The Wrap - Trade Door and Mathematical Impossibilities

1. NRL. At the risk of sounding negative, I will plough on regardless. The Eels have hit rock bottom. Terrible in all respects.They were smacked and will do well to get a win v the Cowboys and any more wins in 2021. A shame there is a trade window - we need a trade door (double door!).

Brad Arthur is on shaky ground because there is something chronically wrong. He looks like he has lost the carpark and the dressing room. It all seemed to start around the time Gutherson started his on field blow ups with team mates, Ferguson was sacked, the Jacob Arthur selection and the contract fiascos. The wheels can't fall off that quickly in a stable team. The ill discipline is rampant... inside the team and clearly on the training paddock and leagues club. The basket case continues. 

At the press conference, Arthur says he is not sure what to do now. Can we assist Brad?

(a) Sack Waqar Blake instantly. 

(b) Put Nuikore in the centres. Remember how well he did and how you won when he was there?

(c) Allow players to offload the ball and play footy. You have shackled that and Junior Paulo has been stifled.

(d) Omit your son from the squad and look beyond.

(e) Get the defence right out wide as other coaches are making you look stupid. Stop leaking tries on the fringes and see (a) and remove Blake from the team.

(f) Get rid of the hopeless inside ball from a lacklustre half back edging across the field. Watch Jarome Hughes at the Storm and compare notes.

(g) Recruit speed in your outside backs.

(h) Hire Dylan Brown in a five year deal - no less.

(h) Sack Haze Dumpster and let him play for the Rouse Hill Rhinos. Send Oldfield there too.

(i) Trade out the whole backline. Start again and recruit talent that works toegther.

(j) Sack Gutherson if he can't agree to terms quickly. 

2. Mathematical Disaster Cases. When teams talk about "mathematically" making semi finals you know they have had a pathetic year. The Tigers fit this. I still think Newcastle will make it based on their draw.

3. Manly. Manly have built a tremendous team and if Tommy Turbo stays fit, they could go close. His injury could derail the current run. Hasler has been the coach of the year... just after Craig Bellamy.

How many times can we hear that a player has "wound back the clock"? Kieran Foran is Mr Daylight Saving.

4.  NRL Millionaires. The millionaires are rare NRL players. Gutherson and Kikau are not in this class.

5. Wallabies. A loss 57-22...can it get any worse? We are clueless and the game is so troubled. Such a shame. Pop quiz: name five Wallabies!

6. EPL - Brentford. Promoted to the EPL and they beat Arsenal. A great story. First victory over them since 1947! The canaries of Norwich are back again and they already look like relegation chances.

7. AFL. Awful loss by the Western Bulldogs. Melbourne back in the winners list and the Swans too good. Get rid of the bye round before the finals! A blight on the game.

Apparently the Delta virus is refusing to go to WA! Their stadiums are full.

8. Test Cricket. Jimmy Anderson continues to be the best seamer in the world... still. Another five wickets v India. Joe Root is in special form. Five tons for this year and a 180no. He is fast becoming one of the all time greats for England.

He is two tons short of being the second best ever! Lots of 50s and a better conversion rate now.

9. Kevin Costner Field of Dreams. What a cracking concept! White Sox v Yankees! Superb and the cane fields still in tack too. Loved it!

10. Nick Kygrios' sister, Halimah. She is a better singer than Nick. Even Shazam recognised her song. Talent.

The Wrap - Gold Medal COVID Lockdown

 1. Olympics. Some great Aussie moments, including Rohan Browning and Peter Bol. The Decathalete looks the goods and our distance runners seem to have lifted dramatically. Rare we are there. Starc looked good in the high jump (jumping higher than his brother's bouncers), so did our discus throwers, but we are fourth and fifth so much...not terrible, but no medals there. Most have been to US Colleges to strengthen their understanding, training and ability. The Nicola McDermott high jump silver medal was a great effort. How that bar dropped off on the last jump I will never know.

Really enjoyed the track and field coverage - Bruce is gold and Dave Colburt was also very funny and knowledgeable. One of his lines in the high jump..."A close shave for the Brazilian".

How Emma McKeon doesn't carry the flag at the closing ceremony is beyond me. Seven medals? Sounds like a classic Olympic administration decision. Had anyone thought to put her in the penthouse of the Toyko Hyatt or similar and keep her there for a week to deservedly lead the nation into the stadium? Don't give the COVID excuse...

What about our Australian hurdler that knocked down every hurdle? That is the stuff of the Year 9 heats at a school athletics carnival. Drunkeness on the plane going home...sneaking out to get a few beers... Very Aussie!

Interested to see how the US track team has lost some of their mojo - but not in the 4 x 400m relays! The absence of drugs generally is noticeable with the times and size of athletes. Hopefully the 100 metre champion Italian, Jacobs doesn't fall for the old post Olympics steroid trick. The same for the 4 x 100m. Can't cop the ROC being involved. How does that work after a ban?

Loving that new track and field entry point and introduction start - and the tense music pre-race. One for Spotify. Good innovations!

2. NRL. Manly v Storm was their first real test in seventeen weeks! Manly did really well, but were still not good enough to beat them. The Storm are so far in front it is ridiculous. Christian Welsh is outstanding. He is also very smart. So is Jarome Hughes and Brandon Smith, let alone their superstars. Brilliant team and coaching. Their discipline is amazing...not a silly boring inside ball in sight! No charge downs, no loose play and rarely is there poor discipline. Conversely, is there a reason Will Chambers was not wanted back?

The Panthers miss Cleary, but they also need more speed in their team too. Quick and quality outside backs are hard to find. Manly have made some sort of comeback. Tommy Turbo is the Dally M winner clearly and it is amazing to see how good Foran is playing at present too. A different player to his efforts at the Bulldogs. The Dogs will be happy to get Burton however. A gun.

3. AFL. How bad were the Swans when a top four spot was on the line? The pressure and intensity of the St Kilda team really exposed the Swans. Buddy was barely seen. Very disappointing. Geelong were even worse v GWS with such a star studded roster. At least Port held on. The Western Bulldogs collapsed too. The desperation of teams to make the finals is a powerful motivator.

Extremely disappointing re racist comments by players and fans to other humans. Tex has had a great year on the field. A sad disgrace. Allir Allir has made a massive difference at Port Adelaide this year and was the MOTM on Saturday night...he too cops it.

4. Australian Cricket. Out and out dud performances, but a consolation final win. We truly are flat track bullies and the Bangers smashed us. Our arrogance is unbelievable in cricket. It is a team that the nation barely cares much for these days. Our T20 team could well be the worst in the world. 

Great series of India v England at present. Jimmy Anderson still has the goods and on English decks he could rip through Australia for years to come! Our batting is just awful and the nation needs some serious work here or we will be whipping boys for years to come. You see it in England too. All flashy T20 bats and money vacuums.. no hard grinding bats.

5. Rugby. All Blacks v Wallabies. We are just an automatic loss to be frank. Our late tries flattered us, but we simply do not compete at the key times. You do wonder if there is a plan at all. Rennie says we are getting closer. Closer to what? Closer to respectable losses perhaps? We look so out of our depth.

6. Parramatta and Brad Arthur. Brad has the full support of the Board. Watch out! Not sure how Jake Arthur figures here, but this may be the undoing of Brad Arthur. The slide has coincided with this meteoric rise to first grade. A good young talent, but maybe a good leg up or two at times too. Brad may not be splitting that fine line between family and business well enough. With Manly, Storm and Panthers to come, they will be out in the first week of the semis if they get there. 

The downhill slide has also coincided with the lack of adventure in their play. Offloads need to happen! Simple. They have dried up and Paulo needs to be able to play footy. The forwards are certainly good enough, but their backs.. get rid of the lot of them. Campbell-Gillard is a real loss when he is injured. 

Haze Dumpster is not first grade material. Opacic, Ferguson, Blake... trade the lot. If they were footy cards, you'd leave them on the bus. They are not good enough and certainly not fast enough. The club lacks speed - simple. Speed wins, especially with the current rules adjustments. There are no speedsters in the club. Poor recruitment.

While Gutherson is a talent, I would also give the captaincy to someone else. Lack of composure. I am not convinced Moses is your only option as well, but a top half back is hard to find. Gutho has suddenly lost all speed too. This nullifies his abilities. Re-sign him? I'd be in New Zealand looking at young rugby talent, with Dylan Brown before he walks out the door. Dylan Brown is a premiership winner. He just needs backs who are too. He played at his best without Moses. I would put him at half back and buy a five eight.

7. Oh Brother. Has anyone in NRL or Parramatta approached Beauden Barrett? He and his brothers (Jordie and Scott) would be better than the other famous NZ brothers: the Crowe brothers (Jeff and Martin RIP), the Bracewell brothers (John and Brendan), the Marshall brothers (Hamish and James), the McCullum brothers (Nathan and Brendan) and the Paul brothers (Henry and Robbie) - or the Gear brothers (Hosea and Rico) or the Brooke brothers (Robin and Zinzan). 

8. Skateboarding/ BMX. If nothing else is ever gained from lock down, we may have produced a generation of future gold medallists in these two sports! 

9. Lionel Messi. Gone from Barcelona? It's like Cameron Smith leaving the Storm and playing for another club! PSG may pick him up. Great if an EPL team did. Noticed Leicester won the Community Shield game v Man City on the weekend. What a great success they have been in the past few seasons. 

The Wrap - Medals Like Water My Friend

1. The Olympics. They are fabulous regardless of what comes or what disease lands. Great to see Australians doing well at the Olympics. Class efforts, often at huge personal expense. Olympics - amazing strike rate in, on and underwater. All our medals bar two have been water related - swimming, canoe, rowing, sailing, surfing...and one road cycling and one BMX medal only. Typical island country!

We have Kaylee McKeown (the 100m and 200m backstroke was the first time ever for an Australian!) and Emma McKeon (a million medals for the games!) - hard to keep the head across which is which! What we do know, is they are stars. The efforts of Ariane Titmus were superb. The Harvey Norman marketing crew will be thanking themselves on their 'ambassador' signing of Titmus pre games. 

McKeon has been superb and deserves to carry the flag at the closing ceremony. The most ever Olympic medals by an Australian with another Olympics at least to follow. Five gold as well, equalling the great Thorpey. A legend! A greater legend than the Dawn Fraser and Shane Gould stories... a few more events these days it must be said, but keep that bit quiet.

Australia has had a really strong Olympics really. 58 medals is our best ever (Sydney 2000 - 35 total medals in Melbourne in 1956) and 17 gold medals at Athens in 2004. 

At present we have 31 medals with 14 gold medals... could it be our best ever?

2. Rohan Browning. Great to see an Aussie run fast in the 100m! It can be done if drugs are removed from the Games. Suddenly, certain teams are not as dominant. Poland winning the 4x100m Medley would have been unheard of some years ago. Good that Flo Jo's soiled record has been eclipsed too. I am filthy about cheating athletes. They should be listed in a Hall of Shame. that is well publicised. They deny the legitimate athletes from glory and represent weakness in officialdom.

3. Discus Golfer. That Australian discus thrower - Denny - has a great golf swing too. Liked the Matilda's women's soccer great focus and belief too. Our long jumper looked like he had just mowed the lawn in his black socks. 

4. NRL. As mentioned in the past few weeks...if COVID gets to QLD there is a problem. They should be moving to North Queensland as soon as possible.... or the Northern Territory. They are in trouble if it all falls over. 

I cannot believe how poor the standard of NRL match-ups has been this weekend (outside of Storm v Panthers). Warriors v Tigers...North QLD v Broncos... Can't wait for the Gold Coast Titans v Bulldogs...? Terrible. Perfect weekend for COVID mayhem really. Canberra are a disappointment too. What a bad loss. Newcastle could make the semis based on their draw.

Saved by Storm v Panthers, but the Storm stamped their class. They are not losing this year unless a terrible injury or two strikes.

I noticed the quick tap is being permitted again... lazy refs have been put on notice. Such inconsistency.

5. AFL. Woeful effort by Brisbane this weekend giving up their key position. West Coast were poor too. Freo v Tigers was a cracking game of desperation...as was the Swans v Essendon. Great intensity for semi final positions!

6. Tennis. Djokovic default for the bronze medal? Barty and Peers get a medal which is special for them. How Barty lost a singles match I'll never know... Djokovic will never be as admired as his tantrums and poor behaviour should never be seen in the Olympics. In fact, tennis should be barred. A joke. Golf is another one that could be trimmed. They are simply not the pinnacle event in their sport and are meaningless. The Masters or the Olympics gold? I think most golfers would say the Masters - as tennis players would say Wimbledon. 

7. New Celtic coach. Ange Postocoglou. I hope he is ready for the ride and a thicker skin than he had as Australian coach. He will be under the pump. A first up loss to Hearts doesn't help. He cannot manage media questions at all well.

8. Trevor Hohns is resigning. Now pass the tissues. He has had a hand in there for too long. Successful first time around and second time around, a little tired and uninspiring. George Bailey and Justin Langer are the selectors. Surely Langer gets a say, but not that much longer. Langer is on thin ice - paper thin.

9. Cricket. A win v Windies in the ODI series. A shock with our form. What a boring, uninspiring series. No stand outs on dud pitches too. Starc was the difference.

10. NBA Draft. Interesting US reaction when overseas players get drafted in US Sports ahead of local players... Josh Giddey the Australian basketballer gets the nod over locals for the Oklahoma Thunder and there is hell to pay. Jealousy is certainly a curse!

11. Gold Medal Commentator. Bruce McIvaney's spirit and passion at the track is a Olympic Games highlight. Hoping we may get a medal. He'll almost die like he did that night in 2000 with Cathy Freeman, if we do!

The Wrap - Olympic Bullrush and Dodgeball

1. Olympics. Can we save the protests and dais spats? The politicising of sport on that stage needs to take a back seat to a few of the freak athletes. There is such talent. A special priviledge to play or compete at the Olympic Games. Such history. 

Great win by the Olyroos in the soccer v Argentina. Sad loss to Sweden by the Matildas... should have won. Sam Kerr is a talent. Kookaburras fortunate and softball girls just lack depth, but have never missed out on a medal at the Olympics. The Stingers water polo team had a victory too. Rowing is a strength at every Olympics for Australia too. Ash Barty gone in the first round! Hard courts are not her best surface. and it showed.

Not sure why we have Skateboarding at the Olympics. That one and 3 on 3 basketball is tough to accept too. Maybe we need bullrush and dodgeball next time?

Swimmers are special. Such a hard sport, but done really well. The scheduling is a little tough to get into the routine, but it won't take long if there is gold flowing. Amazing how host countries seem to get so much success. Incredible. You have to love the girls' 4 x 100 relay team. Superb under pressure and no one jumped in the water post match to celebrate! Yet another Aussie Smith doing really well at world sport - Cameron (NRL), Cam (golf), Steve (cricket), Brendon (swimming)... common surname with uncommon talent.

What was John Coates thinking at the press conference with the Queensland Premier? Honestly. Being on the IOC leadership team does interesting things to people's self importance and lack of self awareness.

Are we keener to beat China than the USA these days? It seems they will be the most formidable opponent in coming years.

2. NRL. The August player transfer window is out of control. Players are going to move around like you wouldn't believe. Two blokes have played in different jerseys against the same team in different weeks...Mamalo and  Townsend. Other blokes who have moved clubs this year mid -season include Pangai, Lodge, Coates (?), Dallin Z-W, Maguire, Beale, Clifford, Dearden...

Tiring of teams blaming rule changes for their woeful tactics and defence. Warriors were hammered...so were the Tigers. No excuses. If you are not good, get good!

Api Korosiau. Incredible stupidity and typical NRL selfishness. The lack of understanding of what this can do to the game and its operations is the problem. If the game stops, the money stops. Maybe this will only makes sense to some when it is too late.

3. Broncos. What is wrong with that joint? Lose great players and recruit mediocre ones: Adam Reynolds aside, but Ryan James and Dunamis Lui are on the radar and they have Capewell, Brenko Lee and Billy Walters. I'm not seeing a premiership there. Kevin Walters is on thin ice. Paper thin.

Ethan Bullemor. Note this Bronco name. He is a super talent.

4. Salary Cap Sombrero. Not sure how Penrith have salary cap provision to accommodate Pangai. Probably organised by Chadd Townsend's manager. He is the smartest bloke in the game.

5. Wigers. What about the Tigers proposal to trade Wighton and Hodgson for Brooks and Mbye? I think someone is getting a better deal here and the fans of the Tigers are getting the worst deal of all with their management. Brooks is in trouble. he runs sidewards, misses too many tackles, and does not seem to be improving. He would be a superstar under Bellamy. Adam Douehii at five eighth is not the answer. I can see why Wayne Bennett liked him, but found a way to release him.

6. Storm. While the JJ Giltnan Shield has already arrived at the engraver's place, the only problem could be if they get bored winning!..15 wins in a row. Impressive stuff.

7. AFL. Five games on one Saturday is too many games on one day... too much overlap. Maybe a Thursday night? Monday night? 

The Western Bulldogs v Demons on Saturday night was a cracking game in the wet. Plenty of talent. Bontempelli is a legend. Petracca is similar. Melbourne have won one game in a month...a slippery decline. Brisbane looked cooked, but awoke to crush the Suns. They are surging to the top four.

Brownlow for me? Clayton Oliver is superb. Oliver Wines too. Wines is at a club where not many others will get points that often. The Bont will go close!

Loving the fake crowd noise... it does a good job and deceives nicely. The player talk mid game is an interesting edge to this footage too now. 

8. Golf. Top British Open win by Collin Morikawa. A top strike rate in his early world golfing days. Not a lot of great players in world sport called "Collin/ Colin" ...the great Colin Croft, Colin Best, Colin Scotts, Colin Miller, Colin Macdonald... even Collis King.

7. Cricket. Empty stadiums. COVID delays... miserable form. It has been quite a dud. Starc, Carey and Mitchell Marsh may be able to hold their heads up, but it has been a forgettable tour in many respects. There needs to be more fresh blood... McDermott, Phillipe, Turner and Carey are the ODI/ T20 future, but Henriques? He has struggled at the top level for a long time now. We continue to struggle v spin and low wickets. Would our domestic scheduling and pitches have anything to do with this? Yet another series where no one really cares.

The Wrap - Long Gawn Kah

1. NRL. God help the NRL officials if they get COVID in Queensland. They could be playing NRL in the Northern Territory or a Grand Final in Broome. Great that sport is still continuing however.

2. Origin Series. A disappointing NSW effort, but three wins in QLD in a series was too much. Moses' defence surprised us all. He certainly has a boot on him. The decision to kick a goal at the end was silly and negative. We need to remember that the greatest of QLD sides rarely won 3-0 ever... only in 2000 and 2010 has it happened in the last 25 years! 

I must say that James Tedesco disappoints with his inability to pass the ball. He skips, steps, stutters and runs across field at worst. At the Roosters, this has been ironed out of his game and he hits the gap. In Origin, he brings it back and it confounds and crowds his team. You need a court order to get the ball off him.

3. NRL Games. Canberra v Cronulla was a contest between two teams that don't have good defence and give others too much opportunity. Canberra have too many big guys who are not mobile and quick enough - and no pace. They need to stop the comp and give the premiership to the Melbourne Storm. 14 wins in a row! Just massacring sides now. Every week they score 40+ points.

Newcastle apparently forgot their jerseys this week for the game. They may have been next to the tubs labelled 'form' and 'effort'. They were appalling. Adam O'Brien is not doing the business. The Roosters however are defying the odds at every stretch with so many injuries. This Billy Smith in the centres has talent. Sam Walker is definitely better than Kyle Flanagan. 

The Tigers showed a little more steel v Broncos. Pleasing for their fans, but the Broncos... They are worse than last year! Kevin Walters is on thinner ice than we can imagine.

Is Lachlan Lewis thick or what?  Unbelievable. Why are we putting up with NRL players writing on their wrist tape? Ban it. Ridiculous. maybe a new literacy strategy?

4. AFL. Hawthorn's 79-79 effort v Melbourne was really strong with a draw a complete disaster for the Demons. Max Gawn the old warhorse skipper is playing well, especially overhead, but this Clayton Oliver will give Marcus Bomptelli a run for the Brownlow. Superb fitness and skill. Tom Mitchell too is awesome under pressure. Good to see the new kid number #1 draft pick, Ugle Hagan, serve it up too. Western Bulldogs beat the Suns in a tight game with the Suns showing more fight now. Stewie Dew may be getting the job done better than any of his predecessors.

5. Wallabies v France - Rugby. 33-30 rounds out a tough series v France. Interesting to see two tests in a week. How can that happen? Wednesday night tests - was this a State of Origin replica? Can anyone explain why Australian rugby union officials are so weak? Why do we put up with the northern hemisphere nonsense rules. Koribete was not worthy of a send off. Lots of play acting by the Frenchman Jelonch. A scintillating French try from the kick and chase. Scintillating, but not enough to win! Our new coach, Dave Rennie, is pretty good. Courageous and no nonsense. (Still looking for that person who actually does tolerate fools!).

6. Olympics - Tokyo. What a COVID nightmare. Hard to see how the disease can stay out of the village...cleaners, officials, media, delivery persons... Looking forward to seeing our swimmers excel. Could be record TV ratings of all time with COVID lock downs across the world. Perhaps this is why the show needed to go on!

7. West Indies 4-1 T20 Smashing in West Indies. It is like the old days when the Windies dominated. They seem to have more steel than us now. The arrogance of some of the Australians in not going to this tour with a thousand excuses is staggering. We then get Langer giving in to the players because the precious things don't want tough expectations. Great to see so much talent in the Windies. When Mitchell Marsh is your best player, Houston we have a huge problem.

8. Jamie Kah - 'Kah Of The Year'. 100 wins in a year as jockey is pretty awesome. Back at it on the weekend, winning two more - Gonnadancealot and I'm Thunderstruck. I'm Thunderstruck was awesome! One for the memory.

9. British Open Golf at Royal St George's. What a cracking tournament. Great location, but prone to a breeze! That perennial second place getter Louis Oosthuizen is sizzling with the best half way score ever in the tournament's history. Some sort of achievement. Hopefully he can aim up and not get a second place. He has done this six times in majors - and twice this year! Look for Rahm late. Our own Cam Smith is a proven Majors performer too. Top recovery in his third round.

10. NBL. Pretty amazing that their final series goes into the best of seven...money spinner! The Bucks v Suns. Poised at 2-2 until a big win in the clutch game on Sunday...

The Wrap - The COVID Cruising Bolt

1. NRL Dragsters. It reminds me of wild 16-18 year old parties  - jumping over fences, hiding from Police, doing the COVID bolt. Paul Vaughan did yet another dumb thing and will struggle to get a decent pay day again. Ironically, he could have been on the cusp of Origin selection if he had been smart. 

The interesting thing too was those blokes not invited - or who chose not to attend - Ramsay, Rawalara, Hunt, McCulloch, Sims. Maybe Origin save a few, but the chasm in team culture brought about by assembling too many 'offcuts' from other clubs is laid bare. 

As mentioned last week, the St George retirement home for lost broncos... Beale, Alvaro, Maguire... All looking for a new start and finding trouble. No guessing why they may have been trimmed from other clubs.  As for de Belin, you'd cut him in an instant. After all that wasted salary cap money over the past few years and club loyalty and this is where his brain is at? Jack needs to steer clear of bedrooms. Simple. The story is not over yet, because you get the sense that the lies may come back to bite them with a stat dec. I suspect there may have been plenty of other people there, which will come out in time of course.

Nonetheless, it will be memorable for all the wrong reasons. The NRL fines did not miss. Now, maybe if they did the same for the Corey Norman street fight and his other nonsense earlier this would have been cured. Corey and Matt Dufty (nice five kilometre run home!) are disappointments. No wonder the coach has axed them.

Coach Griffin too is suddenly under the electron microscope. Hook may be hooked soon too. Why would this have not happened with Bellamy at the Storm?

2. Ash Barty. A great effort to get to the final and win Wimbledon. The third ever Australian. This is a player who left the sport and played at the Brisbane Heat! (HS 39). She is so humble, courageous and talented. She plays with such grace and humility and is clearly well regarded by her peers. A few Grand Slam wins need to occur while she is at the peak of her game. It is a small and ever closing window. She has two now.

Dylan Alcott. Great effort in the wheelchair Wimbledon championships (14th Grand Slam win). Can we get an update on the trophy there? It looks like a 'Student of The Week' trophy at present.

So pleased to see Tom Cruise there. What a show pony. Not sure if he understands the game.

3. Nick Kygrios. Casts himself as a modern day Robin Hood these days. Stealing the limelight from others and giving away free advice and Instagram wisdom - and "entertainment" - until he seems to get bored. He's even advertising cars that no one knows the name of at all. The decision not to attend the Olympics underlined why it should not be there as a sport. He sees it as a tournament. Most Olympic athletes see it as a lifetime pinnacle achievement in their sport.

4. Novak Djokovic. He will probably end up with the most majors ever. He is a ruthless machine. Often criticised (with some good reason), but he has an awesome record. He rarely loses a Grand Slam Final. Keep your house on him! He will equal Federer and Nadal on 20 Grand Slam wins. Maybe this will ignite the fire in Nadal a little more. Federer at 40 now looks cooked.

5. Euro Final. Hard to believe England figures in something so momentus...and in their own backyard. Italy have that X-Factor however. It could all come crashing down. Hopefully not for the fans who won't know what to burn if they lose. Any price on a dodgy refereeing decision?

5A. Copa America. Argentina not crying, but laughing. Messi and crew get it done over Brazil!

6. NRL. No one can ever explain why we need split rounds of the game for a dead rubber Origin. Please... we have Mitchell Moses who will win it for us now. The league becomes very boring and scant, giving the AFL a perfect leg up! How ordinary were the games this weekend?

The ill discipline in camp by Arrow was very hard to comprehend. All good things mind you, but timing? The NRL entitlement culture is staggering. Lots of money and lots of delusion.

The only club that has no problems is the Storm. Their biggest problem is where to put the bigger trophy cabinet.

7. AFL. The Swans are looking sharp. A top win v Western Bulldogs. Lots of tackling pressure can break a team. If only the Dogs had English up front from the get go, they would have prospered more. Crazy coaching really. Richmond are done with Collingwood smashing them in the final quarter but the GWS effort v Gold Coast was appalling.

Still my two AFL rule changes need to occur:

(i). Kick it out of bounds = free kick to the other team from where it was kicked.

(ii). Following a mark, a maximum of five seconds to make a choice. It is far too long at present. Get on with it!

Essendon are hanging on and chalked up a comfortable win v Adelaide. Stringer was on fire and his role as a mid fielder is quite unique and effective for someone so strong. Melbourne bounced back. Love big Max Gawn the Melbourne skipper. Great hands in the air and lots of composure under heat.

8. Connor McGregor. He is a hype machine and good on him. I'd like to see him win a little more. He is a money machine with all the high jinks, so good on him. Surely it ends now. A bad leg break for no real reason. A worry.

9. F1. Speaking of which...Daniel Riccardo. He seems to have more excuses than the St George NRL party goers. As Kerry Packer used to say: "don't complain and don't explain".

10. Golf. A big week for Australia last week. Cam Davis in a PGA play off win taking his world ranking from the high 100s/ 200s to 67! Great effort. All the while Lucas Herbert won the Irish Open. Herbert has been the classic PGA journeyman and has hovered in the 70-80 world rankings for a while now. A career high 55th in the world is nothing to sneeze at! Steph Kyriacou also won in Holland at the best named golf tournament going: The Big Green Egg Open at Rosendaelsche Golf Club. Her father carries her bag as caddy! Great teamwork. 

11. Australian Cricket. What a horrible, pathetic effort. Weak and brainless really. Spoiled players who critique the coach long before they critique themselves. The coach, Justin Langer is now at the mercy of the over paid players. Unfortunately, he is on a short leash. It is hard to like anything about Australian cricket at present. 

The Wrap - Blow Outs and Blow Backs

1. Mitchell Moses. His missed goal after the siren sums things up for Mitchell. Talented, creates opportunities but never really produces consistently under pressure. It would be a risk having him in the NSW Origin team - even a dead rubber. He has got the best chance now, but when has he dominated against a top three team? You'd sooner go with Matt Burton. Moses' boot is superb (goalkicking and general play), but his defence is not. Reynolds? Running over the dead ball line when you are gunning for an origin spot doesn't help your cause.

Can someone explain why State of Origin players need to back up and play for their clubs between games? Maybe after a decided series, but NSW will not have the required team or intensity to compete this time around. A great effort to beat QLD twice in Queensland to start a series. Keep remembering that Queensland won eight in a row! Then start talking about eras and 'best evers'. 

Get Katoni Staggs into the team too. He is a cracker.

2. Sky Racing. With COVID lockdown in Sydney, suddenly the highest rating TV show on the television. Great runs by Grand Promenade and Oscar Zulu especially on the weekend. A few upsets too of course in the damp conditions.

3. AFL. The form of Richmond is disturbing. For the carry-over 2020 Premiers they have completely turned it up. A disgrace and now they lose their best player in Houli to injury. Melbourne losing to GWS was appalling too. They seem to be cursed. How that happens at a clutch time of the season is unbelievable.  Essendon are cooked for the season again. Parish got 40+ disposals which is outrageous. He's been doing it all year. Brisbane were strong as always...they look like they are firming for a GF appearance too.

As soon as the rain comes, the game totally changes its complexion!

Swans were dominant. Callum Mills is on fire in 2021. He has toughened up. Florent and Hewitt are growing in strength and speed too. West Coast missed Gaff, but surely the cold of Geelong may have been a bigger influence. Big 'local' South Melbourne support of the Swans!

Western Bulldogs are on top of the comp now and should be minor premiers.

4. NRL. Parramatta won their first premiership in 1981, some 34 years after joining the NRL top flight rugby league in 1947. It is now 35 years after their last premiership in 1986. Incredible drought that does not look like breaking.

Parramatta are finished for the season. The tally now goes to 35 years without a premiership. A tight loss to Penrith confirms the worst. Put the queue in the rack and get overseas and look for three players for the backline with speed. Maybe an All Black? They are completely lost and Haze Dumpster is simply not up to it yet. Small and not quick! They completely leave Dylan Brown lost and he needs to be coached properly to get the best from him. They need to sort the backline out. Get rid of Waqar Blake and Opacic and sign some speed! They are slow and in wet conditions, completely painful. 

5. NRL Blow Out Saturday. Apparently this is all to do with the new rules, Peter Vlandys and head high tackles... and nothing about poor coaching, ill discipline, terrible recruitment or awful defence. Sportbet punters love it with try scorers!

6. Blow Out #1 - Bulldogs 66-0. Worst result in 60-80 years. What a miserable mess they have become. Trent Barrett has done nothing really this year. He was touted as the next best thing, but he has been dreadful, presiding over ill discipline, slackness and insurrection. He seems obsessed with new signings, but we all know that will paper over the problems. He is close to being shown the door as well. He'll have to race Kyle Flanagan. His future is not in Australia sadly. Unfortunately he does not get it and Barrett has still not picked up on it.

7. Blow Out #2 - Raiders v Titans 44-6. The Titans are the best first half team in the comp, but when they meet Canberra it looks so much easier. The efforts of some of the Canberra players are dreadful. Ricky's time may be up. He should move on. 

The cranky angry coach has a short lifetime...Michael Maguire (Wests Tigers) is in trouble too. A bye next week gives the club the perfect preparatory phase for a transition coach.

8. Blow Out #3 - Newcastle v Cowboys 38-0. Amazing what a player or two does to a team - Ponga and Pearce... new team. Cowboys disastrous.

9. The St. Broncos. How many Broncos can you fit into the Dragons...Maguire, McCulloch, Hunt, (Sims, Norman)... Pangai-Junior? Hook needs to watch out too or he will be on the slippery slide out of the joint. Looks like the ill discipline has travelled south too...COVID parties. Honestly. Hook may cop the hook himself if he doesn't smarten a few of them up!

The Broncos looked good on Sunday. Unfortunately they were a bit lost on the words for the team song!

Reuben Garrick is an impressive Manly player. Low maintenance and easily one of the underdog signings of the year. Hasler can coach! Tommy T is the gun player of the comp. With Cleary injured, Tommy will be the Dally M winner.

Has 'Blocker' Roach lost it as a commentator? He needs to be more insightful.

10. The Warriors. They are the misfit vacuum cleaner of the NRL at present - Townsend, Lodge, Johnson, Dallin WZ... surely there are better local products in a country that pumped Tonga 102-0 in rugby on the weekend..

11. Wimbledon. Put your house on Djokovic. He is going to blitz them. Roger is superb, but struggling at 40 years of age. No Rafa. Barty looks to be struggling a bit, but still winning. Hopefully the heat cranks up and the courts get faster and less slippery.

12. Nick Kgyrios. An entertainer, but not a winner sadly. No one is really that surprised to see him withdraw from the tournament. Interesting to see if he plays doubles with Venus Williams still. 

13. Tim Tszyu.  I think everyone knows how Michael Zerafa must have been feeling. Stevie Spark...keep running! Tszyu is world class. Cinderella Man. Didn't Cinderella blow a sand shoe and turn into a pumpkin? There's no sunshine here.

14. England - Euro 2021. Awesome play by the English team...first semi final since the early 1990s v Denmark. First time a clean sheet has been kept in five straight European Championships tournament games. England don't know what to say with a semi final birth. Gareth Southgate has been composed and courageous as coach. Impressive signs.