and brilliant at other times. Flattening big Nelson who crumbled badly, was a big moment. However, up 14-0 and JWH goes ballistic and costs the team, narrowing the gap. The Roosters could win the premiership on that form. So strong. Sualli is amazingly skillful. The addition of Lodge has really toughened up their play. Lindsay Collins is a top class player but has been rubbed out now which will hurt.

The Cowboys will need to sharpen up as Souths are also on a charge. The Sharks motor on and have had a tremendous year again.

2. NRL Finals. Pretty clear now... Panthers-Cowboys-Sharks all safe in the top four, pretty much (Cowboys don't need a loss)... Melbourne v Eels for the last spot in the top four. If the Eels lose, they drop to 6th spot on for and against, being leapfrogged by either the Bunnies or the Roosters who play each other. If the Bunnies win they could grab 5th spot ahead of the Roosters. If the Roosters win they take 5th spot. The loser of Roosters v Bunnies comes 7th. The best the Raiders (or Broncos) can do is finish 8th.

The reward for coming fourth? Play the Panthers in Week 1 of the finals! Your team is better off not being in the 1 v 4 side for mine. Roosters may lose comfortably knowing they could go onto the 2 v 3 side! There is no point busting a boiler there as the difference will be finishing 5th or 7th.

At present, assuming the Broncos miss out (and they deserve to miss out after conceding 110-6 in the last two weeks) and the top three teams win:

Team 1 v Team 4 (eg. Panthers v Storm)....loser plays winner of Team 5 v 8.

Team 5 v Team 8 (eg. Roosters v Raiders)* elimination.

Team 2 v Team 3 (eg. Sharks v Cowboys)... loser plays winner of Team 6 v 7.

Team 6 v Team 7 (eg. Eels v Rabbits)* elimination.

3. AFL. Still can't cop a week off pre-finals in the AFL. All momentum is lost, but the Storm were laughing... a packed Friday night house at headquarters. Having hit 40,000 members, they are a remarkable success story.

4. England v South Africa Test Cricket. Back to the old way... England send the opposition in to bat on a green top and cash in on Day 2-3 with the bat. An overdue ton to Ben Stokes (12 Test tons now), but this Ben Foakes can play (two test hundreds now). 200+ ahead in the first innings positions you well. The pressure there for England to rip through South Africa comes to pass and a 1-1 level series results. James Anderson nets another six test wickets. He is fast approaching Warnie - taking 30 more Tests!

5. Wallabies v South Africa. A cracking result from the Australian team after their Pumas loss last week. Koribete was indeed awesome! Hooper may come off the bench soon too. Daytime rugby? How refreshing. 

However the Pumas' performance v the All Blacks was truly amazing. The All Blacks' coach, should be familiarising himself with a few employment apps the way they are travelling at present. Cheika is almost doing the impossible here.

6. EPL. Liverpool finally strike back. 9-0 v Bournemouth. There's a relegation story right there. Ironically, Bournemouth sit on 3 points and Liverpool sit on 5 points now. Arsenal have had a cracking start (12 points), ManU is on the rebound now (6 points), but the two big stories...Brighton on 10 points and West Ham yet to break their duck. A big worry for their vocal fans!

7. US Tennis Open. Commences this week with no No-vax Djokovic (21 Grand Slams). It will be a great effort if Rafa Nadal can win it. He has already won the 2022 Australian Open and French Open and sits on top with 22 Grand Slams. It would be nice to see a few genuine contenders emerge. These younger players need to get busy..and soon.

8. BBL Draft. The fans love a good draft in any sport. This could be a game changer, but clearly there is a pool of T20 journeymen who just circle their way around the worldwide leagues, gathering cash. Good luck to them!

9. ODI Cricket. Great to see an ODI series v Zimbabwe. I wonder how long before you can't remember the venue or result? Silliness, but Maxwell's 32 off 9 balls sums it up!

The Wrap - Blow Outs and Blow Ups

A huge difference between AFL and NRL this weekend. One tense, the other had everyone questioning effort levels at some clubs by professional players.

1. AFL. On one hand you had the last AFL round of the season (ahead of their ridiculous bye round pre semis), scheduled brilliantly. Melbourne v Brisbane, Western Bulldogs v Hawthorn, Carlton v Collingwood (90,000+ crowd!) and Swans v St Kilda all influenced the final eight and the excitement was amazing. 

In the end Carlton needed to beat Collingwood as a team that had been in the eight all season and in the end were the only team that has ever missed out on the final eight from that position all season long! Incredible impact on the top four and the final eight teams. The Western Bulldogs are cheering! They have done it before from eighth place.

Collingwood have moved from 17th in 2021 to 4th in 2022. Incredible improvement. Sydney limped over the line and will find it tough at the big MCG v Melbourne.

In the end, the top eight AFL match ups:

i. Geelong v Collingwood

ii. Fremantle v Western Bulldogs

iii. Brisbane v Richmond. 

iv Melbourne v Sydney 

Interested to see Alistair Clarkson head as coach to the perennial losers, North Melbourne. Maybe they can rise from the ashes with his standards and guidance!

Essendon continue their terrible form as a club. Peptides, sacked coaches...a mess.

2. NRL. A smash up! Almost every team not in contention simply just gave up. The Warriors, Manly, the Bulldogs and the Tigers. The Tigers were the worst 72-6 does not help your reputation, especially coach Kimmorley. A coach wearing a hoodie looks slovenly. Keep it for when you get home in front of the tele. 

The Wigers club is in crisis. They have lost their soul really. Unbalanced and not many clever players. Not much can improve there either. Likely to lose Brooks and Doueihi - not bad losses in some senses, but they need to rebuild. Korisau and Papallii will help but not solve much. They have lost so many decent players and their best hooker Jacob Liddle looks like leaving too. 

So far in 2022 they have also lost: Luciano Leilua (Cowboys), Gildart (Roosters), Garner (signed at Panthers), Nofoaluma has been inexplicably gifted to the Storm... Peachey is playing reserve grade, Utoikamanu has been injured forever and Jimmy Roberts looks like it his last season. They are a mess.

The Broncos were only marginally better, getting thumped by the Storm. bad timing and at home too.

Manly.. incredible decline.

3. NRL Semi Finals. The Panthers (40), Sharks (34), Cowboys (34) and Storm (32) are all locked in to play semi finals with two rounds to go. Parramatta (30) are at greatest risk of missing out on the semi finals, with the worst for and against - a product of their highly inconsistent year. However, Canberra's record is even worse and need one of the other teams to fall over - not the Eels, unless they get belted by a team like the Storm and make up point differential.

The Eels (30) face the Broncos and Storm and could well lose both. Canberra (26) face Sea Eagles and Tigers and must win both. The Roosters (28) face the Storm and Rabbits - challenging. The Broncos (28) face the Eels and Dragons. The Rabbits (28) face the Cowboys and Roosters and also have a tough run home. Tight.

4. England v South Africa Cricket. An England special. Absolutely hopeless if they have to face pace on their own seaming decks. Prefer the opposition batting on it! A crushing loss by an innings and 12 runs as South Africa keep producing excellent fast bowlers. No rescue innings from Bairstow and Root this time!

5. EPL. Arsenal, Tottenham and Harry Kane on fire. (185 EPL goals for Harry Kane and fourth on the highest goal scorers ever! Beating Sergio Aguerro, two behind Andy Cole, 23 behind Wayne Rooney and 75 behind Alan Shearer)  ManU scraping the bottom of the table is a disgrace. A million rounds to go however. Leicester in early trouble too. 30 points beats relegation most times.

6. BMW Championship. Adam Scott in with a sniff... two behind heading into the final round. A hope after a long tournament drought...no LIV yet!

The Wrap - Coach Challenges

1. Paul Green. The mind and trials of an elite sporting coach are complex. The loss this week is awful - as it is in society where young people and older see hopelessness and pain, not opportunity and optimism. The coach is in the public eye, yearning for success, yet is powerless to influence a team in many ways. It is a frustrating journey in the spotlight of the media and public.  

The cranky or emotion charged coach is often the one in the firing line (eg. Michael Maguire, Trent Barrett, Ricky Stuart), but quieter blokes have deliberately taken a step back (eg. Nathan Brown) in recent times. Others have gone quietly...Brian Smith, John Cartwright, Rick Stone, Garth Brennan, John Morris, Dean Pay, Ivan Henjak... to where?

Green could play the game well (Rothmans Medal winner in 1995) and coach (2015 Cowboys premiership), but look at some of the greats who have been hesitant in this coaching space: Peter Sterling, Darren Lockyer, Andrew Johns. These blokes may assist here and there, but they realise they can sit in a warm commentary box and in the end not really be troubled by the outcome of a game. They travel and they chat. Great life. Flanagan looks comfortable there - as did Matt Elliott once upon a time. Vautin dabbled, Fittler dabbles... Gus constantly avoided a return to the fray and the "grandfather coach" has emerged as a better position for many too. 

One bloke who looks lost and terrible physically at present is Adam O'Brien (Newcastle). He sounds terrible at press conferences and needs media training. Even Mick Potter's golden run came unstuck this weekend. 

Potter is another 'quiet' coach who has given way now to Cameron Ciraldo on a five year deal - huge. Hopefully Potter continues as an Assistant Coach, like Ciraldo was for Anthony Griffin at Penrith. Ciraldo was also apparently a finalist in the 'Sexiest Man in League' contest back in 2006 (doubt that contest will return again) and played for three clubs - Cronulla, Newcastle and Penrith. I recall he broke his leg badly one night all those years ago.

The coaching fraternity does look after each other (Steve Kearney with Storm, Paul McGregor with Fittler, Anthony Seibold with Eddie Jones in UK Rugby, Jason Taylor to the Roosters), but Paul Green's situation has been a big reminder of the well being and safety of the individual in the world at present. Not sure how the EPL managers cope, they send them packing after five rounds!

The player taking a mental break from the game is a popular one these days: Meg Lanning, Naomi Osaka, Michael Hooper - and even early shock retirements (Ash Barty). How many coaches take a mental health break? Ricky Stuart won't regret having a week away. The world is shifting.

2. NRL. With three rounds to go, two teams surging ahead at present are Souths and the Roosters. Both look the goods for a premiership tilt... and of course the Storm. Shut out scorelines are desperately hard to achieve and the Storm v Panthers (16-0) and Souths v Eels (26-0) were incredible efforts really so late in the season. The Eels are still a 50% win team, so with Bulldogs, Broncos, Storm remaining in the year, it will be interesting to see who they beat. So inconsistent and so disappointing really. 

The Roosters will not finish eighth that is for sure.  Three rounds to go and Manly have bitten the dust with the Titans crushing them. Tom Trobjevic has again proven to to be the lynch pin at Manly. The Raiders have the Knights, Manly and Tigers so could sneak into the final eight. Of nine teams in contention, one misses...Eels? Broncos? Raiders?

3. AFL. The Melbourne v Carlton game on Saturday night was one of the best for a long while. The work of  'Kossie' Pickett at the end was electrifying to win it with 12 seconds left. It is a congested leading pack in the premiership at present - Geelong will be minor premiers, then Swans-Brisbane-Melbourne-Collingwood. Buddy has hosed down speculation too in a very classy and emphatic press appearance.

The Swans have really bounced back in the past month. Six straight now. The carrot for Collingwood in their clash today was outright second place and a home final....a top four position for the Swans too beckoned with a better % result than Collingwood. In the end a crushing Sydney win at home and a win v St Kilda next week gets them a top two finish. A huge win today really. Melbourne v Brisbane on Friday night now looms as a must win for both teams. Very exciting times!

Longmire is a sensational coach (62.02% win record as coach of one club). Unbelievable record really - and Chris Scott (Geelong too - 68.97%). The tenure of AFL coaches interestingly, is a lot longer as a general rule than most sports. Patience and time to achieve glory.

4. Manchester United. This team is a shell of its former self. The golden era has gone, but clearly they need a new direction after a 4-0 loss to the might of Brentford. The woes of Everton continue too...2-1 losers to Aston Villa.

5. Rudi Koertzen, the former ICC umpire has passed away. His 'finger of death' that did the slow rise after an appeal was his trademark. A sad loss.

6. Ian Chappell. Apparently fading away from the commentary box after all these years with poor health impacting, yet he is still swinging about Steve Waugh, Ian Botham and many others. Chappelli has always appeared cranky and intense for a bloke with great cricketing nous. His playing (75 tests at 42.42, 14 tons) and captaincy record (30 tests 15 wins, 5 losses, 10 draws - becoming 49 tests with WSC thrown in and 19 wins, 14 losses, 16 draws) is not as flash as many other cricketers. Was he gracious and accepting of the feats of others? Undoubtedly however, if he backed you in, you were always on the high ground of Australian cricket eg. Shane Warne, Michael Clarke.

7. Cameron Smith - St Jude Championship. He is surging at the St Jude (two off the lead into the last round) and on top of his game right now. The LIV Tour is being neutralised as a menace with every signing. The 'fear of missing out' is descending on many more of the elite golfers, regardless of the cost, price or impact. There is no world wide rule that one tour can operate only. Player reputations took a hit with World Series Cricket and Super League, but no one really cares now.

8. Wallabies. They can really disappoint at times. Nothing like losing to Argentina 48-17. Humiliating really.

The Wrap - Chocolate Shooeys

1. Michael Hooper has long been a concern. Fronting up and leading the Wallabies grandly as our most capped captain ever. His physical health - let alone his mental health - has always been of concern. A legend of Australian rugby and he wants a break. Fair enough. Tests against the Pumas don't rate that highly in the minds of most... players and fans. A good win nonetheless and to beat Cheika may be the best reward of all for many of the team. Cooper will be a loss with an achilles injury.

2. Commonwealth Games Medals. At one stage earlier this week it seemed like they were giving out the gold medals with the chocolate inside them, but a great reward for so many fledgling and emerging athletes. Some tremendous efforts however. Emma McKeon is just superb as the GOAT. The Oliie Hoare's 1500m win was outstanding! The relay...not so great. We have so many young athletes achieving excellent results and getting a taste of what is needed for further honours.

3. The Hip Drop NRL tackle. This needs to be barred and Brandon Smith can consider himself very lucky that he avoided suspension. He is developing quite a bad judiciary record, but nothing on Jarred Waerea-Hargreaves or Tariq Sims who are the kings at the judiciary. They have a reserved seat each. 

4. Buddy Franklin. When an experienced legend seeks too much of the salary cap and injury and retirement hovers, they need to be cut free. Wally Lewis was the famous example and then the Broncos created a dynasty. Buddy may go to the Gold Coast or Brisbane by all reports. Good luck to him, but the Swans need to be future focused. For them to be in the top four now this year is incredible really. Parramatta hung onto Sterling and Kenny for years after their expiry dates. No loyalty these days. Everyone wants a competitive team, but not all teams can play a GF.

5. F1- Daniel Ricciardo. Surprised with talk of his axing from McLaren? Daniel loves the glamour, but his top ten finishes are not enough for the elite level. 5ths and 9ths may pay bills, but don't win championships or favours by team owners. 12 top ten finishes last year...only four this season so far. More excuses than an after school detention session with kids.

6. NRL - Parramatta. Great win v Manly, but the Manly club is all over the place at present. An injured Keiran Foran heading north at year's end, may be on the same plane as Buddy. I cannot see him completing that contract at all. Parramatta were steady and young Jake Arthur played well. He defends well for a newbie and a couple of smart plays. I think it is his height that throws people. The tallest halfback in Australia and lacks a bit of speed. His kicking game is not as great.

What Moses' absence has revealed however is that Dylan Brown is an absolute gun. A $1M player who needs a long long contract. He will win comps. The impact that Junior Paulo (the M4 biffer) and RCG have when they come back on in every second half is amazing, but Parramatta fall in a hole without them.

7. Ricky Stuart. A desperately poor post match comment about a player who it seems some ten years ago may have been an insensitive and inappropriate clown. However, for a super experienced head coach to blast someone publicly in a press conference is not on. Ricky is sounding crankier and crankier. He needs to retire and explain the horrendous results for his team. 2019 Grand Final, finals in 2020 and now a tenth place (2021) and something similar in 2022. It is not good enough with his roster. He has had blow ups with all sorts of people in the club, players and media...and refs as well. Time to visit Centrelink. 

He's going as well as the Tigers...they are truly terrible. Bad attitudes. How does Channel 9 pick these spectacularly poor Sunday afternoon games?

8. Anthony Griffin. His days are sadly numbered. When you get rid of Assistant Coaches, it looks like you are not taking responsibility. This is not lost on the players. He is in trouble. No doubt there will be a review happening soon, bring Gus back in and then he is on his way. Nice guy, but too many off cut recruits which divides a club already famous for BBQs and blokes jumping over neighbour's fences and scooting away in the dark to avoid police (Kenny Edwards style). Not a semi-final in sight. Awful really.

9. Collingwood. A cracking win v Melbourne on Friday night. They are roaring after 11 straight wins. At some point they need a let down, but their ferocious defence and intensity is a far cry from the Nathan Buckley days. They will go close because they are fit and smart, using angles really well across the park. Melbourne? They will be back. Maxie Gawn was on fire with nearly 30 touches!

Richmond are a danger team... so well coached. The Western Bulldogs are nearly gone, but super talented! The Swans v Collingwood game next week will be a cracker!

10. Adelaide Crows - 2018 Pre Season Camp. Possibly the most famous stuff up in years - and revisited every year too. How this could ever occur is beyond everyone. A massive financial legal case looms.

11. EPL and Scottish Premier League is back already! Not much of an off season at all. Liverpool 2-2 v Fulham was a shock. Saleh is a gun. The newly promoted Notts Forrest will need to do better after a 0-2 result. Everton, lucky to stay in the top flight, have already lost in Week 1. They are under close watch! Big win by Tottenham v Southampton.

12. Kyrgios... into another hard court US circuit final in the Washington Open, but the lack of ATP points from Wimbledon has him sitting around 60th in the world. Unlucky. Playing like a top ten player at present.

13. BBL. Good to see Dave Warner clean up from Cricket Australia for the BBL. He may never reveal all about the sandpaper fiasco and how much the bowlers knew after all. 

The BBL Draft has a million dud players in it, but hopefully better options ahead. The Romanian bowler, Pavel 'The Bodyguard' Florin, surely won't play. 

If you thought your bowling was bad..."Well...you can see that he hasn't been playing cricket for decades"... understatement of the century. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmOyLYpxX-Y