The Wrap - Doohan It Tough

1. Tottenham - Europa League. Ange is fighting on, making the final of the Europa League later in the month. He has proven a few folk wrong and is really bristling now that Tottenham have achieved an honour that few imagined they could. Ange will be written off again, but he is resilient and really gets the players behind him. It would be some sort of fairytale for them to beat ManU and qualify for the Champions League too! It could well be enough for him to be retained.

2. NRL. How a referee and bunker miss the offside from Drinkwater's boot in the Penrith v Cowboys game is stunning. Penrith have really leaked points this year. They also seem to leak water on the ball at each kick off! 30-30 is a bit staggering having led by 12 points twice in the game! 

The Warriors keep winning (Tigers, Broncos by two, St George by one point and North Queensland by four points!) and the Dragons keep losing narrow contests (they have lost three by one point v Souths, Eels, Warriors). As a six point turnaround, they would be coming third if they won all three!

The Wests Tigers were thumped and their hype bubble was predictably popped once they played tougher opponents. 64-0 is a whacking at this stage of the season. The wallpaper in the joint is fraying. So bad. Benji is an interesting character. Last smiled when Ray Price did.

Ryan 'Paps' Papenhuyzen is the master of the early try. 36 points in a single game is some sort of effort. Surely he is the NSW State of Origin fullback - a test for the selectors. Laurie Daley can be a worry as coach who is too connected in the media.

Manly on the slide, especially since DCE has signalled his intentions. Seibold gets a little too used to apologising and excuse making for mine every mid-season.

3. F1. Young Jack Doohan was unceremoniously sacked from his F1 team, Alpine Racing, this week. A cruel end! No points and a first lap DNF in Miami last week. Contrasted with a fourth F1 win to Piastri this season (now 6 wins/ 52 starts).

4. A-League. Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide City have been dumped on their heads with Western United v Melbourne City and Auckland v Melbourne Victory moving ahead in a home and away series each. It is a sudden end to a never ending season for those two sides!

5. Super Rugby. Brumbies (second) and Reds (fourth) head the Waratahs (eighth) and Western Force (ninth)! The crumbling season of the Tahs continues after much early hope. Good signs ahead with the performances and consistency of our top two teams.

6. IPL. Called off due to a war over the Kashmir area... again. IPL and PSL players were sent scurrying amidst Trump cease fires. How anyone in the IPL thought scheduling a game close to Kashmir was a good idea defies all logic. Incredibly silly and dangerous with our international stars scurrying for the airports!

7. AFL. Swans were awful v Essendon. Incredible how their list is so exposed after a number of injuries. The Sunday games were tight. The Giants are finally back winning (bad by Geelong who should beat everyone!) and the West Coast nearly knocking over Richmond - and North Melbourne nearly pipping the reigning premiers, Brisbane. A 71-71 draw in AFL is a tight contest in anyone's book. 

8. NBL - Conference Semi Finals. The Celtics have been stunned by the New York Knicks but bounced back to a 1-2 situation yesterday. The Conference semi finals (best of seven for maximum revenue!) are tight in the East and West Conferences with the four fancied teams all trailing at this point. Indiana Pacers are 2-1 up over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East. In the West, the Denver Nuggets are 2-1 up over the fancied Oklahoma Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves are leading the Golden State Warriors 2-1. Moving week!

9. NHL - Stanley Cup Conference Semi Finals. A few familiar faces hovering...Las Vegas Knights, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. All tight too here with Carolina Hurricanes looking the newer surprise packet.

The Wrap - Finding the Magic

1. NRL - Magic Round is a big test for the curators and the 150,000 fans. The re-laying of turf ahead of the women's State of Origin (how talented are they?) looked late, but it held up nicely. The Queensland teams struggled and the Panthers announced to one and all that they were far from dead. A bye gets them right in the thick of things on 8 points. Other teams will be fearful.

There is no better team to watch than the Melbourne Storm. Their first twenty minutes in every game is electric. So good. Papenhuyzen is a try scorer every week. Hard not to admire Canberra and the way they aim up each week. 100%, even for their flaws, but talk about extracting every ounce of talent from the roster. Ricky has reinvented himself nicely and seems less cranky.

2. Gold Coast Titans and Brisbane Broncos. This team and franchise continues to be a massive problem. Des Hasler looks worn out and lacks spark. So does his team, despite the talent and pace they have. They seem to be unable to match teams with fitness and in the arm wrestle needed.

The Broncos have been so inconsistent this season. One week premiers, the next week ho hum. There is a cultural piece in that camp that lingers, bringing great disappointment. They need to address it and shake it off - and quickly. It is hard not to escape it with Kevin Walters in the commentary box.

3. AFL. Sydney bounce back. A great record v the Giants who are on the slippery slide of three straight losses, despite all of their talent. They have been really disappointing in recent weeks. The Geelong v Collingwood game was a cracker, but it is the Western Bulldogs (without the temperamental Bailey Smith) who are surging, despite the odds with three wins on the trot. Hawthorn, Brisbane and Collingwood look best at this early stage.

4. Cricket. South African quick, Rabada tests positive to some sort of "recreational" drug. Bad timing with the Test World Championship around the corner, but honestly... too much coin and too little direction.

5. IPL. Starting to drag a bit now into its final week or two, but Tim David and Mitchell Marsh have proven our dominant match winning batsmen in season 2025. The demise of Maxwell (injured) and poor form of Fraser-McGurk, Stoinis and even Travis Head it must be said, continues. There are really very few Australians playing there now. We are simply not good enough on their pitches. Hazelwood (top wicket taker) and Starc (top 10 wicket takers) have been awesome it must be said. 

We have more coaches than players involved these days. Lots who have seen little to no action: Ellis, Bartlett, Zampa, Hardie and Inglis. Spencer Johnson has been pretty loose too.

It underlines how brilliant David Warner was in the IPL for many, many years, being the third highest IPL run scorer ever - and having won the award for the most runs in an IPL season THREE times!

How about the 14 year old Indian opening batsman, Vaibhav Suryavanshi? Incredible. Let's hope the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry Office is not the same one being used in Junior Rugby League circles for many years.

6. F1 - Piastri. A disappointing effort (and circumstances) in the lead up to today's big Miami feature race. The sprint race was intriguing, but that track is massively limited and in a highly unspectacular venue. The wet weather barely helped. Right next to a freeway... you would have thought they had nicer streets and views to showcase.

7. A-League. An interesting top six concept where teams 3-6 play off when teams 1-2 get the first round 'bye' and await their semi final opponents. Not sure this rewards the best performers, but it is a swift end to the season!

8. Tottenham. It is possible that Tottenham don't get any more EPL points in the remaining handful of rounds. Incredible to contemplate, but they have been a misery, injuries or no injuries. Their UEFA Europa League journey is a little brighter with the return bout in Norway v Bode/ Glimt this Friday. Up 3-1 going in, they are in the box seat. If successful, the ever bubbling might of ManU, who have also had a miserable year, await in a final that Tottenham have not seen for many years.

It has been since the early 1970s (1971-72) and 1980s (1983-84) that Tottenham achieved anything on the highest European stage.

9. Waratahs. Hammered by the Brumbies... and an all too familiar outcome. They have really dived in the past month and look destined for yet another lowly year. They seem to lack resolve and purpose - and consistency is non-existent.

10. NBL Finals. The longest final series in history... Celtics, Cavaliers and Pistons seem strongest in the Eastern Conference, but the Thunder and the Timberwolves will be there and thereabouts too. An horrific exit yet again this week for the big ticket LA Lakers.