Who's Playing Who?

Welcome back to Adrian Considers, where I ponder a number of sport-related issues and give them my own take. I know you’ve been desperately waiting for the next one (hah…), so let’s get into it!

Panthers, Eels, Warriors- what is doing?!

I have no idea what is going wrong for these sides, but things aren’t clicking three rounds into the competition. Penrith managed to get a good away win in Round 2, but failed miserably at home yet again. (Fun fact: the Panthers are without a win at Centrebet Stadium. Perhaps the anti-gambling crew were right and they shouldn’t have renamed the stadium?) In the case of Parramatta, after a good win in Auckland in Round 1, they hardly carried on their good work into the following rounds. Maybe their victory was just a case of the opposition being far worse? That brings us to the Warriors. 0-3 at this stage, things better start turning around quickly. They were favoured by many (including Matt and myself) to be there or thereabouts this season, and with the roster they posses, they really should be.

Sharks win again

There’s a headline I bet you didn’t think you’d be seeing any time soon. Perennial competition battlers the Sharks have gone on to record their second consecutive win, which sees them currently in the Top 8. They weren’t tipped to have a great year (again), but it seems their structures this year under new head coach Shane Flanagan are working for them. Albert Kelly at 5/8 seemed an interesting choice, but he has proven to be a fairly handy player in that position. Gallen worked overtime on Saturday night, and if you had him in your SuperCoach team (I sadly did not) then you would have been impressed with his monstrous score of 128.  To put that in perspective, that’s double what a solid score usually is. They face the Warriors next week, and I might have to think twice when I tip that one, as opposed to giving the auto-tip to Cronulla’s opposition.

Rabbitohs- off the mark

Good to see the Rabbitohs notch their first win of the season against the aforementioned Eels on Friday night. After a poor ending in the loss against the Bulldogs (vintage Sandow field goal of doom and the sin binning of Wesser. who was excellent all game), it was promising to watch the left side of attack hit its straps. Suddenly passes from Sutton were finding their mark at the right time, Dave Taylor was breaking tackles or getting the offload away, and Inglis was fitting in with the rest of the team, setting up a few tries and grabbing one for himself. Talanoa did his job as well, finishing off the movements as all good wingers should. They face Manly at Bluetongue Stadium next Friday, which sets up an intriguing clash. If they play like they did against the Eels, they’re certainly a chance.

Another draw at the ‘G?

An absolute nail biter of a finish at the MCG between two sides without a Round 1 win since 2005. We ended up with the draw, which really isn’t a common occurrence in the AFL, although you’d be tricked into thinking it is. Both sides performed admirably, the Demons just putting in enough to hang with the Swans the entire game, before nearly snatching the win at the death. If there’s a positive to come from this, both sides got 2 points each, which is more than they’ve got from a Round 1 clash in a while!

Injuries ahoy!

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’ve noticed there have been quite a few injuries across both codes in the few opening rounds. NRL sides have had their bench reduced to a lone man, or in some cases, none at all. They’ve run out of interchanges as players are injured in the late stages of a game, forcing the side to play on a man down… In the AFL, blokes are cramping up left right and centre, and the substitute has often been used too early (those red vests are hilarious, by the way). What’s going on here? Have I missed something?

Ponting- time to go?

Matt covered this issue in detail in his blog, so I’ll keep it short. Personally, I think that the man should be able to decide himself when he needs to retire. No tap on the shoulder, no visit from the faceless men in the middle of the night. I think he’s earned enough respect to be able to make this decision to retire when he sees fit. Now seems as good a time as any, but if he feels he can still go on or has unfinished business, then let him continue. For one of the great captains and batsmen of Australian cricket to be pushed would be a disgrace.

The Battle for Mönchengladbach

The Socceroos go up against Germany on Wednesday at 5.45am (AEDT). Tim Cahill has been ruled out with a foot injury, and Adam Sarota, John Holland and Brent McGrath have been bought into replace him. I’m all for giving new players a crack, but geez, Scott McDonald and Josh Kennedy sure have fallen out of favour! At any rate, best of luck to the side- make us proud! Shock the world by beating Germany on their home soil. After all, nothing beats the sweet, sweet taste of revenge!

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That’ll do me. Remember you can leave a comment on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/whosplayingwho), email whosplayingwho@gmail.com or comment below on this page right here. I’ll be back next week (hopefully) to weigh in on what’s been happening in the world of sport… judging by this week, there will be plenty. As good ol’ JR says, “Business is about to pick up!”