The Wrap - Craven Mild Cup Champions

1. Broncos Grand Final Bound. Congratulations to the Brisbane Broncos who have won the WD and HO Wills $100,000 for somehow winning something that no one understands. This will be a crucial part of the Broncos rebuild and will now indicate that the club is on the right track with the players training the house down and really embracing the new Coach Maguire world, turning up for each other under a new leadership group. This will be a critical signpost come September (no doubt)!

The countdown to the Vegas start is exciting. That day is looming as being as big as Grand Final Day. Not one to miss!

The normal range of worrying injuries in the pre-season. I wonder if, as a modern coach in the game, you could avoid playing any trials with decent top flight players? Do the great players need meaningless trials?

On the back of the Joe Ofahengaue nonsense 'pantsing' last week, Addo Carr confirmed his lack of discipline this week, sledging Adam Doueihi as he lined up a conversion. He is a known goose. Both of these incidents tell me that Parramatta and Jason Ryles has a lot of discipline to instil yet. He needs to nail this down or this team will get the spoon and lose its best players. More work on team culture and leadership is needed. Early rookie coach error.

2. Champions Trophy - Josh Inglis. Delightful to see a Yorkshire born player nail England. An incredible victory really chasing down 350! Breaking all sorts of records, this was awesome. Alex Carey is also firming his excellence as a top flight player. Three catches in the field while Inglis took the gloves was pretty impressive too. A star athlete (ex GWS Giants too).

We are weak on bowling stocks unfortunately, but they have stuck to the task. Steve Smith has an amazing captaincy record, yet he failed with the bat. Head is due for a score too.

Sadly the brilliant innings of the pocket rocket - Ben Duckett (165 off 143 balls) - was not worthy of the MOTM. Not often that happens with such an amazing innings.

Does anyone know what the Champions Trophy actually is? 

3. Owen The Saints... The Tasmania opener, Mitch Owen, is some sort of batsman in the short form of the games. The IPL will be noticing he hit 149 off 69 balls today v South Australia, proving the final of the BBL was no fluke. Amazing free hitting.

4. AFL. The fans are ready for the AFL brilliance to resurface in season 2025. Lots of trials and chat about the year ahead...bring on the games!

5. Ange - Tottenham. Three successive EPL wins sees the wolves move on to another door...perhaps Ruud van Nistelrooy, the coach of Leicester City, who has six straight scoreless home losses. They are relegation bound now.

A bad loss by Arsenal to West Ham 1-0. West Ham, like Everton, will not be relegated. They are proud clubs who fight hard and never waver.

6. Super Rugby. Reds and Western Farce on fire this weekend. We are nearly in record territory for Australian domestic rugby wins at present. Sadly the comp is almost invisible with their broadcast deal.

7. A League. Auckland and Adelaide are leading the way, but the Western Sydney Wanderers are surging back against all odds. Coach, Allan Stajcic is finally hitting the right notes.

The Wrap - A Myriad of Mess

1. ODI Cricket v Sri Lanka. A 2-0 series loss, but who really cares? The Sri Lankans were too good on their decks with bat and ball. In fact, where were some of these players in the recent Test series?

Sam Konstas hits an ODI ton domestically at the same time we crumble on the turning Sri Lankan decks. Like Matthew Short however, we may be good in Australian conditions, but the patience and skill needed on the sub-continent is a special quality. Maxwell continues to disappoint... so talented but so inconsistent. Our 'B Team' was either arrogance or opportunity, but it simply did not fire. 

Jake Fraser-McGurk is a current liability, too often lacking patience and poise. Reckless. Trying to be Dave Warner (without the cunning). He makes a lot of money for a bloke who gets out for less than 10 a lot. Champions League cricket is reserved for champions so he needs form and fast in the IPL. His aspiration is to be an international T20 player only, but he needs to learn how to play proper cricket shots at the right time. Cooper Connolly also needs to keep to the basics. He has had a rocky international start. 

Without our best fast bowlers, our bowling stocks were far too thin. The lack of genuine pace made things easy for Sri Lanka. Happily, no one was reported for throwing. Not a problem when you are winning.

2. ICC - Matthew Kuhnemann. What a joke. The ICC are a mess. Imagine if this was an Indian bowler? You get wickets and the accusations fly. I think we all know if someone is a full on thrower. There are signs that this is revenge for Murali (Boxing Day 1995 revenge for the ghosts of Darrel Hair), but a protractor from the old Kent set will be needed to work out the arm angles. If he throws, he does not do it very effectively. He bowls better than that. 

Where is Todd Greenberg? He has been very silent here and needs to step up. he seems to have forgotten that players lives are tainted and impacted by this. In fact, Murali rarely gets a mention or accolades for his incredible bowling feats. 

3. NRL Trials. Melbourne have no chance, Souths haven't got a hope and Parra or the Sharks will win the comp. Adam O'Brien (who has made the semis three of the past four seasons) is to be sacked? Stop. That's right they are preseason trials.

• The Indigenous v All Stars game. The risk of injuries must petrify every NRL coach. A physical game and a lot of feeling in it! It always sets a cracking pace to the season arrival. (How we miss the NRL!).
• Francis Molo's effort to escape his contract at St George (who is the 'other' club behind this?) is also being described by Shane Flanagan as "a mess".
• Joe Ofahenguae is a dill. He dacks Zac Zomax mid interview live on Fox Sports. Parramatta need to cut him free. He is a liability. Ill-disciplined on the field and off it. He is a fool. What's next Joe? A flick on the butt with a wet towel, a crow peck, a nipple cripple, a horse bite on the leg...please. Parramatta need to iron this rubbish out. Gutho turned up to a press conference last year in his speedos. Unprofessional. A bad sign for Ryles. He needs to rule with an iron fist!
• How about the first Super league game of the year? The Leigh Leopards, coached by Adrian Lam beat the Wigan Warriors 1-0! A late field goal. An extraordinary result in this era of rugby league.

4. Super Rugby - Waratahs. A rare win so early in the season and a good win v Highlanders. Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii gets the headlines, but they need to stay consistent and win close games. That is how you make finals. After the spoon last year and a 2014 title a distant memory, any Super Rugby positivity is a delight. A great start.

5. Jannik Sinner (by name and deed). Is there a greater mess than WADA? A three month drug ban at a time where world number one, Jannik Sinner misses nothing much - and no prize money removed or titles eg. The recent Australian Open. Like getting a school detention in the school holidays. The French Open starts on 19 May. How convenient...just over three months away! Perfect preparation. Honestly.

The integrity of tennis has always been pretty strong, but this is not a good look for your number one player. What came of the Tomic match fixing allegations? All a bit quiet now too. A mess. Especially when world number one, Iga Swaitek has also admitted drug taking!

Yet lower ranked players would get hammered for any violation! (Bol got four years, Shayna Jack got two years, Bronson Xerri got four years!). So inconsistent. Kygrios may have said something sensible.

We've had contaminated meat, bad toothpaste, too much sex, kissing girls in niteclubs, mum's tablet, coaches tablet, oral sex with pregnant wives and girlfriends, infusions gone wrong, bad medical teams, fake urine samples, ghosts (NY Jets), cross contamination of waste products on shorts... now a masseuse using ban products on a player's open wound....on it goes.

6. Sydney Kings. They crumbled and shrunk into oblivion v Adelaide in the finals. A poor end and Brian Goorjian the coach will need to recruit better international personnel. The player cocaine bust in the week of the finals was so disruptive. Maybe more sensible, wholesome recruiting will be required in future.

7. Super Bowl. Jordan Mailata and the Philadelphia Eagles are celebrating long and loud. A cracking win v the Kansas City Chiefs. Jordan can also sing... the complete package!

8. LIV Golf - The Grange. Golf on fire and an Adelaide crowd channelling the Phoenix Open! Not sure the team names are front and centre in fans minds - more the individual players. Simply put, the fans want to see the best players. There should be a peace plan very soon from Mr Trump (tick tock)! That and Ukraine. A complete mess.

9. Sam Kerr. What a shock. Not guilty after an absolute circus and waste of time. She should have been fined and suspended and everyone moves on. The policeman may need a new career or role in case his feelings get tested again. The courts must be a slow, choked place in that country.

10. Tottenham. It could all end for Ange this week. ManU tonight will not be easy, but he has tenacity. The Europa League is his last hope...crushed in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup! Even North Korea has banned Spurs games now because Son is their South Korean skipper - not because of their win-loss record!

The Wrap - Head Honchos and Chiefs

1. Australia v Sri Lanka - Test Cricket. Steve Smith (36 test tons, equalling Joe Root and Rahul Dravid) is a gun. He averages in the high 50s, up there with Sangakarra (and Adam Voges!). So prolific and when he is skipper he bats even better! His record as a skipper is pretty awesome with a moderate team for much of it. He has a better winning percentage (in 40 test matches) than Mark Taylor and Michael Clarke, not quite as strong as Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting however. better than Greg Chappell and Ian Chappell who usually rates himself more highly than the statisticians.

Lyon has 550 test wickets and Steve Smith has 10,271 test runs and the most catches ever for an Australian fieldsman, cracking 200 catches, ten behind the all time record of Rahul Dravid (210). 

Are Nathan Lyon and Paul Kelly related? He is so patient and persistent. The deception in flight is such a strength. The Sri Lankans are too often not patient enough at the crease.

Kuhnemann has done super well. He can't get a wicket in Australia, but on the sub-continent he is awesome. Funny how Jayasuriya for Sri Lanka bowls so slowly. It is the key as to why Murali and Herath got so many wickets. These conditions teach slower bowlers many new tricks. Travis Head was near unplayable late on Day 3. 16 wickets for Kuhnemann. Player of the Series? (Smith won it which was fair enough).

Carey has really stepped it up in this Test and was MOTM. A 150+ score and some super keeping. He looks like he believes he belongs now.

Beau Webster is such a professional cricketer. English County Cricket need to sign him up. Super safe hands, a decent bowler and a safe, sensible batsman. The full package and a talent we have been calling to play here for a few seasons now.

Full steam ahead for South Africa and the World Test Championship in June. Looking forward to the next Amazon Prime Test Cricket series.

How about WA, all out for next to nothing. Once again the pitches served up in Australian domestic cricket are quite ordinary. How do teams getting rolled for 120 and 70 help the national cause? McAndrew got U/11 figures... 7/11. Also, memo: don't bowl short at Victorian, Harry Dixon. He can play.

2. Travis Head. A deserved winner of the AB Medal - and Annabel Sutherland a winner too. The women need to play more teams internationally now. Surely the game has matured.

Head has turned so many games for Australia with the bat and the ball in this last short while. Did he put his fingers in ice before accepting the award? He does throw his wicket away too often however.

3. Joel Wilson. He may possibly be the worst umpire ever. So many of his decisions are overturned on review. One in three are wrong. Not good enough. He actually generates reviews because the players all think he is a lottery...and he is.

4. Sam Kerr. Is this as big a fiasco as it sounds? The British legal system must be ridiculously slow and expensive. She was drunk, stupid and offensive, but a court case? Is there a compensation claim coming here as well by the police victim? Honestly, fine her, censure her, apologise and do some educative programs and move on. Spencer Leniu would have been doing jail time for the Vegas matter if it happened in England. It all seems very British.

5. Ange. He has won a few hearts through persistence in the face of many injuries, sits mid EPL table in 14th place (dreadful) and got whacked in the Caraboa Cup semi final 4-0 by Liverpool mid-week. He needs to keep winning and has signed a few in the January Transfer window, including Martin 'Chariots' Offiah's son.

6. SuperBowl Sunday. The Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs have a stellar record, winning 2020, 2023, 2024. Three Super Bowl titles/ one loss in the past five seasons. This will be quite the dynasty with a win here in 2025.

7. The Phoenix Open. A wild tournament - The People's Open - sees Min Woo surging in the second and third round to T12. The 16th hole is so exciting for golf. Great to see.

8. NRL. Is a player who seeks to explore their value on the open market trouble - and do they actually reduce their value in a quest to eek out more shekels? Greedy player managers and self-centred players... honestly. 

This is the same Dylan Brown caught in an embarrassing situation in a public toilet and a fellow seen misbehaving when out at off season events, even if the media is blind to it. Ryles has not offered a cent more. Nor should he. Is this the quality of a premiership winning player? Compare this to a Cooper Cronk for example.

Great to have the greatest game back on our TV screens however meaningless the trial NRL games are! All Stars game upcoming.

9. UFC. Nil. Brutal.

10. Tennis. Alex de Minaur into the final of the Rotterdam Open v Carlos Alcarez. Now World No. 6!

The Wrap - Brown Bowl of Ashes

1. Sri Lanka. They are certainly not at the top of their game for a country who have produced some super star cricketers (Aravinda de Silva, Murali, Herath, Chaminda Vaas, Ranatunga...). In fact, Sanath Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana changed cricket with their outstanding aggressive work in the first few overs of ODI cricket. 

Angelo Mathews has retired six times and is struggling. The ill discipline of their batting (three or four stumpings) was incredible. Carey now has more dismissals than Paine and five more stumpings than Rod Marsh! Old straight breaking Ashley Mallet didn't do much for his stats there. Lots of old windy woofs and too many bowled.

Conversely, what a joy for Australia to bat against their four pronged attack (uniquely, three Sri Lankan bowlers were headed for 200 runs conceded each, when a declaration mercifully ended the plundering). This is the sort of bowling Root and Williamson have dined out on for a long time, so it was fitting for Smith to reach 10,000 runs+ and score his 35th Test ton (Ponting has 41). 

Khawaja hitting 200+ positions him well for an Ashes farewell in Sydney. Paul Kelly will be warming up his vocal chords for his song. Khawaja now has 16 test tons, one more than Doug Walters (15), one behind Gilchrist (17) now and three behind Taylor (19) and Hussey (19). He is fast becoming one of our modern greats.

The great Matthew Kuhnemann was a revelation. A great selection really of a guy who broke his thumb a few weeks back and who has traded states to get more bowling. Exceptional performance really with 9 wickets. Lyon (546) marches onto now only 17 wickets behind Glenn McGrath (563), but having bowled 800 more overs than the exceptional McGrath at 30.25 average per wicket (McGrath got them at 21.64 per wicket).

2. Australian Women Ashes. Interesting format but what a team. Mooney and Sutherland hit tons. Alana King gets a bagful of wickets with her wonderful leg spinners. Their fielding is first class. Compared to the hopeless English fielding, it was a major difference. Such a dominant display.

England are traditionally pretty strong, so they will have a review and of course, will need to build a centre of Excellence...a guarantee that failure will hand around longer, but a top excuse for under performing clubs.

3. Dylan Brown. If a club is willing to pay over a million for Brown, then good luck to them. Parramatta have to let him go - and fast. He is derailing their season already. Interesting to see Sean McElduff go as well in senior management. Made a strong initial difference after inheriting a mess, but these player clauses in contracts...honestly. Who thought that was a great idea? Moses is taking the high ground wanting Brown to stay, but is not rescinding his own clauses in his $1 million+ contract per year. Incredible.

Hopefully Ryles enjoys success and can dictate who stays and cut the cancer in the playing roster free. He has made some solid early steps, but needs halves who are not all about themselves. Moses and Brown are both highly talented selfish players. The club captaincy will not keep Moses there. Parramatta need some quality quick young halves on long term deals.

4. Tottenham. A huge week ahead. Automatically into the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League (in fourth place!) which is a great achievement. They also head to Liverpool for the second leg of the Carabao Cup later this week. A win here pits them against either Newcastle or Arsenal. This would be an incredible result for the injury stricken Spurs team. Not a lot of inclusions from the January transfer window either.

The EPL? Well every time we mention it they lose.

5. Rugby. The Waratahs are about to set sail again. Hopefully a bigger crowd than the usual. Maybe some wins will cure that! Wales absolutely smashed in the Six Nations too.

6. NBA Transfer. Luka Doncic to join the LA Lakers... That franchise never misses out on high quality. Playing with Le Bron James too. Incredible. Patty Mills picks up his seventh (!) NBA club too. Timeless.

7. Super Bowl. As predicted, Kansas City Chiefs v Philadelphia Eagles ("I love...love...love...yes I do"!). Mahomes and KC have a formidable record. Hard to see them losing to be honest. They won 11 games by seven points or fewer this year. They know how to win tight games. Awesome! A week of media and high jinks before the game now.

8. Tassie. Have won the next AFL franchise, have two Australian cricket captains (Ponting and Paine) and two Australian wicketkeepers (Woolley and Paine), the Jackjumpers have won the NBL finals and now...the Hobart Hurricanes smashed the Thunder to win their first BBL championship on the back of Mitch Owen hitting a sparkling 100. He was outstanding. Big crowd and big innings. Riches await him.