1. ICC - World Test Cricket Championship. Well, well, well...firstly a great effort by South Africa and Makram in particular. Had a top IPL and now a ton in the test Championship Final at Lords. Superb. They are a tough nation to beat at any sport.
The really poor Australian top order batting has been exposed once more. Khawaja not moving his feet again, Marnus jumpy and dabbling, Green out of his depth and Head batting too extravagantly as is his more recent custom. Cameron Green is simply not good enough yet. If ever there was a Shane Watson clone, it is him. Lunges with the front foot, plants and nicks - or LBW. He is not seasoned or clever enough for different conditions yet, but he better get his skates on!
Smith is still flourishing (he has won Tests with his hands, but that miss was horrible at the worst time). A stylish player of strength. Our man Beau 'Slug' Webster hit 72 and is a complete cricketer who we would take well ahead of Green. Bring back Konstas (minus the ramp shots). We need proper openers of the future. Khawaja will need a miracle to make the SCG for his announced retirement next summer.
Starc was outstanding and unlucky...every dropped catch was off his bowling. Cummins superb. Hazelwood? I suspect Boland could have been more lethal. Nathan Lyon once again could not make an impression when the pressure was on. The great Shane Warne would have won that for us. He rarely lost to South Africa in any form. Who is our next spinner? Not really seeing any dominant long term option.
When Starc and Hazelwood scored runs late in our second innings, the drums were beating. When the sun comes out in England...the pitch changes... and so it did (for South Africa).
2. NRL. The Dolphins and Roosters are making a run in Origin time as well. The Phins are looking great despite the number of top players injured (Flegler, Gilbert, Saifiti and Plath) yet dominating opponents. Farnsworth is clearly on of the best centres in the game. Behind Crichton. North QLD were terrible.
The Roosters are scrapping and getting it done. Manly have lost the plot. They are really struggling and it is a coach ender if it doesn't change. Lots of inconsistency this year. Penrith are sitting 9th and are on the move thanks to this inconsistency.
Moses has become a real injury worry and needs to address this fast. Parramatta will fall in a heap again - even if playing the Titans. Origin is great, but gee it ruins the weekly comp.
The Bulldogs are dominant. Even without their stars. Alex Johnston is a machine... yet another try (202 tries now v Ken Irvine's 212...he may be a chance this year!).
3. AFL. The Giants had a top win v Brisbane. The shaky Brisbane team will be encouraging for others like Collingwood. Geelong dominant, the Western Bulldogs, Hawks and Port all eeked out wins to sit pretty on the table. The teams are almost sorted now with further losses ending the fringe teams: Swans, Port, St Kilda, Port Adelaide, Melbourne, Essendon and Carlton.
4. NHL - Stanley Cup. The Florida Panthers have hit the front now at 3-2 v the Edmonton Oilers (best of seven games). A chance for back to back cups. Awesome effort from both teams.
5. NBA Final. The Indiana pacers are surprising the Oklahoma Thunder. Locked at 2-2 (best of seven games), it is anyone's, but the Thunder surely have to hit their straps soon.
6. US Golf Open - Adam Scott. On fire in a high scoring Major. The US Open has produced more winners of par or worse in its history. This could be another. Adam Scott sits one off the pace (-3) but Hovland (-1) and Scheffler (+4) and even Leishman (-4) hover. Two time US Open/ three time US PGA winner Brooks Koepka (-5) is close enough too. Brooks has been quiet of late but has five majors...rare gold! Only Trevino, Mickelson and Faldo have six majors! This is elite in world golf with only 10-15 golfers ever having done better. If the weather gets bad, there could be a shock result.
We know that Jack Nicklaus won 18 Golf majors, but did you know he was runner up in 19 other Golf majors (and 9 thirds?). What a dominant legend of the game.
7. Canadian FI. Verstappen and Piastri look to be the ones who will fight out this year's title. Max is amazing and George Russell on pole will be the smoky. Such a long season. Plenty of points left up for grabs. Norris has been a little disappointing this weekend but is a fierce competitor.
8. Super Rugby. A familiar tale. The Crusaders and Chiefs yet again in the Grand Final. The two stand out franchises. The history across a few derivatives (Super 12, Super 14, Super Rugby) is that they have 12 titles (and 4 runners up gongs!). Incredible. The Chiefs have two wins (and 3 runners up gongs). The latest bridesmaid seasons were 2023 and 2024. The final contest? Get ready for more post game Crusaders break dancing, but Scott Robertson is the national NZ coach these days.
Rob Penney is in charge of the Crusaders now, having learned all he knows at the Waratahs back in 2020-2021! His 26% success rate there has been improved now!
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