Sporting shorts, No 4, 2018

NRL

• Seems the place to start is the crackdown on the 10 metres and the number of penalties over the weekend. I have no problem with it, perhaps it will teach players to stay within the rules.  Here's a great piece on it here. 
• It seems St George may be the real deal this year - yes I know its only April, but the way there playing at the moment, and barring any major injuries, its hard to see them not in the important games at the end of the year
• I'm impressed with the Tigers too, glad to see them start the season well. 
• The next month sees the Warriors play a few tough games - Brisbane, North Queensland, Melbourne and St George - win a few of those, and maybe I'll start to believe. 
• Glad to see the Titans get one over the Broncos, but sad to see the Raiders and Eels winless. 

AFL

• Disappointment of the week is the news that the AFL wants to keep tinkering with the Women's game. I hope they're involved in the process. Will be sad to see them play a modified game. 
• Back to the Men's game - Hawthorn and Geelong played another cracker, this time the Hawks winning by a point. 
• It won't make up for the Grand Final last year - but I enjoyed seeing the Crows beat the Tigers. 
• The Swans played a good half of footy, but lost to a better team.  Have a lot of time for Port Adelaide. 
• Hoping the Suns continue their run of good form, and string a few more wins together. 

Rugby

• Glad to see David Pocock back on the field. He's a real star of the game, and hope he can have an injury free season. 
• Ben Lam looks like a real star of the future, scoring four times in the Hurricanes' win over the Rebels. 

Other

• The Baseball season started over the weekend.  Here's hoping the BlueJays have a better season this year..
• On to the Cricket - really impressive performances from Paine and Cummins in this test match. Given South Africa may not have a fit bowler, Australia are a chance to draw this test. 
• The England - New Zealand test is finely poised, NZ need a touch over 300 on the final day so they're not likely to win.  Depending on the weather, I think an England win is a touch more likely than a draw but we'll see. 
• Apparently the Commonwealth Games start this week...  its hard to get excited about it. I just miss the non-commonwealth nations too much.