The Wrap - The Cup Runneth Over

1. The NRL Draw. It is hard to believe NRL clubs accept the draw they receive with so much at stake. Sure, a few niche games and 'favourites' exist. A clear problem though is the weighting of who a team plays and in what order. Some seem to play the toughest teams every week, whicle others seem to get away with a lot lesser quality. We have been here before but all teams should play each other first, before new seedings. Surely that is not so hard. We have been doing school timetables with hundreds of staff and students for years, but it seems the NRL is still using an abacus.

2. NRL. The resurgence of the Titans has been a remarkable mid season story. The Storm are timing their run again as they load up mid season and cop a few losses to outlast the rivals at the back end. They have had many tight wins this year and could be six or eight points lower...  but they are not!

The Sharks... oops. Hammer-ed Sharks. A shame after a stunning burst of wins, but the Panthers were awesome.

Meanwhile at Parramatta... Unfortunately Trent Barrett had the second lowest success record as a Bulldogs coach in history. He lost 44/73 as Manly coach. He lost 29/34 at the Bulldogs and has 1/1 at Eels. 32% win rate. This might underline why you don't sack coaches without a clear replacement in mind. They have nothing, except another wooden spoon coming their way. They have the full set of teak, oak, balsa wood... The Eels and Tigers look like battling it out. Benji has not set the world on fire yet either.

Alex Johnston... equal with Billy Slater on 190 tries. Parramatta will help you break this record. Second now to the great Kenneth Irvine on 212 tries.

3. NSW Origin. It is a lottery with their injuries each year. So disjointed. QLD are deserved red hot favourites. They could absolutely thrash NSW this year. Not sure where NSW points will come from as the backs are not fast enough in comparison. Moving on from Tedesco was inevitable, but the Roosters won't be worried. 

The biggest worry is the schemozzle of a team announcement. Some journos seem to have an inside edge...others not. Would an old fashinoned media announcement work to stop the gossip and rumours?

4. Brad Arthur. Unfortunate, but time to move... he will pick up a gig elsewhere as good coaches and good people in the game are rare gold. Staggering that Parramatta sack a coach and have no replacement in mind. Cameron Smith or Billy Slater are the only two they need to target. The rest are 'mid table coaches' - Hannay, Ryles, et al. Last week's Wrap was a little haunting upon reflection:

Meanwhile Parramatta...8 points, including the bye! Unfortunately, when you see Trent Barret as an Assistant Coach you can't get excited, no matter how dedicated he is. They have mismanaged their roster and are simply not fit enough. Crumbling badly in the second half tells you that. No outside backs either. Sad, but Brad Arthur looks done too. Time for a change perhaps.

5. IPL. Well Maxwell picked up a duck after a woeful IPL batting season for Royal Challengers  Bangalore (52 runs at 5.8 but he took 10 wickets at 21.50 which was fifth best!) and his team crashed out. Kohli had too much faith in him in the end. Head led the way with a stubborn 36 to get the Pat Cummins led Sunrisers Hyderabad into the final v the Kolkota Knightriders.

As mentioned last week, Starc absolutely delivered in a Man of the Match performance in the semi (15 wickets at 28.67 was pretty good in the end - top 20). Such a big time player. The Rajasthstan Royals were hoffiic at the end of the season... a string of losses!

Big final ahead between Starc and Head/ Cummins tonight!

6. EPL - FA Cup Final. Manchester City...four in a row. Awesome team. The FA Cup final v ManU was won and run overnight too. Incredibly ManU won it 2-1. They have won 13 times. Man City 7 times. Arsenal have the most FA Cup wins on 14.

Has anyone heard the Ange song lately? It all went a bit quiet for a respectable fifth place end position. Fourth was probably the benchmark however.

Newcastle EPL v the A Team All Stars in Australia. They lost 0-8, but why are they travelling to Australia so soon after the end of the season? Odd, despite the big crowds.

7. AFL. Sydney keep pumping out the wins and Geelong continue to stumble, despite their many player purchases. GWS are back after the stutters. Sydney have a six point break over Essendon who have had a great year so far. A swarming pack sit on 28 points, chief amongst them are Collingwood who look poised to swoop!

8. French Open Tennis. Rafael Nadal. The last stand. Possibly never to be seen on the court again. Fancy drawing fourth seed Zverev first round? Zverev will be panicking! You knew it was nearing the end for Rafa when Alex de Minaur beat him on clay. That would never have happened in the past as much as we all like to barrack for the demon.

9. The A-League Grand Final. Central Coast Mariners v Melbourne Victory... a 3-1 extra time victory by The Mariners who have now won the A League dunny seat three times - 2013, 2023 and 2024. Melbourne Victory are stuck on four Champions/ GF winners still (2007, 2009, 2015, 2018). Sydney FC lead the way on five Grand Final wins!

An amazing year for the Mariners who lost their first four games and pretty much nothing since. They won the Asian Club Championship, the A League Championship (on points) and now the A League GF. A handy year.

10. NHL. Down to the finals. New York Rangers v Florida Panthers is an exciting contest for the Eastern Conference Final and is locked up at 1-1. The Panthers were extremely unlucky last year. The Dallas Stars v Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final (1-1 too).

11. NBA. Well well well.. Dallas Mavericks v the Minesotta Timberwolves (West Conference Final sees Dallas up 2-0) and the Boston Celtics v Indiana Pacers (East Conference Final sees Boston up 3-0). The series again are best of seven. While Boston are surprising some, having often struggled at this time of the year, every final series remains a long journey!

12. PGA Golf. Seriously sad news re Grayson Murray who passed away this weekend. 

Men need to reach out to each other to support and listen. Help is always possible and opportunities for recovery (or a second chance) are always within reach.

13. Waratahs. A firm wooden spoon for this year...after a number of early season narrow losses. A sad demise of another coach who seems to be a decent fellow.

The Wrap - Circus Acts and Back Flips

1. NRL. Well that didn't take long. David Fifita walks away back flipping all the way to his car from the Roosters, adding to this circus of a trade window and dulling his reputation. Des Hasler seems to be a bit of a gun at doing this for players (think Cherry-Evans). There are really not many players available for clubs, so New Zealand rugby surely becomes a target zone. 

Amazing how NRL has never really made inroads there... but have in UK league. Beauden Barrett or his brother are surely ready to do something else pre or post World Cup (2027 is a long way away). The Crusaders demise tells us that NZ rugby may just be getting a little stale (even if three excellent performers make the semi finals!).

Newcastle and Raiders still keep 'winning tough' and are firmly in the eight. 13 wins gets you there (or a couple less with the byes boosting you). The Sharks continue their charge. Beating top eight opponents is the test and the Sharks are delivering! The Sharks look united and strong.

Meanwhile Parramatta...8 points, inclufing the bye! Unfortunately, when you see Trent Barret as an Assistant Coach you can't get excited, no matter how dedicated he is. They have mismanaged their roster and are simply not fit enough. Crumbling badly in the second half tells you that. No outside backs either. Sad, but Brad Arthur looks done too. Time for a change perhaps.

2. Criminal Element - Allegedly. A player arrested at training for his role in an alleged drug bust. Four A League players arrested on alleged corruption charges. Taylan May stood down on alleged domestic Violence charges. A Queensland NRL player on alleged rape charges. A bad week for sport. Not seeing any women's players doing this at present, save Sam Kerr arguing with a cabbie and being arrested. 

3. AFL. How do GWS survive? Their crowds are very poor - and it always seems to rain at that venue...even for the Sydney Chunder. They have an identity problem...not really western Sydney and no local clubs really 'warm' to them. They need a re-think for the future and present as a franchise ready to move somewhere should the AFL decide that.

4. IPL. Getting to the semi final stage this week. Stoinis (Lucknow Super Giants) continues to be a stronger performer...Green fighting back with bat and ball for the Royal Challenger Bengaluru, but Warner and Maxwell both dropped. Wade on the outer. Tim David dropped as well. Nathan Ellis got a look in finally and Starc continues to be a disappointment for his $4.4 million price tag. However, the finals await for Starc and the Kolkota Knight Riders.

There are so many excellent Indian players and such a shame they cannot play in the Big Bash (one per team?). These guys will generally never play for their national team either - in any form. Kohli continues to dominate.

The Rasthastan Royals have hit the wall, losing four in a row coming into the semi finals. The Sunrisers Hyderabad with Travis Head and Pat Cummins loom as ominous semi finalists, but Jake Fraser-McGurk is not going to be troubling the semi finals for the disappointing Dehli Capitals. They are out.

All eyes on Head this week. Starc too.

Bancroft finally hit a ton...160 in County Cricket. Renshaw and Labaschagne not doing much. Harris up and down. Hanscomb is probably our best performer, but none of our bats or bowlers are in the top 20 of either discipline. Ummmm.... sound familiar?

5. EPL. Man City are striving to win their FOURTH consecutive championship. They just need to win against West Ham to do it. All final round EPL games start at the same time...tension. The relegation 'race' is almost done... Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton Town look like they will need new sponsors and jerseys next year! They are out. In come: Leicester, Ipswich and one of Leeds or Southhampton by the looks.

36 EPL goals for Erling Haaland in 2023-2024 and another 27 this season as the leading goal scorer. What a dominant force. Name your contract price.

Ange is back at the drawing board. He needs to recruit a star or two. He also needs to be clear about his language and drive to make the top four teams. This confused everyone.

6. A League. Central Coast Mariners. Into the GF v Melbourne Victory after a 0-0 result v Sydney FC. They are looking for a third piece of silverware at the Mariners Stadium next week.

7. Super Rugby. The Tahs are locked on the bottom of the table, destined for the spoon. The coach looks lost. Brumbies...thank goodness for their professionalism and expert recruiting. 

8. NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics await an opponent for the Eastern Conference finals (New York Knicks or Indiana Pacers - series locked at 3-3). It is uncanny how deep the different series go into the best of seven in NBA basketball finals. Dallas to play in the Western Conference final v the winner of the Denver Nuggets and the Minesota Timberwolves (series locked at 3-3).

9. NHL Finals. Starting to hot up on the ice! The Florida Panthers are a top team and ended the Boston Bruins this week.

10. US PGA Golf - Valhalla. One of the greatest circus acts of all was the 'arrest' of Scottie Scheffler trying to get into the course. Honestly. Talk about a rookie cop and a big noter. Spoiled golfers doing the indulged thing is one thing, but creating a drama and holding onto the side of the car... what? The US PGA have been noticably silent. A new PGA venue is needed. Talk about discrediting the tournament.

Xander Schauffle was something else in the first round...but it is a long game! Cam Smith (T38) has been disappointing, but has a good habit of finishing in the top ten. Lucas Herbert (T16) impressive after three rounds, but what about the performance of Shane Lowry, mirroring Schauffle with a 62!  Only four blokes have ever hit 62 in a major. Two in one weekend. Shauffle did it at last year's US Open as well! Incredible golf.

The Wrap - Testing Your Value on the Open Market

1. 'Testing My Value on The Open Market'. David Fifita and Blaize Talagi have been there this week. Fifita is an incredible talent, especially with the right coach. Not sure he is $800K+ worth, but time will tell. He has an incredible physical shape for a footballer. Talagi has talent, but also an overly ambitious manager. You can fully understand why some clubs won't deal with certain managers.

How ridiculous are all these myriad of transfer/ signing rules... standard NRL contracts need to be in place. Fancy having that clause for Fifita there. The Titans are probably happy to free up some coin as they rebuild too. You have more windows than a caravan to sign blokes and let them 'test their value on the open market', which is simply code for 'I am looking for a new option and you are not it!'.

Cronulla storm into premiership  contention now... amazing win v the Storm who are short staffed at present, but who isn't? Cronulla was too. Top of the comp is a great achievement so far.

Manly, Cowboys, Eels and Warriors are all hitting the wall at present.

2. State of Origin Debacle. Tom Trobjoevic and Nathan Cleary. Disappointing that injuries continue to plague NSW. They need every ounce of luck and good fortune. Campbell Graham? Mitchell Moses? These guys on long term injuries surely don't come into selection contention after their clubs have slaved away at trying to get them back on the paddock. Hamstring injuries are bad... why so many?

3. AFL. Carlton seem to have a special steel this season. The Swans are carving it up, but the MCG is their nemesis! This will test them in big games ahead. Carlton, Bulldogs, Geelong and Adelaide over the next month will test them. Richmond seem to have fallen in a heap. They did beat the Swans however. Where is Bailey Smith? Still in Bali on holidays? The Western Bulldogs seem to be imploding.

4. Cricket. Talk of Jimmy Anderson retiring has landed, but you feel an asterix awaits. He is supremely fit and has 700 Test wickets. Incredible. One thing is certain, Dave Warner is on his last tour. He is somewhat fortunate with Fraser-McGurk hovering large. The selectors have gotten a few of these experience calls right more recently... but the wolves will be howling if he doesn't produce. Ironically, Warner was exactly like Fraser-McGurk when he burst onto the T20 scene v South Africa.

5. IPL. Travis Head is playing unbelievably well in the IPL for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He is in the top three run scorers (533 @53.30 in 11 inns) and belted 89 mid week to chase down 167 in less than 10 overs! Amazing eye and talent. He is set for a major, major IPL contract next year. He should have picked one up this season after his World Cup heroics too. Meanwhile Kohli is the highest run scorer - 634 off 12 inns. Incredible talent over a long, long time. He wins tournaments. Averaging over 50 in T20, ODIs (50 tons) and test cricket (29 tons).

The next instalment of 'Test Cricket' on Prime looms as fascinating! Prime are back with the Test Cricket series from 24 May. Looks unreal... Lords, esp post Bairstow.

Almost fell over...a rain delay in the IPL this weekend.  When was the last time you saw a rain delay and reduced overs in the cricket from India? Incredible. The Duckworth-Lewis system is most rare there!

6. Central Coast Mariners. Crowned AFC Cup Champions is no easy thing and then in the same week they return from Oman and beat Sydney FC 2-1 to progress to the GF as well. Lost their first few games of the season before winning a million straight and the premiership too! Up 2-1 on aggregarte after one of two legs v Sydney FC to get into the GF. Quite the amazing success story.

7. EPL. Hotting up now. One game to come for most, but Tottenham squeaked past Burnley after four straight losses. A miserable end with a tough draw, but they need a few more answers. Ange has had a tough reality check this past month. None tougher than ManU who look destined for one of their lowest finishes. Love the last week of EPL when all games start at the same time and the tension over retention/ relegation bubbles over simultaneously.

8. US PGA. Starts this week. can anyone get near Scottie Scheffler? Maybe our own Cameron Smith @ $26 the win? In Kentucky at Valhalla, another one of mighty Jack Nicklaus' designed courses.

9. NBA Final Series. In the Western Conference Semi Finals, the unheralded Minesota Timberwolves lead last year's champions, the Denver Nuggets. The Dallas Mavericks with Josh Green are looking quietly dominant leading 2-1 v Ohlahoma Thunder (Josh Giddey's team). 

In the Eastern Conference Semi Finals, the New York Nicks are finally delivering and are at 2-1 up v the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics, after a shock home loss are 2-1 up v the Cleveland Caviliers. It will all unfold this week for the conference finals.

The Wrap - Consolidating Excellence

1. NRL. The best NRL teams are thriving now. Panthers can leave Cleary out and still win. They look like snaring David Fifita too...surely not. He is a special player when he is focused.

The Roosters seem to be losing players hand over fist (Keary, Sualli, Manu, Warea-Hargreaves, et al), but have never looked sharper. What a great signing of Dom Young! A huge frame and supreme pace! Selwyn Cobbo would be a handy addition. Cronulla are always strong this time of year. Canberra bounced back in an extraordinary comeback (Manly looked like semi finalists and then nothing like it). The Storm...how good are they? Always winning, but Pap has another bad injury. Such a talent.

Newcastle keep accumulating wins and the Warriors are back underachieving with the Tigers, Eels, Dragons... The Bulldogs are looking sharper. Mohoney is looking like the new NRL pest. Tunnel biff, head butts, but is this a reason why he is no longer captain? 

2. Waratahs. Spoon bound now with the losses racking up now. Close losses have become bigger ones. The coach is in hot water I suspect. The demise of the Crusaders is extraordinary. Surely there must be a few issues there now. No breakdances this year. What does worry you is how good the All Blacks may now become. Meanwhile, the Brumbies are third and the Reds are fifth!

3. Swans. A cracking win in the wet weather at the SCG on the weekend v GWS. It is troubling how good they are there at home and how they can lose on the MCG the week after. They are now on the top of the comp.

4. Tottenham. The wheels have completely fallen off. Three straight losses to Newcastle, Arsenal and Chelsea makes it impossible for them to hit top four. Man City up next will make that certain as they sweep to a fourth straight title soon. Erling Haaling has now scored 36 goals in 41 matches for Man City this season. He has had a scratchy season by his standards, but is now sitting on 25 EPL goals for the season. He set the record at 36 last season.

Everton look safe again, but a tight tussle in the drop zone! 35 points with three games to go is usually the safe spot.

5. IPL. Kohli still well on top as the leading run scorer (542). What a phenomenon he is, yet they want to say he is 'slow'...please. Head (386) and Stoinis (316) have done well too. Maxwell has not cracked double figures again. Not selecting Fraser-McGurk for the Australian T20 World Cup team, but finding room for Warner, Maxwell, Green and Wade, will be our undoing. Once upon a time we were brave and stoic and took young pups. We lack creativity and when you do that one day it catches up on you. We will see.

Starc finally got four wickets, moving into the top 20 (11 wickets). Cummins has 12 wickets. Bumrah (17) leads.

6. French Open Tennis. 14 days away yet, but the usual suspects are lining up. The Italian will be hard to toss. Jannik Sinner or Djokovic will win. Medvedev possibly. Rafa's farewell tournament I suspect.

7. Golf. The famous Byron Nelson tournament this weekend, but the greatest shock was seeing Aaron Baddley still rattling around - and he made the cut. What an awesome tour and how hard is it to win?