Wrap - Ashes Miracle

1. Ashes Miracle. No matter what way it turns today, there will be an Ashes miracle. A miracle that Australia with their poor batting and lack of application could retain them - or a miracle they could score so many fourth innings runs to win it. Ben Stokes is the man for it if they can do it. Hopefully Nathan Lyon will produce. He is the GOAT Australian off spinner, but he rarely rips through a team to drive us to victory. perhaps tonight is the night. We have had a fine history of not being able to win the tight one, so hopefully we can tonight...I think Botham/Border/ Thomson... Flintoff/ Brett Lee... can we win a tight one?


2. NRL. Manly seem to be getting better and better. Des Hasler has done a spectacular job this year. Their wins away at Melbourne and Canberra are tremendous. Canberra need to tighten up under pressure. Brainless Joey Leilua needs to be more composed under pressure. He put his team behind when they did not need it through his ill discipline and resulting 8 point try. Roosters and Storm both look commanding. There are not that many in it this year. Souths still look awful. Eels a bad loss this week.


3. Nathan Brown. Newcastle are an amateur show there in so many ways. Getting thumped this week is a bad sign. The clubs not in the semis are imploding... the Cowboys' coach and Morgan are bluing, the Titans are hopeless and Saints are no doubt looking for a coach like Flanagan with McGregor going south. McGregor's pre game chat was appalling. He has lost the dressing room and the carpark.


4. Richmond - now nine in a row. I suspect they will be unbeatable on the MCG if they stay there. So in control when on that field. Geelong are rallying...Collingwood a possible, but the Western Bulldogs could surprise.


5. Rugby. Sydney University win the Shute Shield and 67 players are selected for the Wallabies World Cup team. It is harder to miss out on that one and the newspapers just don't bother listing all the names any more.


6. EPL. A slow start and you are doomed. ManU look to be suffering this curse as Liverpool stride on.


7. PGA Golf. Rory, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka are in line for the FedEx $15 million prize. Big dollars.


8. US Open Tennis. All getting underway this week again. Put your money on Djokovic and Serena for mine.

Wrap - ICC Incompetence Yet Again - Near Death at Lords

1. Steve Smith. The efforts by Steve Smith confirm our worst fears. England can knock us over cheaply when the sun is not shining. If it was not for him, the Test could well be almost over, even allowing for two days missed through weather.

Like many, I was watching when he was dropped by the Archer delivery. I honestly thought he was dead - like Phil Hughes. The mandatory inclusion of side levers on helmets is a continuing disgrace following Phil Hughes' death so long ago. Uncomfortable? Awkward? Bad luck. Death is more uncomfortable. I have been banging on about this for years. That was a sickening blow live. Archer was generating some huge speed. Scary. Then Siddle comes out wearing the side levers. Go figure.

While we are at it, when is someone going to produce cricket gloves that withstand a cricket ball? Has the technology improved in the last 30 years?

The booing from the Lords crowd was disgraceful. Those Pommies wonder why Australians hate them so much in sport. Arrogant and pompous. We love thrashing them.

Jofra Archer was generating great pace after lunch on Day 4. Jimmy Anderson, as good as he is, was not really missed. Broad is amazing against Australia. He lifts and executes brilliantly. Smith was unflappable. Awesome leadership under immense pressure. The rest come and go far too quickly.

2. Wallabies. After a big week last week, the Wallabies were punished badly. Not having a Test win in NZ for 23 in a row is terrible. However 36-0 may have looked a bit harsh. Rarely do the ABs lose a game at home under lights. get them into the sunshine! We really never looked like winning. We have plenty of people believing, but it came crashing down after 20 minutes, if not before.

3. AFL. North Melbourne crushed Port Adelaide to do an 'All Blacks' on them. One week terrible, the next awesome. Both Adelaide sides have fallen in a heap. Collingwood storming home and the Lions are doing the business with Charlie Cameron on fire. Nine in a row for the Brisbane team whose pace and fight is killing the opposition. McCarthy's mark was awesome! Geelong have some worries heading into September. Richmond will be the team to beat. Geelong and the woeful GWS are too inconsistent.

The standard of footy is getting better and better as the weeks go by.

3. Cameron Bancroft. Great catch at short leg, but simply not sharp enough with his batting technique. He labours around trying to absorb the strike and see off the bowling, but fails when it matters. Broad has a field day against him. He potters, wafts at thin air like a golfer before teeing off on the first, and he has had more edges than a 50 cent coin. He puts incredible pressure on his batting partner. His steel has been tested and he has not risen to it. Warner has been a massive disappointment too after a splendid World Cup.Warner is in a world of pain...dropping catches reveals the inner mentality.

5. NRL. South Sydney are in a world of pain. They are looking worse and worse as the year unfolds. Sam Burgess was not himself (under threat of joining his brother in England I suspect), but Foran and Cogger were solid. Damien Cook is not running the ball enough. They are stopping his creativity and the same is true of Cody Walker. Bennett needs to lighten up or his season will crumble. Reynolds looks uncertain too.

Canberra made a stunning statement as Melbourne lost another one at home - but after having led 18-0. The scrutiny on the Storm tackling techniques on the ground are important for the game. Ben Cummins is woeful gifting Melbourne two sin bins.. even still Canberra bounced back to win. Papalli did the business. How many tries would he have scored as a junior footy. He is a big man.

Parramatta have stuck to the task well and face a stern test with the Bulldogs this week. The Bulldogs have had a great second half of the season.

The Sharks are struggling. Is Moylan worth the cash? Woods? Roosters on fire.

6. NRL. There are some heads that need to roll in that joint. The great cover up (not the deed) after giving Barbara Smith, Cameron Smith's wife a diamond ring; the inability to get the Match Review Committee's consistency right; the refusal to acknowledge James Graham's 400 top flight games and the concussion test fiasco. Peter Beattie makes it all a bit comical at times. What else?

7. Ash Barty. Still having to put up with being World Number 2. Hopefully she can lift in the chase to US Open glory. Not sure she is fast enough on that surface, but she will go close. Can we fine Kgyrios a million? Fool.

Wrap - Reverse Swing Retires

1. Wallabies. Beauden Barrett. He still can write his own cheque to move to NRL. What a star he is. Kerevi strong. Nic White very sharp. O'Connor looks bigger and humbler. I liked To'omua at the end, but the game was done by then. The All Blacks were ordinary it must be said. Not having won a series since 2002, the Bledisloe decider at Eden Park will be great watching. 47-26 is a good result for Cheika. Can we have a daytime test v New Zealand? That is our best chance? Bring back old afternoon time rugby. Hooper is an amazing player. NZ cop a red card for a shoulder charge and Ponga almost puts Gutherson in the grandstand and cops nothing...


Can we get a ref who has some fitness? That ref from France had a gut. The northern hemisphere stooges love to try and sink our showpiece games.


2. NRL. Upsets. Warriors over Manly and Bulldogs over Tigers. Paul Momorovski had a shocker at the end with a goalkick you would have been embarrassed with down the park. Parramatta are winning and you can't argue with that, but they will need to work hard to beat the loss of Ma'u and Moreoa next year as well. Signing David Fifita would be huge. Alvaro and Gower will not win you a comp. Amazing when a half back takes the line on, how the team wins. Look at Croft at the Storm, understated, but the best in the business. The half back who stands and passes all game is not threatening the opposition and not driving the team forward. Look at Keary, Cronk, Munster..to the line and a really late pass. The cut out pass to the winger is the key play these days! Rushing up and in defence by wingers is extinguished with that tactic.


3. AFL Upsets Weekend. How awful were Essendon? 21 goals in a row for the Dogs at one point. 137 v 30 odd (and Essendon kick the game's first goal - their next one was with 4 minutes to go). Just tipped out the Gold Coast Suns who should be shipped out and closed down.  Rodney Eade was laughed out of town way back, but he did best there. Geelong beat North 69-14 to confine them to their lowest score ever (one goal only). Hawthorn crushed GWS who are easily the most inconsistent team in the comp. Teams did not cope with the cold at all - or the snow. Geelong, Brisbane, Richmond and West Coast continue to dominate.


4. Ashes. Can Bancroft stay in the team? He should be banned for another year the way he batted in the first Test. He can't get a run and needs to lift big time. Bancroft is under a lot of pressure and should be punted if he can't produce. Harris is easily our best bat over the past twelve months and is very unlucky. Wouldn't be that Bancroft is a West Australian would it?


Great win by the Australians. Lyon three wickets shy of the great DK Lillee and only 31 years old. He could hit 500 wickets by the time he is done. Smith a superstar and captain in waiting. Smith has 25 Test tons (same as Kohli) and Ponting ended on 41. Smith has played 65 Tests, Ponting 168 Tests. Tim Paine is a great guy and gloveman, but we have never chosen fieldsmen as skippers. Score more runs!


5. Retired. The great Hashim Amla has retired. South Africa have a lot of rebuilding to do now. Faf du Plessis is 35 years old and AB de Villiers is gone. (I notice he still kills them in the County Cricket T20 blast.. and Darcy Short too).


6. Reverse Swing. Has anyone noticed that since the sandpaper scandal, there has hardly been a ball that has reversed in world cricket? I wonder what has happened... maybe those new Kookaburra and Duke balls... or would it be that illegal tactics have been stopped? I still think Starc and Hazelwood knew a lot more than they have ever revealed. Ironic that both were left out of the first Test? I wonder how the Pommy lolly supply is going?


7. The Quick NRL Tap. Is there anything other than poor fitness from referees that stops the quick tap? Or the right spot of paspalem to take it from? Open up the game please... This would smarten up the game, but instead they are not using the correct mark (please...). Refs need to speed up at the breakdowns and shut down arguments and captains questioning decisions. Yet to see a decision reversed this season! "Sure, you're right...let's reverse that penalty or overturn the bunker's hopeless work"...never happens - move on!


8. EPL. Back on as the world's longest and possibly most entertaining comp. Liverpool come colliding back into form and the top five clubs will thrash it our as usual - Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, ManU and Arsenal, perhaps Tottenham. The English crowds are awesome as usual. Very amusing seeing the second tier debutants go around. They need to learn quickly how the game is played at the highest level.


9. Who is the bigger galoot at present - Josh Maguire or Nick Kygrios? One grabs your eyes with his hands, the other makes you put your hands over your eyes and wonder what could have been.

Wrap - Overcoming Sandpaupers and Paine-staking Ashes

1. The Ashes. The pathetic softness by our batting was best revealed in the pre Test shootout between our batters. Most players got single figures in both teams. This then continued at Edgbaston in the first Test as well. Our openers with their sandpaper memories and the boos needed to did deep and really be patient. They were sloppy. Warner's form in England has never been great. He has never hit a ton there. He needs to knuckle down and get hectic. My worries re Bancroft's temperament have been founded. He needs to be rested already. Marcus Harris needs to enter the fray.


We also need to quietly remember that these are two teams not at the top of world Test cricket. England (4) v Australia (5).


The selectors are clearly overthinking things. Too much left hander/ right hander obsession. Is Greg Chappell still sniffing around or has he gone? Fancy not playing Starc and thinking that Rory Burns was a soft dismissal that would be easily achieved? Brad Haddin has said that the rest/ rotation policy needed to occur across the series (please...). Rory Burns batted all day and we had nothing - not even Carpet Burns. In fact, Cummins bowled around the wicket to him at one stage, inadvertently emphasising how silly the decision to omit Starc actually was. Sure, Hazelwood rarely gets big wicket hauls, but nor does Siddle. When Matthew Wade is needed to bowl it shows the error too.


The crowds were not strong in number really either. Small grounds. However the theatre and excitement when Steve Smith was in full flight was incredible. A great theatre for cricket at Edgbaston. Smith has been extraordinary and really it is time for Paine to exit quietly and let the real captain takeover. This batting was the quality of a batsman who knows how to lead. Paine meanwhile is painstaking - and his batting in complete ashes...


The crowd's rendition of "He's got sandpaper in his hands..." was very funny. They sing like no other nation those Pommies. However, how much do we love a pompous, arrogant Englishman who thinks their lolly rubbing on the ball and other tactics with zippers on the ball are all forgotten. They are a strange lot.
The efforts of the bowlers are worth congratulating, but Siddle still looks like a trundler. Lyon may be the key man. An Edgbaston Test can turn on its head at times.


2. NRL. Melbourne Storm should do the lap of honour now. No one gets close to them unless there is a major injury to Cameron Smith or someone else like Munster or Chambers. Brisbane, Warriors are finished. Penrith are too (pathetic loss to the Berries) and it looks like the Knights as well. Tigers are rallying and with the semi finals up for grabs, Parramatta. The eight looks like: Melbourne, Roosters, Souths, Raiders...Sea Eagles, Sharks, Tigers.. Eels? St George have a great roster but have been awful. Their coach is under immense pressure.


3. The Gold Coast. I have called for it to be banned for all sporting teams and nothing changes my mind. Thumped in every code. Justin Holbrook is crazy. A cash pit.


4. AFL. GWS again beat the Swans - and the Swans lose by less than a goal for the fourth or fifth time this season. Richmond march on. Geelong are weak...they need to switch on and start dominating or they will bow out early, despite the excellent start to the season. West Coast could do a Storm and sneak back to back titles!


5. Robbie Farah. Almost gone, but continues to mouth off. As a bloke with ability, his attitude has held him back a lot. He needs to become the world president of Lebanon Rugby League now. Oh and don't forget a beer on the scoreboard before you go...


6. Nathan Brown to Jesse Ramien..."I won't take it personally that you want a new club and are looking around without telling me.  So don't take this personally... take your gear and go!". They say that Ramien may head to the Storm. He won't be getting the dollars he seeks there either. has talent however.


7. Tennis. Kgyrios winning in Washington, but can never exhibit enough discipline to win when the whips are cracking. Not getting anywhere near Federer, Djokovic or Nadal in the US Open. Will enjoy the seniors tour when he gets there.

Wrap - Capabianco Capers

1. Ashes Team. The First Test starts this week. Not sure about Bancroft. His temperament worries me at times. That he is a right hander he is lucky as Harris has been the dominant cricketer in Australia in long form cricket. Why did Harris not go to England to play County cricket in advance? Silliness.


Of course Langer ensured Mitchell Marsh was there...and Mrs Marsh, PJ Marsh and Dan Marsh, Rod, Graham, Geoff...


The English crowds are going to be fierce. Steve Smith's form is not great either. The pitch they played their warm up game on was a dangerous joke. Michael Neser may be the x-factor who moves the Duke ball. If Hazelwood gets more than one wicket an innings we should all do handstands. He needs to lift and get multiple wickets if he is to play. What version of Mitchell Starc is going to show up? They have too many blokes in the squad too - 17? Really. When will some of these other blokes actually play? I hope there are tour games in between like the old days... otherwise there will be a lot of blokes practising their scoring and bowling in the nets.


If you are not in the first Test team you are only looking at the third Test. Honestly, when will Siddle play?


This Chris Woakes is bowling really well. He's sharper than he looks. Jimmy Anderson, Stokes and Broad will be tough on their decks as usual.


2. Rugby League. What a stupid rule it is when two footballs come onto the field...as if we need to worry about the other one. That is a new time delay used by players, runners and even the crowd. Get rid of it.


3. NRL. Des Hasler has made a stunning difference at Manly. Their two props - Fanua Blake and Marty Taupou are tremendous players. Finally the value of the off load is being appreciated by NRL coaches. Moses Sueli has been transformed into a super force. Three clubs couldn't cope with him.


Who is coaching this Gold Coast rabble? They need a complete rebuild.


4. Golden Point - Melbourne v Manly. A great game of footy, but can we agree on something else? When they do the Golden Point toss, one answer is needed... either "WE WANT THE BALL" or "WE DON'T WANT THE BALL". Referees of course try to over complicate it all.  Seven tackles plays with silly kicks kills you. The Jake Trobjevic tackle was bad, but that's despite having made 66 other good tackles. 67 in the game - awesome! The first half of golden point was awesome footy - two drop kicks hitting the post, great finish. Manly's effort away at Melbourne was amazing... it was like a GF win with 38 seconds left. I was worried by the Melbourne response to the loss. They are on edge a bit too early for mine. Big deal...a close loss and they are miles ahead on the table. It happens.


5. AFL. Richmond look the powerhouse now on the run in. Brisbane too fast and slick v Hawks...looking sharp. Great tough wins by the GWS who were so strong at the loose ball. Their game v Port was a cracker, winning by a single point away from home. This Nick Haynes from GWS is superb. I also like the Toby Greene competitiveness. Opposing teams hate him, but his teammates love him. A top four finish looms for GWS. Geelong powered over Sydney too. Is Buddy Franklin still alive?


Brett Ratten doing well with the Carlton team. They are surprising a few now.


6. Wallabies v Pumas. Not since Hugo Porta have the Pumas looked this good. A solid win by the Wallabies. It is tight, but also boring. Even the TV commercials in the game breaks are boring. More crowd at Riverview v Joeys. Great effort by the Springboks v ABs... they may surprise.


7. Global T20 in Canada. The worldwide gypsies of T20...Pollard, Gayle, McCullum, Narine, Bravo, Bailey...the world champions at finding a buck. This stuff is ripe for match fixing. Does anyone really care? I noticed even the recently retired Yuvraj Singh is playing. A shame Indian cricketing administration arrogance continues to get in the way of the world seeing their cricketing talents.


8. Swimming. Can you believe another unknowing Australian drug taking swimmer...a stray tablet perhaps? Not great when Mack Horton is standing off the dias! Maybe she should go to the International Court of Sport Arbitration like Dean Capabianco? Arianne Titmus is a legend. She could be our best ever if she stays fit. Interesting reaction when she found out about Shayna Jack, a stablemate.

Wrap - Perry Perry Hittin'

1. Ellyse Perry. Stunning performance. Rarely misses out with bat or ball. She is a superstar and may end her career with a better bowling average than any male - and a better Test batting average than the great Adam Voges, but shorter than Don Bradman's 99.94.


2. World Cup Final. Jofra Archer was impressive but Ben Stokes can change a game like no other. He will dine out on Nathan Lyon and a few of our other players in the Ashes. He will be the difference, like Botham and Flintoff before him.


I cannot believe that there is talk of Mitchell Marsh joining the Ashes squad. A joke. He is no Stokes. The team will come under enough scrutiny without his brand of mediocrity. We all know Langer loves the Marsh family and tries to get them in the team at every turn. Trent Copeland is a better all rounder. A big Australia v Australia A game this week coming, but not too many spots up for grabs.


Will Tim Paine be the first captain sacked since Kim Hughes? If he doesn't score runs, we will hear the calls for axings! Surely Smith returns as skipper in time. Keen for the young opener Cameron Bancroft to miss out on selection. He has much to learn still.


Likely First Test Ashes Team:
Dave Warner
Marcus Harris
Usman Khawaja
Steve Smith
Travis Head
Kurtis Patterson/ Matthew Wade/ Marnus Labaschagne/ Will Pucovski
Tim Paine
Pat Cummins
Mitchell Starc
James Pattinson/ Josh Hazelwood
Nathan Lyon




2. Gold Coast Suns. What a disgrace! The coach, Stu Dew should know better than to blame the opposition coaches box for their woes. Coach better and all changes for you. Take ownership of the performance of the terrible roster. On the other hand Paul McGregor believes his team can win the comp. A dead set optimist!


3. Gold Coast Titans. They axe their coach and then get the Storm the next week with a whole heap of guys rested (Munster, Kafusi, Addo Carr, Chambers, Welch). Couldn't help but notice that Ashley Taylor has suddenly come good now that Garth Brennan has gone. Interesting. Meninga needs to show some stronger leadership. I get the feeling he has not excelled either in the tricky circumstances. A test for a would be immortal of the game. Can he rescue this dismal lot?


4. British Open Golf. Rory at his home course, Tiger and Jason Day all perish before the cut and get a chance to have a good lie down to think about things. How good is Brooks Koepka? Amazing strength and consistency in majors. Four Major wins and two Runners Up. As many majors (4) as Ernie Els, Ray Floyd, Rory McIlroy and the classic...Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris from the 1860s! However it is Lowry's to lose with a seven shot lead heading into the final round. Local knowledge! An 8 under 63 is a clever round in any Major!


5. Wallabies. What has gone wrong with the game? Our team faced a second string Springbox team and lost. Cheika said he would throw it all away if he does not win the World Cup. Newsflash... keep looking for jobs! The number of Polynesians in the national team is incredible. There seems to be a complete over reliance on these boys. Hopefully they do not all do a Fifita and all bail out to a Pacific Nations team. We need anyone who still likes the game. Sad really after the greatness of the Campese-Ella-Eales-Gregan era.


6. NRL. Something needs to be done in the game re penalties by the defensive team in the red zone. Lying on players and the wrestle needs to be met with fire. A five minute sin bin - sent to a cubicle at the end of the ground behind the deadline is necessary. A penalty in the last five minutes or in extra time should be something more dramatic. Refs need to be more vigilant with time on and off too. The game meanders at times and then there is an almighty desire for precision in the last five minutes.


7. AFL. Swans v Freo. Cracking game between the cellar dwellers. Tight one point losses cost you semi final positions. The Swans know about this in 2019! They had plenty of chances. GWS are up and down. If they can get a home semi they would be a chance. They smash Collingwood but will fall in a heap next week. If the Richmond Tigers get a finals game or two on the MCG they will win it! My calls for a free kick from where the ball is kicked out on the full is getting louder with the intentional stuff creeping in - especially when scores are tight.


7. Netball World Cup. A cracking performance, but do minnows just get in the way? Lots of Aussie wins... 88-24 vs Northern Ireland, 73-37 vs Zimbabwe, 99-24 vs Sri Lanka, 91-22 vs Barbados, 74-24 vs Malawi, 50-49 vs New Zealand. Their semi final v South Africa was harder at 55-53. The GF and championship awaits!

Wrap - Group Hugs and Head Pats

1. Cricket. Talk of drop in pitches at the SCG will certainly not help Test cricket in Australia. The predictability of the MCG Boxing test has ended it as the spectacle it once was, making it a "bat-a-thon" and giving bowlers nothing. Made for five days of advertising revenue for Cricket Australia? When will Lords have a drop in pitch? The same answer should be there for the SCG - never.


Can anyone accept the type of pitches England have dished up for the World Cup semi finals in England? Ordinary really. Rain is inevitable, but they should be smarter than this. England too good regardless and have the final to lose. If NZ bat well, they can win it.


2. World Cup Cricket. Stoinis was the dud of the tournament (the new mid career Shane Watson). Overhyped and one dimensional. Can our all rounder obsession end with the departure of Hohns and Bug Snappell? Maxwell of course was not far away from terrible either - and throw in Handscomb. Complete duds and all from Victoria.


Yet Australia put Handscomb forward for all the media in the lead up to the semi final and made him front and centre. Most unfair when you just come in for a semi final. They did not deliver when it mattered. Cummins was too quiet as well. He needs to lift for us to get near a Ashes victory. Only ticks to Finch, Warner, Smith, Carey, Starc (terrible late in the tournament). I get a bad feeling re the Ashes. We do not have the batting skill on the seaming deck...but who does? As soon as the sun shines we are set...if it doesn't, we are in strife!


No ticker tape parades in Sydney this year. Love a ticker tape parade. What is ticker tape? Maybe shred left over fax paper?




3. State of Origin. Tedesco scores a cracking last minute try and the rest is history. How NSW could almost blow a 12 point lead is staggering. The secret to points is out wide in Origin, but how impressive was the Cook try. He is a star. Fittler triumphs and all the critics can dream on. Even though QLD were short staffed (Ponga, Arrow), so was NSW (Cleary, MItchell, Sims). The NSW kicking game is ordinary. Fittler believes in the high bomb. You win more games in Origin when your kicks hit the grass more often that your opposition.


3A. Player of the Series. Apparently Alf Langer, the QLD trainer, was nominated as player of the series.


4. The Team Group Hug in Sport. Does this guarantee a loss? It is out of control? So many teams do this now... I'd love to see the strike rate. I preferred the Jack Gibson method of the team clapping each other on as they entered the field circa 1980.


5. Wimbledon - Serena. 32 Grand Slam finals for 23 wins/ 9 losses... Federer 31 Grand Slam finals for 20 wins/ 10 losses (1 unresolved). Incredible record when you consider she has made three of the last five Grand Slam finals contested. Thumped nonetheless. Halep is a dynamo and hard to beat. Not many Romanians have succeeded on the international tennis stage.


Incredible women's tennis history of USA-UK-AUS women up until the 1990s giving way to Czech-Germany-Belgium and now to the Russians, Serbs and Romanians. Evolving game. Even two Columbians won the men's doubles!


6. Wimbledon - Men. Federer is a magician - and at his age. How good is he? That semi v Nadal was extraordinary. Not getting the No. 1 seeding at these events hurts you big time when there are only three blokes contesting every tournament. Two of the three sit on one side of the draw. Djokovic has had the best of it lately. It makes a big difference with one final (not two) to win!


7. AFL. Swans lost by 7 to Carlton and Collingwood and 10 to Essendon. These tight ones swing your season one way or another. Interesting that Longmire was sought so powerfully. When does a club need a recharge? The players really did not lift for him. A terrible loss quite frankly. Maybe a group hug was needed pre game? Or maybe they had one?


GWS are done. They are perennial losers at the MCG. If Richmond get there, they will be hard to toss. Brisbane look sharp too, but a bit raw. Western Bulldogs coming home hard. Love the pace of Jason Johannisen.


8. Cameron Smith. 400 NRL games is extraordinary. His long term longevity is exceptional. He looks like he could crack 500! The Storm don't lose a lot, but they rarely if ever lose big milestone games. makes Benji's and Cooper's 300 games seem trivial.


Xerri is supremely talented, but he has terrible hands. No Origin for him any time soon. His drop ball rate is horrendous. Group hug him... or shower him with high fives when making an error. Where did this come from in the game? Get around the bloke that makes a terrible error...? A quiet word of encouragement, no head pats, high fives or back slaps. It is still a stinking error.
By the way, Nick Cotric deserves five weeks for his tackle. The NRL needs to toughen up.


9. Gold Coast. As mentioned last month, the Gold Coast should be shut down as a sporting destination and taken to Brisbane. Garth Brennan apparently had the desk packed last week! Goooone! Stuart Dew in a world of pain too with the useless Suns. Most fans would rather give them a new moniker - the moons - and provide samples.


10. INF - Netball World Cup. Surely the minnows are a time waste. Lovely and all that, but in the end, no spectacle v Zimbabwe or Uganda and these games won't fill the stadiums. This was a good feature of the recent cricket world cup...every nation there was competitive, even Afghanistan who have improved more quickly than most other minnows.