Wrap - Lebanon Island

1. NSW Origin Win. A much better performance. Kicks that hit the green grass. Quick defensive speed and spreading the ball. Interesting that they went away from Cook running the ball too much. Maloney has the Origin mongrel and was great. Sadly Cleary was not missed and is under the microscope. Tedesco superb as usual. Cordner tough, but Finucane was a big difference. Even Saifiti went well. Ado-Carr made plenty of metres and was more aggressive too. Both Tobjevics are the best two players in the comp at present. Amazing...and another brother yet to arrive on the scene who is a gun.


The selections of Fittler last week proved to be good at this stage. Jack Wighton played pretty well but never passes the ball to unmarked players.


Interesting that one Sims brother plays for Fiji (skipper) and one plays for NSW... go figure.


2. Lebanon in the Pacific. Does anyone remember when Lebanon moved into the Pacific? They were small and unfortunately a bit dreadful. One good winger only. The great Tim Mannah even offloaded more for Lebanon and played pretty well. Admittedly they were missing a fair few of their best players. Robbie Farah's kicking game back at Leichhardt almost had him heading to the scoreboard ledge for a fire side retirement chat. He tried hard, but was found out. Liked the young centre. Incredible talent.


The pacific teams have talent...Tonga, Samoa, NZ, PNG... great contests, even if the crowds were a little thin.




3. Barty. Destined to be world number one after the Birmingham Classic on grass against Goerges. A tremendous effort and it shows what determination can bring. A loss brings her two points short of being world number one. Hopefully not.


4. AFL. Port Adelaide trounced Geelong really and are on track for the semis. Good win by Sydney again and they are not far away. A few tight losses will prove costly. West Coast and the mighty Brisbane looking better.


5. Super Rugby. Apart from the Crusaders, the Brumbies have the next best and quite an amazing record. What a franchise record they hold? Again winning a final and progressing. Their steel under pressure has been immense for a long time. Mercifully, the end of Daryl Gibson came after our mention last week. The Waratahs need surgery. Combinations and youth might be a great start.


6. World Cup Cricket. A big week ahead for Australia v NZ and England. How good would it be to knock England out? They have been disappointing, but we have beaten those we needed to beat. India still look too good for mine. Great matches this weekend with the Afghans and the power of Carlos Brathwaite. NZ are also tough in ODI cricket. They have more all rounders than most.


7. Israel Folau. It is starting to become a circus now... Clyde Rathbone has had a complete shocker however with his comments. Silliness seems to be repeatedly duplicated in this sorry mess.

Wrap - Sold, Sold, Sold Coast

1. Brad Fittler. Brad may have his job on the line, but he has panicked. Just when we thought he had brought a change of culture to the NSW jersey...no. Sadly he has done what all of the failed NSW Origin coaches in recent years have done - not backed their players. He now only has 8 players in the same positions as they started with: Tedesco, Addo Carr, Cleary, Jake Trobjevic, Cook, Vaughan, Cordner, Frizell. Ridiculous.


To drop Latrell Mitchell is weak. He played poorly in Game One, but was Nathan Cleary any better? Mitchell is a match winner. We will be in a world of pain with Jack Wighton in the centres. He does not play there each week and Will Chambers will cut him apart. Fittler listens to Ricky Stuart too much. Cotric was a disaster last match. Ferguson has not been in good enough form either...another risk with bad hands and someone who will be anthem obsessed. Dale Finucane on the bench is a good selection. Wade Graham adds strength and toughness. They will miss Klemmer. What did Morris do wrong? Old legs, but I thought he was one of our better backs in Game One. Walker and Crichton did not aim up and needed to go. I like James Maloney. He wins a lot. Select winners - they do the job for you!


2. Strange. Is there a reason we sing the national anthem before a State of Origin game? Strange. Is there a reason outside of government cash, why we need to play Origin 2 in Perth? Stranger.


3. The Melbourne Storm continue to be the most consistent NRL team over the last 15 years... no matter who is in the team. An amazing record. Everyone thinks when Cameron Smith retires it will be different, but that is unlikely too. The comment from the Newcastle coach, Nathan Brown, was gold - "we have had a good last six weeks, they have had a good last 15 years!".
The coaching future of Anthony Seibold looks shaky at the Broncos. They are simply not turning up. Millford is very disappointing. Parramatta played well (frame this sentence), but now must back up next week and play well. Must say that the Rabbits are also looking lost without Reynolds too, racking up a number of losses.


Can we agree on one thing in sport...ban the bye! Lazy administrators love it. No one else.


4. Gold Coast. Not sure how long the NRL can continue to support the Gold Coast as a team... Poor performances, small crowds and terrible to watch on TV. The same with the AFL (Gold Coast Suns).What is wrong with that joint? A history of failure in all codes, including the famous NRL journey of Gold Coast Giants, Gold Coast Seagulls, Gold Coast Gladiators, Gold Coast Chargers not to mention  Clive Palmer's soccer team, Gold Coast United? John Cartwright and Scott Prince were iconic in their day, but the best team there is Team Jupiter who rakes in their cash.


5. Waratahs. What a pitiful season. Who will they blame next year when Folau is not there? That team looks flat and ordinary really. Daryl Gibson has recently had his coaching contract extended! They won't need the new stadium in Sydney when it is built. They will only have enough supporters for North Sydney Oval or Rat Park. A complete disappointment at a time when they need success for the code in the state of NSW. Would you not venture over to NZ with a chequebook...maybe around Christchurch way?


6. Nadal. Wins his 18th Grand Slam and holds the greatest wining percentage now. Intriguing to note:


Federer - Grand Slam wins:    20         Grand Slam Final losses: 10 (30)  66% winning percentage
Nadal - Grand Slam wins:       18         Grand Slam Final losses: 8 (26)   69% winning percentage
Djokovic - Grand Slam wins:  15      Grand Slam Final losses: 9 (24)      63% winning percentage


7. World Cup Cricket. Have we beaten anyone of note yet? England? India? South Africa? Crushing loss to India. Starc bowling well. A bit of a scare re the Sri Lankans, who can bat. Cummins causing headaches too with sheer pace. Not sure why Jason Behrendorf is playing and not a spinner. He has struggled. Nathan Lyon has not been treated very well here. Kane Richardson has been a surprise packet. A shame we couldn't have unleashed Jhye Richardson too. He is genuinely sharp.


8. US Open Golf. Brooks Koepka. This guy knows how to win big. An amazing talent and a back to back Majors talent too. GaryWoodland looks like a minder who hits straight. Dustin Johnson has not fired as expected. A tricky course Pebble Beach. Woodland is solid, but vulnerable. Justin Rose well placed. Had to laugh when Jason Day's new caddie (Steve Williams) told him that he would sack him if he didn't work hard enough. Caddie harassment!


9. Sam Kerr- Matildas. Awesome work to beat Brazil. They need to knock over Jamaica and possibly rack up a score so they top their group. Bad loss to Italy last week.

Wrap - No Joke

1. Ash Barty is a huge success story. Brilliant junior who gave the game away to play WBBL. What an effort to get to the French Open final firstly. Greater effort to win it. She demolished young Vondrousova. Two quick sets. 6-1 and 6-3. World number two now and on top of the world. Not a bad effort from an unlikely space. Sam Stosur always did well on the clay, but a long time between winners for Australia at Roland Garros. A great tournament even if rain puts off the locals and the seats are bare. Great auditorium, but it needs a lid!


2. State of Origin. When the nonsense stops and the anthem stops playing, rugby league at the highest level requires a few key things:


i. a kicking game where the ball hits the grass and an exceptional chase follows every time
ii. width in attack on both sides of the field (one out runs in your own red zone do not work - dummy half runs are more effective coming out from your own line)
iii. fast play the balls
iv. halves that take the line on in attack (when was the last time the inside ball to a runner created a try?)
v. aggressive defence that bends the attacker backwards
vi. cool heads and smart thinkers under pressure - no penalties/ no sin bins
vii. offloads and second phase ball
viii. speed and scramble
ix. good interchange rotations at key times (NSW were woeful here and pre game they had gloated they did it on a serviette...and it looked like it)
x. the 60th minute is the turning point...whoever wins at the 60th, wins the game. QLD are the experts here. Grit, steel and determination matter.


NSW had none of this. QLD smashed them.


2. French Open. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. How amazing are these blokes? They front up each Grand Slam and make the semis regularly. Federer is 37 and better than nearly everyone still. Djokovic has made the quarter finals in the last 10 successive Grand Slams! Nadal is looking for his 12th French Open win. Awesome!


But last year’s finalist, Dominic Theim showed amazing strength and fitness to defeat Djokovic. No joke this year. However, even when up 4-1 in the fifth, he looked like he might let it slip. A timely rain delay helped the joker but to no avail. Thiem’s ability to hit the crazy wild unforced error or double fault will never beat the precision of Nadal for mine.


3. Parramatta. When does the Parramatta NRL club get to a point that they will not tolerate the soft defence, poor decision making and horrible error laden work? Losing by 50 and 40 is not good enough. Poor attitudes. They splash money out on some players who regularly don’t produce. Arthur is sadly part of this picture. Moses’ contract is dubious. Dylan Brown’s health...extraordinary with their bad luck (think Adam Ritson too).


Their forwards are ordinary. Moeroa is the pick of them and rarely gets game time. They need to build some 80 minute forwards to compete. Had to laugh that they want to sign the single most ill disciplined forward in the comp - George Burgess. Just what they need, more penalties against them. They need a kicking game too. Moses has terrible inadequacies here. Their recruitment is highly questionable. Their local retention is worse. A club like this needs a complete clean out and a remarkable coach. Shane Flanagan was at the club once. So was Gallen. There's a long term combination.

4. Jake Trobjevic. Seems like a champion bloke and a really tough old fashioned player. Plays the tough stuff really well. Yet never dirty or argumentative with refs. A winner through and through who will never let the club down. That's the style of bloke you need leading your club.

5. GWS on the road. When the whips crack, their form cracks. They seem to fall in a heap when the away crowd gets going. They have to get through this to win a comp. The panic got to them again. Otherwise bridesmaids forever. Eddie Betts’ late goal at the end under pressure was phenomenal fro ma skinny angle. Get a look at it.

6. World Cup Cricket. Great to see the pace and aggression of the Windies bowlers return to world cricket. They just need one more superstar quick. Hard to convince the kids how awesome the Windies once were. When good, they do it in style. Good win by the Aussies there, but India will be tougher. The seaming English wickets could do anything if the skies close in. A different game there when the sun is out.

7. Parramatta Waratahs. The Super 15 Parramatta. No attitude or killer. On the other hand the Crusaders win 66-0! The coach should get to those dancing lessons already.

8. Bruins. Let an early series lead slip and down 2-3 in the best of seven series. Another slip up and they are done.

9. NBA. The Raptors similarly look like smashing Golden State. Is the NBA season, the longest season in any sport, even eclipsing the A League?

10. Matildas. How much better is women's soccer to watch than the men's soccer? Heaps. Hopefully they can do well. It's a great feeling when playing Italy and Brazil doesn't automatically mean we will get lapped - like the men's team.

Wrap - Double Storey Haas

1. State of Origin. Surely the firepower of NSW gets them over the line. Cody Walker will come under immense pressure. Looking forward to seeing Cameron Murray play. He is an awesome player. The quick hooker from NSW, Cook, will have a lot of fun. Being in QLD, Payne Haas is one to look out for. His brother Tommy Haas was a handy tennis player.


2. AFL. Swans competing, but not in the race in 2019. Needed to recruit more brutally a few seasons back - like Hawthorn did. Instead they lost star players! They need more size as well... every bloke looks like a cardboard cut out... too many academies can do this to you. Uncanny how many games are neck and neck in the AFL over such a long playing time stretch. Brisbane are coming back as an entity with lots of pace. GWS awesome and won at the MCG last week. They are not as polished as Geelong however who just have class right across the park - 10 straight and eight points ahead on the table! Freo and West Coast travelling well out west too. Freo can surprise!


3. Jarrod Croker. A million tries and goals, but his defence is horrible. His reads in the line are often badly misjudged. One on one not so bad. If he was ever going to play Origin it would have been this year. A shame. Like the look of this John Bateman. I was interested to see Ricky Stuart's recruitment targets - they must be someone used to winning! I agree... winners often win.


4. Windies. They could surprise at the World Cup. Unfortunately Pakistan look like they bet on themselves more than ever detected. So talented, but so inconsistent and unreliable. The line up with Gayle and Andre Russell could be too awesome for most teams.
Aussies. Shaun Marsh missing out doesn't hurt. Good to see some competition for spots in the top six. Too many all rounders is a risk for mine. Warner has steel. Love that Pommy booing. They will regret it. Smith and Warner actually look pretty clear headed.


5. Roger Federer. The oldest player at the French Open in the last 47 years to make the Round of 16. On a collision course with Nadal. Djokovic will stroll into the final on the other side of the draw and look to get his third straight Grand Slam.


6. Jarryd Hayne. The newspapers are cheap. He plays soccer with some mates and gets blasted for yet another code. The guy has ability and faults. He may need to brush up on a range of sports if found guilty.


7. NHL Ice Hockey - Stanley Cup. Boston Bruins surge ahead at 2-1 in the final series v St Louis Blues. Great intensity in this code. Brutal.


8. Waratahs. Hanging by a thread and score a decent win. All those wasteful games and narrow losses will probably hurt them by season's end. Must say that the QLD Reds are appalling. Time is up for Brad Thorne for mine. No fitness and no steel. In the end, if you can't figure in the top teams of the Australian zone, you are hopeless.


9. Brooks Koepka. New world number 1! US Open coming up soon. Get a few sheckles on him.


10. Champions League. Tottenham v Liverpool. One for the ages. Liverpool finally win something. Surprised Klopp didn't do the Crusaders coach trick and do some breakdancing!


11. NBA Finals. Best of seven finals between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors really should be the victors having been the '15, '17 and '18 winners (2016 runners up). Raptors are 1-0 up in a fanatical Canada!


12. Heavyweight Boxing. How big is the new heavyweight champ, Mr Ruiz (Mr to you and I!)? Not athletic, but a power punch. The new Buster Douglas! He can retire right now in Mexico.

Wrap - AFL Rule Change

1. NRL Tips. How hard is the NRL to pick at present? Gold Coast, Penrith, Newcastle all knock over bigger guns. The comp is ridiculously close in the middle. However Parramatta and St George are by far the two worst at present. Even the Broncos, Cowboys and Knights are surging back. Ben Hunt makes some horrible decisions sometimes for a really highly paid player. Not a patch on the mistake riddled players for Parramatta. They are an awful mess as usual. Gutho did not make Origin. Keep that clause dry in his contract.


2. Danger. Is rugby league becoming too dangerous? No doubt the contact and the group defence is taking a bigger toll than usual. Blokes with ruptured spleens, twisted necks...serious accidents await. The number of head knocks is increasing exponentially. I am waiting for the first big compensation case in either NRL or AFL to change rules massively.


3. AFL Rule Change. Cannot stress enough that the key rule change in AFL needs to be the ball is given to the opposition from where a ball is kicked out on the full. This is a game changer and would prevent further negative tactics. It would change the flow of the game when 'errors' appear intentional. GWS and Geelong look like flag favourites for mine.


4. Boston. How about the run at Eagle Farm on the weekend from The Bostonian? A sign that the Boston Bruins (the B's) are about to run riot over the Blues in the NHL this week and win the Stanley Cup perhaps.


5. North Melbourne. Coach Brad Scott. prevailed over mediocrity without a great list, but little sympathy. Time for him to disappear. Move on...to Carlton perhaps? No one is irreplaceable.


6. Cricket World Cup. Surely England lap everyone and win it. South Africa could surprise too. India have the best team if they fire but are often bad on the seaming deck. Not sure about our bowling. Smith batted well and predictable that there is booing left right and centre. It will get worse! I wonder how Monty Panasar's truth telling re mints and other bits might bounce onto the current team and loud critics like Mike Atherton, Nassar Hussein and Michael Vaughan? Interesting times of honour and truth.


7. French Open Tennis. Starts this week. I noticed Nadal knocked over Djokovic to win the Italian Open last week... he may have 12 French Opens in him yet!


8. State of Origin. The team from last week was pretty close... only missed two and Keary would have been there had he not been concussed. Blake Ferguson was horrible and cannot be trusted on the Origin stage. Rep career over.


1. James Tedesco
2. Blake Ferguson - Nick Cotric
3. Latrell Mitchell
4. Josh Morris
5. Josh Addo-Carr
6. Luke Keary - Cody Walker
7. Nathan Cleary
8. David Klemmer
9. Damien Cook
10. Paul Vaughan
11. Boyd Cordner
12. Jake Trobjevic
13. Cameron Murray

14. Jack Wighton
15. Tyson Frizzell
16. Payne Haas
17. Regan Campbell-Gillard - Angus Crichton


9. Waratahs. Is this the most underperforming team of the year?

Wrap - Brooks Bruins

1. Gutho. Well, well...after a 50 point drubbing and the court clearance of Dylan Walker last week...amazing how closed doors everywhere (esp. at Manly) force your manager to accept the already generous deal. It would be good over the next three years that he learns to run lines better. I must say that Parramatta are at least offloading the footy this year - even Tim Mannah (career first for the captain with the worst winning record in NRL history). They are still remarkably slow and ordinary. Zero attack and poor halves/ centres. Pathetic, predictable results away from home. Moses goes missing all the time. He simply should not be re-signed. You could get anyone from NSW Cup who would do the same job.


The demise of St George is shocking...as is the pathetic form of Penrith and Parramatta. Manly have risen up rapidly under King Des. The Knights seem to have found some hope too. Even the Cowboys. The performance of Payne Haas was exceptional. He is a star. Check out Youtube clips on his junior footy domination. It is cruel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1J6UtMqPVE



2. NRL Goalkickers. Goalkicking has never been better. Bring back the old leather footies and see how they go!


3. Please - Early NSW Origin Team. Anyone suggesting Mitchell Pearce as halfback has to have their head read. He is a proven Origin loser. Avoid at all costs.


1. James Tedesco
2. Blake Ferguson
3. Latrell Mitchell
4. Josh Morris (? not big on this)
5. Josh Addo-Carr
6. Luke Keary
7. Nathan Cleary
8. David Klemmer
9. Damien Cook
10. Paul Vaughan
11. Boyd Cordner
12. Jake Trobjevic
13. Cameron Murray

14. Jack Wighton/ Cody Walker
15. Tyson Frizzell
16. Payne Haas
17. Regan Campbell-Gillard


3. Error Plague. It is staggering to see certain well paid league players make fundamental errors repeatedly. George Jennings dropped a bomb, let a try in, dropped a pass and threw a woeful pass to Ferguson... all in about 10 minutes v Cowboys...no future in the game. Great teams don't do this and great coaches don't hire or select incompetence.


4. PGA Golf. Brooks Koepka. How good is this bloke? He is the man of the hour and a mile in front. He could be an amazing force in world golf over the next few years. Back to back US Opens already. Possible back to back PGAs as well. Would become the first to do this ever. Not forgetting he was second to Tiger at the Masters and will go to Pebble Beach as a red hot US Open favourite. Four majors...twice as good as the Shark. I liked his response to the journo who asked if there was any chance he would give up his seven shot lead in the final round and lose..."No".


There are not many world sportsmen with a plural first name... unique!



5. AFL. Geelong are looking the real deal across the park in 2019. Maybe a different story at the MCG in finals time, but Gary Rohan has been stunningly good. The Swans will enjoy seeing that! Richmond bouncing back and West Coast on fire. GWS stunning this week...next week?


6. A League. Sydney FC v Perth Glory. Usual fiasco re offside rulings... the game was tight and the comp needs more marquee stars. The sight of the toilet seats around the necks of fans just about sums it up. A touch amateurish, but a strong win by Sydney FC in the end. A hugely successful A league franchise. Liam Reddy went the right way on three penalties but came up empty. Redmayne conversely fooled around and got lucky twice!


7. Foxtel Squeeze. Interesting to see Foxtel in financial trouble. Every chance that fringe sport will vanish. Losing the EPL could be the beginning of the end for them. It may be back to the old ABC days with the cricket. Kerry Packer would be aghast! Super 15 Rugby may just be found in the back of the paper version of the Herald soon.


8. Waratahs. Constantly on the bad edge of a loss. They had forgotten how to win, but got one up on the hapless Reds. How weak is our rugby? It is about to go back to Channel 2 as well.


9. NHL - Ice Hockey. Lock in to the Boston Bruins who are into the Stanley Cup final. Yet another Boston team about to do the business after the Boston Red Sox (baseball) won the World Series and the New England Patriots won the SuperBowl. Can the Bruins do the business with the ice hockey?


10. Man City. They win the EPL Premier's plate, the FA Cup final (6-0 if you don't mind v Watford) and also won the Community Shield and League Cup - every English trophy on offer in season 2018-2019. Pep Guardiola the coach is a deserved champion. Legends all. Liverpool are bridesmaids again! Amazing the money in a shiekh. The NRL might need some shiekhs...16 of them and soon.

Wrap - Freddie, Regan and Tex

1. Parramatta. And so does anyone know why Brad Arthur has not been re-signed? Or some of the overpaid players? Honestly, how did they get five wins? Their defence was horrible, their decision-making is woeful and their discipline poor. Moses is not a leader and cannot be there long term. I'd cut him and go with youth. You need leaders in the halves... otherwise you will never win. Is it just me or is Sivo the world's slowest winger?


While they are at it, they should sign Rhyse Martin from the Bulldogs. A goalkicking forward on the outer who knows how to win. The only club who was worse this weekend was Penrith. Cleary's terrible coaching record continues.


2. Gutho. I am tipping Gutherson will re-sign this week. If he does a knee again, his price is cut in half instantly. A big risk with any greedy agent. If he plays like he does on Saturday night, he will have his price cut by the club again. He is getting overs big time. The King? Please, spare me.


3. Magic Round. Magic in some senses, but they were very lucky there was no rain. The field has taken a hammering. Too much for one field and if wet, it would have been a big problem. Good concept. I wonder how many injuries were due to the sandy soil and loose turf tufts?


4. Freddie. Is Regan Campbell-Gillard really Freddie Mercury in disguise? Or maybe Tex Walker from the Adelaide Crows. Cracking players both, but not a patch on Freddie.


5. Blonde AFL Players. Interesting discussion on Melbourne radio in the Carlton-Collingwood game on Saturday...do blonde haired AFL players look like better more athletic players than darker coloured haired players? Do they seem to move faster and take better, more dramatic marks? Optical illusion surely.


6. IPL. The Mumbai Indians (MI) v the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final. Chennai have Shane Watson, MS Dohni and Faf du Plessis, Bravo and Harbhajan Singh. Mumbai Indians have Bumrah, Pollard, Pandya and de Kock. Great tournament about to come to a end. The World Cup nears.


7. AFL Showdown in Adelaide. Great game in the AFL with Port Adelaide surging back against Adelaide in the last quarter. They were down by 38 at three quarter time and got to within 12 points. A great game. Melbourne still alive and the Western Bulldogs are not out of it.


Troubled by the GWS brainfades every two or three weeks. They look like world beaters and then get pumped...this time by Hawthorn. The Hawks continue to defy the critics and offload "over stayers"...Keiran Jack, Jarrad McVey anyone?


Does anyone know what got into Dane Rampe's head when he scaled the post at the end in the Swans v Dons game? He played stunningly well, but really? Can you do shoulder stands to stop a ball going through as a goal? I thought they might make it like a Cold Chisel concert and have all the small blokes on the shoulders of others.


8. A League. Tremendous qualifying final between Perth and Adelaide with Perth sneaking home after a million penalty kicks in the penalty shootout. Liam Reddy did the business as goal keeper, saving four. A great effort. Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory... Sydney FC completely dominant by half time at 3-0, but wait...


Midweek the Liverpool comeback and the Spurs comeback in the Champions League final were both extraordinary...then Arsenal and Chelsea led the way into the Europa League final. English teams on fire. Next they will be telling us that the FA Cup has English teams in the final too.


9. EPL. And there it was... Man City needing a win v Brighton. Liverpool needing a draw or a loss and then a win v Wolves themselves... The EPL are smart. They schedule both games at the same time to add to the tension. A fabulous competition this year, but Man City look red hot. Matt Ryan in goals for Brighton could be the difference between Man City having a meeting or a party.


10. F1. Is Riccardo's new move to Renault one of the most unsuccessful on record? He has struggled and despite the dollars, seems to be going backwards...faster than he goes frontwards!


11. Intriguing that Nadal lost again in the semi at the Madrid Open. He could be finished on clay at the supreme level he has set... Djokovic remains the favourite this year, but they said you'd never make it to Tiger too.... Thiem, Zverev and Tsitsipas are contesting.