Update

I've been meaning to write this update for a while now.

It has been an interesting year. In April, I had a cancerous tumor removed from my bowel. They were able to remove all of the tumour (which had not spread to other organs).

I started Chemo in June as part of my treatment. I'm now over halfway through. I have completed seven of the twelve (fortnightly) sessions.

I'm certainly more tired than usual. Cold gives me 'pins and needles' in my fingers (or my throat if I have a cold drink). But at this stage these are manageable.

I'm working a nine-ish day fortnight, taking the treatment day off. Work have been very supportive which is a blessing.

The two points I really wanted to share are how thankful I am for the support of my friends, family, my church and my work colleagues. Secondly, I want to give thanks that my prognosis is good.

If you are the praying type; please pray that I continue to respond well to treatment, and the the side-effects don't have too much of an impact on me. It's a tough season we are going through, but its just a season and it too shall pass.

Finals time...

We're almost at September which means we've hit Football finals time.

AFL
Given the eight teams have been locked in since round six, this week was all about the order they would finish in.  The final eight for 2016 are Sydney, Geelong, Hawthorn, Greater Western Sydney, Adelaide, West Coast, Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne.  Meaning the match-ups for Week 1 are:

Thursday September 8, 6.10pm at Domain Stadium
Second elimination final - West Coast v Western Bulldogs

Friday September 9, 7.50pm at the MCG
Second qualifying final - Geelong v Hawthorn

Saturday September 10, 3.20pm at ANZ Stadium
First qualifying final - Sydney Swans v Greater Western Sydney

Saturday September 10, 7.10pm at Adelaide Oval
First elimination final - Adelaide v North Melbourne

There are some great match-ups here, the first all Sydney final, Geelong renew their rivalry with Hawthorn.  Adelaide, despite their loss this weekend are a smokey for the title. West Coast have won their last five and will fancy them to beat the Bulldogs (who have been ravaged by injury).

Not a fan of next weekends bye. I feel its a real momentum killer, but the other side of the argument is that clubs will rest key players if their spot is assured. Will be interesting to see what happens next year.

Week one winners: I'm tipping Sydney, Geelong, Adelaide, West Coast.

NRL

• With their loss to the Tigers, the Warriors season is over. Perhaps it can be summarised as slow start, glimpses of promises before falling to earth and crashing in a heap. 
• The Melbourne-Cronulla game will decide the Minor Premiership. The other games to watch are the Titans v North Queensland, and the Tigers v Canberra.  If the Titans win the eight is sealed, a loss opens the door for the Tigers.
• I am leaning to Canberra as the team to beat at the moment.  Brisbane, are my dark horse for the title. The Sharks and Storm are the other main contenders. 
• Likely Finals match ups - Storm v Cowboys; Sharks v Raiders; Broncos v Titans and Bulldogs v Panthers.

Rugby Championship.

• Not much to say here.  Very impressive performances from the All Blacks to retain the Cup for the fourteenth straight season.  Barrett and Cane have been the standouts players for me. I do have to say Owen Franks is a bit lucky.  The footage did look incriminating. 
• After pushing South Africa last week, Argentina won this morning and will be interesting to see how they go in their remaining games.
• Side bar: I read with interest that South Africa and Australia may lose a team each for the 2018 Season. I hope this means they can find a way to introduce a team based in the Pacific islands. 

Olympics recap

I enjoyed the Olympics a little more than I anticipated. Here's my highlights:

1. Seeing countries win their first Gold Medal. Ten countries in all won their first medal. Also Iran had their first female Gold medalist.

2. The sportsmanship shown by Nikki Hamblin (NZ) and Abbey D'Agostino (USA) during the 5000m. Nikki was also awarded the fair play medal. 

3. Michael Phelps (5), Katie Ledecky (4) and Simone Biles (4), who won the most Gold medals of any athlete at these games . 

4. Kyle Chalmers winning the 100 freestyle. He swam a PB each time he jumped into the pool. Perhaps a sign that Australian swimmers may be more successful if less pressure / expectation was put on them. 

5. Simone Manuel and Penny Oleksiak's tie for Gold in the 100 Freestyle. Simone is the first African American to win a swimming Gold,  I don't think you can understate the impact of her winning that race. Penny Oleksiak won four medals, the most by any Canadian swimmer, and was also Canada's first swimmer to win a Gold medal since 1992 (in Barcelona)

6. Usain Bolt, not just for his results, but equally his manner of his performances.

7. Mo Farah going back-to-back in the 5,000 and 10,000. Especially seeing he won the 10,000 after having a fall during the race. 

8. Both the Australian and Fijian Seven's teams winning the tournaments. Australia were raging favourites going into the tournament and didn't disappoint, but the Fijian's win in the final and the images after the whistle will live long in the memory.  

9. The Refugee team marching in the Opening Ceremony. The team won one gold and one bronze medal. Another magical moments was the Syrian swimmer who won her 100 freestyle heat.  

10. I love surprise medalists, and Eliza McCartney winning the Bronze Medal in the Pole Vault and Chloe Esposito winning the Modern Pentathlon certainly count there. 

Bonus: Japan's wrestler, Kaori Icho, who is the first female athlete to win Gold Medals at four consecutive Olympic games.

Aside one: NZ won their 100th Gold Medal and the US their 1,000th Gold Medals during these games. 

It is also New Zealand's most successful games in history. Another highlight was Zane Robertson breaking a 39 year old New Zealand national record for the 5,000m by eight seconds.

Aside two: I feel incredibly privileged to have witness both Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. Their performances have been out of this word, and I doubt I'll see their likes again. 

Aside three: It's certainly been interesting looking/reading the recriminations about the Australian's performance.

Can totally say now, that I'm looking forward to the Tokyo games in another four years, and wondering who will fill the void left by those two great athletes.