1. State of Origin. The timing of Origin just gets worse - especially when a dead rubber awaits. Teams are really down on troops at the best of times, but taking Origin players out of teams makes the comp a bit of a farce. It doesn't seem to affect The Wests Tigers however who continue to lose.
Brad Fittler and Greg Alexander are extremely defensive and this looks bad. It sounds like failure to most.
With the salary cap, it is nearly impossible to have enough dynamic players on your roster. Sharp backs are in short supply. Really liked this Tallis Duncan. Tough - and fast. I would be breaking out the cheque book there. He is 21 years old with a huge future. Souths could not compete with a decent offer.
Parramatta. An unacceptable performance after a string of wins. They blew a chance for a top four finish for mine. The Bunnies are really struggling too but have two byes in hand.
How about the excitement in the Titans v Dolphins fixture? Just when we thought it would offer nothing...golden point. A dreadful casualty of this State of Origin mid season fiasco. Four game NRL weekends is not enough. Move State of Origin and run it into a Kangaroo Tour. Three byes is an inflated farce. Parramatta do not have a bye in Origin and Warriors (full strength) do!
The Tigers look like definite wooden spooners.
2. The Ashes. The performance of Dave Warner are under real scrutiny. The outcome of this test will dictate his future. If Australia win 3-0, it might be it for him. If Australia lose and are down 1-2.
I get a bad feeling about Headingley where the pitch plays better the longer the game progresses. We have been terrible there for a long time!
We have also butchered things once more in England. Staring at a big first innings led, short pitched silly bowling (a bit like the English bowling to Travis Head) gave up a million runs. Murphy was hammered and yet Cummins persists...like with Cameron Green last test. The tail is horrific for Australia. Murphy-Boland-Hazelwood...add in Warner and we are in all sorts. Labuschagne has been very disappointing too.
Last night, we collapse in a heap in record time. This does not win Test matches.
Stuart Broad is a first class fool, but he can get wickets. He is now on 598 wickets at 27.58 in 165 Tests. By way of comparison, McGrath got 563 wickets at 21.6 in 124 Tests. Nathan Lyon is anchored on 496 Test wickets at 31.01 in 122 Tests.
Also very troubling to see Steve Smith have an outburst v Bairstow on the field - and an outburst at the media re a haircut Carey was not meant to have paid for...ridiculous. This is how we lose...remember Ponting as well? Lake of composure. Caught up in reactions and anger...not calm Mark Taylor type clarity. The English media were outdone by the Australian media sledges re the Carey stumping and Pommy whinging. However, they are a stern media adversary and should not be trifled with - especially by a player in his 100th Test! They can be relentless.
Smith is one of the true greats. He has beaten almost every batting record outside of Bradman and even had five catches in the first English innings. Amazing. His batting has been inconsistent.
Neither team has a batting order to capitalise on rain. Usman and Cummins have been the stars for Australia thus far!
Bailey Smith at the Bulldogs is woefully out of form. This becomes more and more disturbing for the Bulldogs who need him firing to make a dent in the 2023 competition. St Kilda seem to look great and fold easily. Not premiership winning material sadly. Freo have given up too so it seems.
13 wins in a row for Port Adelaide is dominant! Collingwood are up there too. West Coast are the clear wooden spooners. North are barely any better.
4. Netball. Adelaide Thunderbirds beat the Sydney Swifts in a tense final. I am yet to be convinced a pile on atop of those hard wood floors is sensible. Anyhow, excitement prevails!
5. Wimbledon. Quiet as a mouse. Alacrez and Djokovic loom as the victors. Medvedev. Tsitsipas and Zverev perhaps may trouble them. Kygrios seems done from the sport.
6. Women's Football World Cup. Looking forward to attacking football without the histrionics.
7. Eddie Jones. A terrible Wallabies defeat v South Africa...again. He is whinging already at journalists. "Come here and say it!".
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