The Wrap - Marsh Power

1. Australia v India ODI Cricket. Not often you are able to laud Mitchell Marsh, but in full flight he is awesome. He was the difference really. It is the first time India have lost at home in a ODI series for four years. Amazing result given that Smith, Marnus and Warner did not really contribute that much. Zampa is awesome at times and gets a lot of ODI wickets. Starc with the white ball is one of the toughest batting assignments in world cricket.

2. Sheffield Shield Final. Ashton Turner has joined the greats in scoring a ton in a Sheffield Shield final. He was MOTM as well. It is a match winning innings in every instance. The work of Aaron Hardie is superb too. He is a talent of the future with a massive bat as well. The opener for Victoria set a very conservative tone and this is either really good for the team or simply handcuffs the whole line up into a negative psyche. Will Sutherland starred too for the Vics - a five for and 80+ with the bat.

WA coach Adam Voges is again in the legendary status very quickly. He has done it back to back now in all three versions of domestic cricket in Australia!  Sheffield Shield winners, ODI Marsh Cup winners and Perth Scorchers BBL winners. All three back to back. Pretty amazing. Up there with his Test average being second to Bradman.

3. Holy Moses. Finally a resolution. Mitchell Moses now has a significant chunk of the Parramatta salary cap and will need to produce something special most weeks. He has made a good start with that golden point victory against the premiers. That is what you pay the big dollars for, right there! How good was the two point field goal by Nathan Cleary? That is a million dollar plus play. There will be a few players looking for pay rises now that Moses has set the rate.

The lead up to that golden point moment spoke volumes about Parramatta in recent years. Dylan Brown takes the ball on a fifth tackle with 1:40 on the clock and only had to dribble it into the in-goal for a drop out and match win. Instead he gets tackled for the turn over. Then with less than a minute on the clock Junior Paulo makes a lazy and silly play, getting sin binned... out for two weeks now. Composure in pressure moments defines the best.

That is also required in the Board Room and with recruitment. The club has just informed Clint Gutherson they are looking for more spark in the backline and are recruiting for a fullback... go figure. They just got away from a disaster or two and now back in the news the next day. Another destabiliser.

We all know Gutho has slowed down and rarely breaks a tackle these days, but talk about timing.

On the other side of town, the work of Isaac Moses (the manager) and Nick Politis is of interest. Joseph Suaali has apparently gone back to union. Politis will not be best pleased. He will strike back hard.

4. Waratahs. Another loss and another familiar season unfolding. Those fans are hard suffering. So plain and underwhelming and the Brumbies this week. 

5. NRL. Some impressive performances on the weekend. The Broncos v Dolphins was outstanding. Great intensity and this year's State of Origin could be amazing. Manly v Souths was also high grade, with Manly unlucky on many fronts really. The Warriors may be surprise this year. Young coach Webster is talented and they are in the top four! Not often you say that. Wins over Knights (home), Cowboys (away) and Bulldogs (home).

The Tigers. A lot of money spent...not much to show. They are in trouble. 0-5 makes a lower top eight position your only option, if anything at all. Their season is almost cooked. 

6. AFL. North Melbourne have done better after two weeks that they did all of last season! The premiership window for Melbourne and Western Bulldogs seems to have been and gone. The Collingwood Magpies are white  hot and will be hard to beat in 2023. They are quick and expansive. Incredible really and hard to beat. Carlton and Richmond will be tough most weeks too. They play uncompromising footy. Swans methodical on a small ground and Essendon seem to be rising faster under their new coach. 

7. Power. Blackouts with the Port Power AFL team v Collingwood, then at the Gabba in the AFL and in the netball...and on the Sydney Harbour Bridge this weekend... a sign of things to come? We could be back to day time sport and a day time NRL Grand Final before we all thought.

The Wrap - The Fish That John West Reject

1. The Dolphins. Some tougher drift nets in the seas ahead no doubt, but what an emphatic statement upon entering the NRL premiership! Wayne Bennett is unbelievable. Not real likeable at times, but smart, wise and clever. He is the ultimate successful coach really (except at Newcastle...how is Nathan Tinkler these days?). The recruitment is interesting to witness. Tough, seasoned forwards and speed to burn. This torches tired defences. Utilising the home ground advantage will be a huge positive for them.

2. NRL Tipping. How hard is it to tip anything at present? Such an even comp. The Storm, Sharks, Souths, North QLD and Parramatta all lost on a single weekend and the Dolphins, Warriors, Raiders, Titans... all winners! We have not seen this for some time. I wonder whether the new team in the comp is actually evening it out further? The Storm and Parramatta's sad form has opened the comp right up.

3. Tigers. They are perennial losers unfortunately. Michael Maguire may have a wry grin given the coaching hoopla in the off season. Not much has changed. Brooks has ability, but is under utilised and Douhehi is not a five eight. Too lumbering and slow. Yet he fancies himself. I suspect he will be heading to England soon. He has not got the pace needed as a five eight. Conversely, Matt Burton is a gem. So talented and tough. Origin class. 

How did the Tigers miss out on Nathan Brown? He is a solid signing by the Roosters and Parramatta needed him. 

Another poor decision by that club who bounced to 0-3 and will hit 0-5 (Panthers, Roosters) as predicted in Round 1 here. No fast outside backs, a lumbering and aging hooker who lacks creativity and has no running game. 

The million dollar half back needs a new gig too. Wants a five year deal? It could be catastrophic for a club to pay that sort of money for five years. Save the money and rebuild. Jake Arthur should be practising his goal kicking night and day down there at Memorial Drive, Kellyville. This could make him very valuable.

Funniest thing happened in a cricket game I was playing in few years back at that ground. A streaker ran across the field from neighbouring houses, leaping the stumps and getting into a getaway car in the car park. Gooone!

4. Celtic and Rangers... 30+ points in front of third placed team in the Scottish Football premiership. Lop sided. 

5. Erling Haaland - Man City. This Norwegian striker is a freak. He has scored 42 goals (35 appearances, 6 hat tricks) since arriving in all competitions for Man City. 28 EPL goals. Unbelievable strike rate.

Most goals in an EPL season?

34 - Andrew Cole (Newcastle United; 1993/94 - 42 matches)
34 - Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers; 1994/95 - 42 matches)
32 - Mohamed Salah (Liverpool; 2017/18 - 38 matches)

6. ODI Cricket. We have a tough team by all respects, but the batting was terrible in the first ODI. Not sure how Maxwell waltzes straight back in, but there you go (replaced for the second ODI). The Mitch Marsh fans are always out there, but underwhelming form is a nuisance. Nice to see the supremely talented Josh Inglis in the team, but he was promptly dropped for ODI #2.

All out for 117 in the second ODI, should see us home, but our collapses in India are legendary. Starc and Abbott amongst the wickets.

7. NSW Shield Cricket. Not one single win this season...draws and losses only. Horrible. Worst in 80 years! They sacked coach, Phil Jacques mid-season, but it didn't improve much. I could think of a few ways they could improve their junior pathways. Poor ex-player junior coaches is a start.

7. Kane Willamson. One of the absolute greats now. Getting up there now to challenge Steve Smith, Graham Pollock (and the great Adam Voges, who it must be said is turning into a cracking first class cricket coach). 

215. v Sri Lanka in the second test (a ton in the first test as well). This Henry Nicholls is the real deal too. He is forging a great Test record and scored 200no. Handy.

8. AFL. Fabulous support for the return of Anthony McDonald - Tipungwuti to Essendon's team today. Incredible support after some serious personal and family issues saw him retire early a couple of years back. Collingwood looked dangerous on Friday night. They will be hard to beat in 2023. 

The Swans have a very similar swarming pressure style to last year. I cannot see their pace for the bigger grounds. It has been a few years since they have had this problem and don't seem capable of addressing it. 

Carlton-Richmond was awesome, but Port were super impressive. Even North had a win. 

9. NBA. Sydney Kings beat the NZ Breakers 3-2 in the Grand Final series to take back to back premierships. 5 championships now (2003, 2004, 2005 and 2022, 2023 - plus 3 GF losses 2006, 2008, 2020), behind Melbourne United (6) and the Perth Wildcats (10).

The Wrap - Two Zou

1. Dolphins. How good are they going for a team no one thought would aim up? Dominated both the Roosters and Raiders. A lot of teams will be nervous playing them - especially away from home. The genius of Bennett's recruitment is amazing. Experienced forwards and quick athletic backs. Picking up Farnsworth and Flegler as well for 2024 - gold. 

Interesting that getting rid of the five eight, Anthony Milford. Osaka looks to have become such a better player too under Bennett. The Broncos are the real deal again too.

2. Parramatta. Concerns they could slump to 0-4 or 0-5 to start the year with their draw (Storm-Sharks-Panthers-Roosters-Tigers). One big difference this year is their dummy half. How they ever lost Mahoney is staggering. Josh Hodgson does a few things right, but is a problem. He is a top defender and leader - no risk. However, he is too slow from dummy half and takes steps before passing the ball. This is a critical pressure point for the attack. His pass is not as crisp and when compared to Mahoney's long passing game from dummy half, there is no room out wide. Hodgson does not do this and is easy to defend. he also has no pace to scamper. Defences are too slick these days for this. 

Poor old Waqar Blake. His reads in defence continue to be a massive problem and his hands are awful under pressure. Miracle that he gets selected each week, but Arthur loves him. They can't get an outside back at the club to save themselves. Cut him free and rebuild. Simonsen also has hands like a digital watch. Ricky Stuart rarely gets rid of great players.

Cronulla are the real deal. So silky in attack. They will be there in September. The Storm without Munster looked a different team. 

The Tigers? I cannot see them changing much. Douhiei just does not have it for mine. Not quick enough. Their fullback is nimble but too small. They have problems early, but hopefully can give the fans hope. Newcastle tried to throw it away late, but failed.

3. Rugby - Waratahs. Once upon a time, NSW would lose nothing - especially in the arm wrestle. These days... They need to smarten up because Eddie will simply look at other blokes. They look tested already.

4. Cricket. Usman Khawaja is an incredible story at the age of 36. Easily our best batsman in India, yet denied games for two previous series under this stupid coaching belief that certain players struggle with spin. Think Travis Head too. He is getting on in years however. Nice to see Cameron Green do well. Super Talent, but you get the feeling his bowling is in the Shane Watson style, rather than the Imran Khan all rounder type.

One player who has done nothing to enhance his reputation and in fact looks under pressure, is Carey. You can be as great as you want with the gloves, but to offer nothing with the bat kills the modern Test team. He has been limp. Especially when the whips are cracking. Steve Smith has been a disappointment too with a lack of patience.

There is an ominous feel to this final test. India get ahead by 150 and roll us? We have seen this movie before in this series. You always know in India that if we can get 450, they will get 650.

Peter Handscomb is playing for his life in the second innings. A score he stays; a failure he goes. Simple. The age of the team is a concern moving ahead, but Broad and Anderson have a pipe and slippers and it does neither any harm at all.

5. Tim Tszyu. Can there be any more hoopla in boxing weigh ins? It has become a sport of so many divisions and associations, it gets very confusing for the mug punter. Bottom line is always, who won? A slashing win. Brutal. Tony Harrison was tough, but outgunned.

6. Zougotcha. What a talented horse and trained by Chris Waller. One to watch. Younger than Winx when it started winning, but it is winning well already. Jamie Kah took a bad fall on the weekend at Flemington. Such a brutal sport for whispy skinny jockeys when horses roll onto them or they fall. Injury is guaranteed.

7. EPL - Celtic. Still 9 ahead, eight rounds to go. Likely League Cup, Scottish Cup and Premiership winners! EPL winners included Everton whose life saving work continues to stay in the top flight. They need to recruit more good players!

The Wrap - Dolphins Bottle

1. Test Cricket - England v New Zealand. An unusual week last week. New Zealand win by one run after following on. The fourth time ever in Tests and the first time for New Zealand since they were called Old Zealand. A cracking game which shows England that living by the sword can also backfire. 

2. Test Cricket - India v Australia. Uncanny that Australia has won all three times under Steve Smith as a fill in captain since the sand paper disgrace. Is Pat Cummins the man long term - or just coincidence? A top win on the back of Khawaja’s brilliant first innings and Lyon’s eight for. Travis Head has a lot of ability too. Lyon is onto 479 Test wickets. Courtney (Fish) Walsh is next on 519. McGrath sits on 563 Test wickets. He is one of the greats of the game already. 

3. The Dolphins. Lots of hype and media all summer, but Bennett unexpectedly delivers in Week 1 v the Roosters. They were sharp and showed, dare we say it, a lot of bottle. A fair bit of inexperience, but tough forwards who know how to win. Bennett is a legend. Remember the Roosters lost to the Knights at home early in 2022. They will be back.

The Broncos were perhaps the most impressive. Beating the Panthers at home is great going. The ‘weak gutted dog’ controversy seems to have been reopened with Luai v Salmon into each other. 

Parramatta were strong, but typically lack concentration in the clutch moments. Will they start the season 0-5? They face the Sharks, Eagles, Panthers, Roosters and then Tigers in the game they often lose late on a Monday afternoon. It could happen. The million dollar player rises at such moments. He could not slot the winning field goal under pressure... and then they lose. Moses needs to make a contract decision. What a boring saga. Some would fancy cutting him free at that price, but the reserve guy will struggle to win you a comp. This looms as the sticking point for the coach's exit one day.

Manly were also impressive, with no Trobjevics requiring ambulances or mercy dashes to Philadelphia witch doctors and fitness gurus. What about Souths? They could go close in season 2023. The Sharks are good, but were soundly beaten. Early days. 

4. Scottish Premier League. Celtic are five matches away from glory, beating Rangers for the Scottish League Cup midweek. Their journey is a massive transformation from where they were two years ago. Ange will be hot property on the coaching merry go round soon. 

5. Super Rugby. Waratahs, Reds, Brumbies all winning in the same weekend? Hard to recall that ever happening recently. I suspect having Eddie Jones on your hammer helps achieve that. It has been a while. The Rebels did OK, but they need to win. I noticed Eddie was at the ground himself old style.

6. WTA Tennis. Alex de Minaur wins the Mexican Open in fine style. Good to see the NRL loaning him their salary cap sombrero. 

7. LIV Golf TV. Why is no one watching it? New era and structure, but it has not really captured the imagination. Lots of promise early, but little since. Is it becoming like cricket on TV...people are busy and catch a glimpse and move on. WSC and Super Leagie faced the same dilemma on TV coverage in their early days.