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why-the-face · 7 years

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Laver Cup: Day 3

Okay, so I took a little longer with this one than the two previous ones, but only because I needed a few days to actually process what had just happened. To be quite honest I'm still not really believing I was actually THERE to experience all of that. But I was! Wow. So anyway...

Emma (@song-of-freedom) and I were Laver Cup experts by this point, so we knew exactly at what time to get to the arena and have enough time to buy merch, get some drinks, and then get our seats without having to either rush or wait around forever for the event to start. I managed to get a nice little gray Laver Cup t-shirt with the roster on it on Day 2, because it looked really cool (the fabric was a bit rougher than I expected it to be, though, tbh), so that's what I was wearing.

There was a bit of a misunderstanding around the seating disposition though (a guy and his son were a bit confused and because they didn't really speak English, it took a little longer to get it sorted, but it was fine).

Now, here's something interesting that happened on Day 3: by then, it was all a lot of fun and games, and enjoying it, and fedal and everything... but when Tomas/Marin lost their doubles match and all of a sudden the score was 9-6, shit GOT REAL, really fast.

A quick rundown of what happened:

- As I mentioned on Day 1, the rest of our row were all Rafa fans (and fedal! Let's not forget the fedal love!), and when we saw the schedule for the day we all were a bit stunned. I mean... when you think about it, it actually made no sense. Why would Bjorn get Tomas to play doubles when Tomas had already lost both his singles AND doubles matches?! It would have made a lot more sense to have Sascha or Dom on his place, or maybe even as a doubles team themselves.

- Anyways, by then, it was pretty clear that Bjorn wasn't actually doing a lot of captain-ing, while McEnroe had been actually really clever. He used the big guns on Day 1, let them rest on Day 2, then went all out with them on Day 3, which is when it all actually matters. And it ALMOST paid off!

- When Marin and Tomas lost their doubles, we were ALL stunned in the arena... and the whole fun vibe started to fade.

- I actually felt really bad for Tomas, poor guy. By that point, all the points Team World had won were against him.

- We were super stoked Sascha won, but when Rafa lost, OOOOH BOY! Shit got real!

- I mean, Team World wasn't even doing their funny celebrations most of the time! THAT'S HOW SERIOUS IT GOT!

- Which is good anyway, because during his match, Rafa did seem a bit annoyed at some of their antics. Not that we could blame him. Poor Rafa, he seemed really tired. Still don't get why Bjorn would have him play 4 times (possibly 5 if it had gone down to the last doubles) in 3 days and underutilise Dom.

- Actually, a lot of people around the arena were cheering for Isner to win against Rafa. Some thought it was because they wanted to watch Roger play, but they were even cheering for Kyrgios against Roger, which leads me to believe they actually were hoping to watch fedal teaming up for the deciding doubles.

- I am a huge fedal fan myself, but THANK GOD that didn't happen! Rafa and Roger admitted afterwards that they were going to do the doubles if it had come down to it, and that would only happen if Rafa and Roger had lost their matches. So to ask them to play doubles AFTER HAVING JUST LOST, against two guys WHO HAD JUST WON, would have been suicide.

- Also, we wouldn't have Rafa JUMPING TO ROGER FEDERER'S ARMS WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!!!!

- THAT ACTUALLY FUCKING HAPPENED! WHAT!

- Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself...

- Right, so, unfortunately, not a lot of Roger cheering for Rafa this time around, because he was preparing for his match while Rafa was playing. But THANKFULLY, Rafa was there from set 2 onwards of Roger's match and WOW.

- Rafa was cheering HARD for Roger! And you could tell Roger needed that. In set 1 when Team Europe had been pretty much silent and Rafa-less, you could see Roger glancing over to them and getting nothing in return from them. Bjorn wasn't actually talking to him and NO ONE was coming down to talk to him.

- When Rafa came down though, the team once again came around and started supporting him more.

- It was actually super sweet how Rafa would wait until Roger was actually looking at them to fist pump, clap, cheer, and encourage. He'd get up, wait for it, and THEN go "Come on! Keep going! Do it now!"

- Rafa got the crowd SUPER fired up for Roger on the last couple of points, he wanted everyone on their feet and screaming and OMFG HE'S THE BEST HEAD CHEERLEADER OF THEM ALL!

- That last tie break was PURE. FUCKING. AGONY!

- Kyrgios was up 8-5 at one point AND WE FELT LIKE PUKING FFS! And then he actually had matchpoint and I was on my feet, hunched over like Rafa, while Emma was looking away because we couldn't deal!

- AND THEN HE WON!!!!!

- AND THEN RAFA JUMPED ON HIM!!!!!!

- ALL THE FEDAL FEELS, OMFG!!!!!

- We were celebrating so hard when Roger won, I actually turned to the side and hugged the woman next to me real hard! WE WERE ALL SO HAPPY!

- Poor Kyrgios though (never thought I'd say that). You could tell he was really upset with the loss. Whoever thought the players weren't invested in this tournament WAS WRONG! All the players, man! Rafa was EXTREMELY emotionally invested in Roger's match, for instance! And man Roger was pulling out all the punches!

- Did I mention Rafa jumped on Roger? And then Roger went to Rafa and hugged him and apparently thanked him personally? Because I was drowning in fedal feels at that point. And just walking on air and still trying to process what had happened because OMG it all changed so quickly!

- Literally, the ONE time Roger was ahead on the score, it was when he had matchpoint. And he somehow converted it. IT WAS SO FAST!

- It was all surreal and just frankly amazing and I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but I will try my damned hardest to be there in Chicago next year. Especially if fedal are a part of it again. Especially Rafa, man. It would not have been the same without Rafa being Head Cheerleader.

...

- Quick sidenote: the DJ at the arena was DEFINITELY a fedal fan! The song that was played the most during the 3 days was "Came here for love", which was used particularly right before fedal doubles, when the lyrics went "This is what we came here for / We came here for love" and I was just laughing so hard.

Not quite as hard, though, as when the screen started showing pictures of Roger touching Rafa and "I believe in a thing called love" started playing ("Touching yoooooooou / touching meeeeeeeeeee"). I AM NOT MAKING THIS SHIT UP, YOU GUYS!

AND THEN TO TOP IT ALL OFF: they showed pictures of fedal doubles and once again of Roger grabbing Rafa, and what song was used then? "I WANT IT THAT WAY" BY THE FREAKING BACKSTREET BOYS! WHAT!

#fedal #Roger Federer #Rafael Nadal #Tomas Berdych #sports: tennis #tennis: Laver Cup #my stuff

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torentialtribute · 5 years

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BECKER’S NOTEBOOK: Kyrgios has just one year to turn himself around

After five days of pulsating action at Wimbledon three-time champion Boris Becker delivers his opinion on the action so far , and looks ahead to the weekend's action.

Boris Becker gives his thoughts on the opening week at Wimbledon, and what lies ahead

Kyrgios has just one year to turn himself around

I am in the camp that wants to see Nick Kyrgios do well and fulfill his enormous potential – I love so much of what he brings to tennis . But to me he is at a crossroads, and the situation is getting urgent. I would go so far as to say that if he does not turn himself around in the next 12 months then it is never going to happen for him.

It worries me that he does not seem in a great hurry to change some of his bad habits. It is an individual sport and his lifestyle is down to him.

I actually like him, and I am really not that bothered if, within reason, he has an evening at the Dog and Fox before his match. He is not the first Aussie to adopt this approach. But really, does he want to be a top player with ideal preparation, or does he want to cruise along with his talent? Only he can answer this, and I hope it is the former.

Nick Kyrgios has reached a crossroads – does he want to be a top player, or just cruise along?

There has, incidentally, been much discussion about him drilling the ball at Rafa Nadal at the net on Thursday evening. "Drilling" your opponent is part of the game, Ivan Lendl and I used to do it to each other, for example. I have no problem with that.

But I looked upon it as a ruthless strategy, and Nick was too far back in the court on this occasion to fit that description. It was pointless from there and could have gone anywhere, maybe someone injured. So while I am not against going straight for your opponent when they are covering the net and you don't have much option, I don't think this was cool, and I would like to see him make a token apology. Even if you don't mean it, employing a certain etiquette is important.

This smells of Danger for Serena

I can smell danger here for Serena against last year's semi-finalist. On a good day you would make Serena favorite but on the evidence we have seen so far she is playing catch-up due to the fact that she has not played enough matches or tournaments this year.

She is going to have to improve if she is going to take the title and that has got to start today because nothing in the game has been working well enough yet. It is almost like she needs these matches in the early rounds to get herself to the level she wants to be – maybe playing with Andy in the mixed will help that process. You are going to see two of the biggest serves in the women's game, lots of winners and probably plenty of unforced errors. Serena cannot wait any longer to step it up.

On the evidence seen so far at SW19, Serena Williams has been playing catch-up this year

Federer is still my favorite

Roger made an uncertain start in his opening match against Lloyd Harris, but I am not concerned about that and he remains very much the favorite for me alongside Novak Djokovic. Since that first set I have been getting the sense that Roger is feeling his game, and he would be ready to play the semi-final now if needs be.

I am a great believer that it is not about the distant past but what you have been doing in recent months, and he has been playing well in that time. Lucas Pouille, coached by Amelie Mauresmo, is a good player but I do not see this being a Center Court upset and Federer ought to be purring, going into the second week.

Roger Federer made an uncertain start to his tournament, but Boris Becker is unconcerned

The Brits

Both Jo Konta and Dan Evans have fair chances of progressing on Saturday, and I would be happy to see it because I like a comeback story.

My message to British fans is to really get behind their players, and it is particularly important in the case of Evans because he is clearly a guy who relishes the emotional connection with the crowd.

You look at some players and they are happiest when they are playing somewhere like Court 17, a bit out of the way. He is someone who likes to play on the big arena, and it will really help him get the crowds behind him.

I like his game on grass, his quick hands, but Joao Sousa is a strong competitor . With neither of these players having the fourth round before there is going to be a big mental dimension to the match.

I have been impressed with the way Konta has bounced back from the disappointment of getting so close to making the French final. That sort of missed chance can get to you, but she seems to have shrugged it off. Sloane Stephens is a tough opponent who is ranked higher but I would not be surprised to see Jo make the second week.

Jo Konta has bounced back well from disappointment of coming so close at the French Open

The lost generation?

At the start of this week I said nothing would please me more than to see some of the young players in the men's game contesting the semi-finals or the final. My prayers do not seem to have been answered.

So many of the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Denis Shapovalov and Alex Zverev have ended up falling short of the hopes we had for them. I am actually going to leave sixth seed Tsitsipas out of it, because he made it to the semis of the Australian Open and, as I mentioned before the tournament, I still think he has a lot to learn about moving on grass.

But there is something missing among them as a group, maybe mentorship and mentality. I have a lot of time for Zverev who I know through my work in German tennis, and he has been doing some work with Ivan Lendl.

But it didn't help that Ivan was not around for the two months before this tournament. You either have your mentor around or you don't. I do think it is important to surround yourself with people who know what it takes to win a major championship but it needs to be done properly.

Still, all is not lost, and maybe someone will come through and surprise us next week.

Alex Zverev has suffered from not having a mentor Ivan Lendl around before Wimbledon

What I have especially enjoyed this week

It's always great to see a new talent emerge, and how could anyone not enjoy the performances or Coco Gauff? What made me smile more than anything, however, was seeing Andy Murray walk out to Court 1 on Thursday evening. I remember him limping out of here in agony two years ago, and having followed his fortunes since.

I remember his emotional press conference in Australia in January when we all fear it might be the end for him. So to see him back doing what he loves most, pain-free and seemingly relaxed just six months later was inspiring and uplifting. It is early days yet but I hope we are going to see him back at Wimbledon for quite a few more years to come.

How could anyone not enjoy the performances or 15-year-old Coco Gauff so far?

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#BECKER’S NOTEBOOK: Kyrgios has just one year to turn himself around"

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marilynngmesalo · 5 years

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Raonic beats racket-wrecking Zverev to reach Aussie Open quarterfinals

Raonic beats racket-wrecking Zverev to reach Aussie Open quarterfinals Raonic beats racket-wrecking Zverev to reach Aussie Open quarterfinals https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

MELBOURNE, Australia — Milos Raonic was just overwhelming Alexander Zverev with consistency, compounding the frustration with every service break.

Roanic dropped serve in the opening game of their fourth-round match at the Australian Open but then went on a roll, winning eight straight games before fourth-seeded Zverev held serve.

No let up. Raonic held and then broke the 21-year-old German player’s serve again to lead 4-1 and that’s when Zverev lost it.

At the change of ends he destroyed his racket by smacking it into the court eight times, then tossing it away.

The angry outburst only served to highlight Raonic’s dominance.

“I played incredible today,” the 2016 Wimbledon runner-up said. “I did a lot of things very well. Proud of that.”

And so he should be. He’s into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the fourth time. And he’s achieved that from a tough part of the draw.

He opened with a win over the enigmatic Nick Kyrgios, who had all the home-won support, and followed that up by coming back to beat three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in four tiebreak sets. The 16th-seeded Raonic then beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert in three tiebreakers.

At 28, Raonic feels like he’s on the verge of being back as a contender at the majors. Zverev, an undoubted talent, is yet to beat a top 20 player at a Grand Slam.

Raonic was so consistent with his serve — 15 aces, one double-fault, 16 of 19 first serves into play for the second set — and kept his unforced error count down to 24 for the match. He said he could sense his rival’s growing rage.

“It was pretty clear what was going on,” he said. “It can have an effect a lot of different ways. You know, if you’re a top guy and you do that against somebody who doesn’t have experience, it might sort of cause them to retreat a little bit.

“I have sort of faced that situation, and I was also ahead at that point, so I was just really focusing on myself.”

Zverev got the inevitable warning for racket abuse, took a break at the end of the second set and returned from the locker room a much calmer, more composed player.

“Yeah, it made me feel better,” Zverev said. “I was very angry, so I let my anger out.”

Zverev lost only one point in his first four service games in the third set, but then Raonic stepped up the pressure again.

“I played bad. The first two sets especially I played horrible,” Zverev said. “I mean, it’s just tough to name one thing. I didn’t serve well, didn’t play well from the baseline. Against a quality player like him, it’s tough to come back from that.”

Zverev saved two match points in the 10th game of the third — one with a short slice backhand that Roanic ran for but couldn’t retrieve to end a 29-shot rally and another that clipped the baseline.

But Raonic rallied from 3-1 down in the tiebreaker and finally converted on his fourth match point. He’ll next play either No. 11 Borna Coric or No. 28 Lucas Pouille in the quarterfinals.

Earlier U.S. Open Naomi Osaka was a set down again and looking for a bit of inspiration.

She thought of how 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas had stunned 20-time major winner Roger Federer and how Frances Tiafoe has advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time. This helped her pull herself together to reach the last eight, too.

No. 4-seeded Osaka had a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 fourth-round win over No. 13-seeded Anastasija Sevastova to reach the last eight at a major for the second time. She’ll next play sixth-seeded Elina Svitolina, who fended off five break points in a game in the third set that went to deuce 11 times, contained 28 points, and was pivotal in a momentum-swinging 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 win over 2017 U.S. Open finalist Madison Keys.

“I wasn’t really sure what to do at a point. I just try to stick in there,” Osaka said. “And also I was watching all these kids winning, like, last night Tsitsipas beat Federer and I was like, ‘Woah’ — so I decided I wanted to do well, too.’

Another win now and there’s potential for Osaka to have a rematch of the U.S. Open final against Serena Williams. The seven-time Australian Open champion Williams was playing top-ranked Simona Halep later Monday in the fourth round. The winner of the Williams-Halep contest will meet seventh-seeded Karolina Pliskova, who beat Garbine Muguruzu 6-3, 6-1 in an hour.

Pliskova, who is on a nine-match winning streak, plans to watch on TV: “For sure, it’s going to be the match of the tournament so far.”

Osaka will be concentrating more now on Svitolina.

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Coming off a win at the WTA Finals, Svitolina is aiming to do what Caroline Wozniacki did last year and follow up a title at the season-ending championship with a breakthrough major in Australia.

For a quarter of an hour on Day 8, Svitolina served and served, and served, tossing the ball into the sun, in a desperate bid to hold a game in the third set against Keys.

After that huge hold, she broke the 17th-seeded Keys’ serve in at her first opportunity in the next game, and it was all one-way from then on.

“I was happy I could handle the pressure at 1-1 in the third set,” Svitolina said. “It was very hard because the sun was just burning my eyes when I was tossing the ball. Very happy I could win that game.”

She’s taking an 0-3 record in Grand Slam quarterfinals into her next match against Osaka, but is taking a different mindset into the match.

Winning in Singapore “gave me huge boost of confidence, so I don’t think about the past anymore,” she said. “I only look forward.”

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recentnews18-blog · 6 years

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New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/hey-stupid-yeah-you-across-the-dutch-kiwi-scribe-lays-in-boot/

Hey stupid! Yeah, you across the dutch – Kiwi scribe lays in boot

Rattue goes on to list the latest salary cap scandal in the NRL – the 90th by his count, with no sign of abating.

Fair call? Chris Rattue sledged Michael Cheika, the cricket team and Nick Kyrgios among others.

Photo: Rugby.com.au, AAP, EPA

He looks at our erstwhile passions of summer: “The nation which produced legendary and respected tennis icons such as Rod Laver, Yvonne Goolagong and Margaret Court now comes up with knuckleheads like Nick Kyrgios and Bernard ��the Tanker’ Tomic.”

Enough, already?

No, Chris had barely cleared his throat.

“As for cricket, there has never been a sadder more pathetic episode in sport than the sandpaper scandal in South Africa, the nadir for a team which had spun out of control on anger and arrogance.”

Perhaps, he might be kinder to the Wallabies?

Fault: Bernard Tomic is an enigma.

Photo: AP

“As for rugby . . . sophisticated, clever, that’s how the best of Australian rugby used to be. There were elegant leaders like John Eales and Rod Macqueen, and never-to-be-forgotten players such as David ‘Campo’ Campese, Mark Ella, Stephen Larkham and many more . . . What have we got now? Whinging Michael Cheika and a team which doesn’t know what it is about.”

He finishes: “Hey, if the once great Australian sports nation is determined to be a sporting laughing stock, it’s a free world.”

Too harsh? Too unbalanced? Too brutal?

Nuh.

Too shay.

But hey, at least we’re light years ahead of those Kiwis in politics, and are not infected by the same stupidity there.

Oh, wait!

Hopping to it

Good around the house: John Hopoate.

Photo: Fox Sports

As you will see in the quotes section, we have it on the sincere authority of Will Hopoate that his father John has another side: “If people saw him at home, they’d see mum is the real boss, she’s got him under the whip, vacuuming and doing the dishes.”

As one who’s had my fair share of goes at Hopoate Snr over the years, I am glad to hear it. In similar spirit, as one who has criticised Josh Dugan many times, and those who only go to children’s hospitals as the cameras roll, a reader sent me a story this week that showed another side.

It concerned his eleven year-old grandson Gabe Smith, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour and admitted to the Randwick Children’s Hospital, where Dugan came across him . . . and held on, going to see him many times thereafter, through all his many treatments and even into palliative care at Manly’s Bear Cottage, where he would stay for four hours at a time.

For yes, young Gabe tragically didn’t make it, and died in July. Dugan and his girlfriend attended the funeral at the Avoca Beach Surf Club and stayed for the wake.

So, there you go. Just as I struggle to put the public Hopoate I know of with the private figure described by his son, I can’t quite fathom that the Dugan described above is the troubled, swaggering bruiser we know – but accept that it is.

Still, if it turns out that Greg Norman has a humble side, that Shane Warne actually delights in Dosteovsky, and Nick Kyrgios is releasing a motivational lecture , I’ll give up!

Fat chance

Très drôle, as we say in the classics. The 53-year-old pro golfer from Michigan, Scott Parel, see, was asked at the end of the second round of the PGA senior tournament what he thought of his chances of winning.

“I think I have two chances – slim and none. And I think I just saw Slim heading out of town.”

It might be straining the metaphor a little, but Slim came back and tucked into the buffet something fierce, because he soon became Huge, and Parel shot 63 on the final round to win the whole thing.

Lunch date

As mentioned, this year’s Cauliflower Club lunch is at the Hyatt Regency on Sussex St on October 12, with special guests Wally Lewis, Michael O’Connor and Ricky Stuart on deck, and you can book at www.cauliflowerclub.org.au.

This week though, our Chair, John Fordham, secured a very interesting auction prize: a big lunch with all of Bob Dwyer, Alan Jones and Rod Macqueen.

Father’s Day

Reluctantly, I must accept that there is some chance that, for Father’s Day, some of you won’t be buying or getting my own latest book, Monash’s Masterpiece, the 93 Minutes That Changed the World. In that case (sniff), allow me to recommend Greg Growden’s The Wallabies At War, which looks at the stunning service of many Wallabies from the Boer War onwards, or Michael Visontay’s Beyond the Stereotype: A Celebration Of Jews In Australian Sport.

Both are, as you’d expect from two long-time Herald scribes, exceptionally well-written and chokka with good yarns.

In Growden’s book, my favourite is about the great Stan Bisset – a man I was proud to call a friend – who was decorated for his bravery on the Kokoda Track where, during the Battle of Isurava, his brother Butch was riddled with machine gun bullets. Stan carried Butch to a clearing, where he held his hand through the night, singing him songs from the old days, till he died just before dawn. Vale, great men.

Steve who?

Take a hike: All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.

Photo: AAP

Meantime?

Meantime, reader Michael Milgate reports that when about to head off on a hike along New Zealand’s spectacular Milford Track with his daughter last year, they were encouraged to have dinner the night before with other hikers. As dinner is being served, his daughter finds herself in the company of a group of charming strangers, one of whom is notably robust, resplendent in a black tracksuit, introduced as “Steve” but addressed by his companions as “Coach”.

“And what do you coach?”

“Rugby,” he replies.

“Oh, and is it a local team?”

“Have you heard of the All Blacks?”

Oh . . . pass the bread?

Short and sweet

The way forward for the Wallabies? Fitzphile Robert King has the answer! “In the same way T20 has rocked the cricket world,” he writes, “let’s push for a shorter version of the Bledisloe Cup. We will play the first 35 mins only, two-man lineouts and no scrums. I understand Lord Bledisloe died in 1958 so he can’t object.” That works!

What They Said

Lovely writing from Matthew Johns on the early days of Johnathan Thurston: “He first came to the Bulldogs in the mid-2000s and he looked like a rabbit trying to find a hole in a barbwire fence. He was a ducker and a darter . . .”

When ESPN commentator Brad Gilbert asked Nick Kygrios after the first round if all his carry-on was to get himself going, Kyrgios replied: “Not really. It keeps me relaxed.”

Tennis umpire Mo Lahyani to Nick Kyrgios during a break in the second round of the US Open, asks him to carry on with more purpose:

“I want to help you. I want to help you. I’ve seen your matches: you’re great for tennis. Nick, I know this is not you.” Kyrgios won nineteen of the next 25 games to win the match. There was hell to pay.

Helpng hand: Mo Lahyani and Nick Krygios. Illustration: John Shakespeare

Will Hopoate on his dad: “For most of my life I’ve seen the John Hopoate off the field, and that’s the man I respect and love as a father. The bloke you see on the field and off the field are two different blokes. If people saw him at home, they’d see mum is the real boss, she’s got him under the whip, vacuuming and doing the dishes.”

Venus Williams laughs at the prospect of playing her sister, Serena, in the American Open: “The last time we played, in Australia, it was two against one. At least this time it’s fair.” On that occasion, at the 2017 Australian Open, Serena was pregnant.

Barry Hall: “I got no income, and there’s no real light at the end of the tunnel of when that will change or when that will be. So it’s a big cock-up.”

Collingwood President Eddie McGuire on another Pies player testing positive: “The last person to find out anything to do with drugs is the club itself. It’s an AFL issue. They have control of everything that goes, as far as the testing is concerned. In fact, as the president of the club I’m not even allowed to ask about these situations.”

Carlton coach Brendon Bolton on the upside of having won two games for twenty losses this season: “In some time we’ll look back and say this time paid us back.” Sure you will, Coach.

Wayne Bennett following the Roosters game: “I could make a headline easily, but I won’t tonight. I’ll leave you with this guys, you’re all journalists here, you see what I see, why don’t you write the stories?”

Eels coach Brad Arthur on the wooden spoon, after his side lost 44-6 to the Cowboys last Friday: “At the end of the day, I’m in charge. Someone has got to claim responsibility, that’s me. I feel a sense that I’ve let people down. It’s just embarrassing. I have to face up to it, I can’t run and hide from it.” Coach? Look to the blokes laughing and joking within seconds of being on the wrong end of a 40-point drubbing – and wipe them. Start with Jarryd Hayne, who was doing precisely that.

Gus Gould: “Sunday afternoon at Jubilee Oval. One of the great pleasures of life.” Andrew Johns: “Gus, you’ve gotta get out more.”

Team of the Week

Fond farewell: Thurston waves goodbye to the Cowboys home crowd last week.

Photo: AAP

Johnathan Thurston Plays the final match of his extraordinary 17-year career tonight, against the Gold Coast Titans.

Richmond and Hawthorn How very odd. Between them they have won 24 Premiership flags and yet next Thursday, for the first time, they contest a finals match.

Argentina Pumas Snapped an 11-match losing streak in the Rugby Championship by beating South Africa.

Sunshine Coast Lightning Gone back to back to claim their second Super Netball title. So I suppose it does strike twice!

The second annual Chappell Foundation Golf Day To raise money for the homeless, it will be held on Tuesday September 11 at the spectacular NSW Golf Club, La Perouse.

Italy Has just banned all advertising for gambling, most particularly including sponsorships of sporting teams. Watch this space!

Caloundra Won their first rugby grand final since their foundation in 1982, beating Noosa.

Twitter: @Peter_Fitz

Peter FitzSimons is a Herald journalist, columnist and author, based in Sydney. He is also a former Wallabies player.