The Wrap - Ange and Angels

Late Christmas - New Year edition...

1. Big Bash (BBL). Back again for another stint, but there is a sameness about it that may be the start of the sheen being dulled on the concept. No one cares who wins (Heat, Sixers, Scorchers - same winners as usual), with the familiar duds: Stars, Renegades and the usual middling teams: Thunder, Hurricanes, Strikers. Not a lot of these guys in the BBL have progressed to national honours. Maybe only second tier players like Inglis, Wade, Hardie, Abbott, David. Our bowling stocks are very thin - especially spin bowling. Bring back Clive Rose.

My main tip - Beau Webster - is carving it up. He is an Australian player in T20 with bat and ball, no doubt. Has hit 30 years of age too - the customary selection age.

When did the law of cricket change to prevent catches being made cleanly and then touch the ground? It has been happening for a hundred years. Suddenly they are all in question...strange.

2. Tom Curran. The Sydney Sixers are making themselves look stupid. Tom Curran behaved like a goose. You wouldn't see that in the park, let alone in the national scene. Take the ban and move on. Maybe the charge of 'intimidation' is silly, but the actions are worse. Reminds me of the great Colin Croft's effort in New Zealand. No angels there: Bing Videos

3. Dean Elgar. I noticed his international retirement has come now. South African cricket is a shadow of its former self. They are playing three Tests in 2024 as a result and are focusing on ODI and T20 formats. They will need a lot of surgery to bring it back, but are doing OK v India at present. Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla would still bat better than any of the current crop. Not many getting starts in the IPL either.

Elgar's 140+ v India may be a crowning Test moment for him as well (14 Test tons).

4. Pakistan Cricket. Plentiful talent (esp. pacemen!), but they look incapable of getting much right. Injuries, poor fielding, inexplicable stumpinds and run outs, mystery retirements, protests, selection issues...not much has changed there. Banned from the IPL is also one of those issues that needs to be addressed by the ICC. A world game free of discrimination? Hardly. This summer's teams look a bit strange. The West Indian team is unrecognisable. Great for Nathan Lyon who will beat Courtney Walsh's 519 Test wickets against them. Maybe it is time to have Bangladesh come out for a six test series.

5. IPL. For a country with lots of poverty, the money paid in India to Starc and Cummins is absurd. Cameron Green is even worse. Starc's ability to knock over openers early is a massive plus in T20. Not the fault of the players, but is it based on their performances in other ICC forms of the game? If so, the IPL remains a leach on the cricket landscape. A fat, juicy leech at that.

6. Tottenham. They have peeled off three straight wins... Newcastle, Nottingham and the resurgent Everton. Two games against Brighton (one postponed), then Bournemouth and ManU follow. They are back within striking distance of the lead. Liverpool are surging once again!

Talk of Ange eventually joining Man City and ManU is growing louder! ManU have suffered more losses this season in all forms of football that they have since 1930! Ouch. Manager, Erik ten Hag is in quick sand, but holding on!

7. Jarome Luai. Not sure he will still go to the Tigers. The Panthers have an overseas trip to Wigan yet and his current leave is a bad sign for the Tigers. He has won everything of course, but playing for the three time Premiers or wooden spooners may be worth the sacrificed cash. Load up into Year3 of the contract after the $850K two year deal?

8. NRL Player Behaviour. Not one serious NRL off season incident yet. No groping, doping, assaults or arrests. Long may it last. New Year's Eve is always a sterner test. Loss of competition points for the club is the best solution. Mitch Kenny puts a silly social media post out... Honestly. No testing in the off season will do this - ask Valentine Holmes. 

9. LIV-PGA Golf. How is this resolution process and peace talks progressing? It sounds like it isn't. Another joke to appease sponsors, but poor communication and lack of transparency seems to be one of golf's greatest challenges on the world stage.

10. MLB - LA Dodgers. Splashing cash like the IPL on heat. Snapping up the best talent, but they have a talent for not producing with talent, regardless of who it is!

The Wrap - GOATs and Goatees

1. Cricket. First Pakistan Perth Test. Really poor crowds, but genius batting by Warner on Day 1 set up the crushing win. He dominates when on fire. A duck in the second innings didn't help, but he had played his role.  All out 89 by Pakistan is pretty poor. We love a win, but the crowds will suffer this summer.  A bad, inconsistent pitch really did not help. This could have cricket back to the WACA sooner than ever. Dangerous moments.

Mitchell Marsh had a top test - 90, 65no and a wicket and a catch too. A duck or a hundred man however. The MOTM on his home deck!

Nathan Lyon, the GOAT killed them with 500 Test wickets. 501 now and 18 behind Courtney Walsh. McGrath on 563 and Warnie 708 lie ahead.

Starc sneaks along to 338 wickets at 27.49 as well. His strike rate is better than almost every pace bowler in history - except Pat Cummins. He is forging a highly impressive career.  Josh Hazelwood and Pat Cummins have both hit 242 Test wickets. Four very impressive bolwers really.

2. Mitchell Johnson. With an opportunity to smile and accept that he was all about motivation... and bury the hatchet with Warner, Johnson doubles down with a cranky, silly display on TV. Honestly. He was hard to like as a player - harder now. He has made a goat of himself... goatee and all.

3. Damien Oliver, the Melbourne jockey rode a peach on Munhamek to win in WA in a race named after him. This ends his career - known as the GOAT as well! Over 20,000 rides as well. Awesome. The most Group 1 wins ever for Australian horse racing.

4. Ange Postocoglou. Clawing it all back now with a couple of good wins for Tottenham v Newcastle and Nottingham. Still a phenomenal effort and talk of having him lead Man City is phenomenal. Everton now move to 16 points, even with 10 points taken off them...a great year for them this season too. Everton, Brighton, Bournemouth lie ahead for Ange. We will see what they are made of here.

Ange is our GOAT of football managerial prowess.... with a goatee. No risk there.

5. Jarome Luai. Great luck to him. Top money, but I am not so sure he is worth that much. I like how Penrith show no emotion and will replace him too. Tigers may not land him yet, despite the media... Bulldogs? They have the salary cap sombrero now!

6. Eddie Jones. "Come here and say it"... He has truly made a complete embarrassment of himself in view of all the media denials. Sad... and has made a complete goat of himself. Eddie will need to grab his blue jumper and hit the high road.

The Wrap - Spell Nawaqanitawase

1. Matt Renshaw eeks out a ton v Pakistan and he is next in line for an Australian opener's spot? I suspect Mitchell Marsh will come in and Cameron Green will come back post Warner. Renshaw is too inconsistent and has a lazy front foot. LBW special.

A big test this week. Lance Morris keeps on being spoken about, but I suspect that there is no fast bowler keen to entertain not bowling in Perth!

2. Big Bash. Enjoyable to an extent, but generally pretty similar every year. This revolving door of players going from one world T20 league to another makes a complete mockery of the competition. Money making and eventually they will all fall over. 

3. NZ v Bangladesh. The NZ team bounced back for a 1-1 series outcome. Tight, but again their lower order did the business. They are like the Yarra River...the best is at the bottom.

4. Ange Postocoglou. Is now under fire, but the team is scoring goals. Weak defence on the back of many injuries. He needs a bit more steel from them all. No shortage of Pommy critics. That is the problem with that mob, they swap and change all the time and can't pick and stick. Their journos try to unsettle and big note themselves constantly. Newcastle, Notts, Everton and Brighton are the next four games. He would need three out of four here to restore his footing on the EPL table.

Full marks to Everton on their ascension on the table after being docked 10 points for salary cap and financial breaches.

5. Mitchell Johnson. He has become the new 'rent a quote'. An intriguing bloke who never seemed to like criticism when he bowled - but who provided many avenues for it.  Now he wants to throw mud at everyone else. He is not a heavyweight ex-player really, despite his 313 Test wickets. 

Interesting that Mitchell Starc (333) has sailed on by him and is getting wickets at a better average than McDermott, Johnson and Brett Lee. (How great was Shane Warne? We are all lucky to have seen him play).

6. LIV-USPGA. When was the truce all set to be activated? Sounds like a Claytons unification! Jon Rahme is a big scalp and a big pay check. Rory seems to think this one is fine now... all very murky.

7. Roosters Recruit. The hardest man's name to spell and pronounce is surely Mark Nawaqanitawase. Signed at the Roosters, bolstering their strength and range of speedsters. They deserve salary cap relief for being astute and progressive in their planning and thinking.

8. Shohei Ohtani has finally secured his future, signing the biggest contract in MLB history with the LA Dodgers. A superb player who hits and pitches at the elite level in both. Over $1 billion! 

The Wrap - Teeing Off

1. Golf. A tight win for Joaquin Niemann in a riveting playoff. Great intensity in a topsy turvey final round. Fortune favoured the brave that is for sure! Not a great day for the Lee family...Shane and Brett. Not for Minjee and Min Woo either, but lots of talent there!

There is something magic about the Australian Open each year, despite its obvious limitations. Love the Stonehaven Cup.

2. Ange. The special song has gone quiet lately with so many injuries. He is now facing the might of Man City at the same time tonight. This will be a monumental win if he can do it. It would elevate him into the top managers of the world overnight, which is hard to believe, but true. There is a changing of some EPL world order at the moment with Aston Villa and Newcastle climbing fast. Chelsea meanwhile plummet. Still can't work out why other points penalties have not been delivered for other clubs, including Man City. Just Everton so far who look better than most years at present. They may cling on again yet.

3. Bangers. Absolutely mashed up New Zealand to win the first of two tests. A two Test series is a dunce act. Remarkable and overdue win against a full strength NZ team. Kane Williamson hit his 29th Test ton in the test, matching the Don.

4. T20. How tiresome and a nothing series for both Australia and India. An IPL rehearsal for some, but not much traction in a disappointing Australian team. Our spin stocks are woeful.

Are Indian cricket fans and ex-players now some of the most precious and sensitive types in the world? They do not like losing of course (who does?) and want to make a huge deal out of everything, including Mitchell Marsh putting the feet on top of the trophy in a photo. Please. You lost, get over it. Get good.

5. Test Cricket Team. Mitchell Johnson is playing his own Australian Open at the moment, teeing off on Dave Warner and selector, George Bailey who strikes you as a thoroughly decent person. Johnson is wild and livid re the Warner farewell and other things, calling Bailey out as lacking courage. Bailey's response was gold: "I hope he's OK". Maybe he should stick to bowling and helping blokes like Lance 'Cordial' Morris who gets a chance on the Cottees again for another summer. Johnson did a lot of his own hopeless play in his time, but did almost single handedly win the Ashes that year. Never saw a repeat of that though.

6. Matildas. Ridiculous game v Canada, sacrificing the reputation and standing of that team. Pick the best and 'blood' others in lesser teams. Silliness. You can't say a lot of words in Canada, but some choice words were being tossed at the team coach post match.

7. Women's T20 Big Bash and AFLW. Both comps end within a day of each other at a good time of the year. Sensible scheduling. More coverage than most sports now. Top intensity.

8. Netball Australia. A dithering lot of white tracksuits that mob. Finally looking after players, but in such a successful sport domestically, it has a dash of the "rugbys' with its poor administration and poor planning. Get it right. That national men's netball competition should be coming any day now.

9. Rafa Nadal. Great to hear he is back this summer for his swansong. He may get a chance to meet Dave Warner too. The greatest perhaps... but Djokovic will be in electrifying form once more.

10. Josh Giddey. What a sorry mess. The price of fame is sometimes unbearable. Hopefully he and the young person involved are in a good space with the right support. Social media is the sewer of the internet indeed. Imagine social media and Wednesday dollar drinks at Parramatta Leagues or Castle Hill RSL back in the day. 

11. Adam Doueihi. Sounds like Adam is getting nervous about Jerome Luai coming to the club. In a spot of trouble with some poorly chosen comments. It could be the injury recovery and pending flight to England.

The Wrap - Woo Easy

1. The World Cup ODI Final. Travis Head has arrived. Such an awesome striker of the ball and what an innings! It could go down as one of the greatest wins in cricket history by an Australian team. Making the final was a great achievement but winning it was next level. Smith did not produce in his last ODI World Cup and Marnus produced as predicted.

The bleatings by former Indian players (Mohammad Kaif was always a goose as Warnie said in his biography. Kaif wanted a room upgrade in the IPL and Warnie intervened..."I am the only one with a big room...grab your bag son and move on").

Ronnie McDonald and Pat Cummins have made a dent in world cricket already...world Test Series win, Ashes retained and a ODI World Cup win. Cumball!

Played in front of 92,000...very quiet fans. India should never lose tournaments of any nature with their strike power.

How about Josh Inglis in the T20 arena. 100 off 45 balls. Is Carey now finished? Do selectors look ahead to the next Ashes.

2. EPL. Wide open and Man City have not set the world on fire. Haaland has another 14 goals to date and is leading the way. He could just back up on last year's record at this rate. Ange has a test tonight. Another loss won't help his cause. Robbie Williams may be penning different lyrics!

3. Golf. Is Cameron Smith losing it? The most extraordinary outburst in this tournament. Appearance fee banked and out the door, but very odd. Min Woo-Lee too good at -20!. Poised and composed till the end. Great future ahead there.

4. Davis Cup Tennis. Hard to believe that Australia plays Italy in a final. Last time that happened it was with the great former Epping politician - John Alexander. Lleyton Hewitt (World No. 1 for 80 weeks and in the top ten longest streaks in the No. 1 world's best position) is coaching the house down. Bought a house at Glenhaven and carving it up! No Djokovic to contend with in the final but Sinner will be tough. 

5. Everton. Perennial Premier League relegation ice skaters. Docked ten points and likely to go this year. Massive legal cases loom for their indiscretions re financial mismanagement and unfair advantage gained. man City face similar. Will they relegate them? Chelsea too? Interesting times.

5. RIP Paul Sait. Tough as teak.

6. Newcastle Knights. Re-signing key players (Saifiti, Best) and Coach O'Brien, but getting some gun English players and a few other ducks in a row... starting to build nicely.

7. 150 Year Test. Interesting to see we are almost up to the 150th celebration between Australia and England (1977 was the Centenary Test of course). Big MCG celebration assured there.

8. Rugby Australia. What else can they get wrong? Honestly. Sacked the head, the coach and what next? It is a comedy show.

The Wrap - Garden of Eden

1. ODI World Cup. A super win v South Africa in the semi final on a tough deck. Great bowling by Starc and Hazelwood to launch it after a tight opening. Lots of key early wickets consigned South Africa to the World Cup dustbin again. They do struggle under pressure. Travis Head can turn games on their head - even with the ball so it seems! He and Warner are absolutely key to our chances in the final.

What about the anticipated 130,000 crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium?  Talk about a lions den. This will be an experience of a lifetime for the Aussies and make for excellent viewing in the next edition on Prime! Such a big stage, but the likes of Rohit Sharma, Gill, Kohli, Iyer, Rahul... these are top class players on their decks. Not to mention the best attack in world cricket - Bumrah, Sami, Siraj, Jadeja... and Ravi Ashwin is not even playing! (He and Kohli have never seen eye to eye).

Kohli is magnificent. 50 ODI tons is pretty amazing, beating Sachin Tendulkar. 

After a rough start, Australia have surely overachieved. However an innings of mastery by Steve Smith tonight is due. So is Marnus. This is the stuff of legend. Not sure how Zampa will go against these Indians. He needs to get more loop and bowl a little slower at times. I doubt they will be quaking in their boots. If we had Shane Warne however...

A bad tournament for Green, Stoinis and Carey (his petulance with the binoculars in the Ashes may have betrayed his true character a little). Warner and Starc have been magnificent. A coming of age tournament for Zampa, Mitchell Marsh, Head and Inglis...these guys are our future for a while. Age will decimate the team soon. 

2. Eddie Jones. When does he leave the country? Too much press for a guy who should be a lot quieter after recent events. McLennan goes too and will learn that recruitment defines each and every one of us in our professional lives.

3. Socceroos. Meaningless World Cup qualifiers must annoy a lot of club teams. Honestly, they travel like kings and look to be some of the most sour, dour and boring individuals on earth. The sense of "team" is interesting. It looks a lot about "me" in these parts. Graham Arnold is a legendary coach however. No EPL of course this week.

4. NRL Salary Cap Concessions. It does seem ludicrous that other codes with no salary caps can stop the progress of the game. Rugby's "world stage" line is struggling for traction a bit now. Nick Politis has got Joseph Suaali in line for a return. It might happen sooner that we thought.

On signings, it is really slim pickings these days. Astute investment in youth is needed now more than ever. Matt Moylan gone overseas as well... a good move.

5. Swans AFLW. Smashed, but a semi-final win in their first year is pretty impressive. Good for the game of AFL which seems to be growing and growing in strength. No big blokes who wallop you mercilessly impresses mums and dads.

6. Sheffield Shield. Renshaw picks up a double fail. Harris marginally better. No one really getting runs although a bloke by the name of Beau Webster (Tasmania) continues to excel. In all forms of the game. A power hitter and a sensible player under pressure. NSW in all sorts of bother again. They need a batting coach and selectors who can spot promise. Dropping Sangha and Jack Edwards (injured?) is not a great move when the blokes coming in get nothing either. 

7. Novak Djokovic. This guy is a slick machine. Into the final of the ATP Finals v Sinner. Absolutely smashed Alcarez who has a lot to learn to regularly beat the best ever player in world tennis. This will shatter all records here. The bad news? He's not finished yet either!

The Wrap - Maxi Taxi

1. World Cup Cricket. Mitch Marsh is back in town and crushes 177no, carving up the minnows. Two World Cup tons now. I guess someone has to do it, but it bodes well for the finals. The Glenn Maxwell innings v the Afghanistanis was pretty amazing too in the tight circumstances. Can't imagine a 201no in most forms of Australian cricket for some time to come. Our batting is just not that strong at any level.

Warner sits on 499 runs for the tournament after 9 games. He is such a special talent. Marsh has hit 426 runs and Maxwell leaps up to 397 runs (Quentin de Kock leads on 591 runs). 

Zampa, the tennis ball thrower, has the most wickets at the World Cup - 22. At 18.91 mind you too. A great tournament.

2. Bangladesh Cricket - 'Timed Out' dismissal. Bangladesh are one of the most underperforming teams in world cricket. Sri Lanka had achieved a lot more than them at a similar stage in the top flight. They look a little more feisty than most and yet they lose for fun. They need to improve their bowling... and stop finding silly outs and conflict as their way forward. Angelo Matthews needs a rocket too. Silliness. Sri Lanka have sacked their entire cricket board too. Chaos.

The last bloke 'timed out' in world cricket was Greg Dalton in hotel cricket in the mid 90's, unpacking a case of beer.

The Bangladeshis were duly thumped by Australia and cricket fans shed no tears. Mercifully England bow out and so do Pakistan. Both highly inconsistent teams.

At the end of the group stage, we are best placed v South Africa and need three or four wickets earlier than most - de Kock, van der Dussen, Markram et al. Nothing new there. The deck at Eden Gardens seams around a fair bit, esp. under lights. Really hard to chase runs on that deck, so it will be a 'win the toss and bat' scenario... or perish!

3. Imperatriz. This horse is something special, even if it is from NZ. Too quick for Alligator Blood, Mr Brightside and In Secret over 1200m at Flemington. It has won eight Group 1s now...incredible. Six this year. It has joined the greats of Australian racing now. Yet the owners did not run it in the Everest? Crazy. "She prefers left handers" - running counter-clockwise...what? The quickest horse in the business!

4. Rugby League - Bulldogs. They can find controversy easy enough. Still missing a half back for mine, but a stronger team. More experience now. If they flop in 2024 there will be heads rolling...Gus' mainly. Bronson Xerri has extreme pace which will compensate for losing Jake Averillo, but Xerri's hands and passing/ ball skills were always suspect. It will be interesting to see what he has developed in his enforced lay off.

5. Ange Postocoglou. A thumping loss at home to Chelsea 1-4 was not good mid week. Ill disciplined play with send offs did not help. Another loss to Wolves 2-1 after being up 1-0 for most of the match too. Serious injuries are depleting the team now... an interesting time ahead for the three time consecutive EPL Manager of the Month (something very few managers have achieved). ... suddenly the Ange song has gone a bit quieter.

6. Meg Lanning. Retired and gone. One of the very best of her long career. Such an elegant, sensible bat and a composed leader through an era when Australian Womens' cricket has been the dominant world leader in a single sport.

7. Sydney Swans Womens AFL team. Into the semis from nowhere... great spirit and skill. AFLW is becoming a more watchable game now. They beat the Suns in their elimination semi final and now play the top ranked Adelaide. The games are usually so tight, anything might happen here.

8. ATP Finals Tennis. Novak Djokovic is looking to take a record breaking seventh ATP Finals singles win in Turin, Italy this week. The old 'Masters Cup'. He will move past Federer if he does. In doubles, John McEnroe and Peter Fleming were doubles champions for seven years in a row (1978-1984). Seven is the record in doubles, six in singles.

9. NSW Sheffield Shield. And then suddenly they win. Intriguing they can nail WA and all their stars, but struggle against others. More runs, more wickets and less blokes preening themselves and telling everyone they are hitting it well in the nets. Has there ever been a batsman who has not hit them well in the nets? No pressure, high rotation and no fielders!

WA do themselves no favours. So many of their players simply cannot bat on pitches outside WA. Not good for national selection.

The Warner opening spot remains an open contest. I suspect some will want Mitchell Marsh there longer term to play that Warner role. Marcus Harris? Matt Renshaw? Cameron Bancroft... Where is Will Pucovski.. where's Wally?

The Wrap - Kiwi Revenge

Rugby League. What a terrible loss! New Zealand were sharp and may be showing a turning tide in the rugby league world order as the Pacific Islands and Maori players dominate the NRL too. They were too strong and tough. Australia mention a 'bad attitude' and 'complacency'... surely not. This was an international final, even though the crowd made it look like a park final. Very concerning that it was the Australian Kangaroos who lost so easily. 30-0 is a record loss and the proud work of bygone eras may see Mal Meninga in strife long term too. 

Conversely Michael Maguire adds a Pacific International win to his CV. Impressive that he could get the most out of his team against such odds. Maybe 'Tiger Town' was an aberration on his career where he has won the comp with Souths as well of course. Hopefully NSW Blues redemption awaits.

Could be time for a few of those players to rest and recuperate. Fisher-Harris and Moses Leoto especially.

ODI Cricket. Nothing better than beating England in cricket - no matter what format. The Poms played with such recklessness. Coach Matthew Mott will be back in Australia before we know it. What a misery that experience has been. 

Adam Zampa continues to get wickets - mainly caught - but he takes them at key moments. Leg spin is such a powerful art. The batting still is of concern. Steve Smith needs to break the shackles at some point. Kohli and de Kock are running rings around him. He may be closer to retirement than we want to admit. Still a legend of the game.

It would not be cricket without a drama from the Marsh family. Hopefully Mitchell can make a comeback and contribute. Stoinis getting runs is rare gold. Cameron Green too.

Looks like we are in the semis after a woeful start. Playing Afghanistan and Bangladesh yet and two wins may see us avoid India which would be valuable. The groundsmen will already be preparing an absolute turner for the final. India must be $1.01 to win. They are dominant - and should be screaming favourites.

Horse Racing - Melbourne Cup. Confident that Gold Trip with JMac on board can double it up. Like Without A Fight and Soulcombe (a place). Vow and Declare is not hopeless and would join Peter Pan as the only other horse to win the Cup twice after a gap of years.

Archer (1861, 1862), Peter Pan (1932, 1934), Rain Lover (1968, 1969) and Think Big (1974, 1975) are the only others outside of Makybe Diva (three times - 2003, 2004, 2005) as multiple winners.

Given recent events, it stands to be a NZ horse who wins - especially with rain forecast.

EPL. Tottenham take on Chelsea this week to retain top spot. It will be a close one with Chelsea itching for a victory after a few dismal outings. Man City hammered Bournemouth 6-1 without Haaland scoring once (!) who was injured at half time. 

MLB. Texas Rangers crush the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 where Aussie, Craig Shipley (ex Epping Boys HS) is in the senior management. A great achievement but a quiet and humbling exit.

Shield Cricket. NSW continue to fall (although beat WA in an ODI game). Charlie Wakim from Tassie may become a possible batsman to watch int the future. No one is blowing the door down however. So inconsistent and lacking the hard edge. Back in the day, Dene Hills, Jamie Cox, Michael di Venuto, Stuart Law, Jimmy Maher, Martin Love used to peel off the tons every week and none of them played Tests!

The Wrap - Kiwi Sandwiched

1. World Cup ODI Cricket. An awesome win v New Zealand. Some of these pitches in India are absolute roads. Australia have hit over 350 in three successive ODI matches - a world record. Led by the mercurial Dave Warner (second highest tournament run scorer to Quentin de Kock on 431 runs at present). Travis Head looked good.

Sad to say it, but Steve Smith is a problem in that Australian team. Too slow and not enough strike power. Marnus is a bit similar. Mitchell Marsh... his innings almost crushed our advantage. He missed the email. Thankfully the leading wicket taker for the tournament - Adam Zampa (16) - plays for us. He gets a little tap occasionally, but takes wickets and multiples!

How good is this New Zealand player - Rachin Ravindra? Super talent. He was apparently named after Rahul Dravid ('Ra') and Sachin Tendulkar ('chin'). He bats like a great combination of both. Two World Cup tons already and he is 23 years old. Daryl Mitchell is pretty awesome too.

Australia are now really well placed with 8 points after 6 games. They have England, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to come and are on track for a top four finish in the group stage, all being equal.

2. World Cup Rugby. The world's longest tournament. It started on 9 September 2023 when France beat New Zealand and ends on 29 October...50 days! (The equivalent in cricket is started on 5 October with the final on 19 November - 45 days!).

The All Blacks are an awesome force. The courage needed to win World Cups is sometimes lost on the South African nation, so it was a bright and steady start from them and a momentus victory, albeit against a 14 man NZ team. How we all love a rugby referee and their over officiating TMO!

Northern hemisphere excitement at penalty goals is a disturbing feature of the game. The Barbarians games seems to be their version of Sevens Rugby!

Great to see the work of Cheika in the Argentian team, almost picking up third place. Meanwhile the Eddie Jones joke continues. Denials, weasel words, double meanings... honestly. 

3. Ange Postocoglou. On he rolls. A handful of points clear at the top of the table! An awesome start to his managerial career and he is now destined to be on everyone's radar worldwide. Hard to believe he lost the Socceroos job once upon a time! Chelsea this week will be a test, but he keeps lifting and building.

4. Pacific Rugby League. The Australian team crushed New Zealand with a heap of players rested. They are awesome as a group. Unfortunately it is very hard to get excited about this tournament. That Lindsay Collins is some sort of talent. He has great skills and is tough without being stupid. 

5. Kiwi Problems. A regrettable weekend for the Kiwi fans. Losing the ODI cricket, the rugby league and the rugby! The womens' league team won however...I am sure a NZ Melbourne Cup victory awaits.

6. Cox Plate. Romantic Warrior lived up to its hype with a slashing win, but Mr Brightside was a breath away. Incredible finish. An interesting Melbourne Cup field awaits.

7. Imperatriz. This horse is by far the fastest in the country. It wins in a canter every time it goes out - and against the best opposition. How an owner does not run it in the Everest for 15 million is beyond me. It laps all others and is building an impressive 'picket fence' - 11111111.

8. Matthew Wade. An incredible story of Wade being appointed as T20 captain for a T20 series in India soon. At least there are a few others under the age of 35 in the squad. It is a hard gig to make any Australian cricket side as a young player these days. He scored a Shield ton on the weekend too.

9. NSW Shield Cricket. How bad are they going? Bat and ball... terrible. That is despite a new coach.

The Wrap - Warning Signs

1. Dave Warner's amazing ride continues. He is now equal with Ricky Ponting for most World Cup tons (5) after a scintillating innings v Pakistan (and a dolly catch that was dropped to give him a life early!). He is our single most outstanding ODI player, averaging the highest of any Australian player ever. Pretty clever. His decorated career will come to a close this summer. Renshaw? Harris? Bancroft? None of these guys can turn a game like Dave Warner (Short maybe).

Warner's record in India is outstanding too. The IPL records are too numerous to list.

Good to see Mitchell Marsh hitting runs. He always looks great when on fire, but he is certainly a Graeme Wood clone - a duck or a hundred! We will take the good and cheer him on, but the bad is rotten with poor old Mitchell.

Cameron Green and Alex Carey are suddenly a long way away from selection against the Netherlands and then NZ, England, Afghanistan and then Bangladesh to come. With one spinner, we look like we have the wrong mix of players: Abbott-Green-Stoinis...three similar players. The return of Travis Head helps with some spinning option there. At least they are playing two games a week unlike the rugby union and rugby league. Faster pace!

It would be nice if Steve Smith could score some ODI runs.

The minnows are going well. Netherlands and Afghanistan are competing. It is Sri Lanka who have slipped most (and Australia).

2. Cricket at the Olympics. Don't laugh but there are six teams admitted and here's a scenario: Host nation (USA) get one slot. India and Pakistan get two others as they have driven the new market of TV rights for the Olympics with their massive populations. That is three. If they have qualifiers, England (Europe) and South Africa (Africa) are locked in. That's five. New Zealand and Australia need to play off for the last spot! Or become Americans! We could miss out.

3. Rugby Union World Cup. As predicted New Zealand are enjoying being on the easier side of the draw. Argentina were smashed and a show down with South Africa is tantalising! One game a week, they have been there for two months now! All Blacks to win.

4. Rugby League Pacific Championships. Will we be the best team there? New Zealand look awesome, humiliating Samoa who have gone backwards big time since the World Cup. Their pack is outstanding! Their cricket team looks pretty red hot too. Fisher-Harris, big Nelson... they have size and skill. Tough hombres.

5. Celtic. Winning for fun again this season, Ange or no Ange.

6. Tottenham EPL. An odd draw coming up. Tuesday (24 October) v Fulham (3 points), then Saturday (28 October) v Crystal Palace (ummm) then Tuesday 7 November v Chelsea. No gimmees in this league. Three wins here would be an amazing statement, but they can't win them all!

Haaland scoring goals again as Man City right the wrongs. Sheffield United look like collecting the spoon already.

7. Caulfield Cup. Mark Zahra did well to get Without A Fight over the line in the Caulfield Cup. A whip rule breach of course too...one of the criticisms in big money races. His wife's interview was something else... talk about excited! Soulcombe might just win the Melbourne Cup...an awesome run (poor ride). Gold Trip was unlucky. It will go very close again too!

Check the interview out: Horseracing 2023: Mark Zahra’s wife steals the show after Without A Fight wins Caulfield Cup | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site

8. Kaylee McKeown. Backstroke legend. Holds world records in all events 50m, 100m and 200m. Handy.

9. Minjee Lee and Min Woo Lee. First brother and sister to win tour events in the same week! Macau Open for Min Woo Lee and Minjee Lee won the BMW Championship in Korea! Minjee has 10 tour wins now. Impressive!

The Wrap - Cheik Mate

1. World Cup Rugby. Starting to hot up now...a really slow and laboured draw however. Glacial speed. Rugby operates on a sun dial at the best of times...slow games, slow changes, slow TMO. 

The All Blacks will go very close for mine after a top win v Ireland who have been on a long successful stint. The work of Michael Cheika with the Pumas has also been exceptional. That is a big statement to those who sacked him and instead went with the skinny blue jumper wearer who loves to coach Japan. 

A big semi-final - All Blacks v Argentina... the easier side of the draw! Missing England-France-South Africa is a big plus in a gruelling competition. Box seat.

2. World Cup ODI Cricket. As mentioned three weeks back, Australian cricket is heading the way of the Wallabies. Terrible batting and we are on the slide out the back door. The batting issue has been problematic in the past three years in all forms of the game. Retirements will make it much worse soon.

Mitchell Marsh is not the answer as opener - or skipper. Carey and Green have been struggling for some time. Pat Cummins' captaincy when under pressure is a problem too...so is his short form bowling unfortunately. We have no devastating player who can turn the game outside Starc. Our spin stocks are terrible (but don't look to Todd Murphy who has been terrible in Shield). Tim David turns games.

3. Cricket - India v Pakistan. A clash of the Titans. Such rivalry. India is an amazing cricketing nation and should be paying $1.02 to win the tournament at home. They are on fire. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are in incredible form. Ominous. Bumrah has bounced back strongly and the great all rounder Jadeja mesmerises everyone - especially Australians. How amazing if a few of these blokes could play in the Big Bash!

4. Tim Tszyu. Lots of hype (Origin style). So much before the actual fight... but he obliterated Mendoza in the end. Charlo next. The lad can fight! He is actually a funny bloke too in the media.

5. English Super League Premiers - Wigan (10-2 v Catalans). Mitchell Pearce is finished now. Older than the old TV advertisement shots of Junior Pearce on the beach with Tina Turner. 

6. The Everest - Think About It. What a tremendous event! Such a short run for big cash! Great to see the jockey Sam Clipperton achieve so highly. The trainer Joe Pride seems like a likeable lad too. That is a premiere racing event on the calendar...yet no Group 1 status because of interstate politics (limited entry access chiefly). A grand plan that has become an institution. I Wish I Win was very unlucky. It could have won with a better luck in transit.

Imperatriz is the fastest horse in the country. Its owners are crazy (and obviously already wealthy) to refuse entry into the event. Fancy saying that it was because it is not a Group 1 event and the horse prefers running left handers (counter clockwise). Have they asked it? Strike while the iron is hot. Four slot holders tried unsuccessfully to convince them!

How about Fangirl blitzing Mr Brightside? Amazing effort.

7. AFL Trades - Swans. Three great early trades in the 2023 draft for next year...Brodie Grundy, James Jordon, Taylor Adams... This could really make a difference to their chances, but the forward line is still a worry for mine. Experience and talent... with a little extra pace too.

8. Michael Maguire. An interesting selection as Blues State of Origin coach. The footage from Tiger Town still haunts around the lack of poise and calm under pressure. He may have a Johnny Peard experience...one season. Daniel Anderson would be an inspired choice in time. Sadly Andrew Johns seems to fight with others too much and will not fulfil his potential. Matthew Johns could do it. There are some great older coaches who could advise, if their egos were checked...not just Gus.

9. NRL Pacific Championships. I wonder who will be crowned world undisputed, inter-continental, carryover champion of the Pacific? Australia I would have thought. Is there a rule to say that once you have represented one country you can't swap to another in any worldwide tournament? Surely.

10. Josh Curran. Ex-Warriors. Surely Parramatta sign him as a former junior player and St Pats Blacktown graduate. Tough, uncompromising and a biffer from way back. He could have an awesome presence off the bench, especially alongside J'maine Hopwood.

11. 'Big Ange' Postocoglou. EPL Manager of the Month again - back to back. However, he wants silverware for the team!

The Wrap - Three Peats

1. Three Peats. The Penrith Panthers crushed it and deservedly take their place as one of the greatest ever NRL teams. Resolute defence, blistering speed and strong feared forwards. However, three peats are pretty common worldwide more recently and at present:

• Penrith Panthers (Rugby League Premiers) - 2021, 2022, 2023
• English (Rugby League) - St Helens: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.
• Manchester City (EPL) - 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23.
• Crusaders (Rugby) - 2017, 2018, 2019 (two non-COVID years) and then 2022, 2023. Five in a row.
• Formula 1 - Max Verstappen - 2021, 2022, 2023 (following the great Michael Schumacher who got five in a row between 2000-2004 and Lewis Hamilton who put four successive title wins together from 2017-2020. Sebastian Vettel racked up four in a row too from 2010-2013
• Tennis - Federer did it in 2006-07 (Wimbledon, US, Aus); Rafael Nadal did it in 2010 (French, Wimbledon, US) and Novak has done it three times 2011-12 and 2018-19 (Wimbledon, US, Aus) and in 2021 (Aus, French, Wimbledon). Noval has also done all four Grand Slams consecutively in 2015-16. Awesome.
• World Cup ODI Cricket - Australia in 1999, 2003, 2007.
• Bathurst, Mt Panorama - Brock (1978-1980, 1982-1984) and Craig Lowndes (2006-2008).
• Shane van Gisbergen is now looking for the three peat at Bathurst next year after a win in 2022 and 2023.
• Juventus (Italian Football League) - 2011/12 - 2019/20. Nine in a row.
• Tour de France - Chris Froome 2015-2017. Jonas Vingegaard from Denmark is looking for a three peat next year having won in 2022 and 2023.
• Makybe Diva - three successive Melbourne Cups (2003-2005).
• Olympics...Bolt, Johnson, Phelps, Ledecky, Fraser... lots have done three gold medals in successive Olympics in the same event over 12 years.
• One of the toughest sports to achieve this is in golf. Tiger did it in 2000 (The Open Championships, US Open, US PGA). Koepka is next best in 2018 with only two in a row (US Open and US PGA). NBA has only seen the Lakers and Golden State Warriors string two championships together in recent times.

We'll leave out boxing too.

2. Wallabies. Nice they got an extra week in France training, but hard to see it ending in anything but misery. Fiji have deserved their place alongside Wales in our group. It would be great if they could schedule some games during the week. The longest tournament on record!

The two time successive Player of the Six Nations, France's Antoine Dupont is ready to lead the host nation to glory post injury (France have won 27/31 Tests with him at the helm). However, do not dismiss the All Blacks. They will be hard to toss.

3. World Cup Cricket. What about South Africa? They are in some special form after knocking over the Australians recently. A shock to see them late in any 'World Cup' in any sport, but they look awesome with the bat sometimes... Klassen, Markram and de Kock. They absolutely laced Sri Lanka racking up a 50 over score in excess of 400! Bazball II.

4. Tottenham. A fortunate Premier League win this weekend 1-0 v Luton in many respects (10 men on the field for a long time and some duffed shots by the opposition). It keeps Tottenham right at the top and positions them well leading into the pre-Christmas break. Fulham - Crystal Palace - Chelsea are the next three games and should be knocked over by 'Big Ange' in the coming weeks.

5. Bathurst. Great and all that but the sport lacks something. Certainly not TV time at a tricky time of year. The fact Brock won it so often (9 times) is incredible. Lowndes is up there too (7 times). Gee the police must get a few heading home thinking they are the next Shane van Gisbergen! Good to see him do well in the NASCAR circuit. He won a NASCAR Cup event in Chicago and then a top ten finish in the next - the first driver to ever do that in his first two NASCAR races ever! A tough school there.

Could be the best since the great Dale Earnhardt from the Wide World of Sport days on Channel 9!

6. The Kangaroos Post Season. This provides some respite from poor TV sport, but it is hard to place what it means and why they are playing. The Pacific Championships? Sounds like something off Strictly Ballroom.

7. The Big Bash. This will start very soon (7 December - 24 January 2024). No real roster surprises again despite a 'draft'. Still like the look of Jordan Silk as an Australian player.

8. Sheffield Shield Cricket. Tons to Cameron Bancroft and Michael Neser help their cause. Our batting is so weak around the nation. Surely Bancroft is not the answer to our batting challenges. However, he looks like the only consistent scorer after a ripping year in 2022/23. Puckovski? Good to see him back. Surely we cannot be serious re Renshaw? What about Daniel Hughes from NSW? Prolific in all forms of the game.

The Wrap - Premier Excellence

1. Panthers. What a game! 81,000 in the house. How good are the big boppas for Penrith...Fisher-Harris, Leota and Leniu? Big hombres. Fisher-Harris said he has a serious "resting face". Leota looks like someone who has not had his garbage bin collected by the council. Carrigan, Haas and Flegler matched them early. Early mistakes - Farnworth, Reynolds, Cobbo, Arthurs, Staggs/ Walsh in the first fifteen minutes.. the Broncos did well to stay in the game and were right back in it at half time. 

Flegler and Farnsworth will be brilliant signings for the Dolphins. Both played huge first half footy, especially in defence. Crichton will be a big loss for the Panthers. He is a huge frame and so talented.

Ezra Mam ('The Man') has been a revelation for the Broncos. He has filled a serious hole in their line up. Bonus. Three tries in a Grand Final is sensational. Michael Robertson (Manly winger) was the last to do it in 2011 v the Storm. Hard to get a talented five eight these days. I hope Dylan Brown was watching.

With twenty minutes to go...step up Nathan Cleary! The 60th minute of big games really defines a player and a team. QLD have done it for years in Origin. Cleary began running... set up the Moses Leota try, he kicked goals from the sideline, kicks a 40/20, he took that drop out ball out on the full stepping over the sideline...then he scores the winning try and kicks the goal. Kicked three goals in the last surge and one from the sideline. Phenomenal. The third two time Churchill medallist. (Billy Slater and Brad Clyde are the other two). He is elite.

Reece Walsh is only 21 but might need to learn more quickly and not be a big head. Sport is a great humbling force. He kicked balls dead, fumbled, got stuck in goals a couple of times and threw the ball away at the end. He has already left a club with an odd release (one club destination), been arrested by police for cocaine use, sworn and cursed directly at the ref and was suspended and reacted publicly and impulsively to an idiotic comment by a fan a day or two before a Grand Final. Silliness. Park the sunglasses and pink boots. Lots of talent and speed nonetheless, but needs to grow up. Hopefully great talent realised - not wasted.

There are not many players to have won three premierships in the NRL. Cooper Cronk, Norm Provan and Brian Clay played in 10 Grand Finals (asterix two for Cronk).

Penrith (5) have now won more competitions than Melbourne (4), who have the same number as Parramatta (4). Mick Fanning was outstanding.

2. Collingwood - Premiers. Coach Craig McRae has done a top job. 16 flags for Collingwood now, equal with Essendon and Carlton as the most ever. I like the cut of this coach's gib. He famously hit a topic I cannot stand when a team loses in semi finals/ Grand Finals:

He famously said last year after a loss in the 2022 Prelim Final: “We want to act like winners. The siren goes and there’s half a dozen guys laying on the ground. For me that’s not a winner. That’s acting like a loser. We lost a game, we’re not losers. We’re here to win this thing". And so he did a year later... steel is a rare quality in life attitudes these days. Harder to teach in others.

3. Ange Postocoglou - Tottenham. ''Big Ange'...'Ange ball'. Tottenham Hotspurs are re-invented under Ange and are winning. The testing games have come and gone this month. A win v ManuU, a win v Liverpool and a draw v Arsenal. They are now second placed and playing a great brand of football. 

A shock win by Wolves over Man City 2-1 this week. A top win  against an awesome opponent. Rare gold. Reminds me of the Doug Mulray joke..."I used to be a Wolves supporter, but I am not any moooorrrreeee (dog howl!)!'. Even Luton Town won! (Everton surely get relegated this year).

4. Australian Cricket. A mess in so many ways at present. We struggled against the Netherlands in the lead up game and won the dead rubber (1-2) v India (nothing like a Mitch Marsh innings when there is no pressure!). We are in for a rough time, like the Wallabies, soon. 

Blokes likely to retire soon in the next few years: Warner (36), Khawaja (36), Smith (34), Starc (33), Carey (32), Hazelwood (31) and Mitch Marsh (31). Plus Maxwell (34), Stoinis (34), Zampa (31), Abbott (31) and Inglis (32) too. Only Marnus (29), Head (29), Cummins (30), Green (24) have a longer extended run left - and three of them, not so long!

Nice to see new blood in the ODI scene (David, Hardie, Ellis), but we return to the experienced players in the World Cup. One thing Eddie Jones did not do.

Starc is in ominous form...a hat trick v the Netherlands. Is that like a backyard hat trick?

We will do well to beat India in their own backyard next Sunday.

5. Eddie Jones. Dreadful leadership and still denying he spoke to Japan about a coaching job on the eve of the World Cup. Any way you look at it, he has to go, but Australian Rugby is in disarray. I heard on the weekend that George Gregan was approached to be backs coach a couple of years back and before deciding he wanted to speak to some of the players. What he discovered was a complete lack of game sense and intuition about the game. He politely declined. The game has massive issues.

An unfair rumour circulated this week saying Suaalli had signed with the Wests Tigers. Apparently he decided that he could play for a useless, embarrassing team who wear orange without having to travel overseas. Boom!

6. World Cup Rugby. The All Blacks remain a huge threat despite their early shock losses (96-17 v Italy).  Fiji only just got there v Georgia (17-12). 

7. Ryder Cup Landslide. The Europeans have jumped to a sizeable 10.5 to 5.5 in pursuit of the magic 14.5 win in 2023. Rory has led the way well, despite the carpark blow up!

Since 1985 there have been 18 contests. Europe have won 11 of these (USA 6, one tie) but still trail 27-14 (and two ties - 43 completed) to the USA since it started in 1927.  Interestingly, from 1927 to 1985, USA led 21-3.

A changing trend in world sport - like tennis. European strength.

8. Brad Fittler. Not a real respectful NSW coaching arrangement proposed, but Freddie has lost three of the last four series, including the debacle at the end of year COVID series when NSW should have won. He was on his last legs and changing his coaching staff so much, he knew it. Time to move on. Surely they can't go back to Laurie Daley. Other possibles: Jason Ryles? Michael Ennis? Andrew Johns? Tim Brasher? ET? NSW is not blessed with lots of options. 

9. Jai Opetaia. The Sydney born IBF Cruiserweight champion once more. With a 23-0 record, he is a sleeper world champion when Tzyzus typically dominate the media.

10. Next? Bring on the Marsh Cup and the motor sport... and the club signings, rumours, poor player bahaviour... The Integrity Commission? The 'No Dickheads' commission may be needed soon.

The Wrap - Brisvegas and Finals Beltings

1. NRL - Preliminary Final I. Panthers v Storm. A smash up 38-4. Liam Martin and Fisher-Harris are just so tough. Moses Leota is like granite. How impressive is he? Spencer Leniu's leg speed is also up there with Payne Haas. These guys have second tier forwards like Sorensen and Lindsay Smith who are amazingly athletic too. Luke Garner won't be upset he left the Wigers!

Cleary simply dominates and steers the team so well. His kicking game - goal kicking and general play - is exceptional. So is his defence. They just do it so clinically...Yeo and Luai are a little formidable combination too. The five eight is so at home with Crichton and To'o outside him. 

Their defensive patterns are incredible. Everyone is crystal clear on their role. Izack Tago is a weak link and Turuva is a little worrying at times. Kevin Walters should get Brad Arthur on the phone...but last year Penrith played the most perfect half of rugby league that has been seen in a Grand Final ever... maybe since the Knights pulverised Parramatta or Melbourne crunched Parramatta too.

The Storm were hampered by injuries all year and did well compared to their usual teams. Some cheap shots when the game was done need to be ironed out. This is a great club. They don't need to do that and it doesn't help anyone anyhow. 

2. NRL - Preliminary Final II. Broncos v Warriors. A smash up 42-12. You can't win semi-finals with poor goalkicking. Surely after three tries Shaun Johnson steps in and does it. Pompey was horrible...like the Canberra halfback who did the same. On the other hand, Reynolds and Cleary don't miss a beat. The Wahs forwards went missing off their own goal line and the old Blacktown Pats lad, Josh Curran needed to be on earlier. He is high quality and an aggressive force that gets the team moving.

Carrigan is tough. Payne Haas is a supreme athlete...how quick is he too? Reece Walsh is scintillating. The quickest player we have seen for many, many years. Faster than Slater. Maybe would have nudged Martin 'Chariots' Offiah and Lee Oudenryn in their 1992 match race.

Ezra Mann has done a top job this year. he has filled a huge hole they had in past seasons. 15 tries this season!

The home ground advantage for the Broncos all year has been staggering so let's see how they go in Sydney. The Panthers are a machine and are so slick. Their defence is stronger and this will be the difference. The Broncos have lapses. They can also become a little offload happy, even if they do unsettle the defence. Corey Oates may be needed in the team - taller and a bigger body to get them out of trouble.

• Dally M Player of the Year - Nathan Cleary.
• Premiers - Panthers

3. NRL Referee. The Grand Final referee in Brisbane v Warriors will not be Gerard Sutton. Surely he misses the big gig. Gerard has ability, but two forward passes in one try? Please. The bunker sit silent again... how hard is it? How is the technology going with the forward pass and the chip in the footy? The bunker is like the desalination plant. An expensive waste of time.

Ashley Klein had a quiet weekend out of the limelight. Hopefully Ashley learns a little humility. He will have company next week. Honestly. These blokes make errors, but too many when it counts. 

Sadly the North Sydney Bears bowed out in the semi-final of the NSW Cup today.

4. AFL - Preliminary Final. Collingwood v GWS. Tight, but GWS needed to capitalise earlier in the final quarter. Collingwood played with good intensity but were the better team. They will need to be sharper v Brisbane. They can go into lulls and certainly miss Noble at the back.

5. AFL - Preliminary Final. Carlton v Brisbane. Carlton's start was electric, but this has been their problem all season...sustained effort over four quarters. They barely scored in the second and third quarters. The Brisbane mids really moved the ball well. Lucky Charlie Cameron had a shocker. They will go close.

Amazing to see the skill set of the finest AFL players in pressure finals. Incredible.

• Brownlow Medal - Christian Petracca (Melbourne).
• Premiers - Brisbane.

A big week in Brisbane this week...two Grand Finals: AFL and NRL!

6. Australian ODI Cricket. This mob have under performed for a long time. They were very lucky the Wallabies were such a disgrace last week as losing 2-3 after being up 2-0 was appalling. They then double down against a reserve grade Indian team and lose there too. 

The great under performer is Cameron Green. More chances than a Monopoly game. Everyone tells us he is a super talent and we have seen glimpses, but he is on borrowed time. He needs to be dropped on his head and sent back to learn the craft. Unfortunately we don't have enough good players to do this at present. Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Martyn S Waugh, M Waugh...(notably, not Adam Gilchrist) were all dropped and sent packing. All came back harder and better.

One pleasing sign is Steve Smith leading Australia in the second ODI. He has an amazing winning record. Pat Cummins is too injured and takes too many games off to be the skipper.

7. Ange. Tottenham v Arsenal. Tottenham had not won at the Etihad for thirteen years. Ange could gather legendary status early on with a victory.

8. PM XIII. They always seem to play this game at the strangest time in the wrong time of the day and it makes it a non-event really. Surely you play it on a Sunday when there is no other footy on? No lights? No NRL future. Some of the selections in the Australian team...please. Two St George players...Sloan and Lomax? They were appalling all year. We were warned that it was never going to be easy under Albanese.

9. Wallabies. Eddie Jones is already telling the media and world that he may be sacked. 1-6 will do it for you. He has been speaking to Japan we are told too. Incredible deception if true. The media won't miss this after the way he carried on before leaving for the World Cup. Dave Rennie may be back soon. 

Eddie doesn't seem to care so much. We have all now got the view that we will be rolled by Wales over night and turfed out with one win v Georgia (congratulations). The press conference before he left was right. He is a problem and has no future now. It will be interesting to see his behaviour at that media gathering when he comes back home (if he does...)...'come here and say it'?

This is footage which reveals much: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_spRAunfwaA  

10. Oscar Piastri. A podium finish for a rookie F1 driver. Impressive stuff in the Japan GP.

The Wrap - Hippopotamus Refs and NASA Designed Batting Gloves

1. NRL. A huge statement by the Warriors who are always stronger at home than in Australia. The Knights have done really well, but couldn't produce when it mattered.

Is it just me or do the New Zealanders need a few more lights on that home ground? It looks like a Craven Mild Cup pre-season games from the mid 1970s... dark spots, shadows. Like Crestwood Oval under lights.

The Storm keep winning, even with injuries and with the weakest team they have on the park for a few years now. A shattering way for the Roosters to lose, but it is an 80 minute game and it was an almost perfect kick from Munster who might have had his tail kicked if they had not scored... no field goal. The Roosters were pretty strong...with so many outside backs missing again in 2023 (same as late in 2022).

Referee Ashley Klein surely cannot be in control of the Grand Final or next week's games. He is becoming a lottery and seems to complicate things too often. That missed knock-on was awful. Surely it could have been called back? Touch judges? I suspect the egos of the top refs prevents their colleagues from weighing in to advise. Hippopotamus referees - big mouths and small ears. He certainly didn't miss the tackles downfield that let in that soft try however.

How ordinary is it not having the rugby league wall to wall on TV? The Warriors make it even worse with a late afternoon game. No Sunday league? There has to be a PM XIII game or something surely. The scheduling is woeful. Viewers are a demanding lot these days!

The Broncos play yet another game at home... what a draw in 2023.

2. AFL. Melbourne are getting a bit of a habit of losing tough and important games. They had chances late to Gawn, Pickett and Oliver, but surrendered the lead at the end. Carlton have had a cracking year. They almost sacked Coach Voss, but he survives and with it, Carlton goes to Brisbane to try and make a Grand Final.

On the other side of the draw, the strength of GWS is rising fast. Their ball movement and speed in their mid field is awesome. Toby Green is hated, but gee he is an impressive player under pressure. The burst of goals in the second quarter v Port Adelaide was outrageous. They now play Collingwood.

The AFL Review voice is slick - and quick. Possibly one of the best review mechanisms in world sport really. Very few errors.

3. Vale AFL Legend - Ronald Dale Barassi Junior. 17 Grand Finals for 10 premierships as a player/ coach in AFL is up there with the great Norm Smith. Surely a memento needs to be struck in perpetuity for his memory. A famous moustache! A hard arse and a success. Some cracking half time sprays are emerging on video now.

4. AFL Draft. The Swans getting Brodie Grundy in the draft would be a huge positive. He has a lot of upside in the ruck situation and would transform back into one of the best in the AFL under Longmire. When will the NRL have a combine or draft? It makes the game an outstanding all year circus!

3. ODI Cricket. Adam Zampa has equalled Mighty Mick Lewis with the worst ODI figures by an Australian. 0/113! Awful for the Wisden ODI Bowler of The Year last year. South Africa have stormed back to 2-2 with the decider upcoming. We always fear the reality of Australian batting collapses. 99 to Carey was welcomed.

Two great ODI innings this week just gone: England's Ben Stokes 182 (124 balls and the highest ODI score ever by an English player) and South Africa's Heindrich Klassen 174 (83 balls)! Klaasen's bat sounded sweeter than most. You can't buy that quality at Mick Simmonds!

Surely after years of sending people to the moon, we can design a batting glove that prevents a broken hand. Can the women and men at NASA help? Surely there can be improvements. Travis Head now has a broken hand and will be a huge loss.

4. Wallabies. Beating Georgia was encouraging and then hopefully a victory tonight v Fiji soon. Extraordinary that there is no absolute confidence exists that the Wallabies will win that game. James Slipper playing in his fourth World Cup - some sort of effort!

Can we have a mid-week game? Fifteen games on a weekend! Awful scheduling for us as viewers.

5. EPL - Ange Mania. Voted the EPL Manager of the Month. This reminds us all that EPL premierships are not won in September. May usually! Their game v Sheffield United is a precursor to the real deal in the coming weeks. They were lucky to escape, but good teams find a way. The next two weeks will really test them.

6. Relevance Deprivation Syndrome - Tim Paine and Willie Mason. Can someone advise the former Australian captain that his views on world cricket are not that important? He seems to get a lot of air play for someone seeking a lower profile. We have all read the book, but he seeks relevance and controversy seemingly. It used to be poor Neil Harvey - or Willie Mason. 

Poor Willie bagging out Tyson Gamble. He is on the Bulldogs coaching staff who lost 108-6 to the Knights this year in two games, including 66-0. Not sure that was a sensible opinion of Gamble, who played finals and won one too, no matter what his demeanour on field is like. Forwards coach at the Bulldogs in 2023 is not one to keep on the resume.

7. Mr Brightside. What a horse it has become. The Makybe Diva Stakes performance was awesome. A major player in the spring now. Others to impress: Amelia's Jewel, Think It Over and Private Eye. 

9. End of Season Blues. Not a lot on TV for the fans now... a bleak dearth of sport to be frank on our screens. NRLW (how bad is Parramatta - losing by the biggest NRLW margin on record?) and AFLW (improving skills and kicking) is the main fare now...or the Singapore GP. 

10. NRL - Other Grand Finals. Extraordinary result in the NSW Women's Grand Final. A 1-0 (yes) win to Mounties over the Bulldogs. In the men's NSW Cup Grand Final, the North Sydney Bears are back in a Grand Final v Souths! Some nostalgia there! Coach? Jason Taylor. He can certainly coach, but has struggled at times in the top flight. Rumours are that a few people saw him smile post game. He last smiled with Ray Price in 1986.

11. Davis Cup Tennis. A sabotaged wreck of a model these days when compared to its traditional format from earlier days, but Lleyton Hewitt is a marvel. Australia through to the final eight when misery and third tier tennis looked our only option! Not a Kgyrios or a Tomic in sight.

12. Ludvig Aberg. A name to watch in world golf. From Sweden in that Bjorn Borg likeness of mental toughness. A PGA dominator of the future.

13. Novak Dokjovic. The world's best. The best ever, but how can you still be so unpopular?

The Wrap - Wah Wah Knees

1. NRL Finals. The Broncos stunned everyone to blow the Storm off the park. No points to the Storm was incredible. Their high standard right across the park was extraordinary. Of course, their home ground advantage was immense. They have been given a complete rails run this season. Out of 24 season games, they played 12 games at Suncorp and 19 games in QLD (Gold Coast, Townsville, Sunshine Coast - one in Darwin). Only a handful out of town. This will cost them.

Is it a stretch to say that the Warriors looked like they were a bit disinterested with Shaun Johnson ruled out. They return home to host the next final. They seemed OK about that. Go "Wahs"!

Liked the look of the Roosters. How strong and tough was that game.?A silly missed conversion by Trindall early didn't help the Sharks, but how did young Brailey miss that try? Incredible Neville Glover moment. Not sure what the Sharks need to progress further. Possibly one good forward short. Injuries don't help. Defence seems to be their problem. Great backline. Not sure if Nicho is a halfback. Lindsay Collins is an Australian Kangaroo prop. Awesome!

The loss of Suaalii, Warea-Hargreaves and Manu surely puts the Storm well ahead. Although losing Papenhuyzen and possibly Coates evens things up too.

The Knights? Up by 12 and then a Canberra surge! Extra time and all at the Knights home ground but the Knights need some better legs in their forwards. Not sure the rotation of their bench worked well enough.

The Knights were anchored on their own tryline for sooooo long and leaked points! Ricky certainly has the forwards, not the backs, although the replacement winger Schiller had a top game. The Knights needed to play with width. The Canberra forwards loved it. Jack Wighton is a tremendous player.

10 straight wins for Newcastle. Referee Ashley Klein loves a tight game and the final penalty was cruel. 

Three big features of the weekend:

• Unbelievable first half errors kept flowing for the Storm, the Roosters and the Knights.
• Bad goal kicking errors hurt both Cronulla (Trindall) and Canberra. We somehow expect 100% in finals! (May need to recruit the French rugby goalkicker!).
• Charge downs from winning field goal shots abounded. Tedesco, Keary, Gamble, Frizzell... special efforts.

Some interesting footy ahead! Panthers and Broncos have the week off (How superior are both teams?). Melbourne v Roosters (in Melbourne) and Warriors v Knights (in NZ). No games in Sydney once again. 

1A. Val Holmes. Surely not. Tell me it is a small bag of stale sugar from a dodgy hotel in-room tea and coffee stand.

2. AFL Finals. Collingwood are beatable, but were too good for Max Gawn's Melbourne Demons. They have been the best all year and a week off will assist them to freshen up. 

Swans trailed by 30 points and finally lost by six points. That has been the story of their year. Close losses cannot be tolerated as they cost you badly. Draws and narrow losses reflect a mindset. They could not kick straight once again and need to protect this space...practice harder!

GWS too strong 101-77 v St Kilda. They are a club with amazing steel under their newer coach. St Kilda bow out with nothing again! Brisbane were dominant and could win the flag yet.

Collingwood - Brisbane now have the week off. Just Melbourne, Carlton, Port Adelaide and GWS left only now. Melbourne v Carlton and Port Adelaide v GWS.

3. World Cup Rugby. The All Blacks are floundering (losses pre-tournament to South Africa and now France) and regretting that the greatest coach in world sport - Scott Robertson - is not in control. They surely bounce back! The Wallabies finally won v Georgia 35-15. Step by step. At least there appears to be a new direction. What gives with the orange jersey? Maybe it's my television.

If only Georgia was always on Eddie's mind!

4. World Cup - Basketball. The demise of the USA on world basketball platforms is surprisingly common. Their loss to Germany (113-111) is a bit of comfort to our Boomers who loss to them too (85-82)! The final is Serbia v Germany! USA play Canada for bronze.

5. Cricket - ODIs. South Africa have hit the wall with their cricket. Another Warner duck in the first ODI was disturbing, but like so many times before, he bounces back with a ton in the second ODI! 

Australia has played 980 ODI games. In that time, did you know that Dave Warner has the best ODI average ever for Australia? (45.11) and the second most tons - 20? The great Ricky Ponting has 29 tons, but only averaged 41.81! So the critics may need to chew on that as well.

The 123 run win in the second ODI v South Africa was solid again. Liked seeing Nathan Ellis and Aaron Hardie playing. Sean Abbott is a remarkable wicket taker in T20 and ODI formats. It is also significant to note that Josh Inglis had the gloves and punched out a 50. He is breathing down Alex Carey's neck. Carey needs runs in any form of the game after a terrible Ashes campaign.

Marnus Labuschagne sure takes his chances. He relieved as a concussion replacement for Steve Smith years ago in the Ashes and has become our No. 3 there in Test cricket...now he does it again for Cameron Green (who is starting to become a worry) in the ODIs with two MOTM efforts back to back. He will be in the World Cup team now.

Mercifully, the ODI World Cup starts on 5 October which might fill the post AFL/ NRL GF gap when sport dies off and the Hardie Ferrodo is the only thing on TV outside of the Mercantile Mutual Cup cricket.

6. US Open Tennis. The predictability in the men's game is staggering. However, Medvedev has broken it by beating Alcarez in the semi-final. He now meets Djokovic in the final whose strike rate is about as good as the strike rate felt by Bernard Tomic when he was belted up in the wee small hours on the Gold Coast. Djokovic is on the brink of supreme greatness that will never be beaten.

In the women's, Coco Gauff won her first Grand Slam. So refreshing to see so many new names winning Grand Slams. The US Open seems to be one of the most even of the Grand Slams. Anyone can win. Aryna Sabalenka is now World No.1, but stuck on one Grand Slam still.

7. EPL - Ange mania. No play this weekend with the International break. Sheffield United is an easier proposition than the following two games when he will be tested...Arsenal and then Liverpool. We'll know how he is travelling at the end of the month! They could be announced as title contenders with two wins against these heavyweights! Man City keep powering on. 

8. The Socceroos. They were well on top with ten minutes to go at 2-0, before letting in two late Mexican goals for a 2-2 draw. The Harry Souttar effort on the last goal was woeful. He did score one however.

9. Scottish Premier League. meanwhile, back at Celtic... they are on top of the table again with Motherwell. Their winning rate is staggering as a club. Better than Man City and up there with the Crusaders.

10. Ryder Cup Golf. Destined for 25 September in Rome! Adrian Meronk's shock omission at a course he has excelled at was baffling. It will be interesting to see what the Italian crowds are like! No LIV players for the Europeans certainly opens up some opportunities for a few players.

The Wrap - April Premiers and Season Reviews

1. NRL Disasters. How bad were some of these team this year?

i. The Bulldogs were horrible and then full of controversy at the end. Lots of hype and hope, but what a disaster. Ciraldo now has one of the worst defensive records in NRL history. Reed Mahoney missed more tackles than any other NRL player this year.

A season review? An over used term!

ii. The Cowboys (11th). An awful last round effort with a very talented roster... including giving up enough points to finish 11th behind Parramatta. Missed Val Holmes.

iii. The Rabbits (9th). They are a shambles. The whole Churchill media thing and leaking it to the newspaper with the exit of Sam Burgess, now places Jason Demetriou on the rack. April premiers.

iv. The Eels (10th). Full of excuses and no leadership. Ill disciplined too. They need new backs or they don't improve. Their recruitment seems totally around forwards - like Canberra.

vi. Every team who sacked their coach missed out on the semi-finals: Dragons (17th), Titans (15th) and Tigers (last) - reminding us that in-house dissent is the recipe for misery.

In addition, the generosity of the NRL is staggering. $200K for the minor premiership. Please...what is that in a massively well financed game? It seems the same nonsense with the RLPA is at work.

Coach of the Year? Ivan Cleary again...or Andrew Webster or even Adam O'Brien!

2. NRL Semi-finals. Panthers v Warriors and Broncos v Melbourne look two great games. The Storm record in Brisbane is incredible. The other elimination finals are less predictable: Newcastle v Raiders and Roosters v Cronulla. The two teams you don't want to play are the Knights and the Roosters at the moment. Especially if Ponga is ready!

And the Panthers! They have their third minor premiership in four years. Incredible as a three-peat of premierships beckons.

Canberra may not be that sad to lose today, but Sebastian Kris pile driving Ramien into the ground with 20 minutes to go - then sent off - and eight points behind was dumb play at the wrong time. He will miss a semi-final now and cost his team. Canberra are a boring team, but are in the final eight! 

3. AFL Semi-finals. Collingwood v Melbourne on Thursday night will be a cracker. Then Carlton v Swans, St Kilda v GWS and Brisbane v Port Adelaide. No Sunday games. Collingwood look favourites. Swans and GWS might just struggle, but both did well to get to the semis at all!

Great to see Errol Gulden (Swans) named in the All Australian AFL team. He has been an awesome player since U/9s (yes!) playing for Maroubra. 'Errol the ferral' was his nickname then because he was so good and niggled and scrapped. He has made the senior transition in awesome style.

Christian Pettracca surely wins the Brownlow this year.

4. EPL - Tottenham. The Ange Postocoglou roadshow has continued unabated. He really knows how to get a team to work together. Awesome spirit and results. Undefeated (with a kind draw it must be said...outside of ManU) so far.

What about Erling Haaland...another hat trick too for Man City! Here we go again.

5. The Boomers. Thrown out on their ear after surprise losses. Lots of hype and media but a resounding and crushing loss. Coach Goorjian is on thin ice. Giddey and the former Castle Hill lad, Josh Green, did some good business. Beating Georgia is hardly resume building.

6. Rugby Union World Cup. We might beat Georgia first up which will be something after 0-5 under Eddie Jones. However, hard to think we will do much more. Sad. New Zealand surely wins.

7. T20 Cricket. Mitchell Marsh winning consecutive games with the bat is unheard of in recent years, but good on him. As skipper too. Nice to see a few new faces in Australian cricket. South Africa have hit rock bottom in cricket. Some dreadful play from them too. 

It is official...the BBL auction is very unexciting.

8. US Open Tennis. Australians, Alex de Minaur and qualifier, Ricky Hijikata are into the fourth round. Incredible effort. Aussies have often performed well in the US Tennis Open (think Rafter, Hewitt, Stosur). Djokovic and Alcarez are destined for the final.

The Wrap - Comeback Kings

1. NRL Injuries. Injuries can throw your semi-final surge into turmoil. Jerome Luai out. Jerome Hughes, Kaylan Ponga and Reece Walsh? Joey Manu out. Then the hot heads...Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Latrell Mitchell and Jordan Rapana. These fellows can cost you at key moments. A tough business this coaching gig.

Ryan Papenhuyzen returning was a great moment as well. He is a rich talent and a Hills District lad who attended Oakhill College.

The Broncos are not invincible and so it seems Penrith are not either. A good win for the Broncos over Canberra. Ricky is a bad loser... swearing at cameramen and carrying on like a goose yet again in a press conference. This does nothing for your team.

How about Parramatta?  They will miss out on the eight by one or two points. Just about sums up the club and team...just not good enough! Never make a habit of losing close games.

The Knights keep marching on. Ponga is in Hayne Plane' type form! Adam O'Brien has done a cracking job after looking gone earlier in the season. Best comeback of the year. Coach Webster at the Warriors has been brilliant and is probably the coach of the year. Kevin Walters has been much better too...another comeback!

While Canberra are boring to watch and lack speed, they have only made the top eight four times in 10 years since 2013. They could be bounced out with their poor for and against yet. 

Two of Raiders, Roosters, Cowboys and Rabbits will be dropped out of the semi-finals. If the Roosters lose, they finish behind Parramatta (30 points guaranteed) on for and against!

2. AFL. Geelong have been an extreme disappointment. The Bulldogs were horrible early before finding form and steel on the weekend. No one more horrible than the Gold Coast Suns though who lost to North Melbourne.

A win by GWS v Carlton pushes the Western Bulldogs out of the eight.

Collingwood are still the best team going around. Brisbane struggle to be totally consistent and Melbourne are up and down. Swans played with sensational intensity v Melbourne but did their usual...fell over in the last quarter to Melbourne who are in a semi-final state of mind. Bailey Fritsch was outstanding. Collingwood v Melbourne will be a scintillating game...as will Brisbane v Port Adelaide!

There will be no comeback for Buddy Franklin. A retiring champion!

3. EPL. Tottenham 2 v Bournemouth 0. A bright start by Ange Postocoglou to find two wins out of two games. Little Luton Town are getting smacked weekly. They will get the spoon and disappear if they are not careful. It is only Round 3 too.

4. Basketball. The FIBA World Cup has gotten its timing correct and will become Australia's next team to support. A big win v Finland. Germany next. Then Japan. They will want to win their pool games to avoid a nasty match up too early.

5. Rugby Wallabies. Interesting to see the New Zealand All Blacks lose a lead up game to South Africa. The Australian team are young and inexperienced. They will need to lift v France at 1.45am Monday morning. Eddie Jones is looking at 0-5. Can Eddie launch a comeback of his own?

6. Spanish World Cup Winners - Womens World Cup. Awesome standard and awesome support. Lots of inspiration for a lot of young Australian players.

7. PGA Golf. Viktor Hovland wins the BMW Championship last week and is leading the Tour Championship by six shots. Another back to back winner looms! Tiger Woods has announced he is making a PGA comeback too!

The Wrap - REO Bandwagon and a Mathematical Chance in Hell

1. Matildas Bandwagon. We were all on it, admit it. Great to see the team excel and what an injection for the womens' game in Australia. They looked like they were on tired legs. Can anyone explain why we play once a week and you get to the finals and they play two games in a week? Most peculiar mama! Sam Kerr's goal against England was superb and she was unlucky not to double it close to the goalmouth soon after. The errors that even out the womens' game proved to be fatal as well.

England v Spain. Not many people care for the final result, but England do with a drought at World Cups stretching back to 1966.

2. NRL. Well there it was... semi-final football out the window for both the Parramatta and Manly sides. At least Manly have fought well these past weeks. Parramatta have given up. No pace and no mongrel. The lack of desire in that team is astounding. Coach Arthur needs to make some big changes... or he will be changed. Trent Barrett on the coaching staff has taken them to the space he knows well - no semi finals.

You have to laugh when a team has a "mathematical" chance of making the semi-finals. Usually a team that does not deserve to be involved in semi-final football.

Conversely, Cronulla have knuckled down and so have the Storm. Newcastle have also risen in recent weeks. Seven wins in a row! They can certainly draw a crowd when they are winning!

They deserve a position in the eight while the Bunnies have fallen in a complete heap! Their spare bye will be a great help. No one is near Penrith however... not even the Broncos. Cleary is rotating rested players too. They are toying with the opposition and will absolutely smash Parramatta this Thursday night.

Canberra have to be the most boring team in the top eight. Effective, but boring. Their biggest win this year has been by 12 points.

The spoon is safely with the Wests Tigers now. Their for/ against is woeful.

3. AFL. A Swans miracle in Adelaide, but with a bit of goal umpire help. How they have tried to lose games in the fourth quarter...! I suspect their pre-season torture sessions need to be greater. They run out of steam right when you can't afford to do so. They are again into the semi-finals after some great wins in recent weeks. Surely the Western Bulldogs needed to smash West Coast. They were panicking all day. Terrible. Geelong punted as well as Richmond who farewelled two champions in Reiwoldt and Cotchin.

The eight is pretty much finalised, but not the order. GWS and Western Bulldogs results will finalise it next week. Essendon have a remote mathematical chance if they win by 1,000 points.

Spoon to North Melbourne now too! West Coast showed plenty of ticker.

4. EPL. Tottenham beat ManU 2-0 which is a strong statement from Ange Postocoglou. A draw and a win against quality opposition is outstanding.

5. PGA Golf. How good is Lucas 'Neville' Glover going at the moment? Wins the Wyndham ($1.3 million) and then the St Jude ($3.6 million) in successive weeks. Tied 15th in the current BMW Championship. A big month with the bank manager! He was only the third player aged in his 40s to win back to back on the PGA Tour in the last 25 years. The other two?  Kenny Perry (2003) and Vijay Singh (three times...the last of which was 2008).

6. Marlon Samuels. Guilty of cricket corruption. Not a great tag on any sportsperson.

7. Wests Tigers. Coaches turning over like the Bosnjaks depot at Northmead. Benji is next. They need an overhaul and some smarts in play too. Luke Brooks won't miss this lot. Jake Arthur will be doing well to play ahead of Brooks and Cherry-Evans at Manly. 

8. Basketball (FIBA) World Cup. Starts this week on 25 August 2023 in the Philippines/ Indonesia/ Japan...an intriguing combination. The Boomers have plenty of talent. It will be interesting to see if they can replicate the success of our women in netball, football and cricket in their respective world cup journeys.

The Wrap - Mad Monday Lay By

1. Matildas. An amazing result to be World Cup semi finalists! It will probably not happen again in mens' or womens' soccer in our life times again! Womens soccer is very entertaining. Better than the men's really in many ways. More attack and while a few more errors, lots of skill and great opportunities late in the first half to Fowler and to Vine in the 105th minute. Sam Kerr has style, uses her body to manoeuvre incredibly and the defenders for Australia and their aerial work is first rate. Tall timber.

Penalty shoot outs are not great...but they are exciting nonetheless. Sam Kerr needed to take the second one to be up and stay in front. This could have cost us. The keeper, Mackenzie Arnold's shot was very bad in the circumstances. Pivotal off the bar...but she did save some incredible shots too. Nerves of steel. A great result. Cortnee Vine - remember the name!

Great to be able to play England again. All keepers have been instructed to stay behind the white line and not underarm the ball to anyone. There is a precedent!

2. NRL. Parramatta were absolutely smashed by the Broncos. Simply not good enough - or tough enough. They are without strike power and there is no one dangerous in their backline who can score points. No 'X Factor' either. The exact same with their womens team too! Parra need to get straight to the fancy dress shop for their Mad Monday nonsense costumes. Moses is also injured. Game over.

The Sharks have bounced back and Souths (with a bye in hand) have a decent win and position now too.

How good is Ivan Cleary? Cleverly resting players, strategising and ready to win three premierships in a row. Not sure he always gets the praise he deserves.

Lights out for Titans, Dolphins now. Manly too. Parramatta as well. Newcastle hanging in there and looking tough. Coach O'Brien has done really well after the mid season stutters. The Roosters look like getting there!

Heard a funny line from Peter 'Zorba' Peters about Warren McDonnell (ex-Wests Tigers) who is joining Manly as a recruitment officer. "He'll be able to show a club with no wooden spoons ever, his collection".

Alex Johnston hits 187 NRL tries after yet another double and 21 tries for the season. He only has Billy Slater (190) and Ken Irvine (212) ahead of him now. Injury permitting and a couple of semi-finals and he will beat it next year. 25 tries off! Prolific most seasons and over one hundred tries in four seasons. Incredible.

3. AFL. The Swans have won five in a row and are surging now. It looks like semi-finals are not far away. Collingwood have the minor premiership sealed now... Darcy Moore's injury will be a worry for them. Nick Daicos will be missed a lot too.

Brisbane are safe, but Carlton are the big improvers. Incredible transformation.

West Coast are anchored at the foot of the table until the end for a well-deserved wooden spoon.

4. EPL. Ange Postocoglou gets underway with Tottenham v Brentford tonight. The world's shortest off-season is the EPL!  Harry Kane may be lost to the club, but at $168 million, that is some war chest for the club to utilise on other star players! Ange's style will come under scrutiny...a bit like Ted Lasso.

5. Cricket. Great to see Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson, Tim Ward, Campbell Kellaway, Sangha, et al in the Australian administration's sights. Interesting to see Australia's second greatest test batsman, Adam Voges, as our Australia A coach. Time for a rebuild.

6. Wallabies. A clean out here is also necessary, but can the game actually promote its players? Hooper and Cooper probably needed to go. I feel for Hooper as he has been a warhorse and injured...calf injury of course (old player's disease). 

Not so sure Skelton is a skipper. Left overseas to be his own man worries many. Eddie Jones loves to be controversial, but this team looks developmental and hardly capable of beating the All Blacks, Springboks, the Poms, the Welsh, Irish or many others really.

Forwards: Angus Bell, Pone Fa'amausili, Zane Nonggorr, Blake Schoupp, James Slipper, Taniela Tupou, Matt Faessler, David Porecki, Jordan Uelese, Richie Arnold, Nick Frost, Matt Philip, Will Skelton (capt), Langi Gleeson, Tom Hooper, Rob Leota, Fraser McReight,  Josh Kemeny, Rob Valetini.

Backs: Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, Tate McDermott (vc), Nic White, Carter Gordon, Lalakai Foketi, Samu Kerevi, Izaia Perese, Jordan Petaia, Max Jorgensen, Andrew Kellaway, Marika Koroibete, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Suliasi Vunivalu, Ben Donaldson.

The Wrap - Come Here and Say It!

1. The Wallabies. Hope...17-3 up at half time and ahead for 64 minutes... only to collapse in a heap. The All Blacks are too good for us - always. Poor old Eddie Jones is now 0-4. "Come here and say it!". Maybe there are signs of improvement, but can anyone recite the team 1-15? The public are trying...we're trying...

2. NRL. Newcastle keep charging back up the table. A fantastic record for Adam O'Brien likely to make the semis three times in the last four years. Not many coaches can say that. Yet there have been rumblings to replace him. They need to get him to public speaking classes and media training that is for sure. He needs to get more professional in that regard... but I guess look at Wayne Bennett and his nonsense.

The Broncos have just about got the minor premiership (one bye in hand), but will come under salary cap pressure more and more. Souths are in a bit of strife for a roster as good as theirs is. Parramatta win...just, but have Storm, Roosters and Panthers to play. They will miss out on semi-finals on current form.

3. Fox Fall Asleep. If Anthony Griffin was as boring as an NRL coach as he is a commentator, no wonder St George players did not respond to him. He needs to add spark to this golden opportunity or ratings will plummet. Shane Flanagan is the next step up the rung of the boredom ladder on TV. Knows his league of course, but not wowing the TV fans. St George can pick them alright.

4. AFL. On the cusp of the 2023 minor premiership, Collingwood fall in a heap against Hawthorn. The Western Bulldogs have sealed the deal now for semi-finals. Interesting how some sides fall apart and others muscle up in tough times. Port Adelaide did not do much better crashing to their fifth straight loss, this time to Geelong.

GWS v Swans. The Swans are alive and kicking, but only just. They sure know how to squander a fourth quarter lead, but held on against a gallant, but lack lustre GWS. In recent games they have beaten Western Bulldogs and Essendon by two points and a draw with Geelong. They were beaten by GWS and Port Adelaide in last minute results earlier this year. They did smash West Coast too.

They play the Gold Coast (home), Adelaide (away) and Melbourne Home) in the run to the semis.

5. Buddy Franklin. A superb player and retired now as forecast last week. A legend player with crowd pulling power plus!

6. Matildas. Great win v Canada 4-0. The demise of Brazil, Germany and Italy has been interesting to watch as the world of football gets evened out in the womens game. This lifts spirits all round as the world order is re-visited without the huge money dictating this. Some impressive play and big crowds! An entertaining brand of football.

7. Calves...Sam Kerr, Buddy Franklin, Nathan Lyon...seniors injuries killing the sports!

8. Netball. Australian girls netball has been an awesome force for many, many years. Into the World Cup final again. 11 World Cup wins in 60 years with four second places only. An awesome record.

Put this against the Australian womens cricket, the Matildas and the swimmers (O'Callaghan, Titmus, the McKeons, the Campbells...) and we have some elite female players. Not forgetting Ash Barty too and our top 10 world golfer - Minjee Lee.

9. The Ashes. 2-2 is probably fair, but how Australia squandered a great start in that final innings chase. Whinging about a five year old ball that swung like it had electrical tape on it, is justified but worthless. The form of Cameron Green (Marsh failed when we needed him most....), Alex Carey and Scott Boland needs to come under the microscope. Carey was incredibly disappointing. He seems a decent fellow, but he has too much ego and needs to start scoring runs. The binoculars scene with Todd Murphy was one tiny glimpse into his character. There are a lot of keepers who average 25 and keep well. He has no mortgage on the spot. Green has talent, but needs to lose weight and get sharper on his feet. Boland was ordinary, sadly. Has Morris actually played cricket in the past 12 months?

Josh Inglis may need to come in for Carey. Will Pucovski needs to get his work right too. Aarron Hardie, Jason Sangha, young Johnson from QLD/SA...a few options emerge. 

Did you know Khawaja's run scoring (496) was the best Australian opener's haul since Matt Elliot (556) in 1997? The combined teams run rate (3.93) was the best ever in an Ashes series. (England scored at 4.74 - highest ever and better than the 2021 Aussie team (4.26).

Our bowlers leaked more runs than ever before. Crawley killed us...who would have thought? Crawley now holds the record strike rate (88.72) for a longer Ashes series. The tactics still stink a week later. Maidens bowled for Australia (34) v 171 for England! Nathan Lyon was missed!