Riot City Wrestling made this long weekend a great one. Add to that my team winning in the AFL and ignoring the soccer, it was a good weekend!
Australian Rules Football
AFL Round 12
North Melbourne 14.13 (97) def Carlton 10.8 (68)
Upset! North Melbourne’s form is harder to pick than a broken nose. This week they were on an up… who can tell what’s going to happen next week?
Hawthorn 19.10 (124) def Adelaide 11.11 (77)
Not an upset! Nope, Adelaide were dismantled effectively and completely. Hawthorn barely broke a sweat. Dull, disappointing game.
Essendon 12.11 (83) def by Geelong 23.16 (154)
Glorified training run for Geelong who looked like they barely got out of second gear. Great game to watch of you are a Geelong supporter.
Port Adelaide 8.7 (55) def by Sydney 14.9 (93)
I should thank Port Adelaide for allowing Sydney to play themselves back into some form. Port were completely outclassed here. What happened to the Port team of the first part of the season? Wow, they were crap here.
Richmond 19.12 (126) def West Coast 11.11 (77)
A month ago this would have been an upset. But last week I said Richmond would go in as favourites… and they won. West Coast, you are now almost as bad as Adelaide… And the game was not a great one, by the way.
Western Bulldogs 17.19 (121) def Brisbane 8.8 (56)
The Bulldogs just destroyed Brisbane. It was a rout. Brisbane have lost Brown through injury, and this result shows that they are most likely a one-person team. Without Brown, they are clearly nothing.
Fremantle 10.7 (67) def by St Kilda 12.13 (85)
Fremantle were exposed again by another rival for their top four place. While they comfortably play against the lower ranked teams, those near them prove much more of a challenge. But if there is anything to be taken from this year, it’s that Fremantle know how to learn from a mistake, and they should bounce back better than before.
Melbourne 11.10 (76) drew with Collingwood 9.22 (76)
The scoreline should tell you all you need to know about the reason this was a draw – Collingwood wasted so much in front of goal. Scrappy game, that’s for sure.
SANFL Round 12
West Adelaide 6.7 (43) def by Central Districts 10.6 (66)
Centrals going through the motions this week, treating Westies almost with disdain. Westies kicked the last 3 goals to put some respectability into the score line, but by then the damage had been done. And now Centrals are on top. Again.
South Adelaide 11.7 (73) def by Port Adelaide 13.10 (88)
And now South Adelaide are at the bottom of the table, officially the losers of the competition again. They do this all the time. I blame Mike Rann, our state’s Premier and Panthers’ number one ticket holder. Everything he supports turns to crud.
Sturt 11.13 (79) def Norwood 10.11 (71)
Norwood’s win streak stops at 6 as Sturt have decided to turn it on this week. Good game.
Glenelg 17.8 (110) def North Adelaide 8.15 (63)
The game was in the balance with some not brilliant football from both teams for the first three quarters, then Glenelg hit a nine goal to one final term to wipe the Roosters off the paddock. Not a convincing performance from either team.
Bye: Woodville-West Torrens
Netball
ANZ Championships – Round 13
One round to go after this, and the top four is still open to any of six teams, with only the Swifts and Thunderbirds guaranteed a place so far.
Pulse 52 def by WBOP Magic 58
Close game with both teams still fighting for a spot in the finals. Solid work from the Magic to pull it out in the end.
Vixens 46 def by Swifts 58
The Swifts did not get out of second gear for this one. They won comfortably, but last year’s premiers looked like a B-team in defeat.
Thunderbirds 54 def Fever 45
Dead even at three quarter time, but then an 18-9 goal final term sealed it for the so-called Adelaide team. Tight, close match, but why aren’t South Australians involved in the South Australian team? Just asking…
Firebirds 75 def Tactix 32
Well, that was a convincing win and a nice way for the Queensland team to send a warning to the rest come finals time. They completely outclassed and outplayed the Canterbury team, starting with a 20 goal to 8 first quarter.
Mystics 43 def by Steel 50
Both teams were gunning for that top four, but the Steel just wanted it more and they fought hard to ensure their current winning streak remains strong.
Soccer
World Cup
Germany 4 def Australia 0
Now, I said I would not be talking about the World Cup, but like so many others I was suckered in by the hype and watched Australia’s opening match.
We were abysmal. A player got red carded and cried. The Germans toyed with the Australians. The Socceroos chased all match long. And to those who sent me emails (you know who you are) after I commented in the D-Group preview on this very site that Australia are overrated – bite me.
In my local football tipping competition, we had this one as a wild card entry this week – winner and margin. So to Shane, The Ferg and Duane – when I said 3-0 Germany’s way and you laughed… I expect my money in notes, not coins this time.
Rugby League
NRL Round 14
Gold Coast 28 def Manly 14
Something of an upset. Gold Coast were in front all day and even dodgy refereeing in Manly’s favour (an 8-point try my arse; I see that sort of thing all the time without penalty) could not help them win.
North Queensland 16 def Canberra 8
Surprisingly good match from these two teams, with many stars out for Origin duty. But they were entertaining and it was good to see North Queensland get a win on the board.
Newcastle 24 def by Warriors 32
Newcastle played like they were going to lose. It was simple as that. Warriors did not win, Newcastle lost.
Brisbane 50 def South Sydney 22
What happened? Souths have been going great guns of late, but the Broncos have clearly decided they came to play, and ran all over the Rabbitohs. Brisbane’s form reversal for the past few weeks has been stunning.
Melbourne 8 def by Sydney Roosters 38
How the mighty have fallen. After running on adrenalin for the first few weeks after the debacle over the salary cap emerged, Melbourne now seem to realise they are literally playing for nothing, and are putting in that effort – nothing. The NRL has done their sport a huge disservice, because if Melbourne continue like this – and who could blame them? – they will lose the support and goodwill of their city and the sport will fall over there, leaving rugby league a quaint regional game in an Australia dominated by the AFL and Australian rules football…
State Of Origin
With game 2 just days away, new South Wales have been thrown into turmoil they do not need. Andrew Johns, league legend, has stood down as NSW assistant coach because his racial slur against Greg Inglis caused Timana Tahu to leave the team in protest.
Seriously.
So… NSW don’t want to win? They want to be seen as the losingest side in Origin history? First Johns, who should have known better. Then Tahu leaving because of it when the player involved stayed. Then NSW rugby for letting it all happen and not getting them together to thrash it out.
Oh well. My money’s on Queensland in a humiliation.
Rugby Union
International – Test
Australia v England, Full Time 27-17
While Australia won, the fact their scrum still looks like a dog’s breakfast means they won’t win against New Zealand or South Africa. Still, a good win against England, outscoring them with ease.
Tennis
Halle Title, Germany
Lleyton Hewitt def Roger Federer 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
Now I don’t often write about tennis outside of the Grand Slams (and even then, only if the Australians actually, you know, play okay), but this was huge Australian sport news, with Federer being done by Hewitt for the first timer since a Davis Cup encounter in 2003. This either means Hewitt is peaking at the right time for Wimbledon, or Federer is out of form. I guess we’ll find out soon enough, but for now – well done, Lleyton, and C’Mon!
Professional Wrestling
Riot City Wrestling – Ultimatum 2010
A crowd of 250-ish – down a little – and a weird mob as well.
The Rude Ones (Marvel & Del Taurino) def BeBop & Blue Blood
Seemingly random pairing to go off against the dominant tag team in RCW. Blue Blood seems to have the hang of RCW stylings now and BeBop’s new suit looks like the Flash meets Octopus Man. The match was a good opener and got the crowd into the show, even with a few dodgy spots.
Rocky Menero def Tommy Hellfire (VIC)
And the interstate rivalry continues this month. Another good match, but disjointed at times as their styles, while seemingly similar, did not mesh brilliantly. Still, the crowd were into it and Rocky went over strong against a guy the same size.
Warship & Matt Silva (VIC) def Mimic & Voodoo
This time the Victorians came out on top. Warship looks to have settled in to the RCW style well and it’s always good to have Silva back. This was a great match with these teams giving their all, even if the crowd were deflated at the end. The BPW (from Victoria)/ RCW rivalry is bringing out some great match ups.
Miami def Savannah Summers (by DQ)
These two went all out, hitting harder than most women I’ve seen. The DQ was the only way it could have gone under normal rules so next month, the commissioner has decided – tables match between the two. For the short length of time, this was an intense match.
Jacko Lantern def Fuzion
Brad’s interference cost Fuzion again, only this time it was after an amazingly even match. They worked well together and this was yet another really good bout. After the loss, Brad and Savannah attack Fuzion, and the break up teased for so many months comes, along with a monster pop for the Fuzion face turn, especially after Jacko makes the save.
Luke Santamaria def Tim Burgundy & Brad Smyth (3-way)
Luke’s improvement this year has been outstanding. The three were in the match together for the majority of the time, and some of the innovative 3-way spots were mind-blowing. Another excellent match.
TJ Rush def GD Grimm to retain the RCW championship
This was a great match, but the crowd were not into it. Maybe they were just worn out after so much happening before, I don’t know. But they seemed to be really sitting on their hands. Even TJ couldn’t gee them up. The end came after a ref bump, and Grimm grabbed the belt, but TJ got it. Grimm begged to be let alone, TJ have him the finger, then nailed him. That finally got the crowd to cheer. Maybe that bit of mongrel was what they were waiting for. Afterwards, Grimm complains, and is put into the 4-way for the number one contendership at the next show.
Yet another really good show from RCW, still the best wrestling in Australia.
Check out their website! Buy their DVDs!
And that’s the View – June 8 through 14.
