The Wrap - The 2023 Sporting Year in Review

2023 Year in Review and Remarkable Sporting Achievements:

1. Greatest Australian Dud Goose of the Year: Eddie Jones ('come here and say it') for his lame and embarrassing coaching effort for the Wallabies on record. A complete fluke that Japan have him as their coach now. Eddie's combative press conference at the airport before departure in his akubra hat had knives being sharpened for him before he stepped onto the plane.

2. Greatest World Sport Individual Efforts: Novak Djokovic winning more tennis Grand Slams than anyone else ever. LeBron James becoming the highest ever point scorer in the history of the NBA. Erling Haaland breaking the most EPL goals in a single season. Virat Kohli - more ODI hundreds (50) than the great Sachin Tendulkar.

3. Greatest Controversy: Jonny Bairstow stumping issue in the Ashes. Jonny's hypocrisy, having tried it himself in the same match and in the past, was pretty stunning too.

4. Greatest Australian Individual Sporting Effort: Nathan Cleary's outstanding last minutes of the 2023 Grand final v Brisbane (without Luai and Yeo on the field it must be noted). Glenn Maxwell 200no in the ODI World Cup v Afghanistan. Travis Head's winning ton (137) in the ODI World Cup Final.

5. Greatest Australian Team Performance: Mens Cricket Team: ODI World Cup Cricket win v India, World Test Champions v India, retained Ashes** and the Australian Matildas World Cup quarter/ semi final football effort. Australian Womens Cricket is up there too. Penrith Panthers threepeat!

6. Greatest World Team Performance: Manchester City - EPL Champions, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League winners, UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup. 

7. Greatest Sporting Backflip: Melbourne and the Commonwealth Games rejection. May be the death of the concept!

8. Greatest Myth: The LIV-PGA 'peace' settlement that has no finish line. Laughable.

9. Greatest Dummy Spit. English cricket and Lords after the Bairstow issue. Hard to cop Stuart Broad at the best of times, but particularly when he starts lecturing people about fair play. He cut one to Clarke at slip in 2013 off Agar and stayed at the crease. In some ways he has always represented the best and worst of English cricket.

10. Most Ominous Sign for 2024. Two State of Origin series wins in a row by Queensland in 2022 and 2023. Under 'Madge' things look no brighter for NSW sadly. Unfortunately only three clubs can still win the NRL premiership in 2024 - Broncos, Panthers, Roosters.

The Wrap - Ange and Angels

Late Christmas - New Year edition...

1. Big Bash (BBL). Back again for another stint, but there is a sameness about it that may be the start of the sheen being dulled on the concept. No one cares who wins (Heat, Sixers, Scorchers - same winners as usual), with the familiar duds: Stars, Renegades and the usual middling teams: Thunder, Hurricanes, Strikers. Not a lot of these guys in the BBL have progressed to national honours. Maybe only second tier players like Inglis, Wade, Hardie, Abbott, David. Our bowling stocks are very thin - especially spin bowling. Bring back Clive Rose.

My main tip - Beau Webster - is carving it up. He is an Australian player in T20 with bat and ball, no doubt. Has hit 30 years of age too - the customary selection age.

When did the law of cricket change to prevent catches being made cleanly and then touch the ground? It has been happening for a hundred years. Suddenly they are all in question...strange.

2. Tom Curran. The Sydney Sixers are making themselves look stupid. Tom Curran behaved like a goose. You wouldn't see that in the park, let alone in the national scene. Take the ban and move on. Maybe the charge of 'intimidation' is silly, but the actions are worse. Reminds me of the great Colin Croft's effort in New Zealand. No angels there: Bing Videos

3. Dean Elgar. I noticed his international retirement has come now. South African cricket is a shadow of its former self. They are playing three Tests in 2024 as a result and are focusing on ODI and T20 formats. They will need a lot of surgery to bring it back, but are doing OK v India at present. Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla would still bat better than any of the current crop. Not many getting starts in the IPL either.

Elgar's 140+ v India may be a crowning Test moment for him as well (14 Test tons).

4. Pakistan Cricket. Plentiful talent (esp. pacemen!), but they look incapable of getting much right. Injuries, poor fielding, inexplicable stumpinds and run outs, mystery retirements, protests, selection issues...not much has changed there. Banned from the IPL is also one of those issues that needs to be addressed by the ICC. A world game free of discrimination? Hardly. This summer's teams look a bit strange. The West Indian team is unrecognisable. Great for Nathan Lyon who will beat Courtney Walsh's 519 Test wickets against them. Maybe it is time to have Bangladesh come out for a six test series.

5. IPL. For a country with lots of poverty, the money paid in India to Starc and Cummins is absurd. Cameron Green is even worse. Starc's ability to knock over openers early is a massive plus in T20. Not the fault of the players, but is it based on their performances in other ICC forms of the game? If so, the IPL remains a leach on the cricket landscape. A fat, juicy leech at that.

6. Tottenham. They have peeled off three straight wins... Newcastle, Nottingham and the resurgent Everton. Two games against Brighton (one postponed), then Bournemouth and ManU follow. They are back within striking distance of the lead. Liverpool are surging once again!

Talk of Ange eventually joining Man City and ManU is growing louder! ManU have suffered more losses this season in all forms of football that they have since 1930! Ouch. Manager, Erik ten Hag is in quick sand, but holding on!

7. Jarome Luai. Not sure he will still go to the Tigers. The Panthers have an overseas trip to Wigan yet and his current leave is a bad sign for the Tigers. He has won everything of course, but playing for the three time Premiers or wooden spooners may be worth the sacrificed cash. Load up into Year3 of the contract after the $850K two year deal?

8. NRL Player Behaviour. Not one serious NRL off season incident yet. No groping, doping, assaults or arrests. Long may it last. New Year's Eve is always a sterner test. Loss of competition points for the club is the best solution. Mitch Kenny puts a silly social media post out... Honestly. No testing in the off season will do this - ask Valentine Holmes. 

9. LIV-PGA Golf. How is this resolution process and peace talks progressing? It sounds like it isn't. Another joke to appease sponsors, but poor communication and lack of transparency seems to be one of golf's greatest challenges on the world stage.

10. MLB - LA Dodgers. Splashing cash like the IPL on heat. Snapping up the best talent, but they have a talent for not producing with talent, regardless of who it is!

The Wrap - GOATs and Goatees

1. Cricket. First Pakistan Perth Test. Really poor crowds, but genius batting by Warner on Day 1 set up the crushing win. He dominates when on fire. A duck in the second innings didn't help, but he had played his role.  All out 89 by Pakistan is pretty poor. We love a win, but the crowds will suffer this summer.  A bad, inconsistent pitch really did not help. This could have cricket back to the WACA sooner than ever. Dangerous moments.

Mitchell Marsh had a top test - 90, 65no and a wicket and a catch too. A duck or a hundred man however. The MOTM on his home deck!

Nathan Lyon, the GOAT killed them with 500 Test wickets. 501 now and 18 behind Courtney Walsh. McGrath on 563 and Warnie 708 lie ahead.

Starc sneaks along to 338 wickets at 27.49 as well. His strike rate is better than almost every pace bowler in history - except Pat Cummins. He is forging a highly impressive career.  Josh Hazelwood and Pat Cummins have both hit 242 Test wickets. Four very impressive bolwers really.

2. Mitchell Johnson. With an opportunity to smile and accept that he was all about motivation... and bury the hatchet with Warner, Johnson doubles down with a cranky, silly display on TV. Honestly. He was hard to like as a player - harder now. He has made a goat of himself... goatee and all.

3. Damien Oliver, the Melbourne jockey rode a peach on Munhamek to win in WA in a race named after him. This ends his career - known as the GOAT as well! Over 20,000 rides as well. Awesome. The most Group 1 wins ever for Australian horse racing.

4. Ange Postocoglou. Clawing it all back now with a couple of good wins for Tottenham v Newcastle and Nottingham. Still a phenomenal effort and talk of having him lead Man City is phenomenal. Everton now move to 16 points, even with 10 points taken off them...a great year for them this season too. Everton, Brighton, Bournemouth lie ahead for Ange. We will see what they are made of here.

Ange is our GOAT of football managerial prowess.... with a goatee. No risk there.

5. Jarome Luai. Great luck to him. Top money, but I am not so sure he is worth that much. I like how Penrith show no emotion and will replace him too. Tigers may not land him yet, despite the media... Bulldogs? They have the salary cap sombrero now!

6. Eddie Jones. "Come here and say it"... He has truly made a complete embarrassment of himself in view of all the media denials. Sad... and has made a complete goat of himself. Eddie will need to grab his blue jumper and hit the high road.

The Wrap - Spell Nawaqanitawase

1. Matt Renshaw eeks out a ton v Pakistan and he is next in line for an Australian opener's spot? I suspect Mitchell Marsh will come in and Cameron Green will come back post Warner. Renshaw is too inconsistent and has a lazy front foot. LBW special.

A big test this week. Lance Morris keeps on being spoken about, but I suspect that there is no fast bowler keen to entertain not bowling in Perth!

2. Big Bash. Enjoyable to an extent, but generally pretty similar every year. This revolving door of players going from one world T20 league to another makes a complete mockery of the competition. Money making and eventually they will all fall over. 

3. NZ v Bangladesh. The NZ team bounced back for a 1-1 series outcome. Tight, but again their lower order did the business. They are like the Yarra River...the best is at the bottom.

4. Ange Postocoglou. Is now under fire, but the team is scoring goals. Weak defence on the back of many injuries. He needs a bit more steel from them all. No shortage of Pommy critics. That is the problem with that mob, they swap and change all the time and can't pick and stick. Their journos try to unsettle and big note themselves constantly. Newcastle, Notts, Everton and Brighton are the next four games. He would need three out of four here to restore his footing on the EPL table.

Full marks to Everton on their ascension on the table after being docked 10 points for salary cap and financial breaches.

5. Mitchell Johnson. He has become the new 'rent a quote'. An intriguing bloke who never seemed to like criticism when he bowled - but who provided many avenues for it.  Now he wants to throw mud at everyone else. He is not a heavyweight ex-player really, despite his 313 Test wickets. 

Interesting that Mitchell Starc (333) has sailed on by him and is getting wickets at a better average than McDermott, Johnson and Brett Lee. (How great was Shane Warne? We are all lucky to have seen him play).

6. LIV-USPGA. When was the truce all set to be activated? Sounds like a Claytons unification! Jon Rahme is a big scalp and a big pay check. Rory seems to think this one is fine now... all very murky.

7. Roosters Recruit. The hardest man's name to spell and pronounce is surely Mark Nawaqanitawase. Signed at the Roosters, bolstering their strength and range of speedsters. They deserve salary cap relief for being astute and progressive in their planning and thinking.

8. Shohei Ohtani has finally secured his future, signing the biggest contract in MLB history with the LA Dodgers. A superb player who hits and pitches at the elite level in both. Over $1 billion! 

The Wrap - Teeing Off

1. Golf. A tight win for Joaquin Niemann in a riveting playoff. Great intensity in a topsy turvey final round. Fortune favoured the brave that is for sure! Not a great day for the Lee family...Shane and Brett. Not for Minjee and Min Woo either, but lots of talent there!

There is something magic about the Australian Open each year, despite its obvious limitations. Love the Stonehaven Cup.

2. Ange. The special song has gone quiet lately with so many injuries. He is now facing the might of Man City at the same time tonight. This will be a monumental win if he can do it. It would elevate him into the top managers of the world overnight, which is hard to believe, but true. There is a changing of some EPL world order at the moment with Aston Villa and Newcastle climbing fast. Chelsea meanwhile plummet. Still can't work out why other points penalties have not been delivered for other clubs, including Man City. Just Everton so far who look better than most years at present. They may cling on again yet.

3. Bangers. Absolutely mashed up New Zealand to win the first of two tests. A two Test series is a dunce act. Remarkable and overdue win against a full strength NZ team. Kane Williamson hit his 29th Test ton in the test, matching the Don.

4. T20. How tiresome and a nothing series for both Australia and India. An IPL rehearsal for some, but not much traction in a disappointing Australian team. Our spin stocks are woeful.

Are Indian cricket fans and ex-players now some of the most precious and sensitive types in the world? They do not like losing of course (who does?) and want to make a huge deal out of everything, including Mitchell Marsh putting the feet on top of the trophy in a photo. Please. You lost, get over it. Get good.

5. Test Cricket Team. Mitchell Johnson is playing his own Australian Open at the moment, teeing off on Dave Warner and selector, George Bailey who strikes you as a thoroughly decent person. Johnson is wild and livid re the Warner farewell and other things, calling Bailey out as lacking courage. Bailey's response was gold: "I hope he's OK". Maybe he should stick to bowling and helping blokes like Lance 'Cordial' Morris who gets a chance on the Cottees again for another summer. Johnson did a lot of his own hopeless play in his time, but did almost single handedly win the Ashes that year. Never saw a repeat of that though.

6. Matildas. Ridiculous game v Canada, sacrificing the reputation and standing of that team. Pick the best and 'blood' others in lesser teams. Silliness. You can't say a lot of words in Canada, but some choice words were being tossed at the team coach post match.

7. Women's T20 Big Bash and AFLW. Both comps end within a day of each other at a good time of the year. Sensible scheduling. More coverage than most sports now. Top intensity.

8. Netball Australia. A dithering lot of white tracksuits that mob. Finally looking after players, but in such a successful sport domestically, it has a dash of the "rugbys' with its poor administration and poor planning. Get it right. That national men's netball competition should be coming any day now.

9. Rafa Nadal. Great to hear he is back this summer for his swansong. He may get a chance to meet Dave Warner too. The greatest perhaps... but Djokovic will be in electrifying form once more.

10. Josh Giddey. What a sorry mess. The price of fame is sometimes unbearable. Hopefully he and the young person involved are in a good space with the right support. Social media is the sewer of the internet indeed. Imagine social media and Wednesday dollar drinks at Parramatta Leagues or Castle Hill RSL back in the day. 

11. Adam Doueihi. Sounds like Adam is getting nervous about Jerome Luai coming to the club. In a spot of trouble with some poorly chosen comments. It could be the injury recovery and pending flight to England.

The Wrap - Woo Easy

1. The World Cup ODI Final. Travis Head has arrived. Such an awesome striker of the ball and what an innings! It could go down as one of the greatest wins in cricket history by an Australian team. Making the final was a great achievement but winning it was next level. Smith did not produce in his last ODI World Cup and Marnus produced as predicted.

The bleatings by former Indian players (Mohammad Kaif was always a goose as Warnie said in his biography. Kaif wanted a room upgrade in the IPL and Warnie intervened..."I am the only one with a big room...grab your bag son and move on").

Ronnie McDonald and Pat Cummins have made a dent in world cricket already...world Test Series win, Ashes retained and a ODI World Cup win. Cumball!

Played in front of 92,000...very quiet fans. India should never lose tournaments of any nature with their strike power.

How about Josh Inglis in the T20 arena. 100 off 45 balls. Is Carey now finished? Do selectors look ahead to the next Ashes.

2. EPL. Wide open and Man City have not set the world on fire. Haaland has another 14 goals to date and is leading the way. He could just back up on last year's record at this rate. Ange has a test tonight. Another loss won't help his cause. Robbie Williams may be penning different lyrics!

3. Golf. Is Cameron Smith losing it? The most extraordinary outburst in this tournament. Appearance fee banked and out the door, but very odd. Min Woo-Lee too good at -20!. Poised and composed till the end. Great future ahead there.

4. Davis Cup Tennis. Hard to believe that Australia plays Italy in a final. Last time that happened it was with the great former Epping politician - John Alexander. Lleyton Hewitt (World No. 1 for 80 weeks and in the top ten longest streaks in the No. 1 world's best position) is coaching the house down. Bought a house at Glenhaven and carving it up! No Djokovic to contend with in the final but Sinner will be tough. 

5. Everton. Perennial Premier League relegation ice skaters. Docked ten points and likely to go this year. Massive legal cases loom for their indiscretions re financial mismanagement and unfair advantage gained. man City face similar. Will they relegate them? Chelsea too? Interesting times.

5. RIP Paul Sait. Tough as teak.

6. Newcastle Knights. Re-signing key players (Saifiti, Best) and Coach O'Brien, but getting some gun English players and a few other ducks in a row... starting to build nicely.

7. 150 Year Test. Interesting to see we are almost up to the 150th celebration between Australia and England (1977 was the Centenary Test of course). Big MCG celebration assured there.

8. Rugby Australia. What else can they get wrong? Honestly. Sacked the head, the coach and what next? It is a comedy show.

The Wrap - Garden of Eden

1. ODI World Cup. A super win v South Africa in the semi final on a tough deck. Great bowling by Starc and Hazelwood to launch it after a tight opening. Lots of key early wickets consigned South Africa to the World Cup dustbin again. They do struggle under pressure. Travis Head can turn games on their head - even with the ball so it seems! He and Warner are absolutely key to our chances in the final.

What about the anticipated 130,000 crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium?  Talk about a lions den. This will be an experience of a lifetime for the Aussies and make for excellent viewing in the next edition on Prime! Such a big stage, but the likes of Rohit Sharma, Gill, Kohli, Iyer, Rahul... these are top class players on their decks. Not to mention the best attack in world cricket - Bumrah, Sami, Siraj, Jadeja... and Ravi Ashwin is not even playing! (He and Kohli have never seen eye to eye).

Kohli is magnificent. 50 ODI tons is pretty amazing, beating Sachin Tendulkar. 

After a rough start, Australia have surely overachieved. However an innings of mastery by Steve Smith tonight is due. So is Marnus. This is the stuff of legend. Not sure how Zampa will go against these Indians. He needs to get more loop and bowl a little slower at times. I doubt they will be quaking in their boots. If we had Shane Warne however...

A bad tournament for Green, Stoinis and Carey (his petulance with the binoculars in the Ashes may have betrayed his true character a little). Warner and Starc have been magnificent. A coming of age tournament for Zampa, Mitchell Marsh, Head and Inglis...these guys are our future for a while. Age will decimate the team soon. 

2. Eddie Jones. When does he leave the country? Too much press for a guy who should be a lot quieter after recent events. McLennan goes too and will learn that recruitment defines each and every one of us in our professional lives.

3. Socceroos. Meaningless World Cup qualifiers must annoy a lot of club teams. Honestly, they travel like kings and look to be some of the most sour, dour and boring individuals on earth. The sense of "team" is interesting. It looks a lot about "me" in these parts. Graham Arnold is a legendary coach however. No EPL of course this week.

4. NRL Salary Cap Concessions. It does seem ludicrous that other codes with no salary caps can stop the progress of the game. Rugby's "world stage" line is struggling for traction a bit now. Nick Politis has got Joseph Suaali in line for a return. It might happen sooner that we thought.

On signings, it is really slim pickings these days. Astute investment in youth is needed now more than ever. Matt Moylan gone overseas as well... a good move.

5. Swans AFLW. Smashed, but a semi-final win in their first year is pretty impressive. Good for the game of AFL which seems to be growing and growing in strength. No big blokes who wallop you mercilessly impresses mums and dads.

6. Sheffield Shield. Renshaw picks up a double fail. Harris marginally better. No one really getting runs although a bloke by the name of Beau Webster (Tasmania) continues to excel. In all forms of the game. A power hitter and a sensible player under pressure. NSW in all sorts of bother again. They need a batting coach and selectors who can spot promise. Dropping Sangha and Jack Edwards (injured?) is not a great move when the blokes coming in get nothing either. 

7. Novak Djokovic. This guy is a slick machine. Into the final of the ATP Finals v Sinner. Absolutely smashed Alcarez who has a lot to learn to regularly beat the best ever player in world tennis. This will shatter all records here. The bad news? He's not finished yet either!