Wrap - All Hansen Deck

1. Rugby World Cup. England wins v All Blacks. A great effort by the best pack in the game. Their strength coaching is awesome. Their halves and backs look like they eat full grown wallabies. That draw is something else. Wales and South Africa have a hell of a lot of luck riding on it all. Is it just me or is this the world's longest tournament? Is Steve Hansen available to coach Australian rugby and transform its lumbering carcass? Surely Raelene's position comes under heavy scrutiny. She has not had a happy time of it in Australian sport.


2. Idiot Watch. Not sure how the Storm did it, but Vunivalu seemed to escape any punishment - or the player tackling drunk idiots into the Bali pool. They then got Nelson to miss getting hammered by the Kiwis...not a Storm game touched. Genius. Not surprising to see Josh Dugan in the news sadly. I am also fearing that Barry Hall may whack Paul Gallen into another hemisphere. He is a big man.


3. Women's Cricket. This is fast becoming more interesting than the BBL. The concept could well fade under the weight of retired world hopping ex- players... and Chris Lynn gets upset he didn't get a phone call from selectors? Please. No whinging from the girls...Perry, Healey, Blackwell... superstars.


4. Alex De Minaur becomes our highest ranked tennis player with decency for some time. Forget 'No Brains Nick'. Great effort from someone who never gives up. Ash Barty has set a new standard I suspect.


5. EPL. Leicester City have brained them early this season. 9-0 v the hopeless Southampton. That is impressive! ManU are in free fall and need rescuing. Impressed with Chelsea under Lampard.


6. T20 Cricket. Why do we play these useless tournaments? The ICC have no systems and no shape to their world playing schedule. Money, money, money... Some would say it has fallen apart since Richie Benaud and Tony Greig left us. Warner's ton and the other batting was pretty entertaining - especially Maxwell - but Sri Lanka are a shambles whenever they come here.


7. International Rugby League. Great that rugby league has an international stage, but it is a small one really. Lots of good Pacific nations - and a spectacular Tongan try, catch it here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=408247176754899



8. MLB. Amazing World Series of the Washington Nationals v Houston Astros. Teams that lose the first two out of the best of seven games (Astros) and have to claw back to win the whole thing are very, very rare. With the series locked at 2-2, it is exciting times here.


9. Cox Plate. The short straight at Moonee Valley gets them every year! What a great time of racing for the punters. Lys Gracieux won in style. These Japanese horses can run! Chief Ironside at $27 was a cracking overseas player too! Derby Day will be outstanding!


10. A-League. Suddenly the A League has sprung to life with the Sydney derby and a full Bankwest Stadium. Jamie McLaren is in sparkling form too.

Wrap - Cheikmate Everest

1. Cheikmate. "The Rugby world is in shock with the resignation of Michael Cheika who had simply had enough of all the useless players and staff around him and demanded more. Speaking via satellite, Cheika reported feeling betrayed by the media, the back and front office staff and stated he was sick to the back teeth of all the losses they were handing him". Renee Castle may need to watch the locksmith doesn't surprise her when she turns up for work too. They need a complete clean out. Too many coaches and assistant coaches and bag carriers and gear stewards... honestly.


2. Wallabies. Terribly ill disciplined and lacking flair. Excited about the junior Wallabies who beat the All Blacks. Can we turn things on their head a little and actually get some more enterprising halves? Genia...please. We need smarter players with more speed. England were far too good and will go close. Wales no chance...NZ awesome. Barrett, B is simply the best there is in the world.


3. NRL World 9s. How can you have a tournament like this and only play on a Friday and Saturday? Most peculiar indeed.


4. The Everest. That race is the most cracking horse race in the country - if not the world. Yes, Yes, Yes was a superb winner. Great to see old Glen Boss (our age) win too. The Melbourne Cup is still the dux, but the Everest with so many horses known by everyone locally, is a hit. Get rid of the international horses at the Melbourne Cup to rediscover that feel. All Cup runners should have to have a minimum number of appearances in Australian races eg. five runs before competing.


5. Shield Cricket. Regretably, Shaun Marsh is back (214) and will hit another series of pathetic form bubbles across the summer but having him start with a double ton means both he and Mitchell will be back in Australian colours. Justin  Langer could not be happier! Mitchell is meant to be captaincy material so the papers say, but he is out of action because he punched a wall! Give me a break!


5/40 and 4/20 from Starc is much better...Warner two ducks (what is going on there?). No runs from a whole heap - Khawaja (2 and 0), Burns (39 and 22), Wade (20 and 40), Head (0 and 12), Harris (69 and 8)...Labuschagne (32 and 33no) is still showing tenacity, but cannot crack a ton. Pattinson 4 wickets... no Cummins or Hazelwood at present.


6. EPL. Leicester and Jamie Vardy are surging at present. Onto 17 points. Nine points in front of the struggling ManU. Even Crystal Palace are performing better than them in 2019. Liverpool will stretch their competition lead out to 8 points with a win over ManU in their game tonight.


7. A League. The new Western United team are looking pretty good early. Maybe put another team on the Gold Coast!
8. The Storm almost got away with the Nelson Asafa-Solomona issue. Surely these folk cannot play the game for extended periods, but they are painted as victims and we roll over!

Wrap - Spectacular Fails

1. NRL Grand Final. Hard to explain away a loss on the strength of a 'six to go' call that was reversed. Extraordinary though it was... Canberra dropped too much ball out wide and could have used the shorter kick through the line occasionally for mine. Joey does some great things and some dumb things ('dead marine' lying in the play the ball when the try was scored) so he will not really be missed if picked up by another club.


Croker for all he does well, worries me, but he was OK. Taking Charnz off at the end with cramp was not helpful either as he was a star. Ricky's decision to go into the game with Simonssen was curious. Wighton has grown up a lot since Origin too and played hard. He will be an Origin star in years to come with his electrifying pace and toughness. Soliola and Horsborough were two who excelled for them. They toughen the middle well and straighten up the play. The red headed one needs more minutes! Bateman was superb as usual too - so tough and sensible.


For the Roosters, Latrell Mitchell is not getting the accolades he deserves for the pass to Tupou that set up the Tedesco try. Talent. His goalkicking under pressure was pretty amazing too. JWH was powerful. Brett Morris impeccable under pressure. Too strong in the end. Cronk has delivered two premierships. They will certainly miss his lead in years to come. Young Flanagan is talented, but no Cronk. Cronk should be signed immediately as a coach by an NRL team who wants to win. No wonder Melbourne dominated for so long and no wonder Smith was so annoyed he left!


Suddenly Trent Robinson is up there as one of the greatest coaches of the game has seen: 3 wins out of seven seasons. Ricky has one GF win (2002) and three GF losses now (2003, 2004, 2019) as coach.




2. NRL Debacle - Half Time Entertainment. Tuesday's team meeting at NRL head quarters should be interesting.  The honest debacle of the Ryan James Acknowledgement of Country (shades of Mal Meninga's political resignation speech) was added to by the fiasco of the pass the ball competition into the back of a car at halftime. We then got a bloke in his Julius Marlow's kicking for goal only to shank it 10 metres. Then Daryl Braithwaite and Ian Moss were playing 'Horses' and all of a sudden the players returned to the field. Amateur hour.


Our obsession with fireworks continues. At least last year's relay of the club mascots was put to rest - and we were spared a cheating running/ pass the footy relay. I still think there is scope for the "League Olympics" across the semi finals and onto Grand Final Day. Kick for goals from ridiculous angles on the 10 metre line, drop kicks from 30m - 40m and 50m for goal, league's fastest man over 100m, longest punt kick... simple, but the crowd would love it.


Then of course now we hear that there were two Clive Churchill medallists - JWH and Wighton. Two Canberra blokes, Laurie Daley and the horn blower, Mal Meninga were the judges with Lockyer... please. When does Peter Beattie leave and will Greenberg own any of this?


Add this to the trainer impeding the ball (and how did the Roosters get it back - please?) and the 'six to go' controversy... All we needed was a parachutist hitting the roof of the stand or an Optus TV bursting...or a few metal spikes left on the ground from 'Rip Rip Woodchip...'., or Billy Idol.
Do we have an iconic rugby league song? Boys Are Back In Town (Thin Lizzie) or Simply The Best (Tina Turner). Can't beat 'Up There Cazaly'!


3. Rule Changes NRL.
A couple spring to mind:
(i) Trainer lingers on field? Penalty at half way to the non-offending team.
(ii) Ball not handed to the opponent at a turn over - 30 metre penalty against. Like the AFL 50 metre penalty.
(iii) No injury time outs when not near the play. What happened to that rule?


3. Next? So we head into Hardie Ferodo 1000 Territory. Love a bit of Bathurst and a few crazies. The Marsh Cup is over hopefully and maybe some proper cricket will appear soon...


4. Rojit Sharma. Two tons in the South Africa v India Test. Rare days, but South Africa are in some bother now without Amla and Steyn. Du Plessis and de Cock are stars, but not many others.


5. EPL. Very impressed with the work of Liverpool who are already eight points ahead. Is this unbeatable already? Man City (16) and Arsenal (15) sit next and the early efforts of Crystal Palace, Leicester and Burnley pit them well on track for a cracking year. 30 points just about gets you out of relegation problems.


6. AFL Draft. The time of year when the disaffected, dishonest and the turn coats come out to play. Daniher to Sydney is huge, but there is no love this week. Papley is a curious character. Surely you cut them free when they want out. Tomorrow.


7. Rugby Union World Cup. Once again a World Cup of something with minnows wasting everyone's time. Get rid of them and tell them to "get good"! Have a minnows World Cup instead somewhere else and relegate the useless officials to that one. There may not be enough in the main cup from what we are seeing. The advantage rule is killing the game. It was a better game without it.

Wrap - Grade 1 Lime Green Donuts

1. Canberra. Great to see the lime greens making the Grand Final, but they are not beating the Roosters for mine. Never like seeing too much celebration in getting to the Grand Final, which they did, but the Canberra team deserve great congratulations. They will need to play the game of their lives and they have done it twice v Melbourne this season.


Their outside backs do not tackle like the Roosters. I really worry about Jarrod Croker in defence. Wighton can only do so much. The toughness of their forwards is a strength - Bateman, Horsburgh, Papalli. I just don't think they can match the fire power across the park that the Roosters boast. Manu, Morris and Toupu... these guys are amazing in defence. Cordner is superb out wide. His defence is awesome and he does the tough runs from his own line so well.


The HIA is a serious matter these days and the game can shift rapidly with these cases to key players. Yet head gear seems a forlorn part of the kit bag. Will it become compulsory? Interesting that mouthguard technology is being trialled and tested at present for tracking severity of concussions in AFL, Rugby and NRL.


Tedesco the Dally M for mine. He won the Origin and the semi v the Storm on his own. A superb player.


2. Storm v Roosters.  Nothing like a team beating the Storm. The fans love it! No one in Sydney is that disappointed that Melbourne faded. They are an astounding success story regardless. Interesting that Smith is no guarantee to continue on next season. They did better than most thought this year. Souths also overachieved. Cook has been injured for weeks. When he runs from dummy half he is a different player and menacing. He hasn't done it for four weeks.


3. GWS. Thumped - absolutely crunched! 114-25. Stagefright, like the Swans v Hawks a few years ago. I can't cop a coach who makes no changes when the game is getting away from them. Leon Cameron wanted to play a game with lots of hand passes and finesse. He was pig headed and arrogant when it was failing fast before half time. Instead he persisted.


Unfortunately, Richmond just own the MCG and have been winning since 13 June this year...12 in a row! A superb performance. Dominant. GWS will struggle to come back from this for a while. Richmond meanwhile have started a dynasty that may continue a little while yet. My tip is Brisbane to surge back. They had the NEAFL in hand this year and have pace to burn.


4. World Cup Rugby. Great win by Japan over Ireland (shocking loss really).


Rugby is still a rank amateur sport. The refereeing standards across the globe are woeful. The TMO is no better. Australia lose and at best will now be in the worst side of the draw. Rugby is yet another of the great unaccountable sporting organisations in the world. Honestly, this sport lets its players down all the time.


5. Dumb Rugby League Ideas - Caddies. When will we have caddies for NRL kickers? I can see it with wind and other pressure moments. A great new invention. That way we can have another delay and more Grade 1 charges! Grade 1 hair pulls, sirens...


Dumb Rugby League Ideas - Face Slaps. Is there much difference between an angry open hand slap to the face - and an open palm fend to the face?


6. Marsh Cup. Of course it is called this in tribute to Justin Langer. Khawaja a ton. The women's T20 saw two stunning performances...Beth Mooney 113 off 61 and Athapaththu 113 off 66 balls. Good going in anyone's book.

Wrap - Sin Bin Whim

1. NRL. Souths will be kicked hard by Canberra. What an advantage to have beaten Melbourne and get away from the Roosters/ Storm side of the draw. Great reward. Souths were pretty flat and Manly were marginally worse. Terrible sin binning of Trobjevic, but don't grab blokes in support I guess.


Melbourne were just too clinical for a Parramatta team that simply cannot defend in their own red zone. They put the ball in the in-goal time and time again and simply dominated possession. They were more desperate and know how to win. Parramatta make too many handling errors and basic poor tackling reads. Under pressure, the Parramatta decision-making was awful. The nerves and stupid kicks... the shoulder charges... the slow defensive line speed... Luck off Moses leg, the Fijian flyer, Vunivalu, was exceptional knocking the ball back in.


It was like the 2009 Grand Final. Shell shock and inadequate play under pressure by Parramatta. Their Grand Final was last week v the horses.


Sivo had a complete shocker. Did a shoulder charge, knocked into the winger not even looking at the ball, dropped the ball, took the ball when he should have let it go dead...scored a try in his own in goal. The naive newcomer Fijian player cannot wash any more after 22 tries. Parramatta's inability to take the line on in attack was pathetic really. Gutherson and Moses were the main offenders. Gutho's efforts from the back were woeful really. They got a little lucky but Parramatta deserved nothing else. The difference between blokes who make poker machines and blokes who use them.


2. The NRL Referees have lost the plot. Open palm slaps - fair dinkum. The Jake Trobjevic and Cameron Smith sin binnings were ridiculous. The NRL referees want to become the star of the show in finals time and have once again over reacted to the whole Storm v Canberra game. can't believe they dropped Ashley Clown... he'll be back.


The Souths fight under the posts...the Souths blokes are both fined and the Manly bloke who used the initial open palm gets off! Go figure.


Referees are best not seen - ever. That is the best ref. Bill Harrigan was good at this.


Three Parramatta players gone to HIA in three minutes. This is where replacements should be able to come into the game. Silliness.


It may be time for Todd Greenberg to step up - or out.


3. AFL. Richmond will be pretty impossible to beat at the MCG. The GWS stagefright (Parramatta) factor may become real (?). If it is dry, both teams have players who have so much speed. This needs to be observed by other clubs. Speed wins in the modern game. Note that Swans. GWS finally deliver on their promise and against the odds it must be said. Will be a cracker. A Grand Final in the middle of the day is such a better thing. We miss this in the NRL.


4. World Cup Rugby. Great stadium and awesome atmosphere. Ireland, NZ impressed and France/ Australia impressive in patches. However the game is far too slow for viewers these days. Some re-assessment of rules need to occur in rugby:


1. Time off when ball not in play. Eliminate the NFL approach which has crept in however. Laboured.
2. "Scrum clock" to enable scrums to be completed and done in a set amount of time - no more. Scrum resolved or penalty given.
3. Quick tap in rugby is excellent but it needs to happen more often.
4.  No stupid bombs/ kicks from the scrum by the fly half. Useless tactic.
5. Advantage is only for 10 seconds  - no longer.... then it is play on! It goes too long.
6. The 'play on' for the final play at the end of the game is excellent... but why not save a few more minutes across the game.
7. Replacements are made in the flow of the game - not to slow down the game when it is getting interesting or a a team is under pressure.
8. Get defenders back further at the breakdown.


5. Marsh Cup OD Cricket (Did Justin Langer name this?). Stoinis hits a six on the last ball of their innings to get a ton...and brings up Will Sutherland's ton as a bowler (1/102). This is a ridiculous tournament with super poor timing...Why are we playing it now? Young Nick Bertus from Castle Hill debuted for the Blues on the weekend making 69no. Great prospect.


**Must say that Matthew Wade produced in that final Ashes innings under pressure. I wonder whether his mouth pushes him out of contention. Surely Kurtis Patterson and Will Pucovski need to come in and Head needs to make runs.

Wrap - Fireworks Overload - Touch and Go

1. Ashes. There is a decided worry when you win the toss at the Oval (noted batting deck) and bowl. Why do you do it? Is it a rain forecast (clear), arrogance (possibly) or is it that your batting is so terrible you want to test the opposition's terrible batting (tick). Across the system, the top order batting of Warner, Harris, Bancroft, Khawaja, Wade (one ton aside), Paine has been awful. Horrible. Stuart Broad never tires of playing us. His wicket tally blooms against Australia. James Anderson would be very upset. Warner and Harris can't get out of there quick enough. Pathetic really.


I noticed Australia needs a bowling coach...Jimmy Anderson might be worth using? I noticed Brad Haddin is returning home too... I like the presence of Steve Waugh around the team - and if Warney could pull his head in for a short amount of time, he would be useful too. I think he gets too much money elsewhere. Imagine if Warney was a selector!


The best news of the whole campaign is that Greg Chappell is finished as a selector... Hopefully Hohns follows him out the door too. He should join Kevin Chappell playing golf making a 59!


Steve Smith to return as skipper ASAP. Wade never to play again. Carey in for Paine. Joe Burns in as opener with Warner and Pucovski and Patterson included and patiently nurtured as the future with Labaschagne and Smith. Positions are up for grabs. Travis Head has let his position slip badly. He was 'a lock' going over.


2. Fireworks. Have we become fireworks mad as a country? We seemingly need fireworks whenever we step out to watch sport at night - or so some people think. One in the eye for little Joey... there's a court case right there. The fireworks metaphor is so clichéd in contact sport at night, but this might represent a re-think. The gas flame burst is the other approach....warms you up on a cold night at least. More day time games for me. A better standard.


2. NRL Finals. You have to give it to Canberra. Two wins in Melbourne this year on the back of thumping defence. Love this Horsborough and Bateman is a superstar (best pom since Ellery Hanley). Jack Wighton has become a super player this year. So quick on his feet and tougher for the Origin run. Sezer is also playing really strongly. Compare that game to the Manly-Cronulla game. Chalk and cheese. Manly won well, but no intensity really. What a disappointment Cronulla have been. They are set to go backwards like all premiers, but need to offload the salary cap "sponges" of Moylan, Woods, Johnson and Prior... expensive players who should go to England. Where was Fifita when you needed him? John Morris may need the hall of mirrors in the off season. He is on thin ice.


3. Touch and Go. Storm blow up about a touch judge call late in the game. Why can't that be reviewed? Anyhow, bad luck. Storm will still be there. Parramatta were awesome 58-0 v the terrible horses, but somehow you struggle to believe Parramatta will trouble them. As for the touchie...it could be "go" for him. BankWest stadium is a great venue it must be said.


4. AFL Finals. A great game between the Brisbane Lions and GWS. A great advertisement for supreme pace and its dominance in sport. Both teams are incredibly young and quick. That is the future. Liked the Geelong effort through Dangerfield. Always great to see the back of West Coast... so Collingwood, Geelong, GWS and Richmond it is... Richmond are specials for mine. A massive unbeaten run is their only issue.


Can GWS overcome their qualifying final hex? They need to be smarter in the key contests under pressure. Really like Toby Greene (grubby at times, but exceptional) and the flying blonde wig at the back, Nick Haynes. Supreme talents.


5. Basketball World Cup. The worldwide strength of this game is getting better and better. We just never seem to get to that gold medal game... Bogut is close to the Kgyrios of the sport. No medal in the end was disappointing.


6. EPL. Man City a loss to Norwich Canaries. Thank goodness. The EPL needs more upsets to keep its spice. It can become too predictable.


7. US Open - Nadal. How good is Nadal? He may pip Roger.... but those three will always be remembered as the best ever. Dominant.


8. Rugby World Cup. Does anyone hold any hopes for our chances? Maybe the fact no one does, is our best chance?


9. Great run on the weekend by Bivouac in the 'Run To The Rose' - and by our mate Tony Macrae's horse, Spanish Dream in the ninth at Rosehill on Saturday. A Sydney winner - sensational effort.

Wrap - Steve Smith Duck

1. Serena Williams. Still the greatest but has lost four out of the last eight finals. She appeared a shoe- in at the US Open and lost. She has been in 33 Grand Slam finals for 23 wins/ 10 losses... still two away from beating Margaret Court. I cannot see Rafa having any troubles in his final. He will go to 19 Grand Slams once behind Federer if he wins. Awesome player.


Meanwhile Ash Barty is in the doubles final. She keeps on winning but was disappointing in the singles.


2. The Ashes. Steve Smith is incredible. Sure, it is against a lower ranked side in England, but he is amazing. Gets 82 in the second innings toying with them. If he ever gets out we will struggle.


I think the whole of Australia lives in fear of a Smith duck. That might be bigger headlines than sandpaper gate! A Steve Smith duck is when you get belted so hard all you can do is duck! How good is it seeing the opposing skipper get a golden?! Joe Root under pressure.


The openers have been abysmal. Warner is the first since the great Graeme Wood to get three ducks in a row as opener. Wood was the greatest 'duck or a hundred' man you had ever seen. Mark Taylor had a terrible Ashes series going back and got a career saving ton at the Oval...hopefully Warner gets the chance, but Broad has him beat! Harris has been abysmal. I would be tempted to bring Carey in from county cricket - or Kurtis Patterson/ Will Pucovski, especially if we win this test.


Smith should be reinstated as skipper and Paine retired this summer. Carey is needed for the future.


3. AFL. Super wins by Richmond, Collingwood, GWS and West Coast. The crowds at GWS are getting worse. They are not western Sydney at all and have no traction there. Homebush is not west - sorry. West of Bondi, but not heartland. Richmond will be too strong again. The MCG masters.


4. NRL. Staggering that the Broncos will get a semi spot after the year they have had and they could knock over Parramatta first week as well. Tigers v Sharks was a cracker, but a shame they could both not be there. Loved the Gal field goal. He struck it well. Still believe Roosters are foxing and can win it again. Storm are strong as usual and with the NRL giving them rings and concessions left right and centre under Greenberg, they will be there at the end. Sam Burgess is a liability these days. He needs to be punted soon. Too ill disciplined.


Talking of which, how bad is this Hudson Young? What gives with this galoot? Suspend him for a long time and get rid of the current match review mob. Too confusing and pot luck.


5. NFL. How about the great coach, Bill Belichick? He gets a disaffected Antonio Brown from the Oakland Raiders on the cheap and again it will be a master stroke. He will star for them and they will go close again under Tom Brady's lead. Nothing like the attraction of success.


6. EPL. What about Watford? Four games in and their coach is sacked! Love it.