I thought it's a reasonable draw, not too hard and not easy.
It's bizarre the breadth of opinions you get, beat ups perhaps, bias maybe. I've surveyed the feedback from "specialist commentators" this afternoon and we've been labelled everything from strugglers to the Darlings of the AFL, our draw everything from a brutal baptism of fire to a golden ticket.
The commentary is so last year, you could almost be forgive yourself for thinking it was cut and paste!
I think I wrote it back then, and I'll write it again, you probably find 2 or 3 versions of every commentary, that later in the season will selectively be promoted or erased subject to the likely season outcome, and this time next year they'll tell you they told you so!
The BBC is stupid for misrepresenting the RedTrump speech using creative editing, the likes of the BBC and ABC must always remain apolitical which hasn't been the case in recent years. btw., The BBC didn't broadcast fake, RedTrump said everything they broadcast, they just edited out the bits that RedTrump always includes to guard his own ar5e! He usually starts off with a something like, "This wasn't me....," or "I tried to stop them ....." followed by his big but!
The likes of the BBC can expose fraud, highlight failings, keep politicians to account, without taking a side or misrepresenting someone, it's not that hard. When the media fall into RedTrump like behaviour they put a noose around their own neck, because the traction only applies in one direction, they look like a goose and RedTrump's MAGA crew spit vitriol.
I'll be surprised if the Epstein stuff amounts to much, and to me it's a media wasted effort against RedTrump, they should be going after his financial dealings which really gets in his head. As a psychopath he can't be upset by telling or highlighting how poorly he has treated people, they are meaningless to him, even perhaps his family, he has no conscience or empathy. When he makes a statement about a sad event it's in his own frame of reference, it's a vacuous statement in regards to others. Attacking his wallet hurts him every time, it's all he cares about!
Pre-game the media was banging on about the NSW Shield Super Team, no shield team has ever before hit the field the equal of it apparently!
Well they hit the field alright, face first inside 3 days!
I watched a fair bit of it, it was only after Abbott and Hazelwood pulled the pin after lunch on Day three that the commentators started talking about Boland returning to The Ashes. Then when the NSW Batsmen started to fold, Boland in one short stint was almost unplayable and he could have had 3 or 4 wickets with a bit of luck, and the NSW commentators starting calling for Boland to be withdrawn from the game "just in case he was needed for test duty!"
Luckily for NSW the Vics hardly used Boland after that devastating spell, without even losing another wicket NSW confidence was shot, but unluckily for NSW Elliott and O'Neill didn't give a rats and cleaned them up easily before stumps on Day 3!
I listened to some interesting philosophy talk the other day that summarised RedTrump's appeal as a manifestation of self harm. Dissaffected individuals attracted to RedTrump's demeaning ways because it hurts society. So in someway supporting RedTrump is striking out at those around them who at least appear happier, unhappy people seeing those around them dragged down into the mire. If they can't be happy then everybody must suffer, even if they also suffer far more than before.
It's a sad state of affairs if the MAGA crew can't see any happiness in the future to the extreme point they have become sadistic.
Perhaps this sort of explains why MAGA appears indifferent to RedTrump's corruption, but I would think that state of affairs cannot last!
They also made a comment regarding RedTrump's recent round of pardoning, they see it as RedTrump wheeling out the old support crew because he feels insecure suggesting things are not so rosy in the inner circle.
The NBA has been weak on travel for decades, anybody involved in NBL here will talk to you about it, they accept it but what is more bothersome is that the USA seems to get extra leeway at events like the Olympics. An associate of mine asserts it's more about lazy officiation and the TV broadcast.
I do get a bit of deja vu about this when I see what the AFL is trying to do.
So at school we were always taught bullies target the weak and / or defenceless. Do we really think the people of Venezuela are a threat to the USA?
I read recently that more than 80% of the drugs entering the USA through Sth America are likely to originate in China, but best strike fear and trepidation into the pitstop on the halfway line.
I know Kimi had Leclerc on his right but FMD he could have given Oscar a bit of room on the inside of the corner. He was lucky to have not sustained race ending damage himself. Many drivers have received penalties for that.
Leclerc left Antonelli plenty of space, Antonelli cut across Piastri, Piastri drove the same line and was turning in when Antonelli crushed him. Antonelli escaping penalty is the Mercedes tax.
McLaren favouring Lando has to be expected, Brit team, Brit driver, Brit billionaire, Brit marketing, it was always going to go that way.
What I don't get is Lando and McLaren seemingly oblivious to the crowds boing him, it's getting worse every race and even if Lando is thick skinned McLaren must certainly notice it. Maybe there was some truth to the earlier leaked rumours about Zac Brown not wanting Piastri, but it's more likely the Lando marketing dollars that McLaren want. We could say our bias is parochial, but when the rest of the world sees it happening then it can't be just our perception!
What it does highlight is just how little the teams rate the drivers as part of the setup, are they are like AFL coaches, are they megalomaniacs who think they can build a car to deliver anybody a win?
Interestingly post race Leclerc who was the big victim of the incident come out and slammed the stewards saying they were completely wrong to penalise Piastri, he stated Antonelli contributed to the collision by turning in on Piastri.
It was going to be harsh no matter which way the stars went with it.
Had oscar qualified better, he wouldn't have been so desperate to make the move when he did, not that it was desperate, but he was on the edge and ultimately just over it with the lockup.
Yes, but why would stewards penalise this now, they haven't applied such a penalty to a racing incident all season.
I understand when the stewards apply penalties to people crossing the line or making dangerous moves, but actually in this case they were all still on what is legally deemed the track and nobody really broke any rules, you could equally argue Antonelli failed to leave a car width. All season this type of event has been deemed a racing incident.
Is what happened between Piastri and Antonelli any more than what Norris did to Piastri, it's just luck nobody was on the other side of Piastri a couple of weeks back?
Bit sad about what is happening to Piastri, but with Webber as his manager he is well he situated to navigate the disappointment, Webber has been there done that.
By the standards of F1 he had the corner, sure his front left locked but he didn't lose steering or control of the car, he was decelerating and taking the apex before the opponent runed into him. It's no different to driving over the ripple strip that they do a thousand times a race. The 10s penalty was a bit steep when you consider what Norris did to Piastri without penalty just a race or two back, politics again?
Nobody stated F1 has to be fair, it's a sport governed by dollars not morality, in this regard Australia will always find itself at the back of the queue. Not just Australia or course, have a look at what is happening to Lawson relative to Tsundo, RBR replaced Lawson with Tsundo who promptly took the car backwards through the grid at light speed, yet it somehow seems it is still Lawson's fault. A lowly New Zealander, even worse than an Aussie!
I reckon Ronnie could be a tad faster than Frankie
Maybe not, but I think it's Ronnie's agility that sets her apart not so much pure pace.
Erone is quick, there are others in the same league, but she can change direction without seeming to slow and that is a real trick. To me that is Reece Walsh or Ryan Papenhuyzen like (before the leg injuries), and that is genuinely rare. Most fall over their own feet trying to do the same!
It'll be interesting to see the stats post game, but I'd expect that Vescio will be a stand out for contested possessions and efficiency, experience matters in tough conditions.
Having a few Irish girls probably makes a big difference in the otherwise chilly conditions!
