1. NRL Finals. A ripping weekend of finals. Too quick...Best of three would be amazing!
Melbourne are so professional. A lot of players out yet the Bulldogs were crushed pretty badly...and have picked up so many injuries too (Montoya, Tuala, Crichton...). They need Reed Mahoney back in with so many missed tackles. The chopping and changing by Ciraldo (Galvin in, Sexton out... Mahoney out...). All of them sudden and unexpected calls under pressure. More composure is needed by him or they will be out in straight sets next week when the Panthers get hold of them. The Panthers were so methodical in dissecting the Warriors. Without Crichton and Kikau (?) it would be really tough for the Bulldogs. Penrith will be waiting for them.
The Roosters and Sharks was an entertaining package. The Roosters need to wear their classic jersey in big games...white cannot win a comp. The dropsy again hit them (like when they played Parramatta) and should have won. Mark Nawaqanitawase was outstanding as always. Such an exciting player.
Canberra and Brisbane really turned it on - and now Canberra will play Cronulla at home, as losing minor premiers. Such an advantage to finish in the top four. Starling has such great speed out of dummy half...like Cook in his prime. Without Ezra and Reynolds, Brisbane have done very well.
Walsh did a Cleary at the end. A try, a 40-20, set up a couple and a drop kick to equalise that took the cross bar... then a goal. Reece Walsh needs more composure in big games. A head butt to Hudson Young was ridiculous. He lacks discipline. Conversely Kaeo Weeks killed them with his pace. Walsh has so much speed and skill. He needs to mature. Those missed goal kicks were costly too.
Ashley Klein tried very hard to be the star of the show. A cracking game - and end. Referee Klein has dreamed of an ending like that! The chance for points in the extra time needed to be taken by the Broncos. Ten out, field goal chance...zip. It didn't matter. Ben Hunt put some demons to bed with a top field goal to win 29-28.
So now, Canberra v Cronulla (then v Melbourne) and Penrith v Bulldogs (then v Brisbane) are our games to then take on Melbourne and Brisbane for a chance to make the Grand Final.
2. AFL. Adelaide were belted by the Hawks to gather an unwanted record. They always seemed to be flying a bit high through the regular season, but ended well. When the whips were cracking they were found wanting. Speaking of which, the Gold Coast were whacked too. Their pink strip was very unusual for their second final when club colours and pride in their own traditional jersey.
Geelong, Collingwood and Brisbane look the goods. Brisbane looked a lot like last year when they creamed everyone at the business end.
Into next week now and Hawthorn v Geelong and Brisbane v Collingwood are the games. Geelong will be through to the GF ...who else?
3. Horse Racing. Mr Brightside is an incredible horse. So strong and a winner. Cost $22,000 and has won over $18 million. A great investment.
4. Wallabies. Back to earth with a thud. 28-26 is a bad outcome v Argentina. The inconsistency and constant team changes cannot be good. Lots of injuries, but so much change is never helpful for the team combinations. A 43-10 loss to the Springboks is a stunning loss for the embattled All Blacks. No break dancing! They need a complete reset. Our challenge will be in a fortnight v New Zealand. Joe Schmidt has two games left and hopefully they are memorable, for the right reasons.
5. US Open Tennis. Carlos Alcaraz is an outstanding player and ambassador for the game. Yet another win to got to six Grand Slam titles (joining Edberg and Becker). Two US Open titles, two Wimbledon and two French open titles for a total of six wins. All still as a very young man. Alcaraz has not won an Australian Open as yet, so this is another frontier now for a career Grand Slam!
6. Ange Postocoglou. A new coaching gig for Nottingham Forest (men in tights) and a thumping 3-0 loss. A tough job going to Arsenal first up, but talk about a career life line. It will be interesting to see if he changes his attacking style and how focused he becomes on the EPL. His style brings injuries as he stretches the players past their limits.
7. Davis Cup Tennis. What a circus...Lleyton Hewitt fined for pushing a WADA drug inspector. Then de Minaur gets beaten by an unknown. Terrible. Rinky Hijikata was our other singles hope and he lost too. The doubles bounced back with a win and then de Minaur finally won for 2-2. The decider was unfolding as we went to print!
Losing to Belgium would be an all time low. Australia were semi finalists last year and with a loss, a final eight berth will have gone begging in 2025! Hopefully not.
8. F1. Next week to Azerbaijan then to Singapore. Oscar is 31 points clear of Lando Norris, but it is tight. Captivating action in 2025. Verstappen had an incredible win really last week in Monza.
9. Irish Open. A ripping win by Rory last week. He has such skill, but can become distracted sometimes. A super talent really.
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