Monday Buzz: Phil Rothfield reveals his weekend highlights and lowlights
Diamonds players clearly don’t understand how tough it is out there in corporate Australia, after losing out on $15m in sponsorship money. See Phil Rothfield’s highlights and lowlights.
NRL
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It’s great to see a sporting code finally standing up to Channel 9. The Australia v NZ ICC cricket World Cup at the SCG started at 6pm on Saturday night.
Nine missed the first hour of the tournament on its main channel because it clashed with their news bulletin. Cricket administrators don’t allow Nine to run the schedule like the NRL does.
In rugby league, whatever Nine wants, Nine gets.
That’s why the grand final is still played at night.
It allows Nine to broadcast the news and then a pre-game show before the kick-off.
Daily Telegraph polls have shown 85 per cent of fans want the early kick-off.
The recent grand final at 7.30pm rated only 2.7 million on all platforms.
The last twilight grand final at 5.00pm in 2012 rated 3.6 million – 900,000 more eyeballs.
It is so bleeding obvious that this is the preferred time slot.
Surely there are enough brains on the independent commission to work it out.
HIGHLIGHT
Another slashing Josh Addo-Carr performance for the Kangaroos at the World Cup. Five tries and 386 metres in two games. His snubbing from this year’s NSW Blues side will go down as one of the greatest selection blunders in State of Origin history.
LOWLIGHT
The abysmal performance from the Australian cricket team in the T20 World Cup game against New Zealand at the SCG on Saturday night. Bring back Steve Smith.
LOWLIGHT II
Australian netball losing Gina Rinehart and her $15 million in sponsorship money. Diamonds players need to spend a day in their commercial department to understand how tough it is out there in corporate Australia. That sponsorship dollars are actually hard to find.
SPOTTED
Melbourne Storm’s general manager of football Frank Ponissi at the Melbourne Victory chairman’s dinner before the A-League derby with Melbourne City.
SPOTTED
Old Wests Tigers teammates Josh Reynolds and Luke Brooks having a chat outside the Royal Oak Hotel in Balmain last week.
SPOTTED
The Kiwi forwards are obviously holding themselves back for the big games at the end of the tournament. Not one member of their forward pack made more than 75 metres in the 68-6 win over Jamaica.
SHOOSH
Which very senior NRL club official is being accused of trying to entice a young St George Illawarra player to break his contract. Might be one for the integrity unit to check out.
BIG BREKKY
Catch you on Monday morning on the Big Sports Breakfast on Sky Sports Radio with Laurie Daley, Michael Clarke and Gerard Middleton to discuss all the latest from the World Cup and NRL.
CUT WORLD CUP IN HALF
The rugby league World Cup should be reduced from 16 teams to eight.
Some of the teams at this tournament are no stronger than NSW Cup sides and all the blowouts over the weekend were hard to watch.
We should have Australia, England, the Kiwis, Tonga, Samoa, PNG, Fiji and then a country from the qualifying group, most likely France or Lebanon.
It would be far better to watch than the Kangaroos, the Kiwis and the Poms slaughtering underprepared and under-skilled opponents.
Panthers slammed over ‘pathetic’ move
The Penrith Panthers are the all-conquering NRL champions but the club has abandoned their bid to claim the one trophy that’s eluded them.
Panthers celebrations switch from party to formal mode
Penrith Panthers players have ditched their sunglasses and shorts for suits and ties as the premiership party switches to formal mode for their end-of-season presentation night. SEE THE PHOTOS.