Footy season?!?

While the AFL seasons starts in April, the Super Rugby Season started three weeks ago, and the NRL have just finished their first game with Souths defeating Brisbane.

I'm really looking forward to heading up to Newcastle on Saturday to watch the Warriors play the Knights in their first game of the season. The Warriors are usually slow starters to the season - though hopefully not this year.  In terms of predictions, I suspect the Warriors will make the eight, but how high depends on their consistency, and my tip would be for South Sydney (or Canterbury) to win the Grand Final.

On to the Super Rugby, surprised to say that the Hurricanes have won three from three and are at the top of the table, though it is early days at the moment. Consistency has been their struggle in previous years, so hopefully they have resolved that little battle. (They have a bye this weekend and play the Blues the following week)

Onto the AFL; despite their disappointing performance on Grand Final day, I would still put the Swan's in the mix for top four (maybe Grand Finalists). At this stage my pick is a Swans-Hawks grand final (with a Swan's win) .

The NZ Breakers have made the Grand Final series of the NBL comp, after finishing last a year ago.

The team of the World Cup (so far). For me the automatic picks at this stage are:

B. McCullum (NZ) (c) 
K Sangakkara (SL) (wk) 
A.B. de-Villiers (SAf)
D Vettori (NZ)  
M. Starc (Aus)
T Southee (NZ) 

12th Man: Shaiman Anwar Butt (UAE), currently the highest run scorer in the tournament. 

It is a toss up between Amla and Warner - and at the moment, I lean slightly to Amla, Steyn hasn't set the tournament alight yet, but you know he has that match winning performance in him.  Faulkner is a certainly a match winner, and by the end of the tournament, I suspect he would have done enough. Kohli's form in Australia has been electric so I'd include him. It is hard to find places for both Boult and Southee, maybe by the end of the tournament, it will be warranted. I'd pick Vettori as the spinner - he's been brilliant to date, his role against Australia was crucial to the result.

My World Cup XI
1. B. McCullum (C) (NZL) 2. H Amla (S Af ) 3. K. Sangakkara (SL) 4. A.B. deVilliers (S Af) 5. V. Kohli (Ind)
6. J. Faulkner (Aus) 7. M. Dhoni  (wk) (Ind) 8. D. Vettori (NZL) 9.  M Starc (Aus) 10. D. Steyn (S Afr) 11. T Southee (NZL)