The Wrap - Hellish Mathematical Chance

1. British Lions v Wallabies. A tremendous game. Not often you say that about rugby. For all its ridiculous over-officiating, the final decision was made very quickly. Usually there is a committee meeting, the ground microphone man and four Royal Commissions with ICAC involved too. Typical northern hemisphere influence and domination of the game. The ref seemed OK, but was he too pliable when it mattered? 

Michael Hooper's comment that 'this would have been different if it occurred at any other minute in the game!' is hard to ignore.

Nonetheless, to see a 20+ half of rugby from an Australian team is incredible. Rare gold. Strong close losses are hard to accept - and tolerate. Yet another Wallabies loss in the end. Gallant, but a loss. Really like Jorgensen, McDermott, Gleeson...lots of promise... and NRL clubs will be swarming. Wilson as skipper?...ummm not so sure.

That advantage rule is the greatest blight on the game. Box kicks (?) and the TMO who could have explained the final rule which mattered. We should have put the game to bed, but couldn't!

2. Joe Root. What an incredible year and career. Better now than when he was younger. Like Jacques Kallis and Kumar Sangakarra. The second most Test runs ever, 38 Test tons and the king of England. Prolific run scorer in England and against India. Awesome record. 

England are shaping into a formidable team, but Crawley (31), Duckett (42), Pope (35) and Stokes (35) all average in the high thirties/ early forties still. Not dominant, despite the hype. However, they will be extremely hard to beat in the Ashes in Australia because they string scores together. Their efforts against India have been uncompromising...sending the opposition in and then beating them. They have dominated them with the bat making Bumrah look second rate - on featherbed decks it must be said. Jofra Archer back and fit will be a tough assignment, especially if Mark Wood aims up too. Stokes is immense. Bothamesque with 16 wickets so far and the leading wicket taker in the series.

A fascination in this India-England series is the leading run scorers (all on seven innings each, with Gill and Rahul now into their eighth innings) are mainly Indians. Gill (697), Rahul (508), Pant (479), Jadeja (347). Then comes Jamie Smith, the new England wicketkeeper (424), Root (403), Duckett (365), Brook (317) and Stokes 304) are not far away. Yashasvi Jaiswal needs to check his temperament. He is getting found out too many times too early.

3. T20 Cricket - Tim David. 102no off 37 balls with 11 sixes. Incredible hitting. As Bill Lawry would say..."a crisp hitter of the ball". Our Australian international T20 record is getting stronger. Our bowling is weak, but is that the way of the future...any old hack bowls and you hunt it down with great hitting?

A series win already... 4-0 out of five games. The fielding of the West Indians is SO bad. Watched the fourth T20 for half an hour and saw four dropped catches including a sharp caught and bowled where the bowler moved the mits away because it may have hurt!

4. Belgium F1 Grand Prix. A fantastic looking track at the legendary 'Spa' course and Oscar Piastri was running hot in the early phases of the weekend. Lando Norris (with Belgian heritage) forms a formidable 1-2 on poll for McLaren. Piastri is clinging to the drivers championship lead, but there are a lot of races remaining. Should be excellent as always. Such exciting and fast action. Love the way Piastri dissects and owns his mistakes. An elite high performer!

5. NRL. Some upsets this weekend with the Eels beating the Broncos. Possibly a casualty as top teams rest and reset for the semi final load ahead. However the speed of the Parramatta team is much improved. So much better. Even Sean Russell is chipping and chasing for tries. The axe must have swung close there. Pace wins. Moses adds massively to that and is one of the absolute elite NRL players now.

The Dragons lose another tight one and some teams are now completely out of action for the semi-finals. The Roosters have also lost too many close ones this season. Losses by 8, 6, 4, 2, 2, 4 points this year so far. They can kill your season. 

Interesting to see if the Broncos players remain loyal to Australia with news that Kevin Walters will be the new coach. Seems an unlikely appointment. Surely we have others too but the candidates seemed to be limited to Kevin. The good news? He will be out of the commentary box!

The Panthers are steaming ahead... six rounds left: Titans, Knights, Storm, Raiders, Bulldogs and Dragons to come and they are on the cusp of the top four! Incredible. The Titans helped them a lot by beating the fading Warriors in their own paddock.

Canberra keep winning. Second half demolitions are their specialty. Will be interesting to see how they go against more top teams. They have not really been tested too often. Their defence still needs to smarten up. They leak too many points.

Bulldogs v Sea Eagles. Tough defence and patience. A la Penrith. The Bulldogs are the only club who can fill the Allianz Stadium. A professional, really well supported club. Xerri superb.

6. AFL. The efforts of the Swans was so predictable. Big game? Big fold... they have done it yet again after having a 40 point lead. It was very predictable and has been seen before with the same roster. They have a massive problem. Missing the finals is a crime with the Swans. Coach Dean Cox is under pressure. Not a mathematical chance in hell!

Contrastingly, the Adelaide Crows look sharp. Gold Coast crushed the Brisbane Lions/ Bears which was a firm statement. Damien Hardwick can really coach a team. Alistair Clarkson may need a new gig soon because North Melbourne are getting worse! John Longmire surely needs to coach somewhere soon.

7. Golf. Scottie Scheffler seems to be the absolute top bloke who is also supremely talented. Humble, hungry and smart. Perfect golf to win The Open. He is in a rich vein of form. Long may it last. Getting to seven or eight majors puts him in golf royalty. He now only needs the US Open for the Majors Slam too. (Only!).

Conversely, Cameron Smith was the only golfer to miss the cut at all four Majors this year. Ouch.

8. Vale the great Hulk Hogan. Having caught up with 'Jake the Snake' and Jimmy 'Hacksaw' Duggan overseas in Charlotte, North Carolina recently, they were supreme entertainers for many, but at great expense to their own health and wellbeing. Slow drawl and struggling. Jimmy much better than the snake. He was chirpy and upbeat and recalled Australia well and 'misbehaving'!

9. Netball - Sydney Swifts. Sydney Swifts were up by 10 goals and got run down - and out of the comp - by the Melbourne Vixens. The Vixens go on to play the West Coast Fever who will be paying $1.01 as red hot favourites! Funny things can really happen in Grand Finals however.

The Wrap - Cut Above

1. Rugby Union. Lions v Wallabies. Talk about ridiculous domination in the crowd by the Lions fans. We had this in 2001 as well! Our 'half price' tickets when exchange rates are considered for them makes it so.

Some better refereeing to allow the game to flow, but bring back the half time breaks on the field. Much more authentic. The advantage rule is a joke...too long! The Lions would want to win having the best of Europe's players in the team. An arrogance envelopes them it must be said, but they are too good! We have only ever won series in 1930 and 2001, so the odds are stacked against us! Young Jorgensen, Lynagh and even the magic of Harry Potter with his wings was not enough!

The TMO is a curse...too much chat and too many interruptions. Ridiculous. Out of control. They need to look at the NFL and see how it is done properly.

A good end, but at critical moments, not strong enough. 27-19 is a solid loss. We have too many of these. The best part of rugby is playing beyond the final siren till the ball is dead! Lots of excitement.

The coach Joe Schmidt has been a massive disappointment it must be said. Great guy by all reports, but not enough wins. Better than the latest version of Eddie 'Come Here and Say It', of course, but not much! 15 games with 7 wins. Less than 50% with a few more tests to come in 2025, before the rhyming slang takes over the national coaching role. 

Of his seven wins, three were against a questionable Wales team, one was recently against Fiji (just), one was against the resurgent Argentina and one against the powerhouse rugby nation of Georgia! It has been a disaster really. One really solid win v England at Twickenham only and even they were probably not the strongest England team at the time.

2. NRL. St George lost at the death once again due to the skill of Lachlan Galvin. He will need to get a little more size and speed, but he can play. The media campaigns against him are not good. Let him be. The Tigers are better off - as are Parramatta. St George have lost EIGHT narrow games this season by 8, 1, 1, 6, 1, 4, 7, 2 points. Three games lost by 1 point hurts.

The Warriors won a beauty v Newcastle. Halasima is some sort of talent. Their narrow wins in 2025 have been huge for them. Unlike the Dragons, they have won games this season by 8, 2, 2, 4, 1, 4, 6, 5. This can make a massive difference to your season!

3. NRL Points. Fifth best defence this season? Newcastle! Fourth best defence? Manly. Hard to believe. Manly had a handy win v Melbourne on the weekend in Melbourne. Unheard of really. The Raiders are on top, but their defence is a massive problem which they need to fix to win the competition.

Asofa Solomona is a massive liability for the Melbourne Storm. His foul play and ill discipline costs Melbourne all the time... including being ruled out of last year's Grand Final. He looks like being banned for a long time after yet another errant elbow.

The spoon bowl looks alive and well.. Titans, Tigers, Eels, Knights, Rabbits! Wayne Bennett has never had a worse finish to an NRL season as coach. The Wests Tigers are barely better than in 2024, despite their win v Titans. The Eels are still favourites for the spoon.

4. AFL. The Swans beat North Melbourne, but are still a mile away on 36 points. Barring a few upsets by the bottom half of the table, there will be no semi final football for them. The Giants next week will sort them out. The Giants could win the thing if they can concentrate long enough. However, their record is abysmal v Sydney... even in trial games!

The bottom half of the table this season are abysmal. They find it hard to beat each other.

5. The Open Championships. Scottie Scheffler is a cut above (2 x Masters, 1 x USPGA Major wins). His second round efforts (64) then a 67 in the third round were incredible. Marc Leishman was the only Aussie to beat the Club President's razor blade! The conditions at the Open are never easy.

What about Scheffler's golf major record and number of top ten finishes?

Rory is hovering, but Scheffler is not giving up this lead. Four Golf Major wins looms...

Ray Floyd and Ernie Els won four majors, Brooks Koepka and Rory sit on five wins. Mickelson and Faldo have won six. Seven majors plus is the elite of the elite.

6. EPL. Now able to be viewed on Stan. Suspect this will bring more viewers than Optus. It may also see people use Stan for more than just Kevin Costner's Yellowstone.

7. Tim Tszyu. He was hammered last time he fought Sebastian 'The Towering Inferno' Fundora. Going to Vegas was brave (and necessary), but Tszyu's career was on the line and lost! Fundora attends Harvard and is a very polite fellow. He's breaking all the boxing cliches and has a 23-1-1 record. Imposing! 

A tough way to make money, but rewarding if you can do it. A better standard than the Gallen v SBW fight. Surely there will be a rematch there too!

8. NRLW. Enjoy the fresh approach and lack of egos. Top of the table clash between Broncos v Roosters today. Tamika Upton (ex Knights, currently Broncos) continues to carve up the opposition, scoring tries. Olivia Kernick is a gun for the Roosters. Inexplicably omitted from the Australian team (until they gave the coach the bullet) last year after winning the 2024 Dally M! She should be first picked. Tough, skilful, humble and polite. 

The Wrap - Parallel Lyons

1. Test Cricket. Lyon dropped and England would have been salivating at possibly getting a nemesis out of the way...only to realise that Scott Boland is in and offers an impressive Test cricket record: 14 tests/ 56 wickets (average 17.66). Most of his wickets have been against England, including the famous 6/7 at the MCG! However, the deck is also turning which means that Lyon could have played after all.

An awesome amphitheatre at Kingston, Jamaica. A little worried about the cost and reliability of electricity to this tiny community (popn. 580,000). It is quite extraordinary that they produced the number of cricketers and the highest of standards that they did. Very sad that Michael Holding wants nothing to do with cricket anymore too. He and Courtney Walsh were two of the Jamaican greats.

The swagger and exceptional fielding of the West Indian cricketers was the key memory. Raucous crowds and unbelievable atmospheres there have faded.

Our Test batting averages now are reminiscent of the days of Craig Sergeant (23.72), Rick Darling (25.81), Paul Hibbert (7.5), Julian Weiner (25.54), Dav Whatmore (22.54), Trevor Laughlin (17.4) and Peter Toohey (31.89) - not forgetting the greatest 'duck or a hundred' man, Graeme Wood (31.83), where the very best hit 30! 

Thankfully we have Steve Smith playing shots early. Khawaja, Konstas and Green almost put the 1,500 strong crowd to sleep. Green (average 34) can play, but gee he gets bowled and LBW a lot. Of his 50 Test innings he has been LBW 8 times and Bowled 14 times. Technique issues.

2. State of Origin - NRL. The NSW Origin effort in Game 3 (and Game 2) was absolutely sub par. Laurie Daley needs to recognise this and go. Sad he cannot yet. His coaching loss record - despite his friendship with Dave Trodden (NSWRL) - is poor in Origin. Ricky Stuart or Joey Johns is our man.

The Queenslanders were immense. Their culture and winning style is phenomenal. It sadly doesn't get better than this for NSW. Munster and others delivered. DCE? Not missed and the perfect response. 

3. NRL. The competition these days is really now unable to cope with the massive disruption of Origin. The games are so competitive, but now we get players rested after missing out on the very best of contests over recent weeks. This includes Nathan Cleary. The game is now too professional for this. It is a 1980s hangover model.

Rather, where is our NRL Combine? Our NRL Draft? Our NRL All Stars game after the Grand Final? NRL could be much greater.

4. AFL. The split from the top nine teams to the rest is quite pronounced and really the question is, based on current form, can the Western Bulldogs make it? The rest looked locked in. The Swans are trying hard (now), but are teetering with themselves to blame. They are 12 points behind eighth position (Freo). That is three wins. They need a few losses higher up the table. The competition is still up for grabs. No absolutely dominant force at all. Nice to see the Gold Coast starting to deliver more. Des Hasler will be watching closely!

5. Wimbledon. Iva Swaitek crushed her US opponent, Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the most devastating win (and loss) since Steffi Graf did it to Zvereva at the French Open in 1988. The last Wimbledon final "bagel" was in 1911! She wins the Venus Rosewater dish. She has an imposing recent record and is the best Polish tennis player since Henner Henkel!

Swaitek now has four French Open titles, one US Open and one Wimbledon championship. Her six Grand Slam titles takes her past Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova (5 titles). She is now one behind Venus Williams and Justine Henin (7 titles each). 

The inevitable is also upon us in the men's final: Sinner v Alcaraz once again. Sinner looking for his first Wimbledon crown and Alcaraz undefeated in Grand Slam finals! They have won seven of the last eight Grand Slams between them. 

• Alcaraz (5 titles) has two French Open wins, two Wimbledon wins and one US Open win.
• Sinner (3 titles) has two Australian Open wins and one US Open win.

With a win, Alcaraz joins Becker and Edberg on six Grand Slam titles. Did you know Stefan Edberg is the only tennis player ever to hold a world junior tennis Grand Slam (1983)?

Our doubles hope - Rinky Hijikata - lost in two sets. Rinky is no phantom. He was a crack world junior player and is rated in the top echelons of doubles players world wide. 

6. British and Irish Lions. Thumped the B-Team NZ and Australia 48-0... oh no! The Wallabies could be beaten by 50. James Slipper and James O'Connor (?) cannot be our key hopes surely? Joe Schmidt looks out of ideas...like Laurie Daley's half time Origin #3 speech.

7. Ange Postocoglou. A great example of how fame can be very temporary. He has become quieter than Bruce Hornsby and the Range's new album in recent weeks. No sign of his next step, but it is not looking great for a European gig at present. Perhaps the player transfers are most important now. No coach wants to go to a club that is as tight fisted as Tottenham. They then never win titles and blame the coach, who gets sacked!

8. US PGA. Aaron Baddeley misses the cut at the ISCO Open and Rory gets his act together at the Scottish Open to share the lead after three rounds (-11). Elvis Smylie (-1) and Adam Scott (-3) behind, but on those courses you get a good look at the grass and local landscape when playing on Sunday.

The Wrap - Derek Bombs

1. NRL. The Raiders have been extraordinary this year. On top of the comp and two byes ahead yet - an extra four points! They could be minor premiers when some were tipping them for the spoon. They have a fabulous future ahead too with lots of young players signed longer term. The number of close games they have won is outstanding. This is the difference between great years and ordinary years.

The standard of the NRL falls in a heap by the third Origin and six week disruption. It is a bit of a circus really. The dropped balls and mistakes are exponential, underlining the elite nature of some players. State of Origin is great, but is the weekly competition greater?

Latu Finau is a top operator for the Wests Tigers who could be awesome with Luai (should he stay with his get our clause!).

Two new trends in the game: not catching bombs and use of the word 'Derek' for a hopeless joke (eg. the old Nigel... Karen). A bit unfair on the many good Dereks who have excelled in international sport including Derek Moritz (Bears, NRL), Derek Randall (English cricket), Derek Pringle (English cricket), Derek Jeter (MLB), Derrick Rose (NBA), Derrick Murray (WI cricket) and of course Bo Derek.

2. AFL. The Swans get a breath of life to move to tenth on the table. A massive 12 points adrift from eighth! Really, when maths is your best chance of making finals, the hall of mirrors is needed to have a good look at yourself. A big crowd nonetheless.

3. Test Cricket. Two enthralling Tests on at present. The Windies have been better than many would have thought on dodgy home decks, but have it all ahead of them tonight. Our batting is still dodgy - especially first innings runs. Green hit a half century in the second innings, but we are loose. Alex Carey and Beau Webster have been our best. 

Khawaja is getting LBW and caught behind the wicket more now than at any other time in his career. He is slowing right down. Konstas...back to Grade cricket please.

Our bowling is brighter:

• Nathan Lyon (562) - one wicket short of Glen McGrath (563). Warnie's 708 Test wickets is safe, but Broad (604) and Kumble (619) are not far away.
• Pat Cummins (307) - just shy of Brett Lee (310) and Mitchell Johnson (313)
• Starc (395) - fourth highest Australian in front of DK Lillee (355) now.
• Lyon, Starc, Cummins and Hazelwood (292) are in the top ten best ever Australian test wicket takers. Incredible really that they are all from the same era and same team.

In England, Shubman Gill has set a first ever in Test cricket. He hit 269 and 161 to be the first male player to hit a 200 and a 150 in the same test. 430 runs in the same Test is nearing the record. He beat the great Tubby Taylor who got 426 runs in the second test v Pakistan in 1998 at Peshawar. He hit his famous 334 not out, but not many know he also scored 92 in the second innings. 

England have a lot of runs to get (536!) with seven wickets in hand, but Harry Book is at the crease (15no) and got another ton after last week's wrap. He is a super talent. 27 tests (45 inns) ...9 tons, including one double and one triple century. Averaging 60+!

4. Oscar Piastri - British F1 GP. The only world sport where the key combatants are known by their first names and called as such by the commentators, fans and drivers... a limited pool of elite drivers. Verstappen is a legend. Still collecting pole positions when his car is clearly not as great as the orange McLarens. Such an arduous tour with Piastri clinging to a sub 20 lead. He has five wins and needs six+! Nine wins beats Ricciardo and Webber's records (in almost a quarter of the race starts).

5. International Rugby. 21-18 win over Fiji by the Wallabies playing in Newcastle. Such a shame the Wallabies are playing at suburban grounds. The quality of the game is not improving. It is a punish to watch. A solid loss by the Waratahs v Lions 21-10. The Lions will absolutely massacre Australia. We are so loose.

6. Tour de France. Not as popular as it once was, but still a spectacular event with mad locals and beautiful views. Harrison Sweeny is our main hope. Looking forward to the mankini wearers, the offers of pizza and cigarettes to the riders, the nude supporters, the mad dogs and animal life - and the cycling....

7. Wimbledon. Hopefully Alex De Minaur (v Djokovic) and Jordan Thompson (v Fritz) can progress beyond the round of 16 into the quarter finals. It is interesting that at age 38, we still expect Novak to triumph! Sinner looks a special now that Alcaraz is carrying an injury or two.

8. Liverpool FC have had their share of disaster. Diogo Jota tragically killed in a car crash. Thinking of the Hillsborough disaster, the car into the crowd this year at their victory ceremony... they can't seem to escape it. The beauty and expression of youth... and the waste and loss.