1. Reece Walsh. Talk about confidence, flair and skill. He is absolutely on fire at present. He makes the odd error, but his pace is electric and his intercepts in that 2:1 defensive fullback situation will be exploited in the NRL next year. A resounding win by the Kangaroos. The Poms look cooked. This is a very good Australian team, despite a number of stars who went to the Pasifika teams or who are injured. Such a great tour to be part of ...like the old days. Jon Bon Jovi even stopped by which adds to that star power!
How good was Tonga v Samoa. Intense, skilful and with so many first grade footballers. Incredible crowds and love of the game. Looking forward to the planned international launch weekend being planned. The Jillaroos keep winning by over 50 points. They are dominant but it would be great to have stronger opposition. Our men's and women's rugby league games are surging.
2. Wallabies. After promising so much v the British Lions, things have limped along since. The Joe Schmidt era is grinding to an end which is such a relief. He has unearthed some talent, but it is never on the field at the same time. Nightmare way to coach for consistency. Sneaking past Japan by a handful of points is not great for the resume.
3. Nottingham Forest. It must be said that the players did a right royal hatchet job on Ange Postocoglou. Not one of them accountable and not one of them fronting the media since. Not prepared to do the work to transform and sat back and let it collapse, knowing their hot headed owner would sack him. Time to sack some players. A relegation would be a good gift for their fans too who were incredibly impatient and pining for the ex-wife. Get over it and move on. Perhaps this is why they were not in the top flight league for a long stretch (2008-2022). Patience is learned quickly in Championship level play.
4. Cricket. Matt Renshaw is a dear fellow, but hardly the solution as a Test opener. AB said a telling thing this week re Sam Konstas: "can he play a cover drive? I've never seen one". That is the key. No technique and this 'shock' player who is destined for a long stint in Grade. I wonder if he will persist or play franchise cricket in T20 worldwide? Jake Wetherall may be a good selection. An experienced player who is tough minded is needed. We may need two such players...Khawaja is a risk still with his refusal to move his feet. He is looking for an SCG farewell in January 2026...if he gets that far.
5. Sharma and Kohli. These are two of the best ever ODI players in history. Both averaging 50 in ODIs for India with Sharma 30+ ODI centuries in 276 games and Kohli 50+ ODI centuries in 305 games! Incredible talent and domination, despite the odd duck or two. They may never return to Australia now. A miracle we won the series 2-0.
5. Liverpool. Four straight losses is a huge concern. They are stumbling at present. What about the Black Cats of Sunderland (''Till I Die)? into second place on 17 points and needing 35 to avoid relegation, which is often the fate of recently promoted teams. Hopefully Netflix are still tracking them for a sixth or seventh (?) series!
ManU are up the top all of a sudden too. Maybe the tide is turning?
6. Women's World Cup Cricket. The longest competition in world sport, but the Australians are doing really well without the injured (and prolific) Alyssa Healy. So much talent, but Perry is on the slide after so many years at the top. She may be retiring soon I suspect. Alana King 7/18 killed South Africa. South Africa still do not like leg spin after all these years.
Her 7/18 pips Andy Bichel's 7/20 in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa v England.
7. Oscar Piastri. The championship looks grim. He has really fallen away since the long break and needs to get back there. Have McLaren adjusted his car so Norris wins? They have the constructor's championship already and suddenly his car slows down. Strange. He is back in seventh spot now for the Mexican GP. No serious threat from there, barring a big pile up!
8. NBA. What a shocking disgrace for the NBA with allegations of betting anomalies and cheating. Black eyes sadly for the sport, impacting many excellent players and staff.
9. NFL. The New England Patriots are leading their AFC East division in 2025 which has shocked everyone - including themselves!
10. The World Series. The Seattle Mariners collapsed in a heap and the Toronto Blue Jays took an early 1-0 lead over the Dodgers in their best of seven World Series final. The Dodgers steamed back in Game 2 for 1-1 and now they head to LA for Games 3, 4 and 5. LA may not need any more than that. Yamamoto was the first man in ten years to throw a full game. An incredible Japanese link with the LA Dodgers.
11. Moonee Valley. The best news of the weekend was that Moonee Valley is being knocked over and revamped! That dog of a track is 'straight-less'. It is like a circle and really hard to tip.
What a fabulous win by Via Sistina in the Cox Plate! A tough horse. Four in a row for James McDonald who surprisingly went winless last weekend.
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