The Wrap - Ange Mania

1. NRL. It must be said that the Roosters are certainly one of the favourites for the competition, despite ridiculous suggestions pre-season that a spoon was imminent. They have been a bit up and down, but their younger players are better than most other clubs by a long stretch. A production line of strength and unity and they beat a strong Cronulla who have been shining. They were without a few stars too.

The Bulldogs have not played as many top liners and folded badly to the Dolphins. The Parramatta effort v Manly was one of their best and toughest defensive outings in recent memory. The shocking defensive lapses of earlier in the season are fewer. To win without Moses is a rarity. The Panthers are in a world of pain. Messy without Origin stars. Canberra are a tough team to beat in 2025. A great win by them v the Warriors who finally lose a tight one.

Mercifully, the Galvin saga is about to end. Everyone is looking for more from him and can't be convinced yet that he is some God of the NRL. No pace, no size, moderate kicking game... smart passer of the football and good thinker.

Daniel Tupou is also climbing the ranks of the greatest NRL try scorers with a double this weekend. He is only a season away from being in the top four or five of all time. Amazing humility and quiet strength.

2. Ange - Tottenham. We have ridden this closely, but what a win in Spain v ManU 1-0. Europa League champions brings great wealth and exposure worldwide for the club. He will probably part ways with the club, but he was speaking about a "third season", so maybe not! A superb effort that will pave the way for other Australian coaches in time. This is all despite finishing 17th or so in the EPL!

The brilliant final EPL round which has all games start at the same time kicks off in the EPL tonight. No surprises this year...Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton are all gone already. Some chances to make the Champions League hover for a raft of top teams. Liverpool (champions), Arsenal and Man City look to be locked in...some others have tough games to get there, including the very successful Notts Forest.

3. Sunderland Till I Die - The Championship. The Netflix series (very interesting viewing!) came to life this weekend when Sunderland played Sheffield United in the Championship Final for the right to join Leeds and Burnley in being promoted into the EPL. It is often called the most lucrative game in world soccer because of the incredible EPL sponsorship and TV riches that await the winner. A great 2-1 win! This will form an excellent series if the producers were smart enough to capture it all! Jobe Bellingham is the star player.

Perhaps a Netflix series with Ange may have been a more lucrative and rewarding investment.

Both Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory play each other in the A League final. A dunny seat awaits the winner! 

4. AFL. Collingwood and Brisbane look too strong this year. Freo did well against Port in the rain in Perth (rain there?). Geelong have so much talent (not sure Bailey Smith reduces pressure on the team) and the Gold Coast have a couple of games in hand but are at the top of the table too. This is rare gold. Swans v Melbourne (both on 16 points going in...) presented as a critical game for both teams. The Swans simply lack class and height forward. They are a mess under Cox sadly.

5. Oscar Piastri - F1. Oscar is such a humble talent. A messy practice round at Monaco, but still lands up there third in qualifying! Good luck passing anyone on that street circuit. A win for Verstappen is imminent. 

6. NBA. The Western and Eastern Conference finals are well underway. The Oklahoma City Thunder lead the Minnesota Timberwolves 2-1 (who produced a great home victory earlier today) in the west and the Indiana Pacers lead the New York Knicks 2-0 in the east. A miserable end looms for the impressive Knicks. They are on the road now and well behind with it all to do.

7. Cricket. IPL Finals await but Justin Langer who coaches the Gujarat Titans, may need to move on with a mid table finish. They are brutal on success. Impressive showings this week by Mitch Marsh (fourth highest run scorer) who hit a ton, Pat Cummins (ninth highest wicket taker now on 16 wickets, Hazelwood fourth highest on 18 wickets) and Josh Inglis/ Marcus Stoinis with the bat.

Shubman Gill has been announced as the new Indian Test cricket captain. Interesting. He was overlooked for last year's Boxing Day Test you may recall. You will also remember how he charged Nathan Lyon and nicked it to Steve Smith amidst a flurry of sledging moments before lunch in Sydney. Composure and temperament?

8. NHL. In the western conference final, the Dallas Stars (not lots of ice in Texas!) are locked 1-1 with the Edmonton Oilers. In the east the Florida Panthers (no snow in Florida!) lead the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0. You will recall last season that the Oilers played the Panthers in the final and the Florida team won 4-3 in a tight finals series! Florida are on the cusp of a third straight Stanley Cup appearance (1-1 to date).

9. Tennis. Novak joins Federer and Connors as having won 100 ATP titles now. An incredible record. French Open kicks off this week. Sinner will be in the spotlight after his lettuce leaf punishment for yet another crazy excuse-laden drug bust...toothpaste, mum's pill, too much sex, kissing girls in niteclubs, bad meat, cream from a masseuse? Please...

The Wrap - Moses and the Europa Sea

1. NRL. Mitchell Moses has made a huge impact on the Parramatta team since returning from injury, but five eight for NSW? Not so sure. Luai has a proven connection with Cleary, but the leadership of the team will be tested with both Cleary and Moses. Like the Latrell-Crichton centre pairing with Lomax and To'o. Haas and Barnett...with the best bench in the business: Hudson Young, Connor Watson and Spencer Leniu. Queensland is always tough to toss. Munster, DCE, Grant... and Lindsay Collins is back and always excels in the origin arena.

A fabulous win by the Sharks v Melbourne. The talent of the Storm is incredible, but their inconsistency will be troubling the meticulous Craig Bellamy. An outstanding run continues by the NZ Warriors. Winning tight games defines your season. The Wahs have won 5 games by four points or less (out of 10 games) so far. That makes a huge difference and they sit second on the table!

Alex Johnston (197) now 15 tries away from Ken Irvine's (212) try scoring record. Daniel Tupou is a smoky on 167...one ahead of ET.

2. AFL. The Swans. They love wet weather and a smaller SCG to work on. Hard to toss in those conditions as they play their 'small ball' game. The GWS Giants were abysmal. The Western Bulldogs were back to their best and even Freo had a win. How inconsistent are Essendon? Collingwood just keep finding ways to win.

Great win by Melbourne over Brisbane and the West Coast and North Melbourne even won something. Check for manure under the rocking horse.

3. Italian F1 GP - Imola. Piastri is again storming fast in the lead up. The skill and artistry of these drivers is something else. Such a technical and courageous sport. Norris is slipping a little, but Verstappen is always close by and lurking! Alpine's new driver has also received a one grid position penalty in his first race after Jack Doohan's six point-less races. What a mess that is.

4. IPL and PSL. Both tournaments are back on for those who are game! Thankfully some brains have worked out that close to bombings is bad for the game. Not returning may cost you at the next IPL auction. 

Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket leaving a giant hole in the Indian Test Cricket team now that Rohit Sharma has also left. An incredible Test career, soured of late, but at his peak (esp. when winning in Australia) he was the next Javed Miandad who Australians hated because he served it back to us and he was bloody hard to dismiss. His T20 and ODI form is something else. He could play for ten more years yet!

5. NBA. The New York Knicks have knocked off their arch rivals, the Boston Celtics in Game 6, winning their series 4-2 and thrashing them by 38 points (their greatest ever play off winning margin)! Not helped by the injury to Jason Tatum, but even still the Celtics were totally outclassed. This is the Knicks' first Eastern Conference Final in 25 years. They play the Indiana Pacers. 

In the Western Conference Final, the Minnesota Timberwolves play the Denver Nuggets/ Oklahoma Thunder. The championship is drawing to a peak. It is a big show in the US. The 'big name' teams have been upended - Celtics, Warriors, Cavaliers...will the Nuggets join this sorry list?

6. NHL. The Carolina Hurricanes are surging. So too are the Edmonton Oilers. Both are through with the Dallas Stars to play the Oilers in the Western Conference final and the Florida Panthers/ Toronto Maple Leafs (Leaves?) to play the Hurricanes in the East,

7. FA Cup. Crystal Palace v Man City. A surging 1-0 win for Crystal Palace. Incredible effort against all odds and against one of the super heavyweight teams in Man City.

Ange heads to the Europa Cup final this Friday v ManU. A win will position him grandly to exit Spurs and pick up a new gig elsewhere in Europe. His EPL form is woeful however. Some weeks ago we predicted he would barely win another point there...so far it holds true.

8. Super Rugby. The Waratahs have been pruned and have been sprayed with RoundUp! A terribly disappointing season after a promising start. What a franchise the Brumbies have proven to be? They crush the Reds and climb to top of the table with the Reds in fourth. 

9. PGA Golf. Talk about a surging turn around. Names like Vegas, Pavon, Fox and Homa evaporated after the sun came out on Saturday at Quail Hollow, North Carolina - a beautiful place of the world to visit. The two time Major winners in Scheffler (2 x Masters), de Chambeau (2 x US Opens) and Rahm (1 x Masters and 1 x US Open) came to play and know what it takes to win a Major, although none have won a USA PGA. An intriguing Sunday ahead! It is Scheffler's to lose.

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.