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.