The Wrap - Another Crusade in Break Dancing

1. AFL - West Coast. What they are dishing up now is some of the most disgraceful, lazy AFL efforts the game may have ever seen. A 171 point drubbing (205 v 34) to the Swans (running near the bottom of the table) is terrible at any level - let alone at the top level. It certainly gives the Swans a leg up in terms of their % for determining teams in and out of the semi finals. Imagine if the Swans had held their nerve in a few games they lost by a couple of points - Port Adelaide, GWS. They would be comfortably inside the top eight.

Surely West Coast coach, Adam Simpson, needs to go. Marnus Labuschagne hit 215 himself in January 2020!

The efforts of Melbourne on Thursday night v Geelong was also not pretty. They need to toughen up before the semis or perish!

2. The Crusaders. Yer another Super 12/14/15/ Super Rugby Pacific Title...their twelfth since 1996. An amazing record. They also made four other finals and lost (2003, 2004, 2011, 2014). So they have made 16/26 finals (less COVID cancelled years) since the concept started - and won half of them!

3. Ben Hunt. He had a top Origin series last year, but to drop hand grenades and head into Origin camp this year, was spineless. He then leads the team to a 50 point smash up by the Warriors on Friday night. He was vocal re Anthony Griffin's departure, but perhaps it is for the best for the St George club to get rid of him and save salary cap dollars. The risk is Kyle Flanagan may be the half back in the next era under Dad, Shane. Kyle is a fair player, but not a premiership winning halfback. However, there are not many available halves out there.

Conversely, Daley Cherry-Evans continues to be so composed and impressive under pressure. He turns games and inspires victories through his talented kicking game. Fancy him running down Crichton in the Origin? Crichton needs to get his legs to sprint training.

Under his captaincy of 2019-2020-2021-2022-2023, there have been 14 State of Origin games of which he has won 8 games and 3/5 Origin series. Impressive.

4. Andrew Johns. Is anyone noticing something is not right with him at present? He looks that cranky, defensive and surly it is a wonder they are putting up with him. He was on the Sunday Footy Show and is adding a special brand of boredom. The fights with his brother and other female panellists do not help him - nor do the coaching losses. He needs to lighten up, smile and seek some help if he needs it. 

5. The Ashes. Pat Cummins continues to surprise. A fabulous innings to get the team into a winning position and take the game. John Ealesesque! Again Cameron Green struggled to put his stamp on the game. That was his moment to seize! The next edition of the Amazon "Test" mini series will be really interesting with the Test Championship victory and a tight Ashes victory. 

We have a rich history in our life times of losing close games in Test cricket, so that was refreshing! (Think: Botham-Border-Thomson loss; West Indies winning at Adelaide with the ball off the grill from Courtney Walsh under Border; de Villiers and Damien Martyn at the SCG; Brett Lee-Flintoff tight loss; Heroics by Stokes at Headingley and that impossible win).  The "BazBall" hype works to a point, but Root's innings was quite ridiculous in the second innings if we are fair dinkum. Going for your shots is different to wining Test cricket matches.

Interesting to see Ricky Ponting weighing in to bag the big mouthed Ollie Robinson. Fancy making such silly comments so early in a series. He will be dropped at some point. Ponting is one of the master sledgers. Why bring him and Hayden into it? These blokes always chewed up guys like Ollie Robinson.

6. Ellyse Perry. What a supreme talent she is. She averages over 75 in Tests and gets a 99 in the current Test v England and was without complaint. A great ambassador and no mud on her reputation after so many years...just one bad relationship in the media. Thankfully our relationships don't face the same scrutiny on the media. 

7. NRL. Parramatta set a club record with 42 points in a half v the Dolphins. I suspect if a few of the early 1980s (1981, 1982) games had four point tries (this came in 1983), it may have been comparable. As a result, Parramatta's for and against is one of the best in the competition, which will really help them when they get near the semi finals. They are owed two byes as well, so have done really well in the Origin period. The strength of both Penrith and Melbourne sets them apart as competition favourites.

With the three byes for every team, the Rabbits, Eels, Cowboys and Broncos will improve their positions massively when these land in their points column. 13 wins gets you in the semis..maybe even 12 wins this year with three byes to assist.

How about the Titans? Sacked coach and a super effort against the best in the comp (Broncos)!

The REAL Ladder (with three byes each):

• 28 - Broncos 
• 26 - Panthers, Storm 
• 24 - Warriors, Eels, Rabbits 
• 22 - Sharks, Raiders, Cowboys (including win v Rabbits) 
• 20 - Titans, Dolphins, Roosters

8. The Warriors. Great to see their entertainment value. Dallin Watene Zelezniak is having a great year, but he should be. He is on 900K a year as a so so winger. Incredible work from his manager! The work of coach Webster has been outstanding! The team have been dreadful for a long time, so this is a huge turn around.

9. Justin Holbrook. 31 wins/81 games in his four year reign from 2020-2023. A 38% winning percentage is one of the worst in the NRL - ever. Maybe he might be selected as the new State of Origin coach. Sadly, he needed to go. The team then win under the relieving coach to rub salt into the wounds!

10. US Open Golf. Nice to see a new name on the winners list ...there are plenty of amazing names weekly, but Wyndham Clark is a new one. How consistent is Cameron Smith (fourth) - and a surprise outcome for Min Woo Lee (tied fifth)? Has anyone heard how LIV Golf is progressing? An incredible mess.

11. Pre Wimbledon. Alex de Minaur is in the final at the Queens Tournament v Carlos Alcarez (World No. 1). De Minaur is a regular semi finalist at Queens. Carlos Alcarez is still close to the top as well. He has the ability, but I am not sure he has the winning, killer instinct. Wimbledon starts on Monday! Put down Novak for another Mens Grand Slam title.

12. FIFA Womens Football World Cup. Coming soon. Some amazing quality football ahead, less the histrionics and theatrical stain of the men's game.

The Wrap - 'Baz' Roar

1. The Ashes. Interesting how the hype of 'Baz ball' has taken hold with commentators and the media. It was 'Woz Ball' back in the day. Scoring 400 runs in a day is impressive - maybe a little less so when curators take advice from the national captain, but nonetheless... Hayden, Langer, Gilchrist and Ponting were doing it years ago - especially when they won 16 Tests straight. Not sure all English batsmen have the skill set to carry it off correctly long term... declaring Day 1 is brash and cool... but could backfire too. 'There's a time for reaping and a time for sowing...'.

Starc was omitted (loose v India), but there were 54 singles in the first session...better than 54 boundaries. This negativity may indeed be a new tactic to counter the other, but the new ball either flies backwards early or is hit down the ground by the very best.

The work of Khawaja with the bat (126no) was mighty. He passes Slater and Ian Chappell (14 Test tons) and joins KD Walters on 15 Test tons, two behind Adam Gilchrist on 17 Test tons (Taylor, Hussey on 19 Test tons). He is getting into elite status. 

If Moeen Ali is spinning the ball on that deck, a lead by Australia will bring Nathan Lyon right into this game (4 wickets in the first innings already). He has had a good fortnight over there in England. He is already sitting on 491 Test wickets (Courtney Walsh is the next in line and he has 519 Test wickets).  If he beats Walsh on this Ashes tour it would be very special. 

Lyon is one of the best to have ever played the game. We were all shocked when Michael Hussey gave him the team victory song responsibilities all those years ago, thinking he was lucky to be selected. M. Hussey is a future Australian coach... after the second greatest Test cricket bat Australia has ever produced in Adam Voges.

Broad has played 163 tests and sits on 584 Test wickets and James Anderson sits on 685 Test wickets after 180 Tests. You need to be patient if you are a pace bowler in England, looking for a chance to play. Root hits his 30th Test ton (Alistair Cook is England's best ever and sits on 33 Test tons).

Troubling to see Warner's terrible shot and Marnus too. Neither batsman showed composure or patience in key moments and both did not move their feet one centimetre. So bad.

2. Test Cricket Championship v India. Funny how the Test Championship v India unfolded on the last day. Kohli and Rahane rolled in the 40s and Jadeja and Thakur got ducks! A brilliant achievement for the team and coach - Ronnie McDonald, who is looking forward to the next team photo. Hard to believe they could do it in the end, but bravo to them all and a good decision to replace Langer so it seems.

Scott Boland was super accurate again and got two critical wickets in an over. He has been something else in fourth innings of Test matches and has the best average (14) for any bowler in the 21st Century after 30 wickets (33 in eight tests).

3. US Open Golf. Min Woo Lee is a talent. Drives the longest ever US Open golf hole at 555 yards (16th) for 407 yards. Awesome strength. Cameron Smith is so consistent sitting near the top 10. Rory seems to be the romantic story, but he seems to lack that edge in key moments sometimes. Rickie Fowler has not been atop too many leaderboards in recent times but has been pretty consistent in 2023. Is it a case of now or never for Rory McIlroy?

4. NSW State of Origin Team. No Latrell is a heavy loss again. He is such a good player. Souths can't get a win without him either. The team will need to play the full 80 minutes and not over hype themselves. The media is something else. The mystery virus story has not emerged yet for Queensland, so we will expect that. In many ways the NSW team looks stronger. Mitchell Moses has been in good form in 2023, but he will need to be electric in attack if NSW are to win. He defends well usually.

Ben Hunt will be sitting comfortably regardless, but St George-Illawarra have been a mess for a while. They are paying the price for poor coaching decisions over the past decade - Steve Price, Paul McGregor and Anthony Griffin. All sub 50% win rate.

5. NRL Finals Bound. Two or three (!) byes across the season (4 - 6 points) can be deceptive. Parramatta are suddenly in the top four when a second bye is factored in. They have had a strong week, winning Monday v Bulldogs and Saturday v Sea Eagles. They are back in the mix with four straight wins after a horrific start to the season. Their for and against is actually one of the best in the comp too (third). That helps a lot in a tight competition where this will help determine semi final rankings for those tied on the same number of points.

6. AFL Finals Bound. Amazing how well the Richmond Tigers are performing since the departure of coach Hardwick. A cracking victory v the under performing St Kilda team this weekend. They are two points adrift from the top eight now. GWS are also four points outside and seem to be able to win great contests...then lose...then win again. The consistency is the thing for all teams! 

The Swans have become an absolute misery and there will be a clean out of under performers and the aged and weary. The club needs to evolve - and quickly. Locating speed men is a priority. Height too! Their marking ability in contested situations is very poor...lots of small accurate kickers from the Swans Academy, but very few different body types. They have to start thinking beyond 'SCG Ball'!

Even Carlton won this weekend. The Gold Coast are perennial underperformers.

7. Tim Tsyzu. What a commanding performance. He stands to be the equal of or better than his old man Kostya. Hard as nails. He obliterated the big mouth of the Mexican Ocampo in 77 seconds. Awesome! Ocampo has had 30+ fights and only been stopped once before. The US fighter, Charlo awaits in a unified bout for all belts. 

8. NHL. Las Vegas Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers. Decisive. Las Vegas is becoming the real home to some serious US sports. This helps your tourist rotation. An emerging sporting capital with LA Raiders NFL...LA A's baseball and the Golden Knights NHL team! Of course, the NRL 2024 launch will add to this too! 

9. NBA Finals. The Denver Nuggets are the new NBA champions. First ever title and some achievement. 

10. Super Rugby Semi-finals. The strength of the Crusaders is on show again. They have won 13 of the 27 Super 12/ Super 14, etc competitions since 1996. They are about to beat the Chiefs next weekend too. The Brumbies battled hard, but were no match in the end. The Crusaders break dancing will be back on show next weekend. They are the Manchester City of the southern hemisphere. Awesome team, coaches and record.

11. Ange Postocoglou. Reported that he is being paid $9 million at Tottenham. That is cheap for an EPL coach at a glamour club. He will be worth triple that with a strong start to the new season!

12. Novak Djokovic. Best ever at 23 Grand Slams now. GOAT? There is not a lot of affection for Djokovic who could well be a Hollywood movie star villain as well. Unsurprising and maybe never to be beaten ever in history. Awesome, but a lot of collateral with attitudes and anti-vax nonsense too.

The Wrap - Lame Hypocrisy ALIVe

1. Test Championship Cricket - Australia v India. The Oval always dishes up an interesting pitch. Love the iconic ugly gas / water tank in the outfield. The 444 chase suddenly does not look as daunting when it is split across two days. The nerves will be jangling and Kohli, Rahane and Jadeja are BIG, BIG game players. Incredible records for all three. Jadeja is the best all rounder in world cricket by a long way. Hopefully we will not be talking world records and 'best ever' in tomorrow's paper. This Shardul Thakur never seems to miss when he plays Australia though. His batting is amazing. He is another all rounder to watch.

Which brings us to the talented Aussie all rounder, Cameron Green. Classic catches galore, but he also disappoints in big moments with the bat and needs to prove his worth under pressure against quality bowling attacks. A definite second innings catch... funny how everything is expected to fall India's way when you are as entitled as their players and fans are. Nice to see Shastri agreeing it was a catch. Very rare from their commentators.

A great game, helped by clear skies. This is the type of weather that will help Australia on the Ashes tour...if the rain and overcast skies come our way, we will struggle with the bat. Travis Head and Steve Smith - superb both. Khawaja and Warner need to move their feet energetically or perish. They both looked very tired and lazy. Warner's terrible effort in the slips was even more worrying.

2. LIV Golf - PGA Golf Truce. So when the filthy lucre comes around to the PGA, they take it, betray their loyal players and claim that this is because of a better way forward. The hypocrisy is incredible and then they talk tough too... suspensions and fines? Please... not a chance. A nice little investment portfolio awaits the loyal players so they say, but there is a lot of credibility at stake... resignations are surely not far away. A few players might prefer the cash. Greg Norman's reputation is battered... the great white guppy.

All the while Rory McElroy ploughs on at the Canadian Open...third overnight.

3. NRL Round 15. The upsets keep flowing. Souths lose...Cronulla lose... Dolphins smashed and Tigers limp again. They even have Luke Brooks rejecting a contract renewal! No surprise, the club have sought Munster, Pearce...Moses. Brooks needs to move on, but not lots of options out there for him.

Dylan Brown has completely let his team down and a reminder has been sent to the Integrity Commission that the meagre $5K fine (with a promise to defend his privacy in court) for sex in a public toilet all those years ago has potentially spawned worse behaviour. The Eels struggle every long weekend and the Bulldogs will be tough. A win for Parramatta and an extra bye will have them firmly in the top six! They have a very favourable for and against as well to position themselves well with a few extra wins. Brad Arthur beats the Brian Smith Parramatta coaching record as well. 52% win record is still too skinny.

The Broncos have four free points from byes still owing and are favourites for the minor premiership now. A top victory v Newcastle, who have improved a lot it must be said.

NSW Origin. Going to be an interesting team - and a losing team when announced this week. Hard to believe Nicho is the right man. The Storm did a number on him on Sunday which will not have helped. Matt Moylan's defence is not good either. Melbourne smashed the Sharks and underlined how hard they are to beat. 

4. AFL. The lack of urgency by the Swans at home v St Kilda was appalling when the game was on the line. They have become a bunch of complete under performers. Incredible lack of energy and drive...regardless of injuries. Mediocrity and going out backwards. Hawthorn on the other hand belted the more fancied Brisbane. Richmond also nailed Freo. Spirit. GWS hanging in there.

5. Man City. Their incredible treble is now confirmed - FA Cup, EPL Championship and the Champions League (1-0 v Inter Milan) winners. Best in quite a long time! (1998/99 ManU team was the last one). 

6. Ange Postocoglou - Tottenham Hotspurs Coach. What an outstanding achievement and just reward for his work. A big time promotion now as a coach in the top flight! he has the second best winning record as manager at Celtic ever!

7. NBA. The Denver Nuggets are on the cusp of their first NBA Championship. Up 3-1 v Miami Heat.

8. Stanley Cup. The Las Vegas Golden Knights lead the Florida Panthers 3-1 as well. The engraver is getting twitchy!

9. Novak Djokovic. He will become the highest ever Grand Slam winning player if he wins tonight v Casper Ruud. That will take him to 23 Grand Slam wins...one ahead of Nadal. It will possibly never ever be beaten. Carlos Alcarez was very disappointing in his semi final loss to Djokovic.

Iga Swiatek also won a tremendous final v Karolina Muchova.. who joins the long line of '-ovas' who have contested women's Grand Slam tennis finals.... Navratilova... Sharapova... Kuznetsova... Kitova... Sukova...Mandlikova...Cibulkova...Safarova...Pliskova...Vondrousova!

 It is Swiatek's fourth Grand Slam win (three French Opens, one US Open). She is 4/4 wins in finals!

10. Super Rugby. Hard to find this sport anywhere in the media, but the Waratahs were duly belted - and the Reds - and the Drua. The Waratahs are such an ongoing annual disappointment and no Michael Hooper next year either. However the good old Brumbies hold our fortunes as usual. The Chiefs will be tough, but if there is a team who can win, it is them!

The Wrap - Final Kings

1. State of Origin. Every year it seems that Queensland are able to exhibit so much more intensity, focus and strength in the battle than NSW. They were deserved winners and look like winners most years. NSW always look close to losing the plot. Freddie Fittler is done. Won, lose or draw it is time for the curtain to end it all. He has been out coached by a bloke who is a legend but who never coached before in Billy Slater! 

Let's consider some of the issues in State of Origin Game One:

• The Preparation. What a schemozzle. Endless reports of injuries and fitness clouds... a dud jersey... (That bloody great red Westpac symbol is a disgrace). All very boring.
• Latrell Mitchell. How do we get simple injuries on the training paddock? Inevitable or lack of proper preparation and professionalism? Club sides would lap this lot. This was a huge loss.
• The lack of leadership in clutch moments. The forwards have little there too. No voice. Murray and Cleary are now injured and are both unlikely to play in Game Two.
• Api Korisau and Liam Martin were strong. Yeo, Murray, Frizzell, To'o all solid. Yeo is not flash but needed in that middle. 
• It was interesting to note that from the World Cup winning team in 2022, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Jake Trbojevic and Jack Wighton were the only ones not playing this Origin. All NSW.
• James Tedesco has been a star for many years, but all stars fade a bit. He was great v the Bulldogs, but the Bulldogs are not Queensland. 
• For a few years now, at his worst, Teddie rarely if ever passes the ball in big games (should have passed to Addo-Carr for an early try). This makes him too easy to defend and he crabs across field too often against shrewd defences, inhibiting attacking formation (too similar to Luai's style). You can't have both of them in a team.
• Tedesco also has a terrible habit of not keeping on his feet. He slips and slides repeatedly and is of no use to his team on the ground. If you watch closely in night games especially, he does this in attack and defence. Longer studs?
• You have the best prop the game has seen in 20 years - Payne Haas - and you play him for 30 mins?
• Tevita Pangai-Junior. Freddie gets clever and tries to be unique, but he misses the obvious. An under performer with poor discipline in an underperforming team. Fittler then starts him in the team. 
• He then starts Hudson Young as well who is a known hot head. QLD could not believe their luck. They did not select Horsborough and if they did, he would not start. These blokes come off the bench as their red cordial settles.
• You need composure and purpose from the get go. Junior Paulo. Surely he starts a game.. Rock solid and experienced.
• Nicho Hynes. It was a romantic selection of a talented good guy, but really he replaces a pivot and that is it. They lacked zip around the ruck. Nicho is not that player to come on and change the game in that manner.
• Slow play the balls from lumbering forwards hurt NSW. No urgency.

Apart from that, NSW did well. Queensland too sharp and desperate.

How bad were the Storm? It has not been this bad for a long time. They need some serious decisions to be made, including around the unfortunate Ryan Papenhuyzen. Canberra just keep winning too.

2. NRL - Alex Johnston. He rattled past Brett Morris on the most NRL tries ever on Saturday night. He is now two behind Steve Menzies and 12 behind Billy Slater. 

You sometimes get the feeling sometimes that Alex Johnston could score enough tries in a game to beat Ken Irvine this year. What a talent in such quick time.

3. Ange Postocoglou. Celtic FC win the Scottish FA Cup Final and celebrate winning the three main trophies in 2023 ... Scottish League Cup, the Scottish Premier League Championship and the Scottish FA Cup (3-1). He has now got the second highest winning percentage as a manager in the illustrious history of Celtic FC. That is a pretty amazing achievement.

4. Man City. Meanwhile, this 2022-2023 Man City season is one to savour. Premier League Champions, English FA Cup Champions (2-1). They are in the final of the UEFA Champions League v Inter Milan too and could scoop the pool of everything! Harland has been kept quiet recently in front of goals, but it has opened up opportunities for his teammates!

The Pep Talk promo here shows why they win (five EPL Championships in six years!): Watch here.

5. Central Coast Mariners - A-League Champions. An extraordinary contrast is what Melbourne City did on the weekend. Runaway stars all year (minor premier by 11 points), they were crushed 6-1 in the Grand Final. The lack of spirit from City was very surprising. After all the protests, the Grand Final venue decision looked a good one... and it gives a great excuse to some teams too.

The CC Mariners (2 titles - 2013 and 2023) now go to fourth highest ever Champions of the A-League behind Sydney FC, (5), Melbourne Victory (4) and Brisbane Roar (3). They have more wooden spoons.

6. The NSW Waratahs. Into the Super Rugby quarter finals after losing to the Pasifika team who had not won a game all year. There is a lot to dislike about rugby and this caps it off. Resting players...Michael Hooper's last game and all... no effort or pride in their performance seemingly and lose the impossible. Sure, not important for the semis, etc, etc, but really? The Queensland Reds were no better, losing to the Drua who secured a top eight spot.

There will be plenty of excuses, but this is precisely the lack of dedication and concentration that sees Australian rugby lose, lose, lose...despite the media talk and wasted money on Suaalii or Haas - or Crichton or Murray... The public affection has evaporated. They will be hosting test matches at Brookvale Oval at this rate.

The only Australian franchise worth anything are the Brumbies. They just win regularly without hoopla. For the others, they will all be bundled up and spat out in the first week of the semis. The gap between the top Super Rugby franchises and the rest has never been bigger.

7. NBA Final. The Boston Celtics comeback from 0-3 to 3-3 was crushed by the Miami Heat and their Butler who was immense! The Denver Nuggets however are already 2-0 up against The Heat in the final! They sure know how to milk their fans of cash with these best of seven series.

8 NHL. The Florida Panthers are against the Las Vegas Golden Knights who now lead 1-0. What an awesome pair of team. A massive sport or physicality, skill and endurance. Incredible.

9. AFL. The impact on AFL players' bodies at this time of the season is telling. There are a few teams in remote control at present, but the Western Bulldogs curse v Geelong continues. They have not beaten them for a million years. Collingwood keep wining and Port Adelaide are enjoying the most remarkable of runs - nine straight now! Richmond had a nice win, but GWS still have the worst crowds in the AFL. They have no identity and should be relocated. North Melbourne almost did the unthinkable, but good on them.

10. Dave Warner. Dave Warner has given much joy, but no one likes seeing players tell the world when and at what venue they might retire. Dave may want to go out in the New Year's Test in Sydney 2024 (think McGrath, Warne, Langer, Chappell...), but he has a bit to do before then. It starts this week in the Test Championship game v India. 

A little worried seeing how dry it is there at present. India will revel in that. We need a juicy, seaming wicket to win. That man Ravi Jadeja, who single handedly won the IPL last week for the Chennai Super Kings, will be especially hard to contain.

11. French Open Tennis. There is a predictability about this tournament in the Mens most years. Djokovic will be hard to beat. Alcaraz maybe. The Womens play is far more interesting and enterprising.