Weekend Wrap

Been awhile since my last wrap and with all that has happened over the last few days I felt I had to cover at least some of it.  One of the annoying things that has surfaced over the last day or so is the media's complete inability to report on sport in a correct factual way showing the full story and not just what make headlines that sell.  Also it seems that yet again the sports sections of Australian papers have little regard of what happens north of the border with no or little coverage on the NRL trial matches and the Ryobi Cup Domestic One Dayer.  But when it comes to media coverage I have to start with the big one....

Manchester United vs Liverpool

Or as the media are writing, "Suarez didn't shake Evra's hand".   With all that happened between these two players it is easy to forget there was a game.  Liverpool just weren't up to it and deserved to lose.  If Liverpool want to be a serious contender for the top four, they need to start playing a lot better then they are of late.

But let's go back to the non-handshake and events that follow. Suarez is in the headlines for not shaking the hand of Evra, yet if you look at the evidence at hand he did go to shake Evra's hand but Evra pulled back.  What is Suarez to do, wait or move on? Obviously he still has no time for a man who to this day Suarez claims has made up the whole racism issue for which he was banned, so he chose to move on.  Why is it then that Ferdinand is not in the same headlines for refusing to shake Suarez's hand?

Then at half time Evra chases Suarez in the tunnel (according to a Skye reporter) and has to be held back from entering the rooms of Liverpool by Skrtel.  Then at fulltime, Evra carries on like a chump cheering and gesturing to the crowd in front of Suarez in an obvious attempt to get a reaction.  All through this Suarez has held his nerve and made no reaction.  

Yet it will be Suarez who is hauled through the coals by the media and with ludicrous comments like Manchester United's manager, Ferguson, it is already showing how this will play out.  What I want to know is how Ferguson would react if it was one of his players in this situation and another manager criticizing his team.  The situation between these two players has gone well past reconciliation and I doubt that it will ever be rectified after the way the initial allegations were handled.  And the call for Suarez to be kicked out of the Premiership is a large over reaction for someone simply not wanting to shake the hand of another.

Roar Into Second

The Roar have had a commanding win in New Zealand and are back into second spot.  Brisbane completely dominated this game and Wellington never looked like they were really going be a serious threat.  The first goal was a sublime finish by Berisha and Nichols cracker for the second has you wishing he did it more.  When the Roar came off their losing streak and starting losing a few it was amazing how many people wrote them off and said their style was now there downfall.  But now they are winning again it will be interesting to see how many get back on the band wagon. In consecutive weeks Brisbane have now knocked off the top two teams, Brisbane might not finish on top of the table but they are looking dangerous for the finals.  

Forrest stars in Debut

Peter Forrest had a great debut for Australia against India, it is just a pity that he didn't choose a higher number for his shirt.  With 66 on his back it seemed that fate decided his score would be the same.  His innings showed that he has a long future in the Australia setup and if he continues to perform there could be pressure for him to be selected in the Test arena as well.  Unfortunately though his debut was not a win as Australia showed yet again they are struggling to finish off games at the moment and the bowling attack doesn't look as formidable as the Test line-up.  Only the first loss, but with the close win over Sri Lanka, Australia needs to make sure they do not experiment too much as winning is more important than experimenting.

NRL Trial Games

Without being able to watch any of the games it is hard to comment.  Generally it is hard to read too much into these games as the coaches are just getting mileage into the legs of the players and trying to finalise a few last places in the team,  What I find interesting is how the media start writing off teams on the outcomes of these games or say they are contenders.  How many times do you see a team win a pre-season competition only to end up finishing at the bottom?  What is nice to see though, is the scores are full of blow-outs or massive scorelines for both sides. Never worry too much about how your team is going before round one.  Just hope that no key players are seriously injured..

I think I may have missed a few talking points and if so let me know.  If in any way you think what I have written is incorrect, remember it is my opinion and I am writing it how I see it.