Sporting shorts - No 16

It was a really great weekend of sport. The weekend saw the first State of Origin for women. The men’s state of origin was held on Sunday night, with other internationals being played across the weekend. Lots of other things to talk about too...

NRL

• The representative round was great. It was awesome to start the weekend with the first Women’s State of Origin. Though the teams have played before, this was the first branded as State of Origin. It was a fantastic game. I’m glad the game was a stand alone game, rather than played as a curtain raiser for the Men’s game. To my mind the women deserve to have the attention on them. 
• The representative round featured a few tests between the pacific island nations (Fiji lost to PNG, and Tonga beat Samoa) England beat NZ in Denver. 
• The weekend concluded with the second State of Origin match. As a neutral it was a wonderful game. Slater and Ponga were brilliant for Queensland, and NSW defended wonderfully well in the second half, especially when they were down to 12 men. New South Wales won the match and the series. 
• I like having the match on a Sunday. It was a great way to finish the weekend. A better break for the players turning out for games the following weekend. 

AFL

• Very glad to see the end of the bye weekends. Everyone plays next weekend, and everyone has now played 13 games. 
• Like the top eigh is a little less settled, i think Hawthron and the Giants could sneak into the eight. Losing Cameron will hurt.
• The upset of the round was the Bombers beating West Coast. The Bombers are the form team of the competition. 
• Tonight the Swans tackle Richmond, and I guess we’ll see what they are at.  Just saw, we lost by about 26.  Hopefully will improve before the end of the season...

Rugby Union

• The first international window ais over, with the All Blacks winning their series 3-0. The Wallabies lost the series against Ireland. The Super Rugby season will restart this weekend. 

World Cup

• It’s been a really great tournament. The final group games will be played tonight. Hard to pick a clear favourite. I have been most impressed by Uruguay, Croatia and Belgium. 
• The round of 16 ties so far are: Uruguay v Portugal; Spain v Russia; France v Argentina: Croatia v Denmark; Brazil v Mexico and Sweden v Switzerland.  With two more to be decided tonight. 
• On Australia, proud of the team, but think Australia can do better. The biggest need is a forward who can score goals. I’d love to see the team attack more. 
• Still hard to believe Germany is out. It’s the curse of ththe champion though, the last defending champion to make it out of the group stage was Brazil in 2006. 

Sporting shorts - No 15

The World Cup has started, and it’s been great so far. Before we get to that, we’ll got through the other sports.

NRL

• I’m not meaning the be negative, but they have to be concerned about the crowds at the games. I’m old fashioned I’m sure, but I’d love to see more games at suburban grounds and less at ANZ Stadium. 
• I like the idea of the Magic round, with all 16 teams playing in Brisbane. I’d also love a country round where every game was played in a regional centre, like Tamworth. 
• While there is about nine rounds to go, part of me thinks the top eight is set. The order may change, but I don’t see anyone sneaking into the eight from here. 
• The Warriors continue to what they didn’t do last year, and win the games against teams below them. I’m not yet convinced they are a genuine threat for the title. I  believe one of Souths, St George or Penrith will win. 

AFL

• The top eighth is less settled in the AFL, though the top three West Coast, Richmond and Sydney have a two game break on the fourth place team. Though West Coast also has a game in hand. 
• Sydney has a bye this week before a really mouthwatering class against Richmond. 
• An unbelievable win for St Kilda this weekend, overrunning Gold Coast with a five goal last quarter. 

Rugby

• England lose their fifth test in a row. Ireland have a great win against Australia to tie the series. 
• On the All Blacks, was a pretty ordinary performance on Saturday. They did just enough to win, and the game was changed as a contest with the send off. Interesting that the card was overturned at the disciplinary tribunal. 

World Cup 

• For the first time in history all of Germany, Brazil and Argentina failed to win their opening game. Germany are the third defending champion in a row to lose their opening game. And it’s only the second time Germany have failed to win their opening game. 
• So impressed by Iceland. A bunch of amateurs mixing with professionals. Just goes to show that anything is possible. 
• Looking forward to seeing Belgium and England open their campaigns. 
• I didn’t see the Australia v France game so I’m not going to talk about the game. I will say that I’m not a fan of the term honorable loss. The Australian team are building themselves as contenders and the result against France should motivate them to get more out of the games against Denmark and Peru. 
• Will say there hasn’t been a standout performance yet. Not sure who to label as favourites. 

What I'm into - May

Winter is now here - so it is time to for another post about what I've been up to during May. The highlights for me have been spending a little bit of time at school reading with some of the kids in H's class. That has been so much fun. It's also great adding something more productive into my schedule every few weeks.

I think that's one of the struggles I had last year not feeling like I had achieved anything in the day other than sleeping and watching TV. The biggest change comes from walking H to school on Monday to Wednesday which means I'm actually up and out of the house (and can't stay in my pajamas). Helping out in the church office for a few hours each Monday has also helped me feel like I'm accomplishing something in the day (and then if I do sleep during the afternoon, I can at least say I did something in the morning).

The other big thing that happened during May is that we (really F and her parents) changed around our house - getting bunks for the kids and also swapping some furniture between rooms.  The changes have increased our usable space, and certainly helped our mental state :)

As I've said elsewhere the treatment cycles have been harder this month, but I'm getting there.

Movies
Finally bit the bullet and saw The Last Jedi. I quite enjoyed it. Though I don’t have the same enthusiasm for the new film Solo. Will see it when it makes Netflix or my Fetch Movie box. I am aiming to see Ladybird next.

Books
Haven’t really read much I’m still working my way through Fight Like A Girl. To be honest, I’ve found it hard work. Particularly because it reinforces how much I don’t have to deal with because I am a man. It’s equally confronting to read what life is like for women. I will finish it though, it’s important to read books like this.

I have book about the impact of technology on kids which will be interesting to read.

I’m also really looking forward to reading Rachel Held Evans new book about the bible.

Television
I have been watching a little bit more TV recently.

My guilty pleasure has been the voice. To me, no one has really stood out. I loved Ben Clarke but was eliminated last week. He was an opera singer and sang a beautiful version of Come What May and This is the Moment.  I know at this stage of the competition it’s more about taste than talent, as they are all talented.

I’ve been enjoying Masterchef too, I think what I love about the show is that while it is a competition the contestants are more supportive then combative (like MKR). It’s also interesting this year because one of the contestants is a local. We don’t know her, but I’ve certainly seen her around.

The other show that has been great to watch is Back in Time for Dinner. Just a wonderful look back in time and surprising in how much has changed (and how little too).

Needless to say, the next month will be taken up by football :)

Music
Spent a lot of the month in U2’s catalogue. So much of their music is the soundtrack to my life. I really enjoyed listening to some of there current US tour. Really love that they’re playing none of the Joshua Tree and really love that they are playing Acrobat.

I love the narrative of the show and the bold choice to end with 13 (There is a light). While I have hope the show will make it to Australia. I feel it most likely won’t.

Anyway that’s all from me for now.

Sporting Shorts - No. 14

A confession, in last week’s post, I had got the top four wrong so there weren’t four Sydney team in the NRL top four, just three.  With that acknowledgement out of the way back to the on field action.

NRL

• The Warriors won again, and are nestled safely in the top four. The Origin period is often a good one, but with the NZ team playing in the US they will be slightly impacted. 
• I’m not a fan of the constant bagging of the referees and how they officiate the game. The players do need to take a share of the blame for the increasing number of penalties. The game will die if we stop seeing people come through to be top grade referees. 
• I don’t get why teams are awarded points for a bye.

AFL 

• Wasn’t a great round with most of the games decided early. Fremantle’s win over Adelaide was a big shock. 
• On the Swans, great to see them start really well. I’m looking forward to their game against West Coast (1 v 3) on the ladder. 
• Like the NRL, I’m looking forward to a week when everybody plays.
• I hear mumourings that big rule changes are on the way for next year. 

Rugby

• The first week of international rugby. Impressive outing from the Wallabies. So great to see David Pocock back on the field playing well. 
• On the All Blacks, it was the best start to an international season for a long time. Yes there were decisions that favoured them, I find it hard to accept that the team are cheats. I feel they play in the same manner as every other nation. Was quite an impressive second half, with the All Blacks scoring 44 unanswered points, to win the test 52-11. 

Cricket

• Quite a week of cricket. Scotland defeat England for the first time, India host Afghanistan for the laters first test. 
• In the Women’s game, New Zealand posted three consecutive scores of over 400, including the new international record of 490. 
• This morning New Zealander Amelia Kerr made 232 and took 5/17. This being the first time in One Day cricket a player scored a century and taken 5 wickets. 

World Cup

• So looking forward to the tournament. The last in the current format featuring 32 teams. 
• Sadly we’re going to see VAR in the tournament. I’d rather technology stayed out of the game.
• Will be interesting to see how Spain go after dismissing their coach after he signed with Real Madrid.
• Hoping Australia steal a draw against France, but I don’t think it’s highly likely
• The 2026 World Cup will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico, and will likely feature 48 teams. As an aside, hard to understand that while Football is expanding to 48 teams (25 percent  of member nations), cricket is reducing the number of teams in the a World Cup. 

Tennis

• Just a phenomenal performance from Nadal. Winning his eleventh French Open. Making him equal Margaret Court for wins at a single tournament. Hard to think of a more dominant player on a single surface. 

Sporting Shorts - Number 13

Another weekend's action has come and gone.The highlight of the weekend was getting to my first live game of Rugby League for the year.

NRL

• I mentioned this last year, but I'm not really a fan of this part of the season. Four games in a weekend is not enough. I'd just love a complete break for State of Origin. Play the three games over two or three weeks. It reduces the disruption to the competition. Though I guess its tougher on the players who are in the Origin teams. 
• On the Origin, congrats to Billy Slater who will retire after this Origin series. One of the games true greats. Such a shame he pulled out of the team today. 
• The series will be interesting with both teams having fairly young and inexperienced teams. 
• Onto the on field action. I did enjoy the Parramatta - Newcastle game. It's the first live game I've seen this year. Was a touch disappointed in the crowd- its was just over 7700. It seemed most of them were cheering for Newcastle. Have to hand it to Newcastle's fans - they've had a few lean years yet still turn up to support their team. Feel for Parramatta too. They're in a bit of a slump now, I have admit, it is a slump I didn't see coming. 
• So, when was the last time the top four was all teams based within Sydney. The top four are currently - St George, Penrith, Souths and the Roosters (with the Warriors in 6th place the first team not based in Sydney - Cronulla sit 5th). 

AFL

• It seems clear to me the three form teams in the AFL are West Coast, Richmond and Melbourne - with injuries to key West Coast and Melbourne players this weekend, maybe Richmond is just in front as favourites. 
• It says something that Melbourne have the second best percentage of 140.2 and are averaging more than 100 points per game across the season. 
• The Swans had a tight win against Carlton. After St Kilda next week they have three key clashes - West Coast (H), Richmond (A) and Geelong (H). Those games will show whether they will challenge for the flag or be an also-ran.  

Super Rugby

• This was the last round before the first International window.  Another drought was broken with the Melbourne Rebels wining in New Zealand against the Blues. Its the first time an Australian team has won in New Zealand in 1000 days.
• Perhaps the match of the round was the 15 try game between the Waratahs and Reds. The Waratahs prevailed 52-41. 
• Currently the semi finals would be  - Crusaders v  Rebels, Hurricanes v Highlanders, Lions v Jaguares and Waratahs v Chiefs. The system makes a little more sense this year with the top seeds being the top placed team in each conference, and the next best team across all of the conferences and then the next four best teams. 

Football World Cup

• So, I think it is time for some predictions for the FIFA World Cup, which starts in about two weeks. I'm picking Germany to go back to back, and probably play Brazil in the final.  
• I hope to see one of the Asian or African teams as the surprise packet. Japan and Egypt probably have the 'easiest draw'. 
• I think for Australia, a lot will depend on their result against France, if they can edge a draw maybe a spot in the last 16 is inside the realms of possibility.  
• The other team that often promises much is Belgium, would love to see them do well. 
• I think Russia will possibly be the disappointment of the tournament, though with very little expectation on them, and playing the games at home, maybe they could spring a surprise. 
• Leading Scorer - thinking its between Messi (Argentina) and Griezmann (France), though Rodriguez (Colombia) could be up there too. 

Other

• The Golden State Warriors lead the Cleveland Caveliers 2-0 in the NBA Final.  The series now moves to Cleveland for the next two games. I feel it is now the Warriors series to lose. 
• The Washington Captials lead Las Vegas 2-1 in the Stanley Cup Final.  The series is not disappointing us. It's a shame its hard to watch the games live in Australia.