The Wrap - A Messi Time

1.The Ashes. England seem to be full of words and theories. It would be a sensation for a 3-0 start and end to the series by Australia. We have led 2-0 before and stumbled however. Many doubted Australia in the lead in, citing the English batting strength, but Starc and Head - and Smith - have been the difference. English arrogance has helped too. 

Their batsmen have faltered. They seem to have a pretty odd view of how to play on Australian pitches and have run into some moisture in two areas of the country who have had a fair bit of unseasonal rain (Perth and Brisbane) over the past three months. That changes the conditions of play quickly. The mental side of the game is where the biggest difference is evident.

A bit sad when the biggest story of the week is either a holiday snap of an English player at the beach or a security guard getting feisty. Bring on the games and compress the tour. 

The Big Bash is underway again with the Hobart Hurricanes winning the womens' competition - and the carry over champs in the mens' competition. A very successful state!

2, NRL - Wests Tigers. What was the Pratten Park protest about? It looked like 500-1,000 people worried about the fate of a club which is a complete mess. How pathetic is the in-fighting and backflipping? They can't win a comp - and they extend Benji Marshall until 2030? The thought of Brad Arthur taking the reins was a hopeful note for the fans. If you are a player interested in building a career and winning, you are out of there.

Harry Grant. Golden Boot winner is well deserved. He is a sensational competitor and player. No real kicking game but an attacking and defensive game like few others can match. Tough. 

Liam Henry. Talented but hardly going to put the Perth Bears in the top eight. They are in trouble. The toughest job for Mal Meninga since his political career sunk after 30 seconds.

3. Oscar Piastri. A respectable third place in the end to Lando Norris, but it is a missed opportunity after having a sizeable lead mid season. The politics and nonsense from McLaren and others needs to end. Verstappen was superb and almost won the thing from nowhere.

We can forget that while Piastri finished third, Mark Webber finished third too - three times! 

4. EPL. Arsenal got lucky with some own goals and skipped away again for a five point lead. Man City and Chelsea are snapping at their heels. Liverpool are regathering a bit of fight. Mo Saleh should never be dropped. He has the most goals and goal assists for a single EPL club on record. Hard to beat!

Sydney FC are on top of the comp, but the Western Sydney Wanderers are struggling still mid table. Still working on the pronunciation of the Sydney FC coach's name: Ufuk Talay.

5. IOC. Remember when the rorts and the corruption ruled the processes and decisions made there by Samaranch and his cronies. FIFA has always been concerning, but the big sports seem to attract the greed and 'favour seeking' folk. 

6. India - Messi. Very messy after Kolkota fans go beserk after spending a lot and getting nothing for it! Apparently all the police and security got the photos and the fan's paid a month's salary to see him, getting no photos or a chance to see him kick a ball. Not sure why you would pay so much for a glimpse from the stands. A great corrupt promotion by the sounds.

7. NFL - New England Patriots. On a 10 game winning streak and up against the feisty Bills from Buffalo. A big statement game. The play off crunch is also fast approaching. A big weekend for the Ravens, Rams, Eagles and 49ers who need critical season turning wins. The Kansas City Chiefs are teetering and inexplicably stand to miss the play offs after so much recent success.

8. Winter Olympics. It is nearly that time again when we claim US residents with a distant Australian relative for our own. They are busy down at the archives in the passport office.

 

The Wrap - A Starc Reminder

1. The Ashes. Mitchell Starc looks like he will be winning the Benson and Hedges Audi for the Best Player of the summer, two tests in! He has really dominated with the ball taking 18 wickets already after two tests - and hits 75 with the bat. Handy.

Starc is now up to 420 Test wickets (the most prolific left armer ever!), passing the 'Turbinator' Harbajan Singh (417), nearing Shaun Pollock (421) with Sir Richard Hadlee (431) and Herath (433) that little further along in the most ever Test wickets lists. (Curiously, Lyon sits one behind McGrath (563) on 562 Test wickets.

It is Starc's strike rate that is exceptional. For those who have played 50+ tests:  Rabada (39.51), Steyn (42.38), Bumrah (42.96), Waqar Younis (43.49) and Cummins (45.91) and Starc (46.40). Boland is also remarkable in only 16 tests (36.85).

Joe Root was outstanding in the first innings, hitting his 40th Test century. An awesome performance. He is one behind Ponting (41), then Kallis (45) and Tendulkar (51). He is in the elite to ever play the game. Incredible surge in the latter part of his career. How great was Kallis? Cameron Green should be arranging a visit to meet him pronto! His composure sometimes is woeful and his efforts in the gully were so so.

2. Umpire Decisions. The decision to drop Nathan Lyon was silly in some ways. The Gabba takes spin. Doggett and Neser are steady bowlers at best, but under lights the job was done with Boland, Neser and Starc. Neser's 5/not many in the second innings tells us it was a good decision. Lyon needs to be a little more humble in accepting selection calls. He has had a charmed run and no one likes a brat. 

The Duckett dismissal in the second innings with the ball keeping a little low would normally have worried the Australian team, but for the Poms and their terrible collapse. The fourth innings at the Gabba is not one of our best...think of the Test loss to India and West Indies in recent years. Chasing 50 was not a threat of course. 150 may have been different! Why we don't start the series there like we did for a million years is beyond belief.

Weatherald was the most impressive bat for us and Carey continues to go from strength to strength. Steve Smith is something else. He is fast developing the best captaincy record!

3. Advertising Your Soul. Would it be good advice to get Pat Cummins to stop being an advertisement slave (Liqorland, Westpac, Gillette) and apparent big head, and just focus on getting healthy and being the Australian skipper? The adverts do nothing for our view of him. Steer clear of the nonsense and funny guy lines. 

Hard to remember Steve Waugh, Ponting or Clarke doing this... although Tubby and his Fujitsu air conditioning did happen! I think Richie Benaud promoted bryll cream, but not three brands in half an hour.

4. Australian Open Golf. Amazing crowds for the Stonehaven Cup. Great to see Cam Smith bounce back, but Kim and Scott were impressive too. Melbourne really love their sport. They are exceptional. Thankfully Rory got through the cut. Refreshing to see his air swing as well. It provides hope to all. Tough lie it must be said!

Smith let it slip late and it probably summed up his year, but the Dane was too good. A great putt from him on the 18th. Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson has a name better than the golf game. Never short of a attractive partner either on the golf tour.

5. FIFA World Cup Draw. We could not have gotten a better run in Group D, but will still struggle. To play the USA, Paraguay and a lower ranked rival as a European qualifier, we could not ask for better. Tony Popovic will have his work cut out and needs to correct the recent national slide. He did well to get us there this time around really.

6. F1 - Season Decider. Oscar Piastri is unfortunately on the brink of extinction. Being on the second row of the Abu Dhabi GP is not good enough to win it. The front row has always won there. Max Vertappen is on pole and well positioned. Piastri's post long break form has not been up to scratch and Lando Norris will need a complete blow out not to win. No one will be surprised if the great Max Verstappen wins the lot too. A sensational comeback. One of the closest seasons on recent record.

7. Wests Tigers. No wonder no one can play for that mob. They don't know what is going on. They fight, scramble and back bite, yet look to blame everyone else. They don't know if they are the Magpies or the Tigers. The Jack Gibson quote - 'winning starts in the front office' has never been truer. What hope do you have as a player? Luai needs to get out of there. Galvin could see it. Benji is not the answer long term and Shane Richardson is about to exit, so it seems.

They have recruited no one in the off season and are light on for forwards. They will be mid table again in 2026, if not lower.

8. Sam Konstas. A first innings ton is a thing of beauty in any long form cricket game. It has been a long time, but we still need to see him hitting fours down the ground to be a Test cricket batsman. The work in the 'V' is not strong enough. He loves it square of the wicket or behind the stumps. Great bowlers find such players out.

9. EPL. The great run of Arsenal ends at the hands of Aston Villa. Man City are back in it with that stumble. Everton are again showing a tenacity to hold their own at the highest level. Since 1992 when the EPL started there are only a small band of clubs never to have been relegated...ManU, Spurs, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea - and Everton. 

Surprisingly, Man City were relegated in 2000/2001. They have been relegated four times from the top flight!

Notts Forest are also back where they deserve, losing games too. The behaviour of their players and club under Postocoglou is not forgotten. Relegation could not happen to a nicer bunch of turn coats who refuse to take personal responsibility for their performance. Relegation beckons. 

10. NFL. The Patriots crushed the hapless NY Giants to go to 11-2 and are absolutely dominating... even if some think they have had it easy in the draw. The Broncos, Eagles, Rams and the mighty Bears (think William Perry, 'the Refrigerator' ) are all in line for playoffs. Perry was also apparently called "biscuit" by his team mates - one biscuit short of 350 pounds!

The Wrap - Smash Them Like Qatar

1. Test Cricket. The recent form of India is woeful in Test cricket. Gambhir is a cranky snarling coach in the Justin Langer style. Such approaches never last in international cricket. However, when you lose Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and skilled experienced bowlers like Ravi Ashwin, you will struggle. This is despite the ample talent in their squad, but to lose 2-0 to South Africa at home is woeful. They lost at home to NZ last year too!

The Ashes continues and the journalists love it. So many stories and angles. I suspect the words of Usman will haunt him, but the Perth deck was ridiculous.  He was correct!

Not a fan of pink ball Tests in Ashes series. The crowds fill the place regardless. The biggest challenge is whether teams can hang on under lights!

2. NRL. The R360 comp always sounded like a complete farce, so Haas, Papenhuyzen and Lomax will need to do something else now... maybe getting paid before you cancel your NRL contract was wise. However, it seems like none of them care too much. Interesting attitudes. There is seemingly an assumption the money will flow for life.

3. Oscar Piastri. The Qatar GP signals the second last chance which, after the double disqualification of McLaren last week, enables Piastri to get back into calculations with a huge effort this weekend. Taking pole position was handy, so the pressure is now on! A win here will put him well in contention for the final Abu Dhabi GP of the year. A race not finished by Lando Norris would be helpful. A tight season ending ahead, with Verstappen within touch too. A Piastri win (10 in total) takes him to eight wins for the season (beating Mark Webber's total of 9). If successful, he will then sit behind Alan Jones (12) and the great Jack Brabham (14).

4. EPL. Liverpool have hit the wall. Possibly their worst run in history. Won it last year and a rapid decline after a bright start to the season. Man City keep the heat on Arsenal with a late winner (no adding to Harling's 14 goals!). Tottenham are struggling once again despite a bright start, winning 1/7 games in recent times. Losing to Fulham is never a good idea. Sunderland continue winning and are sitting fourth. A dream EPL return to the Stadium of Light and about three wins from not being relegated!

5. Golf. David Puig killed them in the Australian PGA in Brisbane. Leishman (tied third) is always there or thereabouts. Young Daniel Gale (an ex-junior baseball for the Castle Hill Knights) from Castle Hill picked up a new BMW with a hole in one, but made a top ten finish too. The course facilities seemed a little limited. Have we not got a better set up across the nation?

6. AFLW. If only the North Melbourne women could turn out for the men's team. Back to back premiers. Hard to remember the blue and white on the AFL podium.

7. A League. Lacking star power but 21,000 watched the Sydney derby with the Wanderers winning 1-0. Time for some serious investment in the game in Australia or it will never prosper. It has sadly gone backwards over the years.

8. NFL. The Chicago Bears are surging (9-3), beating the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday. The New England Patriots (10-2) are the first team to ten wins too! The Lions, 49ers, Ravens and Chiefs are all needing to lift and quickly. It could be a different range of sides to recent years in the playoffs in 2025-2026.

The Wrap - A Head Stark

1. Ashes - First Test. 1-0 Head Start. After a seeming fiasco of a pitch in Perth, with two shaky batting orders, a spectacular albeit quick end. Chasing 205 for a win was always going to be tough on an interesting pitch which proved to be a little more even. Hard to believe there was a result possible on Day 2! 

Losing 19 wickets on Day 1 probably included ten reckless batting errors to be fair. This test has broken all sorts of records for the quickest and fewest balls bowled. A lack of composure from many players was evident at key times.

However, Travis Head stepped into greatness. Summonsed here last week to produce after a string of disappointments, he rose to any challenge and exceeded it. His tenth Test ton (sixth fastest ever) sees him join Simpson, Katich and Hassett. He turned the game as he has done in India in the IPL and in the ODI World Cup and World Test Championship final v India two years back. A masterpiece ton. Great to see England get whacked. A stunning MOTM effort!

Usman must surely be on his last legs. He is slow and now injured. It has been good for him and us all, but time to go. We need some youth and confidence - or Travis Head to open. Usman will be well placed to play as much golf as he wants now. When calf, hamstring and back injuries arrive... so does retirement. Hazelwood remains injured too. Honestly... he will be back for the IPL.

2. Mitchell Starc - Incredible. Mitchell Starc is a star. The first innings specialist and the first over king - just ask Zak Crawley who picked up a pair. His caught and bowled was something else. He bowls at extreme pace and consistently so. Starc has really improved and was faced with a lot of pressure (10 wickets tells us he delivered!) in the absence of experienced team mates. Boland was better in the second innings, but charging him is not such a bad tactic.

Harry Brook is an unbelievable talent, but he is also helped by our terrible desperately short bowling when it counts. He can be hit and miss, but when he hits, he hits! He is also decidedly chirpy for someone so new...despite his multiple Test tons. He could be in Australia's sights with the short ball.

Marnus looked excellent too. Full credit to him on his re-invention. He looks so much tighter in defence.

3. Awesome Steve Smith. Steve Smith takes another four catches as he closes in (205) on Joe Root's Test catching record (213). He has played thirty fewer Tests, but has magnificent hands. Third most catches ever in Test cricket!

The way that Australia came back - again under Steve Smith's leadership - making a brilliant comeback has added some spice to the series. Smith wins a hell of a lot as captain (A better winning % than Border, Taylor, G Chappell and Clarke with a similar no. of tests in charge for most of them). Only Bradman, Steve Waugh, Ponting and Cummins are ahead of him. 

4. Wallabies v France. In Paris in the cold/ snow. The crushing loss surely puts Joe Schmidt on the instant chopping block. His announcement of a bailout a year ago has brought dreadful results. Yet another combination, another key positional shift...yet a familiar result. This is our worst result on the European tour of all time. Also, ten Test losses/ four wins in a year is a terrible record, especially when two narrow wins over Japan and Argentina count here. The excellent Lions/ Springboks efforts are a distant memory.

5. NRL. Lomax is on the move from yet another Parramatta disaster at the signing table. Maybe weeding out problems is needed too. A one year extension for the Fox doesn't sound too confident either (?). Lomax's exit from St George was dreadful. The game will move on and another Lomax will appear, as it always does.

Jayden Campbell is talented, but paying him $1.2M per season... please. That is ridiculous. The Perth Bears are going to be awful if that is their early level of desperation. An English outside back, Harry Newman and Liam Henry are it so far unfortunately. Proven leaders are needed.

6. EPL. A ripping competition this year. Man City lose and Liverpool's sad decline after the off season death of their star, Diogo Jota, is sad. The impact there must be horrible. Arsenal have it all in their grasp if they want it. They have a habit of tripping over their own feet most years. Nottingham have picked up post Ange and seem destined for more positive results in the weeks ahead. The tight topsy turvey nature of it all brings added excitement. Chelsea could be a smokey.

7. NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles are surging to yet another Super Bowl. The Patriots, Colts, Rams and Broncos are up there, but not in their class. The big game experience will shine when it matters.

8. Las Vegas F1. The Norris v Verstappen and Piastri show is reaching a climax. Needing to win, Piastri gets a respectable fourth, but fourth and fifth places don't win championships. The qualifying rain didn't help either. Verstappen is getting closer and closer. A mighty champion! Norris looks to have it in the bag with Qatar and Abu Dhabi GPs remaining.

9. ATP Tennis Final. Sinner crushed Alcarez. Extraordinary consistency.

The Wrap - Sport Cash is King

1. Test Cricket Injuries. Eric Grothe Senior once tripped over at Parramatta Stadium on his way out to play Canberra and was ruled out. He developed a litany of injuries as he aged from the superstar he once was. 'Eric the Injured' they called him.

And so we lose Cummins, Abbott and Hazelwood...even Renshaw has a dodgy back or hammy. Lyon has had his recent injury moments, but Hazelwood is closest to Eric Grothe (yet curiously he is always fit to play the cash laden IPL). The day was coming when our stalwarts were going to crumble in their mid thirties. Cricket is the preserve of the younger body - especially bowling. We are in strife, but are not really keen to admit it. 

The onus on Starc to remain fit and well will be interesting. He seems to be creaking too. Young Doggett seems poised to play.., yet the 12th men over recent years, Richardson and Morris will be kicking themselves that they too remain injured. Their chance was now. Some hope for the new generation and Boland will need to step up big time. 

Our batting looks fragile. Travis Head is the worst offender. So much promise and talent. He needs a huge series to start to stamp his class as a world class player. Otherwise he risks being the new Graeme Wood (a duck or a hundred man). Too inconsistent.

Meanwhile in India the pitch v South Africa at Eden Gardens is one of the worst we have seen in recent memory. When the top score for the game is 55* into the fourth innings, the game is in trouble!

2. Eli Katoa. What a terrible blight on the game. The concussion and impact on this guy in the recent Pacific series has him in a lot of bother long term. There is talk he will never play again. Devastating for him and his family and a negligence legal case will emerge in time. The Storm are in a jam all of a sudden with no Papenhuyzen (what is going on there with R360?), NAS, Katoa and Pezet. They will have to rebuild a little more quickly than anticipated. Bellamy though is a magician.

It sounds like Zac Lomax has the R360 in sight too. Released from Parramatta. Big dollars, but are the headlines of 'no payment' inevitable? Parramatta continue to make curious recruitment decisions.

3. Wallabies v Ireland. The song sheet is familiar... a sound start, behind on the scoreboard, in it at half time and then a resounding loss (49-16). We are dismal and stand to go without a win on this tour. France next week will not muck around with us. What a fall from grace for that team. Joe Schmidt's record gets worse and worse. It is time to cut him free. They are not improving and nor are Joe's post match explanations. Second half capitulations seem to be the normal now. A winless tour looms - the first since 1958.

The All Blacks lost to England as well. Scott Robertson might be on skinnier ice than Schmidt.

4. Socceroos. A humiliating loss to Venezuela 0-1 on the International weekend (no EPL). Despite all the promise and all the wins in Asia, we are simply not as good as we think. Tony Popovic has had two bad losses most recently and needs to fix it fast against some of the lesser lights in the world game. It could be a quick World Cup experience once again. The incredibly successful days of GUUUUS Hiddink seem a long way away now.

5. NFL. The New England Patriots stretch it to 9-2 after beating the hapless NY Jets. The doubters say they have had an easy draw and are not contenders. The scoreboard says otherwise. A remarkable comeback after beating the Buccaneers last weekend and the Jets on the quick turn around.

Elsewhere, the Eagles... the Colts, Broncos, Seahawks and Rams are emerging from the pack. The Colts are a new name on this stage of success!

6. Tennis - ATP Finals. Sinner v Alcaraz (likely) in the $5M final. Alex de Minaur did well to make the semis ($1M), but he cannot beat the big guns and probably never will. Unfortunately he has reached his peak. He is still high quality and competitive but has no X Factor. Losing relatively simple Davis Cup matches does not endear him to many either. He seems to be developing a good range of reasons/ excuses at present.

7. DP World Tour Championship. Rory well positioned. Ludwig, Rose and Fleetwood all nearby too in a top of the leaderboard jam. $10M purse on offer as well. No shortage of cash in golf.

The Wrap - Flagged for Success

1. NRL - Samoa v New Zealand. What an exceptional game for a Pacific Championship final. Big hits and heavy contact. The flag makers for Samoa have been busy. The Pacific Islander players are so talented. 36-14 with a second half masterclass. So much talent and so much depth. Dylan Brown played better footy for NZ these past three weeks than he ever did at Parramatta. Hopefully Newcastle can see the best of him. Fisher-Harris and Leoto won once again. Their trophy cabinets must be so full!

The Jillaroos are so far ahead of the rest it is not funny. Dominant.

2. Kangaroos v England - Ashes. A crushing 3-0 series win. Cameron Munster was dominant. Not happy with the pile on of Nathan Cleary. His influence is bigger than anyone knows. He rarely loses.

3. T20 Cricket - India v Australia. It was really hard to get excited about this series. A lot of people will not have had not watched a ball. Of course, weather and storms interrupt yet again. Why was this series played? Boring and the poor T20 performances have taken down the ODI brand as well.

The Test selection of Jake Weatherald is an intriguing one. No Renshaw is understandable, but they will need another opener soon. It could be looked at as a response to Bazball, given his aggression. We will need every run from every bat with the tail we look like having...Starc-Lyon-Hazelwood-Boland. Green needs to start taking wickets or he should be banished.

Is George Bailey a little flippant and too loose lipped to be an Australian selector (he loves a Tassie selection... Weatherald, Webster, Khuneman? Watch out for Tim Ward and Gabe Bell soon). His press conference quip about Konstas only needing to fart for publicity, was odd.

4. AFL Wildcard Round from 2026. A good move with 7v10 and 8 v 9 playing each other for the last two finals spots, with the rest of the final 6 having the week off. They only need to look at the kick out on the full now. The advantage needs to go to the opponent, with possession from where it was kicked.

4. Wallabies. As mentioned last week, Joe Schmidt has presided over some of the worst results in the history of the game in our proud country. Yet another humiliating 26-19 loss again to Italy. A mirage earlier this year with the British Lions but all downhill from there, losing 5 of the past 6 tests. Injuries and excuses will flow. The record will show we were losers too regularly in this phase. No combinations and a lack of commitment. It is time for him to get acquainted with the buffet in the Qantas lounge.

5. EPL. Sunderland ('Till I Die') are doing the business. The black cats scored two goals against the league leading Arsenal team for a 2-2 draw. Their 10 game winning streak ends. A sensational result really and firms up their position in the top four of the ladder. ManU-Tottenham 2-2 was an exciting finale. ManU are looking strong in 2025-6.

6. F1 - Piastri and Norris. At least the Brazillian GP at Sao Paulo offers a chance for cars to pass each other. It is always an exciting one. Piastri is on the second line and Norris on the front row. 9 championship points split them.  It has to be now for Max as there are only three GPs left...Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

7. Josh Giddey - NBA. He is doing some excellent business at present. Looks like a shortlisted MVP and a dominant figure this season. Incredible progress at the Chicago Bulls.

8. New England Patriots. Sitting at 7-2 unexpectedly in 2025-2026 (a six game winning streak) and take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at their home ground, who are 6-2. Should be a cracking game!

The Wrap - World Beaters 69

1. NRL - The Ashes. Super results for the Kangaroos in a tougher test, winning 14-4. Grant Atkins had a few brain explosion moments. Sin bins everywhere. Penalties were out of control too. Please. That is why he was there - and not Ashley Klein - to keep the play rolling, not the interruptions!

Cameron Munster is so suited to wet weather play and tighter, arm wrestle situations. In sticky conditions he really excels. Not certain that Staggs and Shibasaki are our best centre combination, but they are solid. Imagine if we had a few more of those players who couldn't make this trip!

What about the field? Great, but no line markings across the key points of the game...40/20 (lottery)...10 metres back (lottery)... ridiculous!

Nearly as poor as Jarvo 69 coming onto the field. He is a pest, but it is pretty harmless..the cricket, the Olympics, the NFL, the football, Indian cricket, Japanese rugby,,, now the Kangaroos. A serial pest.

He needs to crash the Tonga v NZ or Samoa game and take the ball up in the first hit of the game! Could be the best decision a judge could make to help him understand things from yet another court case.

2. Cricket - The Ashes. Hard to see Cameron Green adding much value to the team at present... It is looking like our first test team is: Khawaja, Renshaw (?), Labuschagne, Smith, Head, Webster, Carey, Starc, Lyon, Hazelwood, Boland. 

Interested to see Greg Chappell calling for Mitchell Marsh to open the batting...not a bad thought to be honest.

Not sure Renshaw is our answer, but he looks the best performed of the traditional openers. Not sure Webster is a number 6 either. Green not bowling, surely eliminates him from the line up. His batting form is dreadful too. Too easily dismissed LBW. The tail is VERY long with no Cummins and Boland is therefore under threat ... maybe Brendan Doggett (SA) or Fergus O'Neill (VIC) comes in, or Matt Kelly (WA) our current leading Shield wicket taker...even Liam Hatcher (NSW)? O'Neill gets wickets and runs (12 wickets and averaging over 50 in this year's early Shield stakes)!

A shock loss for the Australian womens cricket team, ending an extraordinary run. A shame, but there is always a new gun in the wings!

3. MLB. It went to the seventh and final game after the Blue Jays lost a bad one in the sixth at home (1-3). Facing the might of the LA Dodgers for the title (after a seven game deciding series v the Mariners), the Blue Jays were up into the eighth innings 4-3 and LA's Rojas popped one for a 4-4 score. Their home crowd was screaming them home, but a 5-4 loss! Yamamoto was superb as always, pitching yesterday - and today! Most unusual mama.

It was the first time in a million years that the seventh World Series final game went to extra innings (fifth time ever)! The Dodgers were looking to go back to back and have been the dominant franchise over the past eight seasons (two World Series wins - two losses). The Blue Jays have won twice before, but this was potentially their first since their own back to back 1992-1993 wins. It would also give them political bragging rights too! An epic finale.

The Dodgers took the lead in the eleventh innings to lead 5-4. Will Smith came up clutch at the key time with a HR! Huge pressure play. So from 3-0 up..4-3 up... they lose 5-4. An incredible series and incredible result, with LA winning Game 6 and 7 on the road!

LA Dodgers - 3 wins (2020-2024-2025) and 2 losses (2017-2018) in World Series Finals in the last eight years! Dominant!

4. Wallabies v England. A traditional whacking of the highest order v England. Games upcoming against Italy, Ireland and France are hard to see us winning.

Nothing will ever beat Dave Rennie's poor 33 Test career as Wallabies coach (36% winning). However, Joe Schmidt, as nice and knowledgeable a fellow as he seems to be, has had 25 Tests now (11 wins for 44%). It could end at 11/28 (39%)...right up there with Dave Rennie!

There was hope with the Lions efforts, but we have gone backwards since. Too many new players and new combinations. It is a lottery.

5. Jonah Pezet. A one year deal agreed by the Eels. It could be the worst decision by a club in living memory, especially if there is an injury. A transit lounge contract. Hard to see the benefit for the Eels. Lots of benefit for Jonah and his future at the Broncos. Braith Anasta is hard to take seriously in his dual Player Manager-Foxtel role. He promotes his guys (Ilias has signed with the Titans for two years according to Channel 9!), too heavily. Parramatta have been played for the fools that they sadly have often been. Joash Papalii is suddenly feeling like he is on the out and the young players are either going to learn fast or learn how to sign with other clubs. He is no Cooper Cronk or DCE... yet.

6. EPL. Liverpool have re-joined the winners and Chelsea keep doing the business. Interesting to see some fractures in the Tottenham playing ranks and their attitudes. They are a precious beast the EPL player. Nottingham Forest drew 2-2 with a resurgent ManU, so the players are finally realising their careers are on the line. 

The whinging of EPL club fans is hard to cop. If everyone won each week there would be no comp!

Sam Kerr is back from injury and scoring goals for Chelsea as well.

7. Melbourne Cup. Derby Day brings out some great horses...Tentyris is a horse with extreme pace and one to watch! How impressive was it? Like Autumn Glow. Dominant and Winx-like. The race that stops the nation will be run in the wet by the looks of it. Buckaroo is a live chance. Too many international horses for mine, but it brings them all out that is for sure...Japan, Ireland, USA, Italy...

The Wrap - Livin' on a Prayer

1. Reece Walsh. Talk about confidence, flair and skill. He is absolutely on fire at present. He makes the odd error, but his pace is electric and his intercepts in that 2:1 defensive fullback situation will be exploited in the NRL next year. A resounding win by the Kangaroos. The Poms look cooked. This is a very good Australian team, despite a number of stars who went to the Pasifika teams or who are injured. Such a great tour to be part of ...like the old days. Jon Bon Jovi even stopped by which adds to that star power!

How good was Tonga v Samoa. Intense, skilful and with so many first grade footballers. Incredible crowds and love of the game. Looking forward to the planned international launch weekend being planned. The Jillaroos keep winning by over 50 points. They are dominant but it would be great to have stronger opposition. Our men's and women's rugby league games are surging. 

2. Wallabies. After promising so much v the British Lions, things have limped along since. The Joe Schmidt era is grinding to an end which is such a relief. He has unearthed some talent, but it is never on the field at the same time. Nightmare way to coach for consistency. Sneaking past Japan by a handful of points is not great for the resume.

3. Nottingham Forest. It must be said that the players did a right royal hatchet job on Ange Postocoglou. Not one of them accountable and not one of them fronting the media since. Not prepared to do the work to transform and sat back and let it collapse, knowing their hot headed owner would sack him. Time to sack some players. A relegation would be a good gift for their fans too who were incredibly impatient and pining for the ex-wife. Get over it and move on. Perhaps this is why they were not in the top flight league for a long stretch (2008-2022). Patience is learned quickly in Championship level play.

4. Cricket. Matt Renshaw is a dear fellow, but hardly the solution as a Test opener. AB said a telling thing this week re Sam Konstas: "can he play a cover drive? I've never seen one". That is the key. No technique and this 'shock' player who is destined for a long stint in Grade. I wonder if he will persist or play franchise cricket in T20 worldwide? Jake Wetherall may be a good selection. An experienced player who is tough minded is needed. We may need two such players...Khawaja is a risk still with his refusal to move his feet. He is looking for an SCG farewell in January 2026...if he gets that far.

5. Sharma and Kohli. These are two of the best ever ODI players in history. Both averaging 50 in ODIs for India with Sharma 30+ ODI centuries in 276 games and Kohli 50+ ODI centuries in 305 games! Incredible talent and domination, despite the odd duck or two. They may never return to Australia now. A miracle we won the series 2-0.

5. Liverpool. Four straight losses is a huge concern. They are stumbling at present. What about the Black Cats of Sunderland (''Till I Die)? into second place on 17 points and needing 35 to avoid relegation, which is often the fate of recently promoted teams. Hopefully Netflix are still tracking them for a sixth or seventh (?) series!

ManU are up the top all of a sudden too. Maybe the tide is turning?

6. Women's World Cup Cricket. The longest competition in world sport, but the Australians are doing really well without the injured (and prolific) Alyssa Healy. So much talent, but Perry is on the slide after so many years at the top. She may be retiring soon I suspect. Alana King 7/18 killed South Africa. South Africa still do not like leg spin after all these years.

Her 7/18 pips Andy Bichel's 7/20 in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa v England.

7. Oscar Piastri. The championship looks grim. He has really fallen away since the long break and needs to get back there. Have McLaren adjusted his car so Norris wins? They have the constructor's championship already and suddenly his car slows down. Strange. He is back in seventh spot now for the Mexican GP. No serious threat from there, barring a big pile up!

8. NBA. What a shocking disgrace for the NBA with allegations of betting anomalies and cheating. Black eyes sadly for the sport, impacting many excellent players and staff.

9. NFL. The New England Patriots are leading their AFC East division in 2025 which has shocked everyone - including themselves!

10. The World Series. The Seattle Mariners collapsed in a heap and the Toronto Blue Jays took an early 1-0 lead over the Dodgers in their best of seven World Series final. The Dodgers steamed back in Game 2 for 1-1 and now they head to LA for Games 3, 4 and 5. LA may not need any more than that. Yamamoto was the first man in ten years to throw a full game. An incredible Japanese link with the LA Dodgers.

11. Moonee Valley. The best news of the weekend was that Moonee Valley is being knocked over and revamped! That dog of a track is 'straight-less'. It is like a circle and really hard to tip. 

What a fabulous win by Via Sistina in the Cox Plate! A tough horse. Four in a row for James McDonald who surprisingly went winless last weekend.

The Wrap - Ange(r) or Ange(l)?

1. Ange Postocoglou. A doomed time at Nottingham Forest of only 39 days (the second shortest ever!). The players have seemingly rejected his style and just sulked, while the fans deserve relegation. So negative and never gave Ange a chance. Ange has once again carried himself with great grace and style. The owner is a rash and impulsive person. 8 games is pretty ridiculous. The private ownership of sporting teams is always fraught. 

2. Ariarne Titmus. Some surgery setbacks and a fine career as she retires now. Mollie O'Callaghan becomes our No. 1 now. An exceptional career really. Incredible feats, but a lot of sympathy for someone doing the hard and relentless work every day. Time for a new chapter in her life. Hopefully her personal life is not splashed across every tabloid and every magazine, like Stephanie Rice, Jana Pittman, Suzie O'Neill, Lisa Curry-Kenny and Leisel Jones before her. The public admire these swimmers, but the sad impact of mental health struggles and relationship break downs continues to intrigue a public who don't need to know this.

3. ODI Cricket. No one can work out why and for what purpose the Indian team is in Australia to play yet another series of meaningless ODI games, Presumably just a money making exercise and a 'you scratch our back, we'll scratch yours' arrangement. 

4. NRL - Pacific Championships. The growth of the Pacific Islander player numbers in the game is incredible. Rarely a knee injury from any of them too. Resilient and passionate. New Zealand remain the big brother, but it is not what it once was. They are not feared or that dominant. Concerns continue with Dylan Brown. He is so talented, but fades away during games and can become a little invisible. The Knights will be nervous, but he scored the match winner. He can be mercurial.

New Zealand v Samoa was entertaining, but the lack of attacking shape is the difference. It seems like breaking the NRL structure is the attraction of the competition. Flair and difference. The drops by To'o and Mariner with tries on offer sadly killed their hopes. One pass too high and one pass too hard!

5. MLB. The Seattle Mariners have never won the MLB World Series and get a chance in the remaining two games v the Toronto Blue Jays. They lead 3-2 in the best of seven series. The LA Dodgers are immense and are already in the World Series waiting for their opponents. They disposed of the Brewers 4-0. Ohtani is incredible. Three home runs and six innings while pitching in the same game! He could just be the greatest player ever.

6. Everest - Ka Ying Rising. What a performance. So easy and no whip required to win easing down. The horse remains undefeated and one of the best ever sprinters world wide. A rare day when JMac won nothing. The Everest prizemoney split? 

Conversely, the Caulfield Cup has a total of $5 million with the winner taking $3 million. Half Yours was too good with Jamie Melham becoming the first winning woman in the event. Michelle Payne won a Melbourne Cup on a 101-1 pop, Prince of Penzance back in 2015.

7. F1 - Oscar Piastri. It is sadly going really bad at present. Starting sixth on the grid in Austin Texas at the American GP ran at the Circuit of the Americas. Verstappen is composed and looks too strong when it matters. He is on pole position. It is Verstappen's 48th pole position. He is fifth ever - behind: Lewis Hamilton (104); Schumacher (68); Senna (65) and Vettel (57).

McLaren seem to be intent on infighting instead, even discussing sacking Oscar...honestly.

8. EPL. Haaland scores another two goals v Everton overnight. He now has 11 goals...5 ahead of the nearest rival. An incredible talent and a 6 foot 5" frame makes him imposing and very hard to contain. Hopefully he can stay injury free.

9. AFL Trade Window. It is a long way back for a player looking for a move and not getting a deal (eg. Zac Merrett). Hard to play alongside that person. Charlie Curnow is due to produce for the Swans with half the club traded to get him there. Not in the Lockett-Buddy class. It could end in tears.

10. Umpire Joel Wilson. This is an extraordinary observation by Rod Tucker on the sacked West Indian umpire, Joel Wilson. On the basis of this, it seems a fair sacking!

“Joel Wilson was a very good umpire, just his decision making was below par. He paid the price for that. In the end, he’s a great human being. Everything else on the umpiring side of things, he’s fantastic. Just his decision making wasn’t up to standard. He lost his job because of that.”

The Wrap - Roos and Boos

1. Australian Kangaroos - Reece Walsh. What a brilliant display in the grand Final. Hopefully no off field shenanigans this post season... post GF behaviours can sometimes define the person. Time to move on and start getting his head right for the Kangaroos. 

Did I read correctly that Kevin Walters said he would've won a comp anyhow? What a goose if that is true. Show some humility. How he ever got the Kangaroos job is a joke too. A few league podcasts really seem to get some loose lips. 

Thank goodness we could beat the Kumul CHIEFS (new NRL name) with the PMXIII. That team is almost like the last men standing. There were quite a few unknowns there.

2. Bathurst. Garth Tander joins the legends now with six wins on the mountain. He joins Mark Skaife, Larry Perkins (6), with Jim Richards and Craig Lowndes (7) and the greatest Peter Brock (9 wins). 

How about the efforts of a three time winner, Shane van Gisbergen...

2. NASCAR Success. Shane van Gisbergen from NZ is carving out a sensational career and success in the US. He has five wins now this season (remarkable for any international driver) - Mexico City (VIVA Mexico 250); Chicago (Grant Park 165); Sonoma (Toyota/ Save Mart 350); Watkins Glen (Go Bowling at The Glen) and Concord (Bank of America ROVAL 400).

3. Cricket. Marnus - and No Cummins (?). Marnus scored a ripping century under massive pressure in the Shield and backed it up in the FAI-Ford Ranger-McDonalds-Marsh Cup with another 105. He is one of our best techniques and must play. Like the look of young Hadley for NSW. Ripped through WA who really need a new leaf now. The old names keep failing (Bancroft, Whiteman, Cartwright...). 

4. AFL Trade Window. Clayton Oliver would be a huge bonus for the Giants who will keep surging on. St Kilda are the smokey, still piling up the big signings. Their treatment of young Leek is abominable. Fancy courting, promising and then dumping him leaving him stranded.

The Swans seem so keen on retaining mids and trying to secure Curnow on a shoestring. Why would Carlton do business with that? Trade off a few of the useless blokes in the middle. protected species. Amarty, Papley, Logan McDonald...these blokes are on notice.

Curnow, Petracca and Merrett...is the trade window a tribute to whingers and malcontents? 

5. EPL. Notts Forest continue to slide. They need salvation and soon! Ange is on death row. Relegation costs a club its fanbase, merch and significant dollars. The next two weeks are tough for Ange, but he needs a miracle. Great win 1-0 v Canada by Tony Popovic's Socceroo team.

6. MLB Results. The Mariners and Blue Jays play for one spot in the World Series and the Dodgers and Brewers in the fight for the other World Series spot. Blue Jays v Dodgers for mine. The Mariners is a great story!

The Dodgers have been World Series champions eight times (six losses for 14 appearances). The Blue Jays have won it twice. The Brewers have won it three times, but the Seattle Mariners have never won it!

7. NFL Upsets. The New England Patriots are storming back with three wins (while Bill Belichick struggles with his college team in Carolina)...hard to believe as they have been woeful for a long time.

8. Willie Peters. Completed the rare three crown wins as coach for Hull Kingston Rovers, who had not won the Challege Cup since 1985! He is in the prime position for an NRL coaching gig now.

9. Shubman Gill. He is putting together quite a string of tons as the Indian skipper v some Test cricket minnows at present. The West Indies continue to be abysmal. His skill as a bat under pressure is starting to build, but his temperament at times falters.

The Wrap - Bucking Broncos Kicking Up a Storm

1. NRL. The media finally exhausted all the stories, family tales of rags to riches, parent interviews and injury hoopla...game on! No Ashley Klein on the field - and just Grant Atkins, a famous Parramatta premiership name. What a relief because Atkins did it in fine style. Klein was trying his best to influence the result from the bunker, but thankfully not close enough. Not sure how you qualify for the bunker after your efforts in the preliminary final.

Mariner scored early, but Meaney and Katoa hit back fast! Nice open play and maybe a product of nerves - or the heat! A very unusual weather pattern, but hot day time Grand Finals could be almost unbearable. The Queensland teams hold a big advantage there.

Walsh's try before half time was just outstanding, but Hughes is so tough. A costly drop over the line by the big Melbourne forward saw the game turn on its head in the second half. They were fitter than the rest and proved it against Canberra, Penrith and Melbourne back to back.

Nick Meaney's defence was a concern, as was Wishart and then Hughes in the second half... and the Broncos found it. Reece Walsh's speed was the difference. His bullet passes and his speed to the line late, killed them. His defence was outstanding too. He took a punt on the late break and pass to Papenhuyzen and barrelled him. They could have won it right there. Turning up for each other.

Congratulations to the Broncos Assistant Coach, Trent Barrett, who has won nothing - ever. Coach Maguire has done it again too! A superb effort. He has won for the Kiwis, for NSW Blues, for Souths and for the Broncos...and in the UK with Wigan. A long way from Tiger Town!

Two Brisbane Grand Final wins - NRLW and The NRL - and AFL. Thankfully the Warriors won something over the Burleigh Bears!

For Coach Bellamy, he has coached in 11 Grand Finals now... 5 wins (2007*, 2009*, 2012, 2017, 2020) and 6 losses (2006, 2008, 2016, 2018, 2024, 2025). In essence only three wins with the two cheating years. Munster did not sound like he was coming back post game!

2. AFL. The Trade season is underway. Very exciting in a weird sort of way. If only rugby league could be as enterprising and as organised. It brings TV coverage, analysis and allows the sport to stay in the spotlight. It also enthuses the fans of the dud teams! Living in hope.

3. Wallabies. Joe Schmidt continues with a 45% coaching win record. Too many big squads, too many changes, no consistency. Eddie Jones made an art form out of it with misery. We seem to have started to accept respectable losses. Next...! 

4. EPL. Ange has a fortnight or he bites the dust. Tonight v Newcastle is one for his career and future. He seems a lot darker this time in but will remain very wealthy if he goes. The severance pay at Tottenham was about $12.5 million. Nice if you can get it!

5. Singapore GP.  George Russell on pole and he or Max Verstappen will win. Can't see how you pass anyone on that track. Max is third on the grid and needs a miracle. McLaren are struggling since the long break.

6. Sam Konstas.  His form is so bad and his technique so wobbly, he will be minced by the Poms. He needs to get back to basics. There are better options. A sad demise for a young man.

Matt Renshaw hit a timely ton (surely they don't go there again...) and Khawaja and Marnus are hitting back. There is a massive batting gulf, but Victoria and South Australia hold most of the young guns... (Henry Hunt, Lehmann, Scott, Sangha, Kellaway, Peake,...). Jack Edwards is of interest too.

7. Mitchell Marsh. Absolutely dominated in NZ in yet another nothing series. It will be a long time before the fans head out to watch white ball cricket in droves again. No one really cares. There are so many ICC and World Cups nobody can quite keep up!

The Wrap - Clowns and Snooping Dogs

1. NRL. The Cronulla-Melbourne game became the Ashley Klein show. Blowing 18 penalties was a joke. His relevance and self importance sometimes conflict and he makes some crazy decisions sometimes. It is not the Bill Harrigan 'brave call', it is the Ashley show and sometimes he cannot resist being front and centre. Surely he cannot oversee a Grand Final. Too unpredictable and too disruptive to the game. The preliminary final was so stop-start and really, it became boring to be honest. Cronulla were especially limited in attack. Such a shame and the inconsistency of time holding down in the ruck between both teams was breathtaking.

Nonetheless, Melbourne were too good. They continue to be too good and Bellamy now enjoys a stunning record and really is the best we have seen. The big prop from Parramatta and Wests-Tigers - Stefano Utoikamanu - was absolutely what they needed. They will be hard to beat.

In the Penrith-Brisbane showdown, Nathan Cleary's defence was spectacular. He can do it all! 14-0 at half time said it all. Three goals and try assists...Tight, pressure and methodical. Nothing stunning, but rock solid. Completions and error free. 

The second half? Brisbane surged, but Talagi is a worry. Blaize is not up to it yet. Silly charge downs, drop balls, a shocking pass on the line and a critical missed tackle at the end. Under pressure errors and lots of them. 

A bad Panthers decision not to take the two points for 16-0 which could have steadied the ship. Instead a great Broncos comeback for a 16-14 win and a premiership shot v Melbourne. Michael Maguire has done a top job.

The Panthers lost two games by four points in extra time in the lead up to the semi finals - Canberra and Melbourne - and then a two point loss to the Broncos today. That is the difference to their team in 2025.

2. AFL. Snoop Dog could actually kick the football well. Some footage pre game showed he had ability! See: Bing Videos . As predicted, Brisbane were on fire. Their mid field is so strong and while it was close for half a game, the customary 'Swans GF blowout' hit and destroyed the hapless Geelong. Dangerfield was quiet, Cameron was injured and played with a broken arm... Geelong know how to fold under pressure, yet they keep buying the best players around. Charlie Cameron nailed them and Coach Fagan picked their pockets. Back to back premiers is pretty awesome. 

What is it about these back to back to back wins by the elite teams?

3. Wallabies. Speaking of which, the 28,000 year consecutive Bledisloe winning streak continues. We were brighter, but never in it really. We really struggle it must be said. The losses have started to pile up again, yet we keep making the same mistakes. Injuries hit of course, but we keep changing the team, tinkering, moving key personnel... the proof is it does not work. I wonder if Les Kiss can work this out.

4. EPL. All of Liverpool, Chelsea and Nottingham lost. A topsy turvey year already, but Man City look impressive after six rounds. Erling Haaland has already kicked 8 goals. More goals than most score in a career! Tottenham were lucky to get away with a draw v Wolves.

Memo to Ange: look at how West Ham just turfed their coach this weekend. It won't take long for Ange to bite the dust if he can't start winning. Losing to Sunderland (Till I Die) is a low ebb. Sunderland surge to third place!

5. Sydney Thunder - Ravi Ashwin. Not sure what sort of T20 Big Bash crowd puller he will be. Talented Test player, but T20? Not sure he has the personality of a franchise breaking player too. Has always seemed to be on the outer with Indian players and stormed off when they needed him most in the last Australian tour. It could all end in tears.

Meanwhile India v Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup (whatever that is). India make a habit of winning this tournament with no hand shakes, no travel to Pakistan and military tensions forever at the forefront. Politics gets in the way all the time for Pakistan, so they are hoping for some skill later tonight.

6. Ryder Cup. What spectacular crowds at Bethpage Black in Long Island NY! Rare you see crowds on both sides of the tee outside of the Masters.  A great course, but lots of fired up players with Lowry and McIlroy leading the charge. The New York crowds love it. They are irreverent, rude, offensive and fire up opponents in all sports - and golf is no different. However, the Europeans are smashing the US and are on track for their first away victory since 2012. No abuse or homophobic comments can stop them.

7. F1. Oscar Piastri needs to lift and re-invent. Verstappen is closing fast and McLaren are faltering a little at present. Plenty more races ahead, but he needs to improve or perish.

8. MLB Playoffs. Closing fast with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox through... Dodgers, Phillies, Mariners and Guardians all through too.

9. NFL. Early days, but the usual suspects are already surging. The Philadelphia Eagles, the 49ers, the Bills, Chargers and Buccaneers.

The Wrap - Straight Sets

1. AFL Finals. A staggering comeback from Geelong to pound the Hawks. Dangerfield was awesome. Then Collingwood fell in a heap in the second half and Brisbane pounced. Collingwood had come back but two goals straight after half time was crucial. Cam Rayner is exceptional. Their momentum is unbelievable and they will win it. Too intense and skilled. Geelong have the big names, but Brisbane will be too athletic and too good. Look for a brisk start from Brisbane.

Brisbane are into their third successive Grand Final. One loss and one smashing win v Sydney last year. Geelong enter their third Grand Final in six seasons: 2020, 2022 and 2025. Two dominant teams.

Interesting that the concussion rule automatically disqualifies Tom Stewart from the GF. Ouch!

Adelaide disappeared in straight sets...and the Raiders and then the Bulldogs joined them. Most unusual.

2. Brownlow Medal. Nick Daicos surely wins one! He is the most dominant player week by week. Bailey Smith has been awesome as well. A new club, but he touches the ball so often. How the Western Bulldogs lost him is beyond belief. Dawson (Adelaide) and Anderson/ Rowell (Gold Coast) are also in with a show. 

3. NRL Finals. Canberra losing Ethan Strange pre game was a massive loss going in, but they are a tough team. They seemed unphased early. Starling was outstanding early. So quick from dummy half. Great to see a comeback of the flick pass. Nicho's try was a cracker. The costliness of a repeat set or not completing your sets is huge in sudden death rugby league. The Sharks have won two semi finals...that is incredible for them to now play Melbourne for a chance of the Grand Final.

The minor premiers, Canberra, are gone in straight sets! Losing two straight games at home too. Extraordinary. The Sharks are certainly no frills, but withstood the pressure early on. The Raiders gave up a lot of points in winning very regularly this year. Their defence was found wanting in the end.

The Panthers? We have been saying it here for a long time now... they are on and ready to pounce. Their first half v the Bulldogs was the best half of NRL Finals footy we have seen in many, many years. They will be too good for the Broncos, especially if Pat Carrigan is out. Injuries to Billy Walters, Brendan Piakura have been untimely... talk of Reynolds and Mam coming back for the game may just be that - talk. Troops are short at this time of the year and only the fittest survive. 

Unfortunately the grubby Brandon Smith - Victor Radley cocaine matter has spilled over every day this week, boring everyone to death. Smith should be banned for some time. He is a repeat offender and is a problem for club culture. Uncle Nick did not muck around with Victor. A stint on the sideline won't hurt Radley's multiple concussion recovery.

4. FI - Azerbaijan GP. Piastri is struggling a fair bit since the long break. he needs a strong showing here...they are coming to knock him over! Starting on ninth on the grid is a terrible result for McLaren. Verstappen is likely to win again and surges back into championship contention. 

5. EPL. Nottingham Forest are going so poorly. A 1-1 draw with Burnley was pretty average. Ange has about ten weeks or his career in Europe is finished. Losing to Swansea mid week in the Carabao Cup does not help. 

6. World Athletics Championships - Tokyo. Jess Hull becomes the first Australian woman to win through to the 1500m and 800m finals. A bronze medallist in the 1500m was an awesome moment. Tremendous work, especially after her fall in the heats. Gout Gout ran well, but gee we get excited in Australia about our sprinters... he finished 18th. A young man on the rise, but it is so challenging on that stage. Our discus throwers and high jumpers have not finished yet either!

The Wrap: Or-ange

1. NRL Finals. A ripping weekend of finals. Too quick...Best of three would be amazing!

Melbourne are so professional. A lot of players out yet the Bulldogs were crushed pretty badly...and have picked up so many injuries too (Montoya, Tuala, Crichton...). They need Reed Mahoney back in with so many missed tackles. The chopping and changing by Ciraldo (Galvin in, Sexton out... Mahoney out...). All of them sudden and unexpected calls under pressure. More composure is needed by him or they will be out in straight sets next week when the Panthers get hold of them. The Panthers were so methodical in dissecting the Warriors. Without Crichton and Kikau (?) it would be really tough for the Bulldogs. Penrith will be waiting for them.

The Roosters and Sharks was an entertaining package. The Roosters need to wear their classic jersey in big games...white cannot win a comp. The dropsy again hit them (like when they played Parramatta) and should have won. Mark Nawaqanitawase was outstanding as always. Such an exciting player. 

Canberra and Brisbane really turned it on - and now Canberra will play Cronulla at home, as losing minor premiers. Such an advantage to finish in the top four. Starling has such great speed out of dummy half...like Cook in his prime. Without Ezra and Reynolds, Brisbane have done very well.

Walsh did a Cleary at the end. A try, a 40-20, set up a couple and a drop kick to equalise that took the cross bar... then a goal. Reece Walsh needs more composure in big games. A head butt to Hudson Young was ridiculous. He lacks discipline. Conversely Kaeo Weeks killed them with his pace. Walsh has so much speed and skill. He needs to mature. Those missed goal kicks were costly too.

Ashley Klein tried very hard to be the star of the show. A cracking game - and end. Referee Klein has dreamed of an ending like that! The chance for points in the extra time needed to be taken by the Broncos. Ten out, field goal chance...zip. It didn't matter. Ben Hunt put some demons to bed with a top field goal to win 29-28.

So now, Canberra v Cronulla (then v Melbourne) and Penrith v Bulldogs (then v Brisbane) are our games to then take on Melbourne and Brisbane for a chance to make the Grand Final.

2. AFL. Adelaide were belted by the Hawks to gather an unwanted record. They always seemed to be flying a bit high through the regular season, but ended well. When the whips were cracking they were found wanting. Speaking of which, the Gold Coast were whacked too. Their pink strip was very unusual for their second final when club colours and pride in their own traditional jersey.

Geelong, Collingwood and Brisbane look the goods. Brisbane looked a lot like last year when they creamed everyone at the business end. 

Into next week now and Hawthorn v Geelong and Brisbane v Collingwood are the games. Geelong will be through to the GF ...who else?

3. Horse Racing. Mr Brightside is an incredible horse. So strong and a winner. Cost $22,000 and has won over $18 million. A great investment.

4. Wallabies. Back to earth with a thud. 28-26 is a bad outcome v Argentina. The inconsistency and constant team changes cannot be good. Lots of injuries, but so much change is never helpful for the team combinations. A 43-10 loss to the Springboks is a stunning loss for the embattled All Blacks. No break dancing! They need a complete reset. Our challenge will be in a fortnight v New Zealand. Joe Schmidt has two games left and hopefully they are memorable, for the right reasons.

5. US Open Tennis. Carlos Alcaraz is an outstanding player and ambassador for the game. Yet another win to got to six Grand Slam titles (joining Edberg and Becker). Two US Open titles, two Wimbledon and two French open titles for a total of six wins. All still as a very young man. Alcaraz has not won an Australian Open as yet, so this is another frontier now for a career Grand Slam!

6. Ange Postocoglou. A new coaching gig for Nottingham Forest (men in tights) and a thumping 3-0 loss. A tough job going to Arsenal first up, but talk about a career life line. It will be interesting to see if he changes his attacking style and how focused he becomes on the EPL. His style brings injuries as he stretches the players past their limits.

7. Davis Cup Tennis. What a circus...Lleyton Hewitt fined for pushing a WADA drug inspector. Then de Minaur gets beaten by an unknown. Terrible. Rinky Hijikata was our other singles hope and he lost too. The doubles bounced back with a win and then de Minaur finally won for 2-2. The decider was unfolding as we went to print!

Losing to Belgium would be an all time low. Australia were semi finalists last year and with a loss, a final eight berth will have gone begging in 2025! Hopefully not.

8. F1. Next week to Azerbaijan then to Singapore. Oscar is 31 points clear of Lando Norris, but it is tight. Captivating action in 2025. Verstappen had an incredible win really last week in Monza.

9. Irish Open. A ripping win by Rory last week. He has such skill, but can become distracted sometimes. A super talent really.

The Wrap - Wooden Spoon Presentations

1. AFL Finals. They are a brutal beast! You lap other teams all year and then you have a shocker in an elimination final and you are gone only one week after everyone else. The late flight to Bali. Adelaide survive as minor premiers after Collingwood whack them. Hawthorn extinguish GWS in a fourth quarter fade but the Gold Coast Suns won a cliff hanger away from home and enter the last six teams... a great last gasp win by a point after a disallowed goal with nine seconds left.

It can be a brutal end result. Geelong looked the pick of the lot.

West Coast Eagles pick up yet another spoon, their third. A long way to reach St Kilda on 27 wooden spoons!

2. NRL Finals. The advantages the Broncos seem to get from the NRL at times, are incredible. TV appearances for the Broncos are some of the most important dollars for the NRL. A million home games last season...a few extra days to prepare for the finals clash v the Raiders. 

A top four finish by the Broncos is incredible (why does Reece Walsh do stupid things every season at the September end?... cocaine arrest at Cavill Avenue, screaming at a Blues supporter, silly social media photos in a Bali hospital with Ezra Man and then a toilet drinking prank. Grow up and don't be a goose. Can't imagine Mushashi would be pleased as a key personal sponsor). Coach Maguire (and coach Barrett) have done well.

Canberra to beat the resurgent Broncos and then the Storm (no Paps, Hughes - and the reckless Asofa Solomona) to beat the Dogs (no Xerri, Montoya). The Dogs have stalled in attack. They lack speed in the halves. Lachlan Galvin's greatest value must be yet to come. He directs play, throws a great pass, has a reasonable kicking game but has no pace and too many defensive lapses at that level. He is very young it must be remembered, but talk about pressure.

The Panthers will get over the Warriors and the Roosters over the Sharks (who were super impressive v the Dogs on the weekend). In fact it was the best we have seen from the Sharks for many years. No Nicho will kill them now.

• The Tigers have been abysmal once again. Losing to the Gold Coast underlines how terrible they have been. The press have given them a good ride in 2025, but they were dreadful. Avoiding another wooden spoon seemed like their season goal. The great 'Zorba' Peters (who turned 80 the other day) picked it at the start of the season... they will be like Samoa...flashy, feel good, but essentially losing game after game. 
• The Eels (26) ended the season on more points than the Tigers (24), four points behind Manly and Dolphins (30) - less all the media hype and drama that Benji brings.
• The Eels end in 11th position. A pretty promising start under coach Ryles who started the year terribly.
• The Dragons (15th) were horrible in the end too. Completely ill disciplined. They have not recruited well. Gutho is too slow and needs to head to England now. They lack speed and wanted to offload Sloan who has pace... They need a wide broom... Klemmer, Cook, Fataila-Mariner, Gutherson, Holmes... too many older players.
• Are Canberra cooked now they have given up 50 points (with 10 stars rested)?
• The Knights were dreadfully average all year. Ponga plays 10 games a year and good luck with Dylan Brown who has lost confidence, pace and skill - yet is one of the best outside back defenders in the game. A new coach cannot arrive soon enough. A deserved spoon winner! Des Hasler avoids another one.
• James Schiller...possibly the worst recruitment decision of the year. Left the Raiders to join the Knights this year. Oops.

The Knights earn their fifth wooden spoon to now equal the Roosters (who started in 1908). They are one behind the Dogs now and the equal eighth on the list of the most wooden spoons ever.

3. Formula 1. Oscar Piastri dominated at the Dutch GP last week and now to Monza in Italy for the next. A tougher assignment from third spot on the grid. A huge story if Piastri can skip further ahead in the driver's championship. 

In terms of Australian drivers, on F1 wins he is closing in on the great Jack Brabham (14 wins/ 128 starts), Alan Jones (12/ 117), Mark Webber (9/ 217), Piastri (9/ 61), Daniel Ricciardo (8/ 258).... A great season: 7 wins, 5 poles and 34 points ahead of the other drivers in 2025. 

4. EPL. Some big steps by a resurgent and humble Liverpool team. Winning v Arsenal last week was huge. Three games and 9 points. An awesome start after a tragic off season... the international break this weekend, so no play.

5. Rugby Championships. A 28-24 win over the Pumas was a remarkable end, but does anyone know why it was played in Townsville? Once the Argies were easy beats, but not any more. An attacking winning mentality is the best thing we have seen from the Wallabies in 2025. 

A tough championship to win. Yet another All Blacks loss 18-12 to the Springboks under Scott Robertson. The knives will be sharpening and there is no break dancing practice in sight!

6. US Open Tennis. Alcaraz (5 Grand Slam wins) v Sinner (4 Grand Slam wins) in the men's final. We have heard this song before. No other player has contested a Grand Slam final in 2024 or 2025 apart from these two. One of either Sinner or Alcaraz have won nine of the last 10 Grand Slam finals. Both have one US Open win.

The great Novak Djokovic can only make semi finals these days (nothing wrong with that at 38 years of age). Alex de Minaur keeps true to form...top eight results and no more. Not that there is anything wrong with that either!

In the women's final, Aryna Sabalenka v Amanda Anisimova was an intriguing one. Anisimova beat Iva Swaitek in the quarter finals on her way through to the final. It was Swiatek who smashed her 6-0 and 6-0 in the Wimbledon final earlier this year. To bounce back from that and into a home final is pretty special. 

Unfortunately for her, Sabalenka won their final. She has an impressive record now to have two Australian Opens and two US Open Grand Slam titles (and three Grand Slam losses). Impressive. Joins the likes of Hana Mandlikova, Kim Clijsters and Arantxa Sanches-Vicario on four Grand Slam wins.

7. ODI Cricket. The Tony Greig-Richie-Bill era of TV cricket commentary was just superb. Some old footage bring back amazing memories. 'It's all happening'...'hit it like a tracer bullet'... 'a swing and a miss'...'bails off in a flash'...'hard and fooorrrst'... 'marvellous'. Australia v NZ in three T20s are about coming soon.

8. Darren Weir. The footage of the disgraced trainer administering electric shocks to horses in training under his care is an absolute disgrace to the industry. He should be banned for life, despite the passage of time. Animal cruelty at its worse.

9. The Irish Golf Open. Can Rory roar and make up the difference to win it? Poised!

The Wrap - Shields and Trophies

1. NRL. Raiders have the minor premiership - and the JJ Giltinan Shield - which is some sort of effort. Tradition and better than the Winfield Cup (who ever thought that was a good idea?). Ethan Strange continues to be a revelation, but their big outside backs are a huge plus. No nonsense forwards and a unity and self belief. It could go deep into September. Melbourne are a colossus and will take some beating. Not sure the Bulldogs or Panthers or the Broncos/ Sharks (woeful defence) have enough to stop Melbourne... despite being lapped by the Roosters on Friday night. 

• Marky Mark continues to do things other players in the game have never done. An awesome talent. Elite. A Dally M?
• Des Hasler and Adam O'Brien both gone... the coaching merry-go-round continues.
• Parramatta with their newfound fitness and speed are also sending teams ragged. Their defence needs to improve however. They do not control the ruck like Melbourne do. Melbourne would be crucified if a referee actually insisted on a speedy play the ball from both teams. Parramatta do this at their own peril and get touch football scores as a result.
• Parramatta are on the same points as the Wests Tigers and could finish as high as 10th! A stunning end to the season.
• The Gold Coast to pick up the wooden spoon after losing a lot of close games? Or Newcastle?
• Dolphins v Roosters for the final spot.

2. AFL. Can never work out why they take complete momentum out of their season by having the week off. A 'Wildcard weekend' could work better... but injuries are attended to in the week away, but I wonder how many more injuries it then brings? Brownlow Medal season is fast approaching.

Interesting to see Tom Papley shopped to rivals.

3. Tommy Fleetwood. Breaks through finally at the Tour Championship (after 164 PGA starts) with a BIG $10M purse. The US PGA completely dominates LIV and has actually rendered it irrelevant. Tradition and routine has triumphed.

4. US Open Tennis. Jelena Ostapenko is one of the most unpleasant women's tennis players we have ever seen. She has problems with her attitude and superiority complex - and her serve. Racial comments the lot. She needs to be banned from the game for a time. Conversely, the Naomi Osako story is amazing. She is doing good business once again. In the wrestle for the 'US Open Tennis Trophy' (no sponsor).

Alcarez, Sinner, Zverev, Dokovic... all warming up for the men's quarter finals which get under way this week. Alex de Minaur joins them in the final 16. He only has a top 8 game at this point, but it is still a stunning achievement on the biggest stage.

5. Rugby Union. A week off for the international play, but injuries for Australia are crushing them. Locally, Warringah 37-24 to win the Shute Shield. More famous than the Stanley Cup!

Tremendous to see young Douglas Sullivan (Eastwood) and young Henry Oxenham (Sydney Uni) in action at Leichhardt Oval in their lower grade Grand Finals. 

6. F1. Back after an AFL-like window which is absurd and lengthens the season incredibly (until 8 December!). The Dutch Grand Prix it is now this weekend and Oscar Piastri is looking to assert early dominance over Lando Norris in the home stretch. Oscar has such amazing poise.

7. Sunderland Till I Die. They are on fire. Two early wins in the EPL after being promoted. Incredible start, but a long way to go! 35 points (12 wins) just about sees you safe from relegation. Chelsea looking solid and of course they, Arsenal and Liverpool have not lost yet. Defence! 'The Premier League Trophy' is on the line!

The Wrap - Beaten at The Post

1. NRL - Wonderful Weekend. So many great games...upsets and the Tigers deflated by the never say die Cowboys! How good is Tom Dearden? Extraordinary.

Marky Mark's flick pass for the Roosters v Parramatta was super special. What an amazing athlete! A dual international pending. He is one of the best and most exciting outside backs in the NRL. He has added more than Joseph Sua'ali'i. Unfortunately the Roosters were woeful. So many handling errors which was quite staggering. The worst completion rate by any team all season.

The Eels avoid the spoon and have really added so much speed to their play under Ryles. They need a big and dynamic centre to really change the world. Their forwards have really improved under Ryles. Quick feet and soft hands. A real hunger is building. They need some dynamic big athletic finishers out wide.

Hard to remember a weekend where the ball hit the post so often from goal kicks and field goals!

• Incredible end to the Raiders v Panthers. Field goal hits the post and a winning try at the other end! Three successive golden point games for Penrith won't hurt them. They are back playing tough (if losing) footy and everyone in that comp knows it.
• The Roosters losing Sam Walker was bad timing, but Connor Watson needed to step up and could not. They did not seem to have a plan. Sandon Smith surely needs more game time.
• Parramatta winning consigns the Newcastle Knights and Titans to the spoon bowl. 
• Des Hasler arguing with rude and out of line journalists is something Wayne Bennett addressed some time ago. Des should know better. Pressure.
• The Broncos are marching on and can produce in big games. They have done very well in the end under Maguire.
• The Dolphins have battled injuries, but they have leaked points and leaked more...

2. ODI Cricket. We have really struggled, but the crowds have loved it. A big night out up north - esp. game three with tons to Green, Head and Marsh. Brevis is incredible and could hit 200! The top order needs to step up for an ODI victory!  A good winter concept, but a shame we play second and third stringers! ODIs have become completely irrelevant. Marnus continues to be a disappointment.

3. AFL. The end of the regular season with a widening gap between the top nine and the rest. It has moved fast. The excitement is around the top four.

• Toby Green came up with two incredible plays in the last minutes to seal a home final for GWS.
• The Swans beat the hopeless West Coast Eagles yet again. The Eagles picked up their mandatory spoon and their third ever - 2010, 2023 and now 2025.
• The Swans need to get some forwards who don't fall in an injury heap and get a few hard nose competitors to change up the culture. A little bit of experience perhaps too. Too many similar players.
• Jeremey Cameron wins the Coleman Medal but does not pick up 100 goals in a season again. 
• Essendon is still a joke. Such an under performing team.
• Adelaide are minor premiers after missing finals for seven years in a row! 
• Geelong and Collingwood are still up and at them again. Bailey Smith has been an incredible signing for Geelong - and substantial loss for the Western Bulldogs.
• Imagine winning 14 games and missing the top eight...The Western Bulldogs may achieve this for the first time ever for a team.
• The Brisbane v Hawthorn showdown is a huge one for the final order tonight.

4. PGA - Tour Championship. Once again Tommy Fleetwood leads, this time with Patrick Cantlay (-16) into the final round. Scottie Scheffler (-12) and even Rory (-6) hover of course... he hears the hooves does our Tommy. Here's hoping he can crack a PGA win sometime soon. A $40M purse is some sort of carrot. Keegan Bradley (-13) is a fine golfer too. Can anyone give us a LIV Golf update? What a schemozzle.

Scheffler has 5 wins for the season and nearly $24M. 15 top 10 finishes and not forgetting his -31 score in the Byron Nelson! Great Scott!

5. EPL. Tottenham two wins from two (a 2-0 win over Man City is always impressive) and are on top with a dominant Arsenal. The post Ange era has started brightly. Ange is being linked with Notts Forest, last year's surprise packet.

6. US Open Tennis. It all starts this week but extraordinarily, the mixed doubles have already been played. Not sure why this was required - outside of a greater cash grab - but put a couple of shekels on Sinner and Alcaraz as the men's finalists. The great Novak will be trying for yet another throne on his prized surface as well. A swansong?

7. Wallabies. Signs and glimpses of greatness, but so many injuries and not enough strength under pressure, losing 30-22. Argentina will not be easy. They beat the All Blacks 29-23! A great result!

The Wrap - Back in Your Boks

1. Wallabies. A rare headline in The Wrap, but what a brilliant win. Joe Schmidt has had a top month in the latter phases of his tenure it must be said after much disappointment. Unlucky not to beat the Lions in the series and then to win at Ellis Park in the dungeon of South Africa is exceptional. The first win since before we were all born! Pretty significant.

Joseph Sua'ali'i has added a lot, but so has the recent announcement that the Giteau rule is no longer. (Ron will be pleased). Skelton is immense and the skipper Wilson scoring two runaway tries was incredible. He almost ran over the deadball line and did a hammy to boot. Gold. The pace and toughness of Jorgensen will keep NRL recruiters interested.

2. Glenn Maxwell. He's bounced back since some of the worst idiocy in recent years in world cricket...the mysterious tennis court rumble injury and the falling off the golf cart. He is a supreme talent. Often wasted and frustrating, but still could be one of the best fieldsmen we have ever seen (with Viv, Jonty Rhodes, Mark Waugh, Ponting, Symonds, Smith...). His last gasp effort to get Australia over the line in the Darwin T20 series was incredible. Great to see him stand up and get the adulation that he deserves.

3. NRL. The NRL seems to be able to find an on field controversy these days. It used to be a lot of off field ones, now if it is not a trainer, a sin binning, a bunker rule interpretation or an Ashley Klein special call, the game is constantly in the spotlight.

The Broncos, for all their class, have struggled at key times, but Maguire is making a big difference. They are semi final bound. Reece Walsh is an incredible talent.

The spoon contest is down to the Eels, the Knights and the Titans. The Rabbits and Cowboys have a bye each and are winners this weekend. The Eels are warming up for a world record.

• Scott Drinkwater is a super talented player. From the Central Coast and killing them. A broken play master who would be dangerous in Origin. Nil mistake player.
• Kodi Nikorima is one of the best number sixes in the comp. He has speed, takes on the line and a strong running game which keeps the defence guessing.
• The small double pump feigned pass running fast to the line by Isaiya Katoa or Nathan Cleary is now creating massive issues for opposing defences. A small, but newer offensive tactic.
• Hearing Nathan Cleary talk about rugby league is a whole new language. No wonder the Panthers are a premiership threat every year...even when they were in last place!
• Michael Ennis. Is he the best non-coach in the game? So insightful. He could coach Origin on his ear.
• The Roosters were really dominant and the Bulldogs are crumbling fast. Attitude.
• Trai Fuller would be a handy dummy half off the bench at another club. Great pace!
• Jye Gray. Two try scoring tackles and wins the game for the Bunnies. Then the greatest hog in the NRL, Tallis Duncan, wins the Eric Simms Medal for MOTM. Get on Tallis for an any time try scorer because he never disappoints. Alex Johnston could not touch it! The 212 record is safe with Tallis in the centres. 
• Daniel Topou is fast approaching too. He now has 182 tries in fourth place ever. (Slater has 190 in third place). We could well have two players beat the Ken Irvine record!
• Haas now playing for Samoa ... how can these flexi rules apply to Origin for some and not others. 

4. AFL 2025. The massive divide in the 2025 competition has taken a lot of energy out of the game this season. The top eight or nine are so far ahead, the bottom half of the comp has become very boring. It is costing the game revenue...TV ratings are sliding too. Most unfortunate. Having Brisbane, Adelaide, Fremantle and in the top eight must be troubling Melburnians too.

• The Connor Rozee rumours at Port Adelaide are a great example of the absolute sewer of social media. Having to publicly appear to dispel them calls for stronger police action against the perpetrators. What have we unleashed as a society?
• GWS beating Gold Coast at home is a horrific result for the Gold Coast. They are so inconsistent and need to address this to make an impression in the semi finals. 
• The Collingwood-Adelaide game in front of the biggest ever crowd was awesome! Tight and tough with high pressure. 56=53. They may both be in the GF.
• The Swans... plucked and roasted by a superior Geelong team. Their defensive line is elite. Tall, strong and plentiful.

5. EPL Underway. The shortest off season in world sport. Liverpool continue to do the business despite the tragic loss of a key player in the off season, Diogo Jota. Tottenham will be an interesting study to see if they fall in a heap or build on the successes of last season. A bright start against promoted Burnley. Sunderland ('Till I Die...) are back too, but where is Netflix? They had a tremendous opening win 3-0 v West Ham. Haaland is back scoring two goals already for Man City!

6. Austrian GP. Piastri and Norris look to have the measure of all others, but Verstappen always surprises. The summer break in the season is ridiculous. All momentum around the sport is lost. 

7. USPGA. Fresh from Justin Rose's win ($3.6M) v Scheffler and Fleetwood last week in the St Jude, Scottie Scheffler ($1.6M) is running second in the BMW Championship. MacIntyre is going to be hard to run down in Maryland. 

Scheffler's consistency is amazing. He didn't quite do the job last week. This week may well be different. He could be the most liked world number one golfer since the great Jack!

8. Bob Simpson. RIP. A legend of Australian cricket who transformed of all things, fielding. A terrific slip fielder himself. A brutal task master. In Test cricket, 62 tests (110 catches!) and 4869 runs at 46.81 with ten tons. He famously came back in WSC to lead the inexperienced (and very poor) Australian team at the time... Hibbert, Weiner, Whatmore, Moss, Toohey, Laughlin, Maclean, Gannon, Sleep, Clark, Dymock... et al.

9. US Open Tennis. The Cincinatti Open lead up event in Tennessee sees Alcarez v Sinner in the final tomorrow. Alcarez will be tough to toss at Flushing Meadows starting on 24 August. He and Sinner are a cut above. A toss of the coin.

The Wrap - On Your Marky Marks

1. The Panthers. As predicted many weeks back, into the top four after beating back a string of minnows and now a big test v Melbourne this Thursday night. They are getting back a bit of style. So patient. The new Stephen Crichton - young Maclean - is starting to shine.

The mathematical chance teams stack up and are all cooked really... Manly, St George, Wigers and the rest, including the Dolphins. Their defence was appalling v the Roosters. Hitting 50+ points conceded is a sure sign you cannot do much long term in the competition. Conversely, the Roosters are on the cusp of the eight now. The discipline of Leniu continues to be a problem. Such a talent but needs to mature and become a leader.

2. Ethan Strange. What a talent he is for the Raiders. Ricky calls him the next NSW five eight and he is correct. (He also said "you may think I am putting pressure on him and I am, so bad luck, get over it!").  He and Marky Mark from the Roosters are two sensational talents. Both could be in the Kangaroos at year's end. Superb talent. Strange has pace, an excellent step and strength. He is humble and hungry.

• Parramatta's Bailey Simonssen is sulking and it is this type of culture killing, self centred player who Ryles has had a gutful of...Matherson, Cartwright, Simonssen and Ofahenguae. All gone. Bailey seems to think there are a heap of clubs wanting to sign him. Not quite. It is a large never ending factory the NRL and blokes who leave are easily replaced. 
• The race for the spoon remains open still...Titans (games to come in 2025: Cronulla, Warriors, Dolphins, Tigers), Knights (Cowboys, Broncos, Cronulla, Parramatta), Souths (Parramatta, Dragons, Bye, Roosters) or the world record holders, Parramatta (Souths, Roosters, Warriors, Knights).
• Daniel Tupou now gets to 179 NRL tries, one behind fourth placed Steve Menzies (180). Slater sits on 190, Johnston 209 and Ken Irvine 212! Fifth most tries ever in the game. Incredible. Two more seasons and he will also beat Irvine's record too. Johnston just picks up another two tries for fun too (lethal when Latrell plays). He could equal it next week v Parramatta!
• St George upset the Sharks, but will DCE go there instead of the Roosters?
• Surely trainers need to be restricted. We never had that problem years ago. A significant meterage penalty against the trainer's team - or game time limited trainers - 5 mins max. That was a schemozzle in Parramatta v Cowboys as it was for the Panthers v Gold Coast last week.

3. AFL. Swans got a little nervous late with a string of late Brisbane goals before a narrow win over a well beaten Brisbane - 92-90 away in Brisbane. Some small revenge for the GF smashing last year. The Swans are a crumbling outfit at tough times. They really need a clean out of some personnel. It's a rare upset in the AFL this year.

• Meanwhile, Collingwood crumble v Hawthorn and the Gold Coast surge forward. 
• Simon Goodwin pulls the pin from coaching Melbourne, despite winning a flag a few years back too. he'd had a gutful.
• Four teams leading the comp, but the Crows and Cats are the two with the commanding points differentials.

4. Oscar Piastri. A narrow nine point lead over Lando Norris in the Drivers' Championship and it is almost a two horse McLaren race now. The next GP is the Dutch on 31 August 2025...a long break. 

5. Test Cricket - India v England. A cracking series, reminding us all that Test cricket is the best form. A six run win by India to level the series 2-2. So few Tests are draws these days. The top tier team Test match concept has more merit than we all believe. Australia-India-England and Pakistan playing each other would be much more exciting than Test series v the Windies, Zimbabwe and the perennial under performers, Bangladesh and those countries that rarely go the extra mile for Test cricket...Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

6. St Jude Championship - PGA Golf. Tommy Fleetwood ahead after three rounds in Tennessee (-14), but he is a perpetual runner up or top 10/ 25 finisher. Not that there is anything wrong with that! He has never won on the USPGA tour. Maybe this weekend. Lerking close is the outstanding Scottie Scheffler who is two shots behind. Now if I was a betting man...

7. Nikita Tsyzu. Hopefully he can do better than Tim Tsyzu. Must have been some interesting sibling biff in the backyard back in the day. "Oh Nikita you will never know... anythin' about my home".

8. Giants Netball. The nicest media release in the world..the new coach, Nerida Stewart has "replaced" the former long standing coach, Julie Fitzgerald (since 2017). They have not hit the heights they should in recent years (but have been in two GFs), so change may be a good thing here.

9. T20 Cricket. Ho hum! Australia v South Africa with many stars in the UK at their rich "Hundred". Dave Warner was the MOTM for the London Spirit across the weekend (70 no).

The Wrap - Dry Weather Champions

1. Rugby Union - Lions v Australia. Going in, a clash in the wet suited the Lions. However, it was a remarkable win by the Wallabies 22-14. It must be said, their efforts last week in Melbourne and in Sydney rank up there as some of the finest Australian rugby in recent memory... and it may just have swayed a few doubters (and there were - and are - many) that the game was near dead and simply unwatchable. Tough, uncompromising and unexpected wins in line outs, a tough scrum, counter aggression and no backward steps (even a touch of biff!) and under the pressure of the best in Europe...triumph.

A swansong for Joe Schmidt, but where has this resolve been hiding? They had every right to be disillusioned after last week, but rose to a higher plane. This would not be lost across the world. Sua'ali'i would have no regrets as the Roosters slugged it out at Brookvale Oval, but the Jorgensen speed has been decisive at key moments. Nic White can put away the angry pills now as he retires.

Memo to new coach, Les Kiss... stop picking so many players and keep key combinations consistent. Back in the players and axe your 40 man squads. Pick and stick. (His first step will no doubt be to pick a 60 man squad for a training camp in Borneo).

Still the refereeing is far too dominant and influential. At one point the ref changed the rules on the Wallabies after his own error. Denial... cover up of course. Setting and re-setting scrums as some forlorn religious tribute to 'Buddah' Handy, bores viewers to death. Time outs for players to fix their shoes bores people to death. This is the problem. The best officials in any sport are never seen or heard!

2. The Panthers. They are an incredible team. While a 26 point surrender to the Titans after leading 24-0 would have been unimaginable, they claw back a 26-26 golden point on the back of the great Ivan Cleary. The Cleary field goal was simply outstanding. Had he doubled this up soon after for the win he could have been made an immortal this afternoon. That will come some other time. On the cusp of the top four now with the Warriors falling in a heap!

• Parramatta are stringing together "respectable losses", but they are still within spoon striking distance even though their for and against has improved. A little more promise for the future but another year ticks by with no finals or premiership... 39 years now, into 40 years next year.
• The Dolphins. Highly entertaining and really good to watch - despite their multiple injuries! A team of the future and any suggestion of Wayne Bennett leaving a club in a worse place when he leaves it, is completely wrong here. Coach Woolfe has done a top job. 
• As has Michael Maguire (and Trent Barrett!) for the Broncos. This is the time of the season when the Broncos usually crumble, but they are getting better too. Dry weather champions.
• The Bulldogs were woeful in the wet - and the Sharks (unsurprisingly) always do amazingly well in the wet weather. There could be some big upsets in the semi finals if the rain arrives!
• The Raiders are beatable! They leak too many points. The Dragons have lost a lot of close ones this year but this was a famous victory! Interesting that when the rain comes Melbourne also become extremely beatable.
• The Roosters have seemed to lose it a bit in 2025. It was always going to be tough, but there have been too many frayed edges off field too. A strong win. Sandon Smith had them going places.
• Vale Johnny Mayes. Scored the first try in the 1975 Grand Final to make it 5-0 at half time (and 38-0 at full time!). Sadly, no longer with us.
• The NRL player with the outstretched hands, pleading for a penalty. Too much of this in the game. Referees should give a twenty metre penalty for dissent and arguing incessantly.  Cured!
• Goal kicking distractions (players or trainers). Waving arms, jumping or running across the field in front...A shot from the set spot and another spot from in front. Cured!

3. England v India Test Cricket. No Stokes, no Bumrah. Injuries after five tests, but tight, testy play with lots of classic Indian cricket arguments and hard nose play. There was a hint it was a second rate/ reserve grade clash. No Pant, no Archer. However, the game goes on. Tremendous play by Jadeja and Sundar in the last test continued this test. England's bowlers really know how to do well in their conditions too (Atkinson, Woakes...). The leadership of new skipper Shubman Gill has been strong. England are dashing and chirpy too. That has never been a strong suit for English teams and it puts them off. A 2-2 final series result looms. Let's see how Bazball goes now. The record has been good since Brendan McCullum commenced in 2022 (but no Test Championship):

4. Hungarian F1 GP. Oscar Piastri is looking for another win to extend his drivers championship lead after winning China, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Miami, Spain and Belgium. The Hungarian GP this week and McLaren is looking sharp. Le Clerc was quickest and starts on pole, but what a spectacle and contest. 

5. James Hooper - Driving Drunk (Allegedly). Always presented as an interesting fellow on Fox NRL360. Five times over the limit? Humility is a harsh lesson served in big doses sometimes.

We will hear mental demons are at play, but how does that convert to driving your car after a skin full? No regard for the safety of others, yet was it him giving it to Ezra Man for his drunk driving incident? What is going on at Fox? Are there others who are doing worse than eating a Big Mac on an advertisement? Reality needs to descend on a few egos perhaps.

Reach out to others if you are struggling. Don't run the risk of killing others.

6. AFL. The Giants were pumped by the Western Bulldogs and the top eight really hots up now. The Swans limped past Essendon. These non-event games are hard to get excited about. A highly unusual competition this year with so many dead rubbers and few upsets. 

• Brisbane are still alive and kicking and Collingwood do have a surprising wobbly side at times.
• Tom Papley. Is there too much rubbish in his game for a Swans player? Has their recruitment policy changed at all from their famous stated line under Roos and Longmire?
• The Bulldogs are four points outside the eight behind the Giants, Hawthorn and Fremantle and have too much talent to miss out on finals.
• The Gold Coast continue to shine...they are reaching new levels and really stamping their class to go deep into the finals. 

7. Netball Final - Melbourne Vixens v West Coast Fever. Having it in Melbourne was a massive advantage, but the pre GF favourites, the Fever were held in an arm wrestle throughout. The Vixens winning was a massive upset, but that game should be dominating the Australian sports market and profiting.

The Vixens made it by one point v Swifts and won the lot by one point. Small margins...the 1%ers truly matter!

One too many white tracksuited types perhaps and an absence of really promoting its stars. The game should be immensely wealthy for players and emerging players - and juniors at netball courts each Saturday morning. Why is it not?

8. Ange Postocoglou. No new coaching gig announced as yet? Time is tight. It appears they have killed the main actor for Series 2 and 3.