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).
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