1. NRL. Hard to know what to make of Cronulla... beat the Broncos, Roosters, Warriors, Raiders (twice) and Storm...but lose to the Tigers and Eels. Can't win them all, but the hammering by the Panthers was the worrying one. Nonetheless, they are beating many others on the table who would die to be this inconsistent! The Broncos have injuries (as do other teams), but they look a little loose this year. Is Kevin Walters now the crankiest coach in the league?
The Storm have fired again and the Panthers rarely lose two in a row. The top teams are clearly a cut above.
2. State of Origin. What a fizzer. The leaking through the right hand side defence for two tries before half time was soft. Challenging with one player down, but far too easy. Latrell needs to play at that level and fire. Spencer Leniu was awesome. Such speed and leg drive. Liam Martin tough and uncompromising. Queensland are far too good... and far too often.
3. AFL. Sydney striding out at the top of the table. Gold Coast had an opportunity to absolutely stamp themselves in the comp, but lost to St Kilda. Love the Melbourne v Collingwood match up. Eels v Bulldogs does not compare.
4. T20 World Cup Cricket. Fancy the USA beating Pakistan (sounds dodgy) and Canada beating Ireland. Then Afghanistan thumps New Zealand (all out for 75!). There are some upsets, but Australia absolutely crunched Oman and now England with no super standouts...other than a cracking start in the Power Play. A good team win.
Lots of 30s (Marsh, Warner, Head, Stoinis, Maxwell), but tight bowling in reply. Zampa has a knack of taking a lot of T20 wickets. Australia is pretty much guaranteed to progress now. Rain can be the ruin of you (esp. against a minnow) and England are poised precariously all of a sudden with a wash out v Scotland as well. Jonny Bairstow is still haunted by his antics in the Ashes. 10 off 10 is not really good enough in the middle order these days.
The pitches look like they are from the MCG in 1981. Never knew how short those boundaries were for Viv and others. Imagine them with the modern bats!
5. French Open Tennis. Iga Swiatek has now won three straight French Opens and was in Ash Barty's shadow... Barty had a chance to do the same but shunned it for the joy of family. She obliterated young Italian, Justine Paolini, 6-2, 6-1. This is Swaitek's fifth Grand Slam (four French Open's in the past five years). She now joins Hingis and Sharapova on five wins. Awesome record.
In the Men's Carlos Alcaraz stands to become the youngest ever winner of THREE Grand Slams if he can knock over the loud and controversial Zverev. Alcaraz has won in the US Open and Wimbledon (never losing a final), but ironically not on his favoured clay surface as yet. Zverev's checkered past is not lost on the French crowd.
Djokovic's injuries are mounting, but if fit, he still the best. He bowed out injured after long games late into the night/ early morning.
6. Super Rugby Finals. The Hurricanes and the Chiefs knocked off the Reds and the Rebels and will play each other, while the ever consistent Brumbies won and now play the Blues in the other semi. Sadly, most would not even know this was on!
7. NBA. The Celtics have skipped away v the Dallas Mavericks to a 1-0 lead. Dominant display in the first game, when an extended break for the Celtics as they waited for their opponent, was feared to become a disadvantage.
8. NHL. Underway... The Edmonton Oilers v the Florida Panthers. The Stanley Cup is on the line! Florida win the first one and are looking strong at 1-0 up.
9. Super Netball. Privileged to watch our great mate Damian Sligar's daughter Amy who is the starting team for the Giants Netball franchise at Ken Rosewall arena in Homebush today. A sensational game where Amy's vision and strength shone brightly. Amazing pace and rigour in the Giants' win.
10. Prime Video. Not a sales pitch, but one to note... 'The Test' (Ashes focus) is a good watch if you are interested. A free 30 day trial is available and you can cancel anytime. No dramas.
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