Zoom for one more?

Scott Morrison didn’t want to miss basking in the NSW Blues’ record State of Origin victory, so he FaceTimed a friend in the Townsville stadium.

Scott Morrison FaceTimes Phil Thompson in Townsville to gloat over the Blues’ win on Wednesday night.

Scott Morrison didn’t want to miss basking in the NSW Blues’ record State of Origin victory over Queensland, so he FaceTimed a friend in the Townsville stadium.

Liberal MP Phil Thompson and wife Jenna were in the stands sporting head to toe maroon when their first Origin game was interrupted by the Prime Minister.

According to Thompson, the boss was phoning them from Perth to “gloat about the score”.

Now that is some quality mate v mate trolling!

Phil Thompson and wife Jenna before their night at the footy was interrupted by the PM.

“Never been more upset to take this bloke’s call than tonight,” the 33-year-old north Queenslander said after the final whistle. “Credit to NSW Blues where it’s due – the next one is ours.”

Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese also was there, where he rubbed shoulders with the Veronicas backstage after their performance. He also was spotted in the VIP boxes cheering on his home state’s 50-6 win alongside Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and her deputy Steven Miles.

Morrison was watching the game from Western Australia ahead of his trip to Cornwall for the G7 summit. But it was Gladys Berejiklian’s entertainment unitthat had people trash talking.

Getting ready for Game 1. Go the @NSWBlues ! pic.twitter.com/Y3BuTlFjIj

— Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) June 9, 2021

Mal-function

The NSW Premier entered the pantheon of politicians’ terrible television set-ups after posting a photograph of herself standing in a darkened room, gazing at a small TV and holding an unopened can of no-sugar Coke, four hours before the start of the game.

Getting ready for Game 2. Go the @NSWBlues! pic.twitter.com/AyG5UU7rrv

— John Barilaro MP (@JohnBarilaroMP) June 10, 2021

It reminded Strewth of the unorthodox 2017 image of Malcolm Turnbull enjoying the Socceroos on a screen with bundles of cords running out of it and perched precariously on a mantelpiece in the Lodge.

At the time Turnbull claimed he and Lucy moved into the master bedroom to watch the Honduras game after the battery for “the zapper” (remote control) in the family room went dead.

“Rather than look around for a battery, we just went and watched it in our bedroom,” Mal said. “It is not the man cave as some people suggested.” For a building that underwent a $9.4m renovation, conditions at the Lodge don’t exactly scream five-star. Maybe for the chickens.

The Prime Minister watching the @Socceroos getting the job done against Honduras. pic.twitter.com/4Y6HcsqVFG

— The PMO (@thepmo) November 15, 2017

Sour grapes

You win some, you lose some. But that hasn’t stopped Sydneysiders from sledging the annual survey of most liveable cities compiled by The Economist magazine’s Intelligence Unit.

Adelaide knocked off longstanding winner Melbourne as Australia’s most liveable city, coming in third worldwide behind Auckland and Osaka. Perth placed sixth, Melbourne ninth, Brisbane 10th and Sydney 11th.

Getting ready for @PAFC v @GeelongCats in the most liveable city in the country. It seemed to work for @GladysB and her @NSWBlues yesterday. pic.twitter.com/27wRebUbYh

— Steven Marshall, MP (@marshall_steven) June 10, 2021

Tragically, there was no mention of Canberra, Darwin or Hobart. NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet didn’t take it well.

“I didn’t even know Melbourne was alive. The oddly named Intelligence Unit clearly put a heavy weighting on time spent in lockdown when they compiled their latest list,” he said. “I like Melbourne, I look forward to visiting it again one day; the same goes for Adelaide, although I do suspect Economist subscribers the world over will be wondering where it is.”

If Bleak City’s laneways are so liveable, is that why Covid likes spending so much time there? Sydney shock jock Ben Fordham suspects alcohol (possibly a Clare Valley riesling) was involved in the rankings.

“Is someone taking the piss? It looks like The Economist went to a really long lunch and never went back to the office. Did they knock up this list at the pub?” the 2GB breakfast host said. “You’d have to be off your chops to rate Sydney so far down the list. We’re the envy of the world and these muppets put Sydney below Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. It’s like someone ranking the best Robert De Niro films and putting Dirty Grandpa above Goodfellas.”

Perrottet concluded: “As Paul Keating said, if you are not in Sydney you are just camping out.” Strewth thinks he needs to build a (Harbour) bridge and get over it.

Nine Inch Nails

Stuart Robert is taking a short run up for Strewth’s 2021 Strangest Segue Award.

The Employment Minister opened a video address to the National Transition to Work Conference at the Brisbane Hilton with this cinematic review.

“In the 1999 film Any Given Sunday the Miami Sharks, a once-great American football team, are struggling to make the 2001 AFFA playoffs. They are coached by 30-year veteran Tony D’Amato who is played by Al Pacino,” Robert told the crowd.

“In perhaps the most important part of the film Al Pacino delivers a motivational speech where, using all sorts of colourful language, he impresses on his team that they will fight for the inches. He says in either game – life or football – the margin for error is so small.

“One half a step too late or too early and you don’t quite make it. One half second too slow, too fast, and you don’t quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us.

“They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second. He tells his team they will fight inch by inch, play by play. Until they’re finished.”

Hang on — what does this have to do with the economic recovery from our Covid recession?

Quoth Robert: “The Transition to Work program, in which you all play a part, is where we as a country have got to fight for the inches when it comes to getting Australians into work.”

Can we expect to see Robert dancing in the end zone after the next round of job figures?

I rolled my sleeve up and got my first dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

It's the right thing to do, to help protect our community.

Thank you to all those who have already had the jab. 1 in 3 Australians over 50 have now had their first COVID-19 vaccine dose. pic.twitter.com/ts7vm6B4I6

— Stuart Robert MP (@stuartrobertmp) June 5, 2021

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