The Wrap - The Saints Come Marching In

1. NRL - Parramatta. An horrific first half v Souths saw them behind 0-28. Then a disciplined second half to get to 24-28.The greatest comeback in NRL history thwarted. Souths looked like Premiers and Wooden Spooners in the one game! Look at the Parramatta 2026 record: LWWLLLWLLWLLLWLWLLWL... zero consistency. They are fortunate that St George have been bad otherwise they would have yet another spoon. Saints play Parramatta in the final round.

We have heard it all from the Parramatta club this year. "We are not getting rid of Lomax. It's a rebuilding year... We signed Jonah Pezet because our young halves are not ready... We signed Jerome Luai for the same reason... We have had lots of injuries....We are suing our disgruntled fans for online comments and anyone looking like criticising us, including Dylan Walker". Lots of odd front office commentary.  Players are leaving en masse...Paulo, Russell, Walker, Volkman yet all sorts of possible new players have side stepped them (Lenui, Xerri, Burton, etc..).  Unfortunately, an average hooker, with more mistakes in him than most, is your top try scorer. No strike power. Coach Ryles is under a lot of pressure. Two years with minimal improvement.

2. NRL - Improvement Clubs. In contrast, have a look at Newcastle and coach Justin Holbrook. What a transformation! Even with injuries and no problems with recruitment. Playing with skill and heart.

Saints did a great job v Cronulla today. Their young forwards are awesome, but they need a king leader of the pack.

How about Nico Hynes - 32 successful goals in a row is pretty clever. The game went really bad for them. Cronulla are the June and July Premiers and looked to have turned a corner. Very disappointing.

3. Alex Johnston. What a legend! In March he got to 213 tries...he is now on 232! It may never be broken. He seems to get a hat trick against Parramatta more regularly than most.

4. AFL. The Swans looked good at home once again, pumping Port. A home final is critical for them and nearly over the line with Essendon and North Melbourne yet to play. But gee they are a worry on a big field. Brisbane belted Hawthorn and look awesome (despite the loss to Carlton last week). Freo go down again, tiring from being runaway competition leaders (like the Panthers!). The Melbourne Demons look like top four material which is quite incredible with big stars, Petracca and Oliver offloaded in the off season.

Two more rounds to go before the brand new Wildcard Finals round.

5. Bangladesh v Australia - Test Cricket. Hard to believe cricket starts already later this week. The Bangladeshi team are a competitive outfit, but they got pumped by our young South Australian left arm speedster, Campbell Thompson, all out for 54 - and a loss! Mitchell Starc will be licking his lips!

Our top four bowlers are certainly quite amazing... Lyon (567 Test wickets @ 30.15 - 6th best ever),  Starc (433 @ 26.51 - 12th best ever, with 7 more wickets taking him into the top ten best ever), Cummins (315 @ 22.05 - 33rd best ever) and Hazelwood (295 @ 24.21 - 43rd best ever).

6. The AB Medal. A few players who have won it multiple times...Ponting (4), Clarke (4), Smith (4), Warner (3), Watson (2)...now Travis Head (2). It is a flawed model but it is what it is....

7. Wallabies. Under Les Kiss, has there been much change? Just enough to beat the Japanese. They will struggle, but hopefully some consistency at the selection table makes it more stable and sensible. We might all learn some of the player's names too and cheer for them as they improve combinations incrementally.

The Wrap - FIFA FOMO

1. The Cowboys. Todd Payten signed his contract extension at the right time a few weeks back. Having 80+ points put in your team is very unusual, but also incredibly embarrassing. Noticed Tom Dearden will now stay in North Queensland, even though his pregnant girlfriend has a successful business in the Hills District. Could have been a great signing for Parramatta! They play an open brand of football, but were sliced and diced. The Roosters have strung together a few wins now and look strong. Beating the top teams is their nemesis.

The Panthers backed up with a strong performance in Mudgee v Canberra. A complete team who have had the stutters more recently. The Knights are also such a different team this year. The coach, Justin Holbrook, has done a remarkable job. A wonderful win without a couple of Dylans v the Broncos.

Tigers v Eels. The battle for the spoon remains with an error-athon. Hard to think that Tigers and Eels are still fighting for the spoon. The Doueihi nonsense... please. The Tigers will not make the semi finals with the current coach and current chemistry in that team

St George seem to have the spoon for themselves. How bad are the Broncos? So much talent, but terrible. 

Cronulla are looking stronger and stronger. Perhaps they can do something magical this year?

2. PNG Chiefs. Wayne Bennett is absolutely right. How ridiculous that they have tax concessions and different rules to the rest of the competition. They will need every decent player they can grab, but the safety and living standards in PNG are a massive trade off. I wonder what would happen if the NZ government and the Warriors did similarly.

3. AFL. Carlton are surging and really put it to the resurgent Brisbane team. That helps the Swans. The Swans had a strong win v St Kilda, but did it tough. GWS are still alive against a Port Adelaide side that has lost five games this year by less than 15 points!

Melbourne continued the Gold Coast's misery and Essendon keep getting closer to the spoon!

4. PGA Golf. The Detroit Rocket Classic is a lesser tournament, but still offering big prize money. It ends this year after eight years. Cam Young, number 3 in the world led after two rounds but still looms large for the mid 60 scores needed to win in tomorrow's final round. 

Worth noting so far in 2026: Scottie Scheffler has 1 win yet 11 top ten finishes. No. 1 in the world.

5. Commonwealth Games. Some great performances on the track and an avalanche of gold medals for Australia. It seems we have outgrown the games. 65 gold and 158 in total!

The boxing results (men and the women especially) were outstanding for the unheralded India! An interesting development in world sport.

6. Netball - Diamonds. What a disaster losing to Jamaica...and now fighting for a bronze. Incredibly poor result. A few players and coaches may be looking in a different direction for the next team. Bad for an unstoppable team in every major tournament!

7. FIFA. What a bunch of self seeking fools. President, Gianni Infantino needs to take his governance and fundraising ideas with him out the door. His future is bleak, but he will no doubt come up with more ideas that benefit member countries and despite the current reactions, he will stay on. Money talks. The thought of missing out on more cash and being banned by member nations was enough to have the idea dropped.

8. 'Clicky' Ponting Scandal. Clicking when a batsman is beaten and claiming a wicket has been happening in the Parramatta District Cricket Association for the past 50 years. Just started in England apparently.

The Wrap - Spiders and Fires for the Wests Tigers

1. Wests Tigers. This franchise is officially totally inept. They have slumped to second last in 16th spot now, behind the Eels. They need a whole new set up - and coach sadly. 14 years without a semi final appearance and nothing looks like changing. A few blokes who have signed longer contracts will be a little anxious about their careers now. Representative football is so far away. Three losses by fifty points (Sharks, Panthers, Raiders) and two losses by high forties (Manly, Storm) tells us the club is in crisis.

Adam Doueihi should thank the gods he was not cut a few years back. He has always seen himself as a lot more talented than most. He is too slow to be a halfback and not creative enough. Tough, hard runner with good defence, but unlikely to win a comp - or make the semi finals for a club. He is a forward in the Issac Yeo style. What a performance of protest. Embarrassing, especially when the team he left is losing by 50 yet again. How you manage yourself in times of disappointment, defines you. Peace talks? Honestly, cut and run.

Let it be said, that if Parramatta sign Doueihi, every member should start supporting the PNG Chiefs. They will be done and will emphasise that they are the worst run club in the NRL. The Chiefs and Perth Bears will have a better chance at winning the comp. 

• Zac Lomax moves to the PNG Chiefs. The tax free dollars appeal to many players! Yet the Perth Bears get no such luxuries or concessions. It seems very unfair by comparison and they will get the spoon for a long time if they can't address this soon.
• Interesting to see the Roosters keep winning tight games as well, even when they are not at their sizzling best. So far in 2026, the Eels have lost four games by less than six points while the Roosters have won four games by eight points or less. A big difference on the premiership table.
• Great to see young Nick Lenaz playing for Manly today as the hooker. Coached him as a junior and never saw a kid who was tougher and who could poleaxe players in defence like him. An awesome success story after a tough time in North Queensland.
• Manly got pumped in their game against Cronulla, who have taken out the July premiership scoring so many tries in recent weeks. The Sharks look good, but have done so at this time of year before too. 'Fozball' is dead, but 'Fitzyball' is thriving!

2. Injuries. What an horrific weekend for NRL injuries... Tom Dearden, Dylan Brown, Dylan Lucas, Daniel Tupou, Harry Grant, Latrell Mitchell (ruled out for season), Dylan Edwards, Tallis Duncan, Cameron Murray, Kaylan Ponga, Noah Martin, Reed Mahoney and Cameron Munster who is out of action too.  

3. Commonwealth Games. Not that too many noticed, but the Commonwealth Games have started. We already have so many more gold medals than everyone else it is ridiculous.  Almost like a Little Athletics carnival with the big kids smashing the smaller ones. Medals are expected - and lots of them. 

We had flash backs to the old Richard Wilkins song from years ago - "Out there every morning, under windy skies and pounding thighs, it's a long hard road". See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBi4p--iUGM.  Should these games even be a thing? It seems very outdated as a concept and the hosting of them is not popular. So many better and bigger games and competitions these days.

4. AFL. Collingwood are surging. Six straight wins and crowd support of the best supporter base in Australia. The Swans bounced back v GWS who simply cannot compete with Sydney time and time again. Essendon are a misery once again after a win last week... but it is Freo who are minor premiership bound, hoping they don't go out in straight sets like Adelaide in 2025.

Carlton continue on their winning ways too, after last week's hiccup...Brisbane are still racking them up and are surging into a three-peat premiership feat. So much talent right across the field.

5. NBA. Lebron James. He heads to the Philadelphia 76ers (and maybe takes his son). Maybe they won't need Ben Simmons there now! Great for memberships, but he is 40 years old!

6. 2026 British Open Golf. A top effort from New Zealand's Ryan Fox for the victory! An incredible story of perseverance and dedication. Top composure under pressure.

The 3M PGA Championship at present is seeing some ridiculous scoring. Ten unders and Eight unders! Scheffler is six off the lead, but will still be in the mix.

7. Hungarian F1 Grand Prix. Kimi Antonelli has won six races this season already and Mercedes and Ferrari have won every race. Dominance. Interesting to see that after penalties, Piastri starts from third spot. Two McLarens in the top three...a changing of the tide?  Not many opportunities to overtake anyone in Hungary, so a podium finish is within reach! Piastri is sitting sixth overall on point ahead of the great Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton is sniffing around the top this year too. Such a legend of the sport.

8. Tim Tszyu. It truly is a zoo with the media frenzy... he was running out of chances, but has bounced back against an older, but wily rival. A mug's game in so many ways, but good luck to him. He was running out of support and chances, but may get another crack at a big and possibly final pay day.

The Wrap - The Rain in Spain Cries For Argentina

 1. The Open Championship (British Open). Great crowds and an intriguing course that punishes the wayward driver - or any club really. Lucas Herbert was sensational in the second round with one of the best rounds of all time in a Major tournament. Followed by the NZer, Ryan Fox in the third round. Herbert got the hippy hippy shakes in the last few holes of round two and couldn't back it up in round three, but what a performance! Sam (Carpet) Burns looks hot at present and will know the conditions well.

The Bryson blow up...predictable in some respects (bring back John Daly). However Rory shouldn't be offering his commentary on it all. Not his place. Not a good look for golf from either of them.

Royal Birkdale looks like the city dump from on high, but it is well manicured and subject to torrid coastal weather. When that wind gets up it would be murderously cold and unplayable, let alone the fog. The long grass and the scruffy look is links golf at its best. 

A shame the PGA has three Majors in the USA. Like tennis, what is stopping there being more golf or tennis majors? Surely while tradition dictates, some change there enhances the sport's popularity and profile. 

2. NRL. The Panthers have hit a mid season wall, losing a few recently. They are loading for the semi finals and we have seen this before. No panic. Re-signing a few stars will settle the camp. Mitch Kenny is now in the longer term stable, but Martin, To'o, Cleary, Yeo and Leota will seal the deal. They have nurtured a great second tier of players and signed Ray Stone from the Dolphins mid week. Top defender. The Warriors and Roosters are closing in on Penrith for the JJ Giltinan Shield now.

The Tigers have absolutely hit the wall (on the same number of points as Parramatta) and look like wooden spooners, but St George just can't seem to win despite putting together much better efforts of late. Canberra and Brisbane are hanging in there with solid backs against the wall wins. 

Manly needed a win against the Gold Coast who can play well this year...Leading 10-0 early and then...what a disappointment they can be. Tom Trobjevic must really regret doing the midnight Corso sprint all those years back.  

How different is day time football? A day time Grand Final could be an exceptional feature in dry weather game these days. The Dolphins and Cowboys are super entertaining teams.

Noticed the Gold Coast women put 50 points on Parramatta today too. Honestly.

3. Football World Cup. Always love a third v fourth World Cup playoff. Do we need it? Both teams play a little defeated or embarrassed and neither team truly wants to win or lose. 6-4 (like a wet 1970's NRL score) England v France brought much history, but also a reminder that the football powerhouses are so far ahead. Spain to win the final based on their class and composure, but the fight and steel of the Argentinians is most admirable. What a story two successive World Cup wins would be for Argentina!

4. AFL. You have to love the Collingwood crowd. Passionate, crass and fanatical! Even though they struggle at times, they are a super power of Melbourne sport - and hated for it by most. The Carlton v Collingwood clash is always epic, but a strong Collingwood victory.

The Sydney Swans continued to tumble and again fell apart late in their wet game v Adelaide. They are back pedalling while Freo find a way forward. The Swans could be in some strife table wise without a few more wins.

Brisbane struggled v West Coast, but were never losing. Melbourne were the same v North Melbourne. Richmond are dreadful...absolutely pumped by Hawthorn. Essendon edged out a gravely disappointing GWS in a good arm wrestle! A long time since we have heard their team song! A proud and excellent club, but they need a new era.

5. T20 Cricket. 

(i) The T20 Blast finals... Chris Lynn, Nathan McSweeney, Daniel Sams,  These guys are on the international T20 gravy train (a great train to be on!). Darren Lehmann's Northants team win.

(ii) The US T20 Cricket Final saw the LA Knight Riders play and beat the Washington Freedom (Steve Smith and coach Ricky Ponting) by one run. The Washington keeper, Andries Gous is a USA keeper who can play. A BBL prospect. Lots of top notch West Indian players in this league (Narine, Fletcher, Russell, Holder, et al).

(iii) The third ODI of India v England is played tonight with the series locked at 1-1. India have not been on their game of late, so England have a sniff. The great Joe Root continues to peel off big scores with 99no in Game Two for the victory.

6. Wallabies v Italy. Joe Schmidt's reign has mercifully ended in Perth (12 wins/ 33 Tests). He has not been able to deliver and needs to learn not to keep changing his combinations or his teams will never win! Rugby Australia has been too patient. Could you imagine Argentina putting up with this from their national team? 

His announcement that the great rhyming slang man will take over (Les Kiss), was made too long ago! He should have left a year ago. Six tries to one was better, but the Italian team looked and played like they did in 1980. Hopefully a new, more exciting era awaits now.

7. F1. Kimmy Antonelli is on pole yet again in Belgium. He is building a brilliant record for someone so young. Oscar starts on sixth spot... he'll be flat out getting a podium finish again. This season is getting well away from McLaren. Talk about a sudden fall in standards.

The Wrap - Paying and Playing 'Ovas'

1. World Cup of Football. FIFA corruption allegations aside (why trade your reputation for temporary placation?). the dominance of Spain and France - and ultimately Argentina was stunning. England are the spare wheel of sorts, but Jude Bellingham is really making a big impact. England could go close v Argentina. They are there and closer than usual. 

Every team has their star striker, but the journey of Norway to the final eight was something else. The Viking Row was outstanding (like the Icelandic clap). Super entertaining, even allowing for exaggerated dives and histrionics. They should earn a ten minute stint on the sideline (like the fake HIA claim in NRL). The hydration drinks break has proven to be a master stroke of resetting and preserving players in the heat.

Perhaps FIFA could concentrate on eliminating death threats against players who miss penalty shoot out opportunities, like Columbia is finding once again!

The red card penalties that go across games are ridiculous, but necessary, otherwise they face rampant poor behaviour. Trump could have sorted things out for Switzerland who in the 70th minute lost their striker Embolo. There should be more red cards for the fakers.

2. Wallabies. How we want to love them, but what a repeated tale of disappointment they are. Starting brightly, they simply cannot match others and on form should really be qualifying to get into the Rugby World Cup. Coach Joe Schmidt's winning percentage is now 36.66% (11 wins, 19 losses...including 1 win in the last ten Tests and 6 losses in a row!). Dave Rennie (38.2%) can breathe easy. A few novice rugby tips to save the code:

1. Appoint Australian coaches on merit only. Les Kiss is a good start.
2. Don't overpay for players. Sua'ali'i is yet to show his wages value.
3. Have a similar Wallabies side each game. The high rotation is a joke, especially in the halves. Injuries strike, but massive squad sizes are ridiculous. No one knows the team anymore. Think of the golden ages when people knew the players broadly.
4. Get a mainstream TV deal. No one really watches the game (outside of the GPS fraternity).
5. Speed the game up and stop the torturous TMO moments.
6. Limit the rule breaches to an explainable single set. 
7. Have referees who are consistent and not self absorbed.
8. The game is in massive decline. What is the plan? 

The defence of our outside backs was horrific. Too many soft efforts.

3. NRL. Brilliant 300 game celebration for Daniel Tupou. Three tries and a huge win. The Roosters could make a dent but need to beat Melbourne and Penrith. Not sure Walker at $1.5m per year is the best investment long term. Cherry-Evans has been solid.

Jerome Luai. He attracts too many headlines and not enough on field excellence. To think that the worst run club in the NRL, Parramatta, are even considering signing him is beyond belief. What is most disturbing (allowing for the one year Jonah Pezet signing stupidity) is that the supposed excellent young players are clearly not trusted and another year closer to moving on...the Volkman impasse is understandable (19th most missed tackles in 12 games), but we are not hearing of lots of other players moving on, unlike St George. 

They are also simply incapable of attracting any good talent (Xerri, Burton, Leniu, Farnworth have all been mentioned), but did pick up the unwanted Su'A. They need a complete reset. A shame they refused to listen to Matt Cameron when he presented the same blueprint that is succeeding at Penrith.

The Sharks were stunning v the Dolphins who join the high number of teams leaking 50+ points in a game in 2026. Parramatta (twice), Wests Tigers (twice), St George, Titans, Melbourne and now the Dolphins. There are extra teams who have conceded 40+ points in games in 2026, like Manly! The Bulldogs...honestly. Too much Gus and not enough Ciraldo. Have we seen this movie before?

How good was coach Daley? A top, rare and very unexpected Origin series win.

4. AFL. Sadly, despite some great moments in 2026, the Swans are gone. Their efforts in the second half v Freo brought back every bad memory of their successive Grand Final massacres in recent years v Western Bulldogs, Geelong and Brisbane. Lack of strength, composure and experience under pressure and a complete capitulation. Very concerning with talk of a new culture and overcoming mental demons sounding very hollow. Every struggle they have had like this is on a bigger field. They were at a complete loss.

Meanwhile, Hawthorn are regathering and the GWS comeback win over Geelong was spectacular. St Kilda look stronger than their table position indicates. Brisbane seem the most likely to win their third comp in a row.  Freo will go close. Forget the rest...Melbourne, Geelong, Adelaide, Collingwood, Western Bulldogs... all have talent, but too inconsistent. 

What has happened to the Gold Coast? Like the Wests Tigers... promise and now perishing.

5. Scottish Golf Open. Min Woo, MacIntyre, Fitzpatrick, Gotterup and Fitzpatrick (M) are leading the way after Rory's poor third round (by his lofty standards). Scheffler's run of 78 straight tournaments without being cut, ended surprisingly (after winning The Open in 2025). The fog is playing havoc, but a good prep for The Open which kicks off on 16 July later this week.

6. Wimbledon. Yes, sadly Alex de Minaur lost again. He does not seem to be improving and needs a change in his personnel or his methods. Sixth-eighth in the world is awesome, but not Grand Slam winning. 

The women's final saw Linda Noskova beat Karolina Muchova. The domination of the game by central Europeans is incredible. The '-ova' surname suffix is a familiar one these days!

Sinner destroyed Novak and will do the same to Zverev too tonight. This will be his fifth Grand Slam victory, one short of Edberg and Becker. He is a machine, especially with Alcaraz (7 Slams) injured at present.

Cruz Hewitt into the Junior Wimbledon final tonight as well. "C'mon...". A great story.

7. Conor McGregor. A bad injury to end his return, but is there not a little bit in every viewer that hopes he gets a tough opponent to close his mouth a little? A showman and a successful one, but humility is not a strength. One you may be seeking a refund for on pay per view!

The Wrap - Losing the Tight Games

1. Travis Bazzana. Travis has been named in the American League MLB All Stars game as a second baseman. This is an incredible achievement in his rookie season. He has started his career (50 games) really well,  but this was not predicted.

2. NSW Origin. It is staggering to believe how many injuries and troubles NSW have at training in the lead up to Origin games in recent seasons. Whoever is training them (and coaching them) is pushing them far too hard, too early - or something else that is strange. Last year we had Latrell break down in camp. This year Moses, Casey McLean, Crichton, Strange... whose next? 

This will be Laurie's farewell from NRL coaching ever, anywhere. His decisions to bring Lachlan Galvin and Hugo Savala into camp...after having Joash Papali'i and Blaize Talagi in camp earlier, defy belief at this stage of their brief and unproven careers. Let them play, prosper and be better club players first. This seems unecessary and adding to the pressure on these emerging players. Sadly it is looking like Queensland 13++.

3. NRL. Interesting to see Bronson Xerri turn his back on Parramatta for Melbourne... Spencer Lenui, Matt Burton, Moses Leota and Herbie Farnworth have all been pictured in mock Parramatta jerseys on social media too (they might all be suing them for defamation too). Sadly, there is every reason to reject the club: Culture. However, their efforts without Moses are often better than when he plays. Interesting.

The Tigers have hit rock bottom. A new CEO and now a huge decision to make re the coach. It is looking a lot like the past few seasons all of a sudden. Well done to Saints! Apparently Clint Gutherson is keen to continue playing at St George for another five seasons too, he runs the BBQs for the U/18s, is training the house down and looks good in the nets too.

The Broncos are a disgrace in 2026 too. So bad. They just seem to have given up. Time for 'Madge' to move on and give the reins to Trent Barrett. 

You have to give it to Justin Holbrook. What an effort with Newcastle. They have stood up at key times this year and been so much more consistent. Dylan Brown is playing freely and well. 

4. Socceroos. 1-1 v Egypt. A lot of joy has been given to us all over the past month by the Socceroos, but coach Popovic (from Fairvale way) sure can makes things complicated! Replacing the best beach in Australia with the aging Matt Ryan was either going to be master stroke - or a case of heat stroke in the hot Dallas sun. Giving the ball to our youngest player, Herrington, seemed really strange too, while more experienced players hugged their team mates in the huddle.

Egypt were far more composed and Mo Saleh shook hands with every opponent while his team celebrated. Classy. Surely there needs to be more science into spot kicks... run ups, planted foot = direction, keeping the ball on the ground or in the air? We seemed lost while Egypt had their laptops out, analysing the way we play penalty shoot outs.

Losing tight games is not good for you and should be avoided at all costs. Brazil v Norway and England v Mexico tomorrow should be close, cracking games. Mbappe and Messi lead the way on 7 goals. Harry Kane and Erling Haaland sit on 5 goals. Awesome players all.

5. Wallabies - Rugby. Speaking of  close losses, this has proven to be a specialty of the Wallabies under Schmidt who passed the coaching mantle over far too early. He should have left then. Against Ireland we had some really bright moments. Still an infuriating game with the TMO interruptions and injury stoppages. Thank goodness the Egypt football team didn't play!. Great when the ball is in play, but rugby now rivals the NFL in terms of stop start and duration. Good for the big men! We re just not good enough.

A tight and entertaining win by Ireland. A penalty after the final whistle is vintage rugby! Joe Schmidt seemed to get beaten a lot by small numbers...great guy, but the second worst Wallabies coaching record ever in our history. (39% win after 29 tests). Dave Rennie has the worst ever (36% from 33 tests).

We lost with a chance to win after the bell. However, it was closer than Harry Souttar's effort. (Noticed the NSW Waratahs coach, Dan McKellar, has left the building too. No surprise).

6. New Sporting Capital of Australia - South Australia. 

South Australia have become the best state in all domestic Australian sports:

• Current back to back Sheffield Shield cricket champions (2024-2025 and 2025-2026); 
• Current 2025-2026 Australian Baseball champions (Adelaide Giants); 
• The 2026 NBL final had Adelaide 36ers lose narrowly in the final series 3-2 to the Sydney Kings;
• In the A-League 2026, Adelaide United came second in the season proper and lost their semi final. 
• The Adelaide Crows were the AFL minor premiers in 2025.
• In the 2026 AFL season, the Adelaide Crows (equal fourth) and Port Adelaide Power (fifteenth) are pretty good too! 
• Now the Adelaide Thunderbirds win the national Super Netball championships back to back - in 2025 and now 2026.
• But, no rugby league in that state - so there!

7. AFL. The Swans looked fresh and finally have parked their handball speed game. It was very predictable for great tacticians like Chris Fagan and the Brisbane coaching team. Brisbane are surging now and look favourites to win the flag for mine...again for the three-peat. Freo got dusted by the GWS orange (due for a loss) and Carlton continued their 7 game undefeated surge under their new coach, Josh Fraser. They are in the top ten now in a "wildcard" position ... "we are the navy blues...". Hawthorn v Carlton next week may hit 100,000 in the crowd! A tight win by two points 74-72.

8. T20 Cricket. India v Ireland. India have lost their T20 series to the Irish... incredible! A close loss, but a loss all the same. Their first T20 series loss in a long while and with a full strength team! In England, they lost the first T20 as well. However the fifteen year old phenomenon, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi debuted with 14 (and two sixes). He can hit the ball!

9. T20 Womens Cricket Final. There have been ten T20 finals for women starting in 2009 (played every two years). We have played in eight finals now, winning six times, with a possible seventh win in 2026! Elyse Perry has really excelled in this tournament as our highest run scorer, but we have been pretty understated in making our seventh final. Sutherland and Gardiner have not really dominated yet - and can! No more narrow Australian losses!

10. MLB. In the American League, Texas Rangers, the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians lead the way. In the National League, the Dodgers continue to absolutely dominate, but the Atlanta Braves, Phillies, Brewers and Chicago Cubs also figure strongly after playing about 50/ 162 games for the season.

11. FI - Oscar Piastri. The Silverstone GP is one of the best and is on this weekend. Antonelli (179 - Mercedes), Russell (136 - Mercedes) and Lewis Hamilton (132 - Ferrari) lead the way in this year's drivers championship. Oscar is in sixth spot (82 points). Starting from eighth on the grid never ends well.

12. USPGA Golf. Scottie Scheffler lost in a tight, delayed playoff earlier this week in the Travellers v Viktor Hovland at -21 and is starting to do that a bit...but a good problem to have winning $2M still! The John Deere Classic this weekend is sadly like a Reserve Grade fixture with none of the world stars on show (why would you sponsor it?)... Lucas Glover looks strongest.

13. Fenech v Mundine. Some great banter from Jeffrey Fenech about Anthony Mundine's mouth, but Mundine is also correct. Jeff's record as a boxing trainer/ cornerman is not spectacular. He was vastly superior in the ring however!

14. Wimbledon. Alex de Minaur leaps into the round of sixteen and needs to lift when he plays the in form Italian, Flavio Coboli. Coboli made the final of the French Open two weeks ago, losing in five sets to Zverev. Hopefully he can win and get into the final eight! No narrow Australian losses.

The Wrap - Climbing the Pyramid of Football

1. Socceroos. Is the World Cup the most unifying thing we have seen for a long time in Australian sport (since the last Football World Cup or Sydney Olympics)? You have to admire the passion and commitment of the fans! The funny thing is we know we are ordinary, but knocking over South American and European teams is exciting. Australia v Egypt will be interesting. Mo Saleh will be the difference, so we will need to watch him. Hopefully we can be more attacking! Two goals in three games won't win it! A goal may be enough to conquer the pyramids of Egypt!

2. NRL. The Dolphins are warming up for a sensational semi final appearance. No Wayne Bennett legacy  impact. Classy, speedy and tough. What a lesson in recruitment that club is! Hard nosed forwards and speed. The Cowboys, Roosters and Knights all won tough arm wrestles!

Jason Taumalolo 300 games! Awesome. Not many players in the game at present over 300 games. Only Cherry-Evans (367), Ben Hunt who signed on for an extra season in 2027 (366), Josh Papali'i (334), Dane Gagai (328) and Adam Reynolds (320) are over 300 games. A rare club. Cameron Smith leads on 430 games. When will he be announced as an immortal? An incredible player.

The weekend told us a few things: Api needs to start. Ethan Strange needs to start. To'o may struggle to be picked. Bradman Best is a top shelf Origin player. Tedesco-Edwards is the toss of a coin. Olakau'atu is a must. He crushed the Storm early at Brookvale Oval. How he was dropped is staggering. Latrell will be missed but Crichton is an incredible leader and talent. Murray must start as well... Unfortunately Turbo looked like he needed leg surgery...so slow.

POSSIBLE WINNING NSW ORIGIN III TEAM:

• James Tedesco 
• Mark Nawaqanitawase
• Stephen Crichton
• Bradman Best
• Tolutau Koula
• Ethan Strange
• Nathan Cleary
• Payne Haas
• Api Korisau
• Isaiah Yeo
• Haumole Olakau'atu 
• Hudson Young
• Cameron Murray

It will be interesting to see if Laurie Daley sticks with some less exciting options (Moses, To'o, Staggs, Brailey, Robson...). His coaching career could come to an end very soon otherwise.

3. AFL. The Swans... the Swans...What to make of them? That game v Brisbane reminded us all of that horrible 2024 Grand Final effort. There is a softer underbelly there sometimes, even if the season has been very positive for them so far. Gulden's return was most welcomed! Freo continue to shine... hard, dry tracks help their style. Dominant users of the football. Hawthorn and the Cats are hovering, but it is the Brisbane Lions that impressed most this weekend...and six straight wins for Carlton!

4. England v New Zealand Test Cricket. As soon as that sun comes out in England, the game changes. This pitch is an absolute road, but overcast conditions can change the whole Test. Series locked at 1-1. A top opening stand of 317 by Tom Latham (151) and Devon Conway (157). Ben Duckett (113) scored his first ton for a long time. 7 Test tons, but 16x 50s. Lots of starts, but not many finishes for an opening Test match batsman. New Zealand are zooming in on a 2-1 Test series victory. Lots of tight bowling and loose English batting at key moments. Harry Brook is incredibly talented, but thoughtless and slap dash at bad times.

5.T20 Cricket - Ireland v India. A remarkable T20 victory for Ireland v India. Like a Shakespearean play...arrogance is the fatal flaw. Playing the IPL Orange cap winner (most runs), 15 year old, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, would be a great start. He is a superstar.

6. FI- Austrian GP. Can Piastri upset Antonelli? Probably not from seventh spot on the grid. Lewis Hamilton is the surprise packet for Ferrari. McLaren are eating plenty of humble pie this season, sitting a distant third place so far. The Ferraris look sharpest.

7. Wimbledon. It all starts on Monday. Serena Williams is back in the first round as well (last played in 2022) v Australia's Maya Joint. She has lost so many games this year, Serena is a huge chance in Round 1. In the Wimbledon lead up tournament at Queens, Alex de Minaur gets dumped out in the quarter finals. Top 8 again is his limit.

8. USPGA Golf. At the Travellers, Scottie Scheffler shot 60 to led at16 under after two rounds, but Viktor Hovland  has put pressure on him at -20 after three rounds. Incredible golf. A scintillating final round ahead.

The Wrap - Parra Guy

1. World Cup - Socceroos. The World Cup of Football is the greatest show on earth. A brilliant win v Turkey last week, but a dreadful start v USA for the Socceroos. How good would a goal or two v USA have been? Harry Souttar's air swing in front of goal didn't help. However coach Popovic has a few tricks up his sleeve. Sometimes it seems like he may be outwitting himself! Turkey have been stuffed and basted and Australia needs points v Paraguay on Friday. We need to play with more freedom and attack on Friday! Hopefully we can do the business. Any team with 'parra' in it, is able to be beaten.

2. US Open Golf. Shinnecock Hills is not close to anything much in Long Island. It is a tricky course, but not close to the quality of the Masters either (what is?)! Brutal at times and has so few players hitting under par. In fact only five after three rounds. It is also very hard to get there, so the crowds are not great. The US Open has always struggled. 

Xander Shauffele is always there, so it seems is Morikawa and the Fitzpatricks have made a strong collective name for themselves. Scottie Scheffler is always hovering and sits second after three rounds in pursuit of his golfing major Grand Slam! Wyndham Clark has nailed the course (64 was super impressive in the first round, then 69... awesome golf), but a few slip ups and it is anyone's to win. 

Adam Scott's 100th consecutive Major (incredible) ended badly for him and all the other Australians. Min Woo, Cam Smith and an injured Jason Day did not trouble the leader board and in fact were on a plane home soon after (MTC) - or at the victory parade of the New York Knicks!

It is Wyndham Clark's to lose from here...surely he can't lose from there. Wyndham will be destroying more than locker rooms if he loses from here. His win in the Byron Nelson positions him well for the final round pressure. The 2023 US Open winner stands to equal Greg Norman on two major wins if he can hold on.

3. NRL. State of Origin. Why was it so predictable for NSW? We just seemed so unlikely to win all week. There needs to be changes and Latrell and Stephen Crichton could come in immediately and excel. Crichton is a sensational player. Strange needs to play and Cameron Murray needs more minutes. Has Laurie Daley lost it? Api might think so.

Todd Payten gets two more years as Cowboys coach which is a massive comeback from earlier this year when the critics had the door to the crematorium open for his career.

Manly were horrible in the last few minutes v the Bulldogs and probably deserved to lose. Crichton's boot was better than Garrick's and it was the difference with a field goal as well. He will be welcomed back into the NSW team ASAP! A punish of a game to watch however. 

The Dolphins surge on yet again and the curse of Wayne has been defeated by a team that looks better than when he coached them! Benji's Tigers were sadly at their mediocre best. The Storm are back too! With a bye in hand they are one win outside the eight!

4. Australia v Bangladesh ODI and T20 Series. A thumping for us in the ODI series, but the T20 has seen a few flourish. Cooper Connolly's 149 in the final ODI win was extraordinary. Matt Renshaw in particular - three wickets in two T20s and 89no in the last one!

5. Test Cricket - England v New Zealand. Without Stokes, England look vulnerable. New Zealand conditions are very similar to English conditions and it is an even context. Matt Henry has 146 wickets in 35 tests at 26.92 which is good going! Ravi Rachindra averages 47.68 after 23 tests (5 tons) while Henry Nicholls has 11 Test tons at 40.00 after 59 Tests. A couple of great young stars. Joe Root keeps shining at home especially. He is what stands between victory and a draw for New Zealand.

6. NHL. The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Las Vegas Knights to win the much treasured Stanley Cup. A phenomenal competition. Brutal.

7. Super Rugby Final. In case you were wondering... 357 points scored in the final series and the Hurricanes beat the Chiefs 60-5 in the Grand Final! Embarrassing. The competition needs a reboot. We are further behind now than we were 12 months ago.

8. MLB. Travis Bazzana is stamping his class at the Cleveland Guardians, averaging .260 after 45 games. He hit two home runs this morning v the Astros from a pitcher who had not given up a home run to a left hander all season after 146 plate appearances. Travis hit him out of the park with the first pitch of the game! Sixth and seventh MLB Home Run! He is a terrific talent, possibly in the best clutch of MLB players this season! Keep an eye out for him. Played for Ryde and lives at Turramurra. Awesome story.

The Wrap - Wild Turkey and Choke

1. World Cup - Socceroos. It is the biggest sporting event in the world, edging out the Olympics! Playing Turkey (when did their new pronunciation arrive?), we were rank underdogs and almost to script one of their bigger mouthed players told the world how we were going to be crushed. Oops! Our defence was great. Rock solid and it drew Turkey into a different style of play. We capitalised beautifully on some half chances. 2-0 is pretty spectacular for the first game in the World Cup. The crowd from Australia was immense really! Great support and a wonderful moment in sport. 

The chequebooks will be opening for our goalkeeper, young Patrick Beach. How good?

2. NRL. The bye is really playing havoc with the comp. The Roosters were towelled up with seven players missing. Cronulla v Warriors was a punish to watch, but an exciting end. The superstars make a big difference. A solid win by the Eels too. Inching away from the spoon.

The Dolphins conversely are highly entertaining. Nikorima is such a talent. Pace and intuition. They are reversing the Wayne Bennett curse.

Is it an optical illusion or is the Warriors home ground short of a few lights? So many shadows. Looks like the old WD&HO Wills Craven Mild Cup at Henson Park.

Wade Egan's carry on luggage must be getting expensive after again missing out for Origin. There must be something wrong with the way NSW players train for Origin too. So many injuries in the camp. Moses, Mitchell, now Maclean and others over time. What amateur hour antics are they up to? It sometimes seems like Laurie Daley is out of touch. Bring back Madge. He might need another gig soon. He has a short term player tolerance level only. The Broncos have turned up their toes now. Terrible.

Tigers v Titans was hardly the match of the round either, but entertaining. Three tries for Luai... he is a smart businessman! The Tigers start to regather some ground, but the defence of both teams was hardly premiership material. Leichhardt Oval now retires as the Latcham Robinson Stand gets renovated.

Origin II this week. Can't wait! Hopefully Ashley Klein goes well. Dreadful addiction news for his family. We need to support the guy, unlike many in the media.

3. AFL. If the NRL was not limited enough, the AFL had a bye weekend this weekend too...West Coast v North Melbourne was torturous. A distinct lack of skill and errors galore. Harley Reid is wasted at West Coast. The Swans v Port Adelaide was better, but the Swans seem obsessed with fancy handball play when a smart kick and more marks (!) would be better. Too much finesse and cute stuff as they win their fourth game by less than 10 points this past month. St Kilda looked really good last week v Swans and were equally impressive v the GWS Giants. A great win.

4. ODI Cricket v Bangladesh. It seems to the outsider that no one really cares much anymore about any coloured clothes cricket. World Cup or the Arjuna Ranatunga Cup. We were crushed to be fair. Short, Marnus and Connolly have not furthered their chances. There is no dominant batsman and outside of Steve Smith, we have not had a dominant and consistent batsman in the last ten years. Certainly no one consistently good (eg. Travis Head, Cameron Green).

Ben Stokes is on the brink. He loves the biff. A matchwinner, but he has a huge T20 worldwide circuit ahead of him. The crowds love him, but the drinkers do not.

5. NBA. The New York Knicks have won the NBA after a 4-1 Game 4 v San Antonio. Again a final quarter comeback made it work and they won the first time since 1973. Their 53 year drought makes Parramatta's premiership drought look sick.

6. NHL. The Carolina Hurricanes are up 3-2 as well. Poised for victory coming back from 1-2. Game 4 tomorrow morning our time.

7. PGA Canadian Open. Pre US Open and largely uneventful... a fair distance for many to travel, so not the strongest of fields. Looking to put this tournament behind us and see the real stuff soon at Shinnecock Hills. Interesting to see one key name who MTC: Justin Rose. Must have had an early flight. 

8. The Grass Court Tennis Season. Hopefully a better Wimbledon and lead up than what we saw at the French Open. Nottingham, Queens and Eastbourne.... Time is running out for Alex de Minaur.

9. Matty and Volk at the White House. Incredible they would let Matty Johns near the thing. Must say that a few lads played cricket on the lawn of the Capitol Building in 1990. No fences back then, but photos to prove it. Big 80th celebrations for the USA.

10. Super Rugby. Chiefs beat Crusaders 49-12. Dominant. The Hurricanes whacked the Blues 57-21 too for a Chiefs v Hurricanes final. The defence has got worse and worse. Two semi final wins by almost 50 points! The competition has problems. The sadness is most Australians would not even know about it all. No breakdancing by the Crusaders this year!

11. F1 - The Barcelona GP. Piastri's 2026 struggles continue, but McLaren is improving. Piastri and Norris are 5th and 6th now in the Driver's Championship after last week in Monaco. It certainly is a grind for him this season. Hopefully a Stephen Bradbury pile up gives him a chance.

The Wrap - Pass the Victory Song Lyrics

1. NRL. Newcastle let a massive chance slip v Melbourne. Dynamic play in 2026, but not enough to outsmart Melbourne who are clawing their way back up the table with great resolve. The Dolphins are tremendously entertaining to watch, dazzling their way up the table now too. 

The Roosters bounced back with a crushing win over the Raiders in their backyard. Amazing how the Raiders have slipped in 2026, but they are not alone. The Broncos losing to the Titans on the back of the loss to the Dragons last week puts a few nails in their campaign now. Do the Titans own a victory song?

The performance of the Tigers was appalling. 68-0 is a disgrace. A bright start, fewer 'six agains' and now they are back to the pack. Benji is like Jason Ryles...coaches that are never under the microscope, despite some really poor performances. The Tigers have had two games where they gave up forty points as well!

The teams losing by 50 this year? Parramatta (2 v Melbourne and Gold Coast), Wests Tigers (2 v Cronulla and Penrith)), Titans (1 v Cronulla), Dolphins (1 v Manly), Melbourne (1 v Panthers) and St George (1 v Roosters).

The Panthers go into their second bye on 26 points (soon 28 points)... this is enough to make the semi finals already! Incredible dominance this year... and incredible humility too. They know their victory song well!

2. Best NRL Coaches. Some of the most successful coaches % winning record? Keiran Foran (80% - 10 games), Craig Bellamy (69% - 620 games), Norm Provan (69% - 181 games), Bob Fulton (64% - 405 games), Mal Reilly (63% - 98 games), Trent Robinson (63% - 348 games), Jack Gibson (62% - 394 games), Craig Fitzgibbon (62% - 117 games), Wayne Bennett (61% - 972 games), Phil Gould (59% - 280 games), Peter Louis (59% - 161 games), Geoff Toovey (58% 105 games), Ivan Cleary (58% - 491 games), Chris Anderson (57% - 337 games) and Roy Masters (57% - 250 games), Steve Folkes (56% - 288 games), Terry Fearnley (56% - 210 games) and Warren Ryan (56% - 415 games).

3. AFL. The greatest club game in recent memory with St Kilda really unlucky to lose in the dying seconds to the Swans. A see sawing game with a big crowd (42,000). A superb physical game and some absolute individual brilliance... Liam Ryan was outstanding. There was Wilkie, Wanganeen-Milera, Heeney, Curnow, Warner...all excellent. 104-102 was an incredible outcome for the Swans. Superb to be in the crowd there today! A very happy crowd in the end.

The Western Bulldogs have mastered the tight win and are doing it in great style. Geelong look like April-May-June premiers but lose tight ones too often. Bailey Smith is an incredible player. Outstanding Brownlow candidate with Isaac Heeney.

Fremantle continue to break their own records with their twelfth straight win added to with a crushing club record defeat of North Melbourne. They sit comfortably on top of the comp with 12 wins and one loss. North fold too easily.

4. England v New Zealand. Lords has dished up a terrible result wicket with a million wickets falling too quickly. Jamieson and Smith for New Zealand were superb with the ball. For England the talented Harry Brooks got a half century, so did their new opener, Emilio Gay, but not much else for anyone. When teams are getting sub 200 scores it can be exciting for bowlers, but more balance helps. 

Conversely, India will fill their Test cricket stockings against Afghanistan (less Rashid Khan), who were taught a huge lesson. The Indian team can bat! KL Rahul scored yet another Test century. He is a late bloomer in some respects but now has 12 Test tons (against six different nations).

Shubman Gill has also now hit over 1,000 runs as captain or India. He is second quickest (15 innings) just behind Sunil Gavaskar (14 innings) as captain to hit 1,000 runs. He scored his sixth test hundred as Indian captain (15 innings). 11 Test tons now in 41 Tests. He is a gun.

5. Cricket. If you thought losing the Melbourne Stars this week and losing the ODI series 2-1 to Pakistan this week was bad, things could be worse (noting all have played more tests than all of us!):

Not The Strongest Australian Cricket Test XI since 2010: 

• Ed Cowan
• Joe Burns
• Rob Quiney 
• Callum Ferguson 
• Aaron Finch 
• Nic Maddison
• Andrew McDonald 
• Peter Nevill (wk)
• Michael Beer 
• Xavier Doherty 
• Dan Cullen
• Ben Hilfenhaus 
• John Hastings
• Peter George

6. NBA. New York Knicks. Up 2-0 over the San Antonio Spurs now after a one point thriller in Game Two. The defence was outstanding from both teams. How athletic and what a superb demonstration of intense athleticism!

7. Super Rugby. The Brumbies were belted 66-12 by the Hurricanes. The Reds were also belted by the Chiefs 46-24. The mighty Crusaders won 52-31 over the Blues as well. 

The semi finals: Chiefs v Crusaders and Hurricanes v Blues. All New Zealand teams. Dominant. Australia is getting further and further behind the might of New Zealand rugby. Let's be honest, even when it is hard to admit.

8. NHL. Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights are locked in battle and one goal has divided them in all three games. The Vegas Knights are up 2-1. The Stanley Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. A huge atmosphere.

9. Football World Cup. The biggest sporting show on earth outside of the Olympics starts next weekend, but the fans are saying the seats are too expensive! It will be interesting to see the crowd size, but the intensity will be there. 

10. French Open Tennis. A lacklustre version this year sadly, with so many upsets, but the story is the female qualifier from Poland - Maja Chwalinska. The first woman to make the final of the French Open as a qualifier. An incredible story of success. She played Mirra Andreeva (8th seed) from Russia. The Central Europeans dominate. An easy win by Andreeva in the end... not a household name as yet, but one to watch.

In the men's final, the Italian Flavio Cobolli plays Alexander Zverev tonight. This is the greatest chance Zverev has of ever winning a Grand Slam. As a known hot head, he will need to stay composed to win it. No man either than Sinner or Alcaraz has won a men's final since the end of 2023, when Novak won his 24th!

11. F1 - Piastri. Struggling to make a podium this season. Hard to believe McLaren were so deeply asleep during pre season in their car preparation. Starting from grid position #7 and #8 is not going to please the McLaren investors. The Monaco GP is famous for the car at the front of the grid winning. Nearly nowhere to overtake! Antonelli is all set to expand his lead in the driver's championship.

12. US Open Golf. The Memorial Tournament is the traditional hit out before the US Open, but you only have to be fractionally off your game in a PGA event and you are cooked. Fleetwood, Rose, Fitzpatrick, Burns, McIlroy, Lowry, Scheffler and Shauffele are all there and thereabouts. Not leading, but hovering!

The Wrap - Bazzana Havana

1. MLB - Travis Bazzana. 'TBaz' continues on his merry way leading the averages now with the Cleveland Guardians. Since being called up three weeks ago, he has even come into reckoning for the MLB Rookie of the Year. They lost today v the Red Sox but he hit two doubles in their loss. 

He has such outstanding belief and talent. He has played 29 games, 104 at bats, 32 hits, including 8 doubles and 3 home runs. He is surging and is the lead off bat now. He is their leading player right now. Incredible. Averaging .308. It is very early of course, but that is an elite number at the highest level of the game.

2. NRL. Congratulations to the bye on their 200th game. They have been really dominant on the Bull Crap Momentum Tracker all season!

Key NRL questions:

• Is the six tackle repeat hooter a sign of an imminent try? The NRL would have us believe it. 
• Is the failed attacking raid in the red zone inevitably rewarded with a penalty? So it seems.
• When will there be a clear penalty for players not surrendering the ball instantly at the break down in play? The AFL have this right. Yardage penalties with scope for a quick tap.
• Should every NRL coach walk the sidelines like the NFL? It certainly adds more spice to the game. One team on either side?

The Tigers bounce back; Parramatta looked like pretenders again (still spoon favourites, especially now the Dragons can win) with coach Ryles not getting the blowtorch like many other coaches; Newcastle look so much better every week and Dylan Lucas is pure class. The Sharks also suddenly looked a tougher proposition. The Roosters and Storm was a classic game of arm wrestling defence. So hard to score a try now. The Roosters were ordinary sadly...so many errors.

Booing of Lachlan Galvin is surely overdoing it a year later. His try was clever.

St George had an excellent win, but the Broncos...dear oh dear. The Dragons have a brighter future than most. Look at the Newcastle Knights under Justin Holbrook. Coming fourth now! Awesome turn around. The Raiders continue their characteristic mid season turn around too. The colder it gets in Canberra, the more successful they become.

3. AFL. Carlton have bounced back since the change of coach to Josh Fraser and have put three successive wins together now. They had a magnificent win v Geelong who have been on fire. The Swans absolutely whacked Richmond in a record breaking afternoon at the SCG on Saturday. Charlie Curnow kicked 8 goals which is incredible. 

The Western Bulldogs scored a cracking win v Collingwood and GWS continue their recovery with a win in the Alice against Melbourne. What a spectacular ground! Finn Callaghan had a game (1km gained!). They are screaming into eighth spot now. One to watch with their big run to September after their shock loss to West Coast.

4. ODI Cricket v Pakistan. Why are we playing this series? Guaranteed that in two weeks you won't remember anything that happened. Great to see Liam Scott rewarded with an Australian gig. Ex Hunters Hill Pirates player before getting across to South Australia.

However, not selected. The pitch was woefully inconsistent, but typical sub continent...low, slow and turning. Too much for Marnus and Cameron Green. Patience must surely be shortening with both. Our bowlers were ineffective, but Kuhnemann continues his excellent form in the sub continent. That is a handy skill as lucrative IPL options may open up as well.

5. County Cricket. Who is starring from Australia? The recent Aussie turned Englishman, Jake Lehmann has hit 549 runs at 62.11. Daniel Hughes (539 at 44), Jake Weatherald (483 at 60), Nathan McSweeney (392 at 49) and Marcus Harris (366 at 45). Not spectacular.

6. IPL Final. Gotta love the IPL! The Gujrat Titans (GT) play the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final tonight. GT have Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Rabada and Mohammad Siraj. RCB have the legend Virat Kohli, Tim David and Josh Hazlewood. RCB should whack them. Wait for Kohli to produce under pressure. RCB won it last year too (6 other second/ third places). GT have one win and one second/ third place.

7. Super Rugby. The wheels have fallen off the Brumbies and they have a week to tighten them up. They have plummeted, losing to Pasifika, but the Reds threaten for semi final success. The Crusaders knocked over the Highlanders in a terrific win. That franchise is incredible.

With the top six in the semi finals now, the Hurricanes (1) play the Brumbies (6) next Friday in Wellington. Crusaders (3) play the Blues (4) in Christchurch and then the Chiefs (2) play the QLD Reds (5) in Waikato. Can anyone but the Hurricanes, Chiefs and Crusaders win - especially in New Zealand?

Can a semi be played on a Sunday afternoon? TV/ viewer ratings missed yet again.

8. French Open Tennis. Jannik Sinner was unceremoniously turfed out and Novak too in a tournament without Carlos Alcaraz. Alex de Minaur faded out too in the scorching heat. He seems incapable of grappling with those big opportunities, as solid a player as he is. The youth of a few players is rising finally, like young gun Fonesca and Zverev. We will finally see a new winner of a men's tennis Grand Slam.

Iva Swiatek and Sabalenka will be hard to beat in the women's as it heads to the fourth round tomorrow. Gauff was ousted in yet another upset that only the clay can bring.

9. F1 Grand Prix. McLaren are in huge trouble. A DNF for Norris and a 11th place for Oscar Piastri. In the Canadian GP, the Mercedes cars dominated. Antonelli already has four wins and leads gthe Drivers Championship on 131 points in a canter ahead by 43 from George Russell (Mercedes). Piastri is back in sixth place on 48 points.

10. EPL. Tottenham survive...just, despite West Ham winning 3-0 v Leeds. With all games finishing within an ace of each other, the drama and pressure on the field was countered by a 1-0 win by Tottenham. The Hammers join the second tier layer of English football and lose money, players and reputation. They will bounce back.

Arsenal could not ice their season, losing in penalties in the Champions League clash with Paris St Germain (PSG). Typical Arsenal. They could really have made a powerful statement there. A shame, but the EPL title is under their arm.

11. The NBA Finals. It is decided: New York Knicks v San Antonio Spurs. The Knicks were commanding winners in straight sets. They are so tall. A dauting opponent. The Spurs got through in a tight and tough Game 7. A great achievement. Starts 4 June.

12. NHL Final. The Carolina Hurricanes take on the Las Vegas Knights for the Stanley Cup. Both convincing winners in what should be a cracking final. Awesome athleticism. Starts Wednesday.

13. World Cup Soccer. It is nearly underway. The fake injury and the dodgy ref were in full flight in the Socceroos 1-0 friendly loss to Mexico. Interesting that refs don't often preside over losses to Mexico in friendlies. I suspect "a good tight loss" may be our WC mantra, but a wonderful spectacle and showcase of talent ahead.

The Wrap - Bye the Bye

1. NRL. Only one thing worse than a bye....wet weather footy games in a bye round. This is the time of year when the viewers head to watch the AFL. Manly keep surging, but St George continue their rough ride. There is talent there, but Flanagan needs to go. Not quick enough and does not run deep enough into the defence. 

The Melbourne Storm are worrying and have been caught short by this current obsession with six more tackles at the whim of the ref. We've had the sin bin obsession a couple of Magic Rounds ago, the 'cynical disruptor' fascination...it must get quiet some weeks in NRL headquarters.

It would be interesting to know which refs blow these most frequently. The State of Origin this week will prove interesting - and wet. Attacking players grabbing the jerseys of defenders is a new tactic to extract a 'six again'. It could cost teams massively if in possession. Sin binnings for a professional, cynical foul?

The re-signings of Todd Payten and Kieran Foran as coaches should occur soon, or other clubs will come knocking.

2. EPL. Arsenal got an unexpected gift from Man City who stumbled in a 1-1 result v Bournemouth mid week. Arsenal win the EPL in the first time forever (2003-2004). The greatest coach in world sport, Pep Guardiola, is on the move and with it will go Man City players and their amazing record.

The greatest scheduling in world sport happens tonight when ALL EPL games start at the same time. Will Spurs win or will West Ham win and relegate Tottenham? They deserve relegation after their ridiculous decision to get rid of Ange this time last year.

If West Ham win and Spurs lose, the Hammers stay in the top flight. If Spurs get one point, they stay up in the top flight. If they don't the Hammers fans will be hoping for a win v Leeds. It all unfolds on the same day at the same time. Knife edge scheduling. 

Aston Villa had a great win midweek in the Europa League v SC Frieberg. This is the same trophy that Tottenham won last year!

Hull City also join the EPL next year too! A stunning result v Middlesboro after Southampton were ruled out of the qualifier for cheating and filming training sessions mid week! A tough sanction, but Southampton have been left in the Championship.

3. A League. Sydney FC v Auckland. A 1-0 win by Auckland who beat a gallant Sydney under ex Sydney FC man, Steve Corica. Sydney FC have 5 wins and 3 runners up as the leading A-League club since it started in 2006. It is a first win by Auckland FC.

4. NBA. In the East Conference finals, New York Knicks are 3-0 up and on the precipice of the final. Tall timber. In The West Conference final, Thunder v Spurs, the Thunder are up 2-1. A Knicks v Thunder final showdown looms!

5. NHL. The Vegas Knights are up 2-0 in the West and in the East, the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes are 1-1. A brutal sport.

6. AFL. Interesting to see Carlton bounce back when Josh Fraser, a new coach arrives, putting two wins together, but their hippy hippy shakes at the end of the game is a worry. Speaking of which, the Gold Coast Suns were abysmal. Up by six goals at half time and lose it on the siren. Honestly. Their club shows glimmers of excellence and then complete hopelessness.

GWS were awesome against an incredibly disappointing Brisbane (premiers?). 166-88 is an emphatic loss (and GWS win). GWS have been underperforming all year, so a significant bounce back.

Two AFL rule changes that cannot come fast enough to maximise viewer engagement:

i. If a punch out from a throw-in goes over the sidelines, it is the other team's ball.. not another throw in.

ii. If you kick it out on the full, the other team gets the ball from where it was kicked.

This will keep the ball in play and the fans overjoyed.

7. IPL. Three teams have qualified for the finals now. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Tim David, Josh Hazelwood), Gujarat Titans (NIL),  Sunrisers Hyderabad (Travis Head, Pat Cummins) and one place up for grabs. Ricky Ponting's team will hang their heads after losing six straight but won on the weekend v the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and are one point ahead in fourth place (15 points). 

However, the Rajasthan Royals play the lowly Mumbai Indians. If Rajasthan win, they are in. The fifteen year old opener, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, (RR) looms as the highest run scorer of the IPL 2026 tournament. Incredible if he does it. He needs 70 to win the yellow hat at the age of fifteen!

LSG get the IPL spoon and coach Justin Langer is looking like getting the axe...again.

8. PGA Golf. Great play by Cameron Smith for a T4 result in the PGA Championship last week. He was impressive after a dreadful trot. Scheffler ended T14, but at the Byron Nelson, he is T2 after three rounds at -19, bouncing back well. He won it last year too.

Brooks Koepka is clawing his way back too, but a dreadful last round in the PGA Championship cost him. He sits T8 after three rounds at the Byron Nelson in Texas.

The Wrap - Pep in Your Magic Step

1. State of Origin Teams. There is some spice upcoming as there always is. So much media hype and promotion. Not sure Sam Walker has the defence needed, but NSW with Latrell Mitchell is a lot tougher for QLD. In fact Latrell has missed the first Origin game in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, but played last year.

 A decent possible NSW squad. We will struggle in the outside backs as always.:

• Dylan Edwards/ James Tedesco
• Casey McLean/ Tolutau Koula 
• Stephen Crichton
• Katoni Staggs
• Brian To'o
• Mitchell Moses/ Ethan Strange
• Nathan Cleary
• Isaiah Yeo
• Reece Robson/ Blake Brailey/ Wade Egan
• Adam Fonua-Blake/ King/ Stefano U.
• Keaon Koloamatangi/ Hudson Young/ Olakuato
• Jacob Preston/ Dylan Lucas/ Angus Crichton
• Cameron Murray

NSW talk a big game, but rarely win. The NRL hiatus and interruption to the comp is aggravating with the Origin interruptions. The Fox is a risk. Too unreliable under the high ball. Gutho has been overlooked once again. Queensland...they will be absolute favourites as always!

2. Magic Round. A bad Roosters loss, but the Cowboys were tough. Great to see Cody Ramsay score for the Roosters, but the Cowboys were too good. Too quick. They have really toughened up lately. Michael Maguire and Todd Payten have been buried and cremated a few times yet have risen from the ashes! Top performances.

Parramatta's special brand of touch football (ex-NSW Cup) is proving to be ridiculous, but coach Ryles seems unperturbed. He has the super signing Jonah Pezet in reserve grade still while Ronald Volkman continues to miss so many tackles. In six games he has missed 26 tackles - a record. In the top 50 missed tackle list for 2026 to date, Parramatta has six players. Go figure. Ryles needs some blowtorch on the tummy. Parramatta's hooker, de Silva's last play choices continue to be really worrying...week in week out. He is not learning fast.

Brisbane were eventually entertaining but disappointing, but the Warriors were huge. Their completion rate above 90% is unbeatable. Erin Clark and Fisher-Harris were superb. 'The Fish' is an exceptional leader. Halasima is so strong too. Newcastle have now won as many games in 2026 as the whole of 2025. What a super job by Justin Holbrook to date!

3. Tigers and Bulldogs. The Tigers have now given up over 40 points in the last three weeks. No one wants to say it, but Benji needs to smile or perish. Brad Arthur would add value there. There is so much intensity and Luai is already moving on (surprisingly without too much media criticism). Benji seems incapable of correcting things at the club. One step forward...two steps backwards.

Manly are killing it and should sign Foran quickly - or the Tigers might sign him. What a remarkable turn around without Tom Trobjevic too.

Can a champion player be a great coach? Mal Meninga and Billy Slater says yes...Fittler and Daley...not so sure. Foran is testing it at present wit ha superb start.

4. AFL. Is the contested mark dead? So few with punch outs and mass packs, has turned the game into a handball fest. Not sure this helps when you get to the finals on the big grounds. Ask the Swans who beat Collingwood in a tight one.

North smashed, Carlton a win and Melbourne keep marching on in their new era. They are the surprise packets. St Kilda hum along and Freo are surging! 

5. US PGA Golf Championship. Always the poor Grand Slam cousin. Crowds are not 'Golf Major strong' at Aronimink, but it is expensive to attend. Ludwig, JR and Rory all in contention. Looking for a surge from Brooks Koepka or Scottie Scheffler who uncharacteristically was complaining about pin placements. Not a great look and then a poor third round to boot. It is anyone's to win.

6. A -League Football. Adelaide got pumped by Auckland who surge into the Grand Final for the "dunny seat" trophy. The Sydney FC v Newcastle game was interesting. Newcastle came first in the premiership and Sydney FC came fifth! Sydney FC through on penalties killing Newcastle's hopes.

7. EPL. Liverpool have dipped badly this year and Aston Villa know it, hitting a 4-2 win and making Champions League European football. Arsenal need to keep winning and in the last two rounds, Burnley and Crystal Palace should bring that. If there is a slip up, Man City have Bournemouth and Aston Villa which is a harder end.

Heartbreak for West Ham...denied an equaliser v Arsenal last week via VAR and lost 1-0. They have Newcastle and Leeds - and MUST win this weekend, or disappear.

In the Second tier English Championship, Hull play Southampton for the chance to get elevated into the EPL. Huge game!

8. FA Cup Final - Manchester City. Man City won the FA Cup Final 1-0 v Chelsea and this is now the twentieth piece of silverware for Pep Guardiola in his reign there and 41 trophies as a top flight manager! (Alex Ferguson holds the record with 49 trophies in twice as many years as Pep Guardiola's 18 years as manager). 

1x Champions League x6 Premier League x5 League Cup x3 FA Cup x3 Community Shield 1x UEFA Super Cup 1x FIFA Club World Cup

In Scotland, Celtic won a stunner to knock Hearts out at the death. Their twelfth title in thirteen years! Incredible dominance.

9. Waratahs. Thankfully they beat the Fijian Drua this weekend scoring 50 and giving up 35 points! The New Zealand teams are the top four - no surprise. The Australian teams really make up the numbers yet again in Super Rugby.

10. NBA. In the Western Conference, the Thunder and Spurs will fight it out and in the Eastern Conference final, Knicks will play the winner of Cavaliers/ Pistons (locked 3-3). Coming down to the business end of the season. The Knicks look good, but the Thunder are red hot favourites.

11. IPL. Ricky Ponting's Punjab Kings (Cooper Connolly and Xavier Bartlett) have now lost five in a row. Terrible. Their early lead has evaporated and they sit mid table. Mitchell Marsh has continued his purple patch for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) with runs enough to be in the top five tournament run scorers so far. Cameron Green has cracked 300 runs too with 52no. He may have turned a corner, with greater maturity, picking up 5 wickets so far in the tournament too.

12. The Boston Redsox. After the capitulation of the Celtics (NBA) and Bruins (NBL), their baseball team stinks this year too. 18-26 with multiple home ground losses spells danger if you are associated with that mob. The axe will be sharp - and soon.

13. NHL - Stanley Cup. The Colorado Avalanche play the Vegas Knights in the West Conference Final. In the east the Carolina Hurricanes are in exceptional form. They play the winner of the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens (presently locked 3-3) for the Conference win. The NBA-NHL parallel is a great feature of US sports.

14. MLB - Travis Bazzana. The Cleveland Guardians are doing well, leading the American League Central with a 25-22 standing at present. The Australian from Ryde, has had 50 at bats and has 12 hits and 1 home run. A bright start, averaging .240. He has made one error in the field with 60 chances. His future is very bright here. An amazing tale!

The Wrap - Iron Fisted Relegation

1. NRL. Sadly, some abysmal performances on the weekend. The Bulldogs, Titans, Sharks, Tigers and Cowboys...and of course St George. Dean Young has inherited a schemozzle. Gutho really struggled. 

Conversely, the Knights are electric with a really quick (Brown, Ponga and Sharpe) and powerful (Mahzew, Best) backline. They are enjoying their footy and Dylan Lucas would not surprise in the NSW Origin team. 

Wests Tigers have fallen in a heap. Knights and Cowboys have not had their byes as yet (nor has Parramatta who are on the same as the Sharks, Dolphins, Broncos and Bulldogs with that!). The Sharks are the only team who have all of their games in double figure scores for both teams (wins and losses). 

Alex Johnston keeps scoring tries and has an extraordinary record. The most tries at a single venue and the most hattricks ever in NRL history! Johnston (224 - most tries ever); Tupou (191 - third most ever) and the Fox (165 - eighth most ever).

The Panthers keep marching on. Methodical and ruthless. At the top of the table on their own, with a bye in hand! The comp is starting to stretch out a bit now.

2. AFL. GWS squeaked past Essendon in a disappointing display and the Swans had an arm wrestle v North Melbourne but won a tight one. The proliferation of scoops, tap-ons and other derivatives of throws needs to policed closely or the game changes all of a sudden.

Collingwood were disappointing and St Kilda were abysmal for a talented roster v the Suns. Melbourne coasted to victory against the West Coast. The comp has been put on notice by a resurgent Fremantle. They look to be the benchmark. The Swans were very disappointing.

3. EPL. West Ham look relegation doomed, joining Burnley and Wolves in the drop zone. Coming up, Coventry City and Ipswich will be joined in the EPL by one further team from either Middlesborough v Southampton and Millwall v Hull, who both played a home and away series. 0-0 in both games means next week will be huge! Then a final for the last promotion position!

The only hope for West Ham is that Arsenal are in the Champions League final v PSG as well soon and may be distracted. Man City also play the FA Cup final v Chelsea soon as well. Aston Villa are in the final of the Europa Cup which is a terrific effort.

Man City play their long awaited catch up with Crystal Palace this week, but absolutely blew it with a 3-3 draw with Everton last weekend, almost gifting Arsenal the title. No surprise to see coach Pep cheering for the Hammers tonight! Go Irons!

The top EPL goal scorer 'Golden Boot' for season 2025-2026 to date is Erling Haaland with another 26 goals (four ahead of his nearest rival from Brentford, Igor Thiago). He has 161 goals in all competitions for Man City in 111 games. Fourth best ever for the club.

4. NBA and NHL. Both competitions getting down to the East and West Conference Finals. In the NBA, the Oklahoma Thunder (West) and New York Nicks (East) look most dominant. In the ice hockey, the Carolina Hurricanes look sharpest winning 4-0 in their play off against the Philadelphia Flyers and now progress to the Eastern Conference final.

5. A League. Auckland and Adelaide played a 1-1 draw and Sydney FC and Newcastle FC also had a 1-1 score. The return leg next Friday and Saturday will decide the Grand Finalists. The week off is always a problem, no matter what sport.

6. Super Rugby. The Waratahs got beaten by the Highlanders in NZ and plummeted to eighth out of 11 sides. They seem to be getting worse. Changes are needed. Terrible. The Brumbies and Reds are closer to semi finals but still hovering well behind the New Zealand teams.

7. Scott Scheffler. Not playing this weekend in the Truist Championship, but Rory, Fleetwood, Fitzpatricks x 2, Luwig, Cam Young, Gotterup and many other stars are out in force. Scottie typically takes the week off before the USPGA which kicks off on 14 May. He will be primed after a string of second places in recent weeks. Second in the Masters, the Heritage and in Miami last week.

Cameron Young looks a special in the Truist Open, set to surge from two off the pace coming into tomorrow's final round.

8. IPL. A huge week for the Australians. Cooper Connolly hit 107no for the Punjab Kings, Mitch Marsh hit 111 for LSG (the Lucknow Supergiants), Cameron Green 33no for KKR (the Kolkota KnightRiders), Tim David keeps closing brilliantly for RCB (Royal Challengers Bangladore) and Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad) gets a MOTM award for a catch and and 2/34 off four overs.

In the top ten IPL run scorers after ten games are Cooper Connolly (377), Mitch Marsh (367) and Travis Head (361).

Interested to see Sir James Anderson still bowling in County Cricket - and coming third in wickets taken. What a phenomenal cricketer. Wetherall is getting runs and Jake Lehmann (SA) and Sam Whiteman (WA) are now English cricketers, giving up on Australia and using their British passports as 'local' players. They join the great Martin McCague (WA) who did this. 

9. F1. Oscar Piastri got onto the podium in Miami (his second podium for the season and onto 43 points), but Antonelli is miles in front on 100 points. Mercedes are 1-2 with George Russell in second place. McLaren better get their engineers moving or they will perish soon. However, 18 more races to come!

The Wrap - Runs and Rosas

1. NRL. Terrible times for the Storm with seven straight losses, but after a million years of supremacy, this happens. They will probably be back in the semis. There is a long way to go. The Bulldogs have been a disappointment and simply lack pace. It will kill a lot of teams.

Newcastle looked different with Ponga, Lucas, Best and Frizell... Dylan Brown is one of the best defenders in the NRL. Latrell was awesome again. The Roosters were great and then loose...so were Newcastle. The comeback of Cody Ramsay from an horrific medical situation with his bowel was good to see. Great belief in him by the Roosters.

The table is starting to stretch out now: Souths and Tigers were disappointing, giving up a solid position on the table with their inconsistent efforts. Panthers, Warriors and Roosters are surging.

Daniel Tupou hits 190 first grade tries and goes into third place behind Ken Irvine (212). Johnston is up to 221 now! Amazing how quickly he has continued moving ahead.

2. Jerome Luai. Seems like a top person, but his behaviour with the Galvin signing fiasco last year was forgotten very quickly by the media when he unexpectedly broke ranks to sign with PNG. He speaks well and manages his emotions well, but the Tigers must be really upset. PNG will get lots of players with their tax deal. Hard to resist for a young talented player with a young family.

3. AFL. The Swans suddenly have some great depth, with Gulden to come back soon. Rosas kicking seven goals was pretty amazing! He has been an excellent pick up from the Gold Coast. Interesting to read of the impact of ex Melbourne head coach, Simon Goodwin on the Swans players. Very positive and he would have delighted in beating Melbourne this afternoon. 

4. Tszyu. Is anyone sick of the hype...Tim, Nikita? Lots of swearing and tough talk, but the Australian public are tiring of it all. Kostya, the old man, was so understated, super talented and better than the lot of them.

5. EPL - West Ham. They have been holding on after an horrific start to the season, but lost 3-0 to Brentford on the weekend consigning them to the relegation zone if Tottenham can beat Aston Villa tonight. They needed a win there and face Arsenal next week. They will need a miracle now as Leeds have stepped ahead and Notts Forest may be play Chelsea, who have lost five in a row!

Ipswich Town and Coventry City are on the way up for next year from the Championship too! One more of Millwall, Hull, Southampton or Middlesbrough to join them!

6. Boston. A terrible week for the Bostonians. While the Red Sox have been mightily disappointing this season, the Bruins (NHL) and the Celtics (NBA) have been dumped unceremoniously from their play offs. Shocking news for the locals and lots of heads destined to roll.

7. Travis Bazzana - MLB. Travis made his debut for the Cleveland Guardians this past week and was a little quiet early - understandably. He is a rich talent and got his first hit today. So good. Off to Kansas soon for the next round of games. An amazing time for his family on the biggest of stages in world sport.

8. Oscar Piastri. Just when it looked like McLaren had got their act together in the sprints, the Miami circuit was too tough for them in qualifying, now starting fourth (Norris) and seventh (Oscar). Antonelli has genuine speed and will be hard to toss.

9. Scott Scheffler. Second at the Masters, second in the playoff last week at The Heritage and in second position at The Cadillac at present. On good terms with the bank manager, as they say. Paying $8.50 to win it, but Cameron Young is six shots in front after an 8 under first round. If Scottie gets a good first round under his belt he would win everything. Not to be.

10. Waratahs. Lost to the Western Force this weekend hitting rock bottom. 11,000 attended to watch them which is a world record of support for such a disappointing team. Now third last, one point ahead of the Force. Horrific. Reds are fifth and Brumbies have slipped to sixth.

11. Marathon. How about the new world record for the marathon...breaking the magic two hour mark at 1:59:30! Worth a second look!

12. IPL. Noticed Mitchell Starc (an iron horse) has joined the IPL, alongside Hazelwood and Cummins who both made stunning injury recoveries in time for the IPL riches and four overs of effort. Cricket Australia need to pay more, so the same miracle recoveries can occur in future Ashes series.