F1 | 2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Result, Lap by Lap Summary and Ratings

September 15, 2024

2025 Australian F1 Grand Prix Result Race Summary

Oscar Piastri produced a drive of quality past his experience to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, holding off Charles Leclerc for half a race. Talking of holding, why not grab our 2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Result Summary.

This 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Result, Laps that Matter summary, Review & Ratings which gives you just enough to catch up with. With just a hint of cynicism, bias, opinion and colour. The perfect bite sized review for those who couldn’t be bothered, or don’t have enough time.

2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Result Race Summary

Didn’t see the race live? Don’t have time to watch the whole race? Here’s where we capture the laps where stuff happened. We write these live as we go, sort of like a minute by minute for the football, but marginally more interesting.

Setting the scene – Street fighter Charles Leclerc secures another pole position between the walls, fresh from a big victory in Italy in front of his home fans. The Ferraris always looked likely and Carlos Sainz ended up third too. The pre-race talk of McLaren team orders meant bugger all after qualifying as Lando Norris was knocked out in Q1 with a combination of bad timing, bad luck, and an underwhelming first run. His team mate Oscar Piastri ended up second on the grid. Red Bull ended up fourth and sixth with Sergio Perez pulling something out of somewhere to head Max Verstappen. Truth be told, Perez has looked quite sharp all weekend and has won here twice unlike anyone else. In between George Russell qualified fifth and beat his team mate Lewis Hamilton again, who starts from pitlane. Some strong showings from the rookies in Franco Colapinto (8th) and Oliver Bearman (11th) who have two race starts between them before this weekend. Alex Albon could have been higher, but his team left a cooling device on his car as he exited for his final Q3 run. Alex Albon and Lando Norris are on the hard tyre, unlike most of the front runners.

GRID (Starting Order) – LEC PIA SAI PER RUS VER ALO COL ALB BEA

Lap 1 – Charles Leclerc burns away from pole position and keeps Oscar Piastri at bay into the first corner and beyond on a confident first lap. Sergio Perez steals third from Sainz into turn two. Max Verstappen also gains a position at the expense of George Russell. Further back, Lando Norris has gained three spots to be 12th going into the first turn on lap one. Pitlane starter Lewis Hamilton is up to 17th, Lance Stroll pits, not sure who he collided with, but you know it was probably going to be a collision.

ORDER – LEC PIA PER SAI VER RUS ALO COL ALB BEA

Lap 3 – Charles Leclerc’s lead at the front has been reduced as Oscar Piastri is charging towards the Ferrari, and DRS is coming. Talking of fast moving McLarens, Lando Norris gets by Yuki Tsunoda for 11th into turn two. Nico Hulkenberg makes Tsunoda twice as mad a corner later.

Lap 4 – Yuki Tsunoda is either having a giant tsook after being overtaken, or something is more broken than usual on his RB. He’s down to 16th by the end of the lap. And answering a question (of sorts) it was Tsunoda that Stroll hit on lap one. Stroll said Tsunoda closed the door, Tsunoda will say that Stroll was nowhere near.

Lap 6 – Oscar Piastri is now within the magic one second shield of Charles Leclerc, which means he gets the DRS on one of F1’s best places for DRS. But Leclerc sets a fastest lap to point at least one finger in the direction of Piastri. And keeps the gap at > DRS.

Lap 8 – Point/s for Lando Norris as he gets by Oliver Bearman for 10th into the first corner. His hard tyre choice may play out quite nicely as most of the cars ahead will have to pit a lot earlier. A quick Championship check shows Max Verstappen in fifth and making very little impression of Carlos Sainz in 4th. The pace Norris is going, they may be racing for position soon. Although there is a sizeable gap between Alonso in 7th Russell ahead in 6th. Colapinto continues to impress in 8th, in a Williams, in only his second race.

Lap 10 – Charles Leclerc is now three seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri, who is being reeled in slowly by Sergio Perez. Max Verstappen complains over radio about having zero bite in his car. Perhaps that’s only because Red Bull gives you wings.

ORDER – LEC PIA PER SAI VER RUS ALO COL ALB NOR

Lap 11 – First tyre stop goes to Franco Colapinto. He’s on hard tyres, as a window into what other, faster cars might do. A point would be a decent and deserving reward for the rookie Argentinian driver this weekend.

Lap 13 – Max Verstappen pits. He’ll probably ask for a new car but will have to settle for new tyres. George Russell doesn’t want to miss out either and pits too. Verstappen rejoins in 10th ahead of Gasly. George Russell rejoins the other side of Gasly. A lap later he breezes past Daniel Ricciardo around the same spot that they ran into each other the last time they were team mates at Red Bull. At least one driver of those two wishes he could be back in those good ol’ days. Sergio Perez has pit as well as lap later.

Lap 14 – Oscar Piastri and McLaren decide not to pit and are losing the battle of the undercut. Which then leads McLaren to ask 5th placed Lando Norris to slow up Perez behind him is a reversal of the team orders announced earlier in the weekend. Piastri pits a lap later and the tactics have worked a treat. Perez gets by Norris down the straight but it’s only just not enough to get by Piastri.

Lap 17 – Charles Leclerc pits from the lead. He rejoins second behind his un-pitted team mate. Piastri, who is wearing Sergio Perez on his tail, is also behind Alex Albon, who is hanging out on his hard tyres. You could throw a blanket over the three cars, if you were quick enough to land it.

Lap 18 – Piastri gets in front of Albon, but not early enough down the pit straight to give Perez a chance to follow him through. By the end of Lap 18 Piastri is 2.2 seconds in front of Albon. Make that Perez, as the Red Bull sweeps by Albon going into lap 19.

Lap 19 – Piastri seems to like his new tyres more than Charles Leclerc and the McLaren zooms up to the back of the Ferrari. Piastri gets close enough, and with the help of DRS gets by Charles Leclerc for the lead in the first corner. It was late, late dive under braking. Leclerc tried to fight back over the next few braking zones, but Piastri hold firm, with a bit of a jink left not hurting his chances.

ORDER – PIA LEC PER ALB NOR SAI VER RUS ALO COL

Lap 21 – Leclerc uses his own form of DRS to get close to Piastri into turn one, but Piastri holds on. Leclerc also has to worry about Sergio Perez on his tail too. It’s a triumphant trio in front all within DRS of each other.

Lap 24 – A championship battle between Norris and Verstappen is now raging for 6th place. Norris has yet to pit, Verstappen has. Norris uses plenty of Verstappen tactics to stay in front, and the Red Bull driver makes a small mistake, which he puts down to his brakes are not working, which TV evidence agrees with.

Lap 28 – The battles continue with Piastri holding off Leclerc for now despite the Ferrari constantly staying with DRS range. Perez is staying close as well, but not DRS close. Further back Alex Albon is leading a train of Norris-Verstappen-Russell. George asks his team how much longer they expect the hard tyre drivers in Albon and Norris to hang out for. Ten laps the team says, which won’t thrill him. Problem is, Albon is over ten seconds behind fourth placed Sainz. Albon pits on lap 32.

Lap 29 – Somehow Piastri holds off Leclerc going into turn one. The Ferrari looked a certainty to get past but Piastri moves left and late enough to keep him behind. Close but no cigar the next lap too for Leclerc. And the next lap, which was the closest yet.

ORDER – PIA LEC PER SAI ALB NOR VER RUS ALO COL

Lap 32 – Alex Albon has pitted which gives Lando Norris some fresh air in fifth. He still needs new tyres himself but is certainly not losing out to Max Verstappen behind who does have newer tyres.

Lap 33 – Somehow Oscar Piastri is keeping Leclerc behind him. Somehow they aren’t running into each other, Maybe because they are both great drivers. Sergio Perez has really joined the party now and is right on Leclerc’s tail. How good has 2024 become? A genuine three way battle for the lead. And Max Verstappen’s Red Bull no longer the only car guaranteed of winning.

Lap 34 – Charles Leclerc continues to pressure Piastri, who doesn’t seem too bothered by it. Although Piastri doesn’t ever seem to be bothered by anything. Including winning.

Lap 38 – Lando Norris pits for new tyres finally and rejoins the race in 7th place. What a drive on the older, hard tyres.

Lap 40 – Lando Norris sets fastest lap, and is 7th behind his Championship rival Verstappen in sixth. The gap is only 12 seconds, which could be doable. The stats on screen say it could happen with two laps to go.

Lap 42 – Piastri v Leclerc still rages, and the Aussie still remain in front somehow.

Lap 45 – Another DRS inspired dive from Leclerc and another successful defence from Piastri. A driver of many more seasons may have cracked by now, but not Oscar Piastri. Who is more ice man than the previous ice man Kimi Raikkonen. Further back but staying with McLarens, Norris is within five seconds of Verstappen with six laps to go.

Lap 46 – Carlos Sainz is inviting himself to the first place battle party as the three cars ahead of him become a fast moving accordion.

Lap 47 – Oscar Piastri offers up an Up Yours to Charles Leclerc as he smashes out the gap to 1.7 seconds. This now means Leclerc is now more under pressure from Perez and Sainz rather than pressuring Piastri for first. It could all go belly up for Leclerc as he struggles on tyres. Either way it’s going to be entertaining.

Lap 48 – Piastri can taste champagne that hasn’t been soured by McLaren strategy circus, and is now 2.5 second in front. Leclerc is now just hanging on in front of Sergio Perez.

Lap 49 – Lando Norris gets past Max Verstappen for 6th, which will chip away at the Championship lead, and he also hold fastest lap, which could be a critical point. George Russell is too far away for stealing 5th.

Lap 50 – Perez dives at Leclerc and gets past briefly but Leclerc gets back in front at they get through the first corner. Leclerc shuts the door, which allows Sainz to sneak past for third. But it all ends in tears a few corners later as Perez hits Carlos Sainz and puts both of them into the wall. At least they can swear at each other in the same language.

VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED

FINAL LAP – The Virtual Safety Car helps Oscar Piastri cruise around the final lap to soak up his second win. Charles Leclerc probably thankful his last lap was less eventual than the one before. Norris does a fine job from 15th to get fourth and Max Verstappen limits the Championship damage in fifth.

FINAL ORDER (Across the line) – PIA LEC RUS NOR VER ALO ALB COL HAM BEA

Here we go through the field and highlight the very best (Great) of the race, and the plodders, the over-ambitious, the out of luck, and simply hopeless (Grape).

These points get added to our Driver of the Season scores. points for a great nomination, and -5 for the worst or grapest driver in the pack. Then it is +2 /-2 for honourable or dishonourable mentions.

THE GREAT-EST – OSCAR PIASTRI

Qualifies second, makes a super move to get past Charles Leclerc after the first pit stop, and handles the pressure brilliantly from Leclerc and scores a deserved victory. On the weekend where McLaren team orders were meant to first be implemented this weekend. Drives like a pro, and easy to forget this is just his second season.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

CHALRES LECLERC – Another street track pole position, and another Street Fighting race which ended in a second place and included a mega battle with Oscar Piastri for the lead. Then he held of Sergio Perez right at the end, which was a good thing for him, but not so good for his team mate.

SERGIO PEREZ – A welcome return to form for the Mexican driver. Outqualified his team mate and miles better in the race. His late race crash should drop him into the Grape section, but the upturn in form deserves a pat on the back.

GEORGE RUSSELL – Boxes ticked. Thrashed team mate. Benefit from late race incompetence further ahead to seal another podium.

ALEX ALBON – Sold race for solid points.

FRANCO COLAPINTO – First points in just his second race. Outstanding for most of the weekend. Deserved result.

OLIVER BEARMAN – Another stand in points drive for Bearman, who has well earned his drive for Haas next season.

THE GRAPE-EST – LANDO NORRIS

Controversial for a fourth place finish and an excellent drive but…..Overlooking his great race on the alternative strategy, given the pace of his team mate, and the lack of pace for Verstappen, this was a race where Norris should have used his newly agreed team orders and won by a street from his team mate and slashed the Championship lead. Based on this weekend, and the other little mistakes that have crept in since Miami, he will find it hard to win the World Championship.

DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS

MAX VERSTAPPEN – Another weekend of under performance, highlighted in being outqualified and out-raced by Sergio Perez. A driver most expected to be already sacked. His only upside is that Lando Norris was cut in Q1. Without that, his Championship lead may have really suffered.

WILLIAMS – For leaving a cooling device on Alex Albon’s car as he head off for his final qualifying run.

YUKI TSUNODA – First DNF of the race and retired after driving around with a Lance Stroll tyre sized hole in the side of his RB after lap one.

LANCE STROLL – Refer above. Might be disappointed that incoming design genius Adrian Newey’s strength is building faster front wings not stronger front wings.

LEWIS HAMILTON – George Russell continues to thrash Hamilton in H2H qualifying, then Hamilton starts from pitlane and makes minimal impact on the race. That Ferrari can’t come quick enough. Pity for him, neither is Adrian Newey to Ferrari either.

SAUBER – Last and obscure again.

CARLOS SAINZ – A quiet-ish weekend ruined by Perez.

Was it a good race, loads of action, a tense ending, a surprise result or DNF, or just a big, fat, snooze-fest?

We rate the big race itself, so we know which races to go back and watch in the off season or one to simply remember the winner for the post season quiz nights.

ON TRACK ACTION – 9 / 10

Overtaking for the lead, and a constant three way battle for the same position is easy to rate highly. Enough overtaking further down the grid to keep the race lively.

ANY SURPRISES? – 3 / 5

If you weren’t so used to Oscar Piastri being so unflappable you would be surprised at how Oscar Piastri kept Leclerc behind him for so long. The lack of pace for Max Verstappen is a dangerous surprise for him and his fans.

SEASON IMPORTANCE – 4 / 5

Red Bull continue their fall, and Max Verstappen has a mediocre Grand Prix. Meanwhile his competitors grow stronger, Lando Norris forgot to take advantage with a Q1 exit, but his race proved he’ll be back for more vs Verstappen’s title lead. The Championships close. Stand by for the remaining races.

ENDING 9 / 10

The battle for the lead was riveting with Piastri holding on. Then the battle became Leclerc-Perez-Sainz with the latter two of those drivers crashing with a lap to go. So much happening it was hard to keep up.

OVERALL RATING 25 / 30

A quality race on a track that always offers something. An Australian win, in a more social timeslot also helps.

2024 F1 Race Rankings

R16 – Italian Grand Prix…21/30
R15 – Dutch Grand Prix…15/30
R14 – Belgian Grand Prix…23/30
R13 – Hungarian Grand Prix…19/30
R12 – British Grand Prix…25/30
R11 – Austrian Grand Prix…27/30
R10 – Spanish Grand Prix…19/30
R09 – Canadian Grand Prix…22/30
R08 – Monaco Grand Prix…17/30
R07 – Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix…23/30
R06 – Miami Grand Prix…23/30
R05 – Chinese Grand Prix…15/30
R04 – Japanese Grand Prix…18/30
R03 – Australian Grand Prix…23/30
R02 – Saudi Arabia Grand Prix…9/30
R01 – Bahrain Grand Prix…13/30

2024 F1 Season Power Rankings

Stay tuned for our Power Rankings from the race soon as it is currently being calculated and will be ready on Monday.

Why not check the latest race ratings – 2024 Italian Grand Prix Ratings

Or our 2024 F1 Half Season Report.

Or check out our 2023 Season Driver Rankings and Stats

NRL | 2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Results Stats Summary & Stuff

Max Layne

September 15, 2024

Want more NRL information than just the draw, results or the current ladder? Then you are in the right place and the right time with the home of Stats and Stuff via our 2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Results Stats Summary for the weekend that was.

Each week we compile and keep up to date a wide range of stats from the latest weekend of NRL action plus the best 2024 NRL Season Stats to help you to the top of the tipping competition, land a few responsible winners or even make your Supercoach team better. And now with a match by match summary full of all the stats you need and/or want.

It’s all stats, and never Slats. Never.

2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Results

Fri – Penrith 30-10 Roosters
Sat – Melbourne 37-10 Cronulla
Sat – North Queensland 28-16 Newcastle
Sun – Bulldogs 22-24 Manly Warringah

2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Results and Match Summaries

Want or need a quick summary of every game from last weekend? Well here they all are.

Penrith have won ten in a row v Roosters. They haven’t been beaten since Covid.

It’s five in a row on a Friday too for Penrith v Roosters.

Penrith have won ten finals games in a row. Their last loss was in 2021 to Souths in North Qld.

Since 2020, the Roosters Finals record is W2 L6.

Cronulla have lost seven straight finals games on a Saturday.

Cronulla have won only one of the ten finals games they’ve played since their 2016 premiership.

North Queensland have won nine in a row at home v Newcastle. The Knights last win in Townsville was in 2015. And seven in a row on a Saturday.

Newcastle have lost their last five our away finals games and lost 12/14 overall away since 1998.

Manly have won 11 of the last 12 games v Bulldogs. And five of the last six away games.

NRL Finals Week 1 Playing Stats

F1 | 2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Preview

Perry Thrust

September 12, 2024

Time for F1 to hit the streets, of Baku that is. The home of the Azerbaijan offers action, walls to punish over-ambition, a long straight and a castle with no moat. Talking of castles, our 2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Preview has a solid wall of facts and stats to rule your F1 weekend.

The Gurgler’s 2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Preview brings some thoughts on the race itself, a more than a few barely interesting stats.

Essentially a quick summary of what a casual F1 fan needs in the shortest possible time for your convenience.

And for F1 opinion, stand by for the F1 Donkey’s Bold Predictions and Opinion.

READ MORE: Italian GP Report
READ MORE: Italian GP Ratings
READ MORE: 2024 Halfway Report
READ MORE: 2024 Team Mate Wars

By HumanBodyPiloter5 - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107315870 — By HumanBodyPiloter5 – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107315870

2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Preview – Race Potential Rating

The Gurgler does like to use some obscure drivers in our Race previews and report, so who better to use than Teo Fabi to determine a race rating system.

So before each race we give a rating out of ten for four key category that are loosely based on each letter of Teo Fabi’s surname. Don’t know who Teo Fabi is, you should.

FAST? 6/10 – It’s pretty fast for a proper street track, with a seemingly never-ending straight, and the proximity of the walls makes it look even faster.

ACTION? 7/10 – The first corner usually provides over-ambition and some mediocre driving, so an opening lap clash is almost a certainty. There a few decent opportunities to overtake too, which helps. And the long back should make it easier to pass. The threat of a Safety Car always looms and is usually always welcome. Looking back to a Sebastian Vettel dummy spit and collision with Lewis Hamilton around a safety car proves action is always waiting.

BIG HISTORY? – 3/10 – Not really. Been going on for seven years now and the occasional good race or memorable incident are few and far between.

INCLEMENT WEATHER? – 3 /10 The Weather Channel says a 28% chance of rain on Saturday and cloudy conditions otherwise. So not much happening, but maybe too much weather would make it too dangerous.

RACE RATING 48% – An interesting enough street circuit where Ferraris tend to qualify well, and along with the McLarens and the fact Max Verstappen hasn’t won here more than once, it could be super interesting.

2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Preview – Stats Summary

Want to know if your favourite driver for this weekend is a master of the track or the track is a master of them? Here then are some barely interesting facts and stats.

These visuals go back to 2000 to cover the current drivers, thanks to Fernando Alonso. The all time history goes back to 1950.

2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Preview – Driver Stats

RECORD @ BAKU SINCE 2016

2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Preview – Other Stats

RECORD @ BAKU SINCE 2016

99 = a DNF. Grid position 20 is overstated as that was also used for cars starting in pitlane. Results from 2016.

2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Preview – Historic Stats

ALL RACE RESULTS – AZERBAIJAN/EUROPEAN F1 GRAND PRIX @ BAKU

FOOTBALL | 2024-25 Premier League Predictions Week 4

Theydon Bois

September 11, 2024

Yawn, feeling sleepy after International Break. Need something to get excited about. Something like the Premier League returning. It feels so long ago it’s almost as if we’ve forgotten how good or bad or team/s are going. Talking of being forgetful, here are our Premier League Predictions Week 4 that you can’t forget.

Each gameweek in the Premier League in 2024-25 we offer up a stat filled prediction preview, with some barely interesting stats and visuals, just enough to bluff your way through various tipping competitions or betting shops.

And stay tuned for the EPL Donkey, who serves up a slightly different view on the Premier League each week.

2024-25 Premier League Predictions Week 4

Barely Interesting Premier League Stats Week 4

Here you’ll find the choicest cuts of barely interesting stats on offer for every fixture this gameweek. Some may assist your tipping, others are barely worth a grunt. Either way, they are all yours.

SOT v MUN – Man Utd are unbeaten in 15 games v Southampton.

SOT v MUN – Man Utd are also unbeaten in 15 games at Southampton.

SOT v MUN – Man Utd’s record at Southampton on a Saturday is W7 D2 for the last nine games, with a last loss in 1996.

LIV v NFO – Liverpool are unbeaten in 26 home games v Nottingham Forest, with a last loss in 1969. Liverpool have won the last six games and scored three or more goals in the last five home games.

FUL v WHU – Fulham won both games v West Ham last season by a combined 7-0.

FUL v WHU – But…..West Ham are unbeaten in the last 13 games v Fulham on a Saturday with a record of W8 D5.

BHA v IPS – The last time these teams met was in the Championship and both games were drawn.

CRY v LEI – Crystal Palace have won the last three home games on a Saturday v Leicester by a combined 8-1.

CRY v LEI – Crystal Palace’s Eze has taken the second highest total of shots this season after three games.

MCI v BRE – Brentford won the last game at Man City on a Saturday in 2022.

AVL v EVE – Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last 10 games v Everton – W7 D3.

AVL v EVE – Aston Villa have won their last three games v Everton for a combined 9-1.

BOU v CHE – Chelsea (W3 D2) are unbeaten in their last five games v Bournemouth. But have only won once on their last four trips to Bournemouth (W1 D2 L1).

TOT v ARS – Arsenal are unbeaten in their last four league games v Tottenham. Including winning the last two leagues game at Spurs.

TOT v ARS – Arsenal are unbeaten in their five four league games v Tottenham on a Sunday – W4 D1.

NEW v WOL – Newcastle have lost one of their last 11 games v Wolves. W3 D7 L1.

NEW v WOL – But five of the last six games between Wolves and Newcastle at Wolves ended in a draw.

Premier League Week 4 H2H Stats

Here are the H2H for Week 4 of the Premier League.

GW4 Summary 1

GW4 Summary 2

General Premier League Season Stats

This is where we put the current season stats. With only a few games played, this is about the most interesting we can find for now. But stayed tuned for more and better.

NRL | The NRL Donkey’s NRL Finals Week 1 Expert Tips and Opinion

Gurgler Donkey

September 10, 2024

Angrier than a room full of Fox League writers and NRL 360 hosts, slower than a Bunker decision, less popular than a Broncos coach, luckier than a rugby league player who gets pulled over for a drug test and fails but the police leave before the second test can be done, it’s time for the weekly Rugby League rant of The Gurgler’s NRL Donkey, who provides his NRL Finals Week 1 Expert Tips as well as offers an alternative, slightly unhinged view full of sass of the world of rugby league and beyond for another week.

The NRL Donkey’s NRL Finals Week 1 Weekly Rant

It’s a big week for the NRL, and they’ve already ticked the usual boxes ahead of the first week of the finals.

Defending the NRL Bunker after another sh!t weekend? Check.

Another player with a powder scandal? Check.

All that’s missing is Phil Rothfield aka Buzz aka the Rugby League Grinch having another go at Phil Gould aka Gus. But given the recent saga surrounding Josh Addo-Carr, Bulldogs and Gus, Buzz will surely try and stick the boot in when he can.

Given the big event in world news this week is the US Presidential Debate, perhaps we can replicate that in Australia for rugby league fans. Buzz v Gus together on stage at last for a rugby league debate and more. Hold it at the Rooty Hill RSL and televise live on Fox League and Channel Nein.

If you think about it, Buzz is a lot like Donald Trump. Old, grumpy, seems to hate most things, gets way too much airtime on TV and radio, and lies a lot about everything. Difference is Donald Trump is at least liked by 47% of the public, or the voting public, if you believe polls. Buzz may have a four or a seven in his popularity rating, but there would be a lot of zeroes in front of it.

Maybe 0.4%? No, lower. 0.004%? Hmmm, na still too high. OK how about 0.000000047% of Australia’s population approves of Buzz. Doing some maths whilst standing in Officeworks using up all their fancy gold pens on a big A2 notebook I’m not going to pay for, I think works out to be at least one person. So either he is the only person in Australia that likes himself, which is possible, but since he hates everything, how could he then like anything. Or he hates himself, which is certainly possible, and only one of his family likes him. I’m not sure of his family situation, nor am I interested in it past this paragraph and the low grade joke I’m trying to serve up. Although the NRL Bunker would probably rule that everyone likes him, and Graham Annesley would defend them on Monday. Graham Annesley’s Wikipedia page says he’s a former politician, which just about sums him up, and his usefulness to the game.

Back to the Old Dinosaurs Rugby League Debate.

So that would then make Gus Gould the Kamala Harris of the debate. Which doesn’t quite work on many levels. Gus is more like Joe Biden really. As in, he’s old but much harder to hate than his opponent. But Gus can actually talk, so is probably not a Joe Biden either.

I’m not sure if Gus v Buzz would be enough for pay per view, given you already get one side of the battle on NRL360 most nights, but we’re sure with the right moderator to lob in some conversational hand grenades it will be dynamite viewing.

Andrew Voss would be a good moderator if you need a rugby league person. A few years ago we may have suggested TV’s Andrew O’Keeffe, but given his recent legal issues, that’s probably not a good idea as there may be availability issues. Or maybe it is a good idea, it would certainly liven up the debate with AOK in current form. Especially if there’s gear involved. John Howard loves his rugby league, and being a part time spin bowler for Australia would probably be up for it too.

For conversation starters you could start with the Bunker and go from there. A few solid hours of rugby league debate awaits, if the NRL have the foresight to do it. Which they do sometimes, like Las Vegas. And they don’t on other occasions, like Ashley Klein.

But it will never happen, because it would be excellent. So instead I’ll have to turn my attention to the tips for each game below.

The NRL Donkey’s NRL Finals Week 1 Expert Tips

PENRITH v ROOSTERS

Forget key injuries, Roosters can’t win the comp based on their stats against the top two. Since 2020 one win in 20 matches v Penrith and Melbourne. Oh, and Nathan Cleary is back for the Panthers. Oh, and no one likes the Roosters. Although looking at the full top eight, has there been a less likeable top eight ever?

Penrith by 10

MELBOURNE v CRONULLA

Cronulla have won only one of the nine finals games they’ve played since the 2016 premiership, which was drought breaking and others say debatable. Their opponents this weekend know a thing of two about a tainted title. This finals series needs an upset, and Melbourne have a peculiarly ordinary record at AAMI Park v Sydney teams on a Saturday. Cronulla are 50% more likeable when former Storm star Nicho Hynes plays for them. But is all that enough to tip them. No.

Melbourne by 2

NORTH QUEENSLAND v NEWCASTLE

The Cowboys are the lone Queensland side to support in the final series, unless you are some kind of strange, hateful person. Who could hate the Cowboys. They are so likeable. Certainly not Bob Katter, he only hates crocodiles. But my, how he hates crocodiles. Newcastle have Kalyn Ponga, but they also have a terrible 15% away finals win record and a solid zero wins away to the other top eight sides this year.

North Queensland by 20

BULLDOGS v MANLY

Josh Addo-Carr is missing for this clash, due to filming commitments for a new Reality TV show, so the Bulldogs will be missing a bit of speed out wide. Not that we’re accusing anyone of anything. After both sides entered the finals with terrible home losses in the last round of the season, and because both sides are quite polarising, which is a nice way of putting not well liked, it’s hard to know who to pick here. Manly have won 10 of the last 11 games v Bulldogs. Manly have won just one of their 14 away finals games since 1998.

Manly by 12

NRL | 2024 NRL Round 27 Results Stats Summary & Stuff

Max Layne

September 9, 2024

Want more NRL information than just the draw, results or the current ladder? Then you are in the right place and the right time with the home of Stats and Stuff via our 2024 NRL Round 27 Results Stats Summary for the weekend that was.

It’s all stats, and never Slats. Never.

NRL Round 27 Results

Thu – Brisbane 12-50 Melbourne
Fri – Wests Tigers 26-60 Parramatta
Fri – South Sydney 28-36 Roosters
Sat – St George Illawarra 24-26 Canberra
Sat – Bulldogs 6-44 North Queensland
Sat – Penrith 18-12 Gold Coast
Sun – Manly Warringah 20-40 Cronulla
Sun – Newcastle 14-6 Dolphins

NRL Round 27 Results and Match Summaries

Want or need a quick summary of every game from last weekend? Well here they all are.

Melbourne have won all five of their games at Suncorp Stadium on a Thursday.
Melbourne have won 18 of their last 20 at Suncorp Stadium v Qld sides.
Melbourne have won 16 of the last 17 games v Broncos.
Melbourne have never lost to the Broncos on a Thursday in eight games.
Melbourne, along with Canberra, are the only teams to not lose a game in 2024 after leading at half time.

Wests Tigers have lost nine in a row on a Friday v all teams. And six in a row on a Friday at Campbelltown. Wests Tigers have lost six home games in a row v Parramatta.

Roosters have won their last four games v South Sydney. And the last five on a Friday.

That’s four wins in a row for Canberra over the Dragons.

Cowboys have now won six in a row away from home.

Penrith have won 10 of their last 11 v Gold Coast. It’s also 10 from the last 11 on a Saturday too.

Cronulla have a 100% record on a Sunday this season. It is the only 100% record for either Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Newcastle have won 13 of their last 14 home games on a Sunday.

NRL Round 27 Stats Season Summary

Some weekly and season stats and additional interesting visuals for the weekend that was and the season that is.

OVERALL LADDER AND FORM

WIN % BY VARIOUS STATS

Ladder position from previous round.

NRL Round 27 Playing Stats Summary

H2H ROUND 27 STATS

ROUND 27 STATS SUMMARY

SEASON STATS

NRL | 2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Tips Predictions & Stats Preview

Max Layne

September 9, 2024

2025 NRL Round 1 Las Vegas Tips Featured

The 2024 NRL Finals are here and looking through the remaining teams it is anyone’s trophy for the taking. Talking of taking, our 2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Tips Predictions & Stats Preview are ready to be plucked from the nearest tree.

Each week we offer up a quick preview glance for each match, throw in a bunch of barely interesting stats, and mix in a pinch of opinion, some spicy tips and you have a rugby league soup with probably more flavour than one could ever need or want. It’s all you can eat NRL stats.

2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Matches

Fri 8:00 pm – Penrith v Roosters
Sat 4:05 pm – Melbourne v Cronulla
Sat 7:35 pm – North Queensland v Newcastle
Sun 4:05 pm – Bulldogs v Manly Warringah

2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Tips

Here are our tips for the week ahead. How did we get to here? By going through all the visuals and stats below.

SEASON PROGRESS: 129/204 (63%)

READ MORE: Our 2024 Match Centre Home

2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Weekly H2H Stats

Looking for a cheat sheet for the weekend’s upcoming games?

Here’s as much information that we could cram into one size fits all visual.

Plus our famed barely interesting stats all in the one place for this week of fewer games.

2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Weekly Barely Interesting Stats

Our famed barely interesting stats all in the one place for this week of fewer games.

PENRITH v ROOSTERS

Penrith have won nine in a row v Roosters. They haven’t been beaten since Covid.

It’s four in a row on a Friday too for Penrith.

And overall it’s 4/5 wins for Penrith at Penrith on a Friday.

Penrith also hold a 3-1 H2H lead for finals games v Roosters too.

Penrith have also won 24/26 home games on a Friday since 2020.

Roosters have won 5/6 on a Friday this season.

Penrith have won nine finals games in a row. Their last loss was in 2021 to Souths in North Qld.

Since 2020, the Roosters Finals record is W2 L5.

Penrith’s Friday finals record is W4 L2. Roosters’ record is W6 L9 and have lost their last three Friday finals games.

MELBOURNE v CRONULLA

Cronulla have won two of the last three games v Melbourne. The game in the middle was a 54-10 loss.

Melbourne lead the H2H on a Saturday by 13-7. Cronulla won the last Saturday game v Melbourne but lost nine in a row before that.

Melbourne have only won five of their last 11 at AAMI Park on a Saturday v Sydney teams.

Cronulla’s Saturday away record this season is W3 L2.

Cronulla have lost six straight finals games on a Saturday.

Cronulla have won only one of the nine finals games they’ve played since their 2016 premiership.

Melbourne have won only one of their last five finals games.

Melbourne’s finals record at AAMI Park is W11 L6. On a Saturday there it is W5 L5.

NORTH QUEENSLAND v NEWCASTLE

North Queensland have won eight in a row at home v Newcastle. The Knights last win in Townsville was in 2015. And six in a row on a Saturday.

Newcastle have won their last three away games on a Saturday.

And their last two on trips to Queensland.

North Queensland have won 7/8 home finals games, but their only loss is their only game at the new QCB Stadium.

Cowboys have won their last four games in finals on a Saturday v Sydney clubs.

Newcastle have lost four of their last five finals games.

Newcastle have lost their only finals game v Qld opposition in 2006 v Broncos.

Newcastle have lost their last four away finals games and lost 11/13 overall away since 1998.

BULLDOGS v MANLY

Manly have won 10 of the last 11 games v Bulldogs. And four of the last five away games.

Manly have won the last five games on a Saturday v Bulldogs also.

Bulldogs are W6 L3 on a Saturday this season. Manly are W4 D1 L3,

Bulldogs have won their last five finals games on a Saturday. And four in a row at the Olympic Stadium on a Saturday.

Manly have won two of their last nine finals games.

Manly have won just one of their 14 away finals games since 1998.

2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Helpful Betting Stuff

Here’s a few betting things to enhance your tipping.

BETTING SUMMARY FOR THIS WEEKEND

2024 NRL Finals Week 1 – Finals Series Stats

Heading into the 2024 NRL Finals Series, it’s time to check a few stats for each of the finals team’s records this season against the other top teams, across other seasons and their finals record in general. In case you needed more stats.

FINALS RECORDS SINCE 1998 / LAST TEN SEASONS

WEEK 1 FINALS GAMES – FINALS H2H RECORDS

2024 SEASON STATS – TEAMS RECORDS V OTHER FINALS TEAMS

TOP EIGHT WIN % AVERAGE BY SEASON SINCE 2010

2024 NRL Season Stats Summary

NRL | 2024 NRL Round 27 Team of the Week & Player Stats

Max Layne

September 9, 2024

The final weekend of the regular NRL season has been played and all the winners and losers of 2024 have been decided. Talking about winners, we’ll let the stats do the talking and separate the Wheat/Chaff to present the NRL Round 27 Team of the Week & Player Stats.

First we have our Team of the Week, which takes some of the key player stats from the weekend and using various scoring methods come up with the best players in their positions from the latest round of the NRL.

Then there’s additional player stats from this weekend and the season that is.

For a more detailed full range of Player Stats for 2024 – visit our 2024 NRL Player Stats page.

2024 NRL Round 27 Team of the Week

We’ve used the stats for each position and picked the best starting 13 players from the most recent round, the stats and points assigned are explained at the end.

On top of the best starting 13, we also include the best four interchange players of the week. Seeing who has provided maximum impact from the bench.

2024 NRL Round 27 Player Stats - Team of the Week

2024 NRL Team of the Season…so far

Here is the above but for all rounds.

2024 NRL Round 27 Player Stats - Team of the Season

2024 NRL Round 27 Player Stats

Want to see which players topped the key stats for the latest round of the NRL this weekend?

2024 NRL Round 27 Player Stats - Stats Summary Round

2024 NRL Season Player Stats…so far.

Same as the above stats, but this is for the 2024 season.

2024 NRL Round 27 Player Stats - Stats Summary Season

How the Team of the Week works

Want to know how we come up with the numbers to rank the players, the below table should explain hopefully.

NRL 2022 Player Stats Explained

Want more Player Stats? Neeeeed more NRL data and stuff? Why not try our friends at Nothing But League for bite sized pieces of NRL Stats and more every day.

https://nothingbutleague.com/nrl-news-updates/

F1 | 2024 Italian Grand Prix Ratings – G-Power Rankings and Season Stats

Perry Thrust

September 6, 2024

Here are The Gurgler’s 2024 Italian Grand Prix Ratings – our way of rating the performances on the track without getting disqualified.

Our G-Power Rankings goes a little bit deeper than just points scored on the Sunday and has a slightly cooler name than most. We take on board Free Practice, Qualifying, performance in relation to teammate, fastest lap, and a few more stats that are attempting to highlight a driver outperforming the car and/or thrashing their teammate.

Plus, we have a range of stats and barely interesting facts from the 2024 F1 Season so far.

2024 Italian Grand Prix Ratings – Drivers

Here are the current overall standings for our Driver of the Year winner – the Martini Medal. Named in honour of one of F1’s most unsung heroes – Pierluigi Martini of Minardi fame.

We have the overall scores as they stand, plus a visual which shows the flow of each driver’s position throughout the season, plus a few points of interest below.

Here is the breakdown of the Driver of the Year points from the most recent race and the season so far. Remembering our ratings go across a whole weekend, so the race winner who may not have had a great qualifying or sprint race may not come out on top.

LATEST RACE RATINGS

2024 Italian F1 Grand Prix Ratings - Driver of the Race

DRIVER OF THE SEASON UPDATE

2024 Italian F1 Grand Prix Ratings - Driver of the Season

2024 Italian Grand Prix Ratings – Teams

This is essentially using the same drivers stats but in reverse for the worst score, but taking out anything that is a H2H between the drivers.

And our annual award focuses on the other end of the grid, highlighting the worst team of the season.

Of course, the worst team of the season award needs to be named after the worst F1 team of all time. And if you want to fund out more about Andrea Moda, follow this link.

LATEST RACE & SEASON RATINGS

2024 Season Stats

BEST OF 2024 STATS AND DRIVER OF THE YEAR

DRIVER 2024 H2H RECORD

Beating your team mate in F1 is very important, which is why we keep an eye on the H2H stats through the season.

New for this week is the overall H2H. Which means the H2H from every session – FP and Qualifying, plus who set a faster Fastest Lap and two points for beating the team mate in the race. Note: both have to feature in same Q session for H2H point.

2024 Italian F1 Grand Prix Ratings - H2H

2024 F1 QUALIFYING STATS

Here our qualifying analysis covers just about everything we could find on qualifying.

QUALIFYING SUMMARY

2024 Italian F1 Grand Prix Ratings - Qualifying Summary

QUALIFYING STATS – COMPARISON LATEST GP

2024 Italian F1 Grand Prix Ratings - Qualifying Details

FIRST LAP POSITION + GRID TO RACE RESULT GAINS

Races can’t be won or lost at the first corner, well actually they can be lost at the first corner, and a good one can make all the difference. Unless you drive a Red Bull, then it doesn’t really matter.

So here are the stats on the lightning fast starters and the slow pokes.

2024 Italian F1 Grand Prix Ratings - 1st Lap

FREE PRACTICE

Some say Free Practice is a giant waste of time, and they are probably right. Regardless here is the average position for each drivers in Free Practice this season. Each round an average of all the sessions.

2024 Italian F1 Grand Prix Ratings - FP

Current Race Power Rankings in Detail

2024 Italian F1 Grand Prix Ratings - Driver of the Race Detailed

2024 F1 Season Power Rankings – Points Explanation

Here’s how the points work this season. Essentially the perfect race (Win from Pole, Fastest Lap, thrash team mate, best in race etc) should amount to the perfect 100 points.

FIRST LAP GAINS +0.5pts per position gained -0.5pts per position lost.
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS – 25pts to 1pt as per World Championship – Sprint Race Points added.
BEAT TEAM MATE (RACE) – 10pts (if both finish or other driver got self inflicted DNF)
FASTEST LAP – 5pts – 1pt for top five drivers.
GRID POSITION TO RACE POSITION – formula +/- relative finish to grid
BEST OF THE REST (RACE) – 5pts to 1pt – top five non Mercedes-Red Bull drivers
QUALIFYING – 20pts to 1pt – Grid Position 1 to 20.
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) – 5pts
BEST OF THE REST (QUALIFYING) – 5pts to 1pt – top five non Mercedes-Red Bull drivers
GREAT/GRAPE – 5pts Great 2pts Honourable Mention -2Pts Dishonourable Mention -5Pts Grape
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) Time Gap – Formula for % beaten team mate by
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) Position – 0.5 Pts for every position team mate is beaten by. 0 points for second car.
FREE PRACTICE HERO – 10Pts to 1Pt – Average Position across all three practice sessions.
WIN FROM POLE – Bonus 5 Points
WIN FROM POLE WITH FASTEST LAP – Bonus 10 Points
DNF Not Driver or Team Fault Minus 2 Points
DNF CAUSED BY DRIVER/TEAM INCOMPETENCE Minus 5 Points
SPRINT RACE POINTS – Points 8 to 1 as handed out in the sprint race.
SPRINT RACE CHANGE – 0.5 Points per change in end position to starting position.
SPRINT RACE QUAL – Points 8 to 1 as handed out in the order of qualifying 1st to 8th.

NRL | 2024 NRL Round 26 Results Stats Summary & Stuff

Max Layne

September 4, 2024

Want more NRL information than just the draw, results or the current ladder? Then you are in the right place and the right time with the home of Stats and Stuff via our 2024 NRL Round 26 Results Stats Summary for the weekend that was.

It’s all stats, and never Slats. Never.

NRL Round 26 Results

Thu – North Queensland 38-30 Melbourne
Fri – Bulldogs 22-34 Manly Warringah
Fri – Penrith 34-12 South Sydney
Sat – Parramatta 44-40 St George Illawarra
Sat – Dolphins 40-6 Brisbane
Sat – Cronulla 28-30 Warriors
Sun – Newcastle 36-14 Gold Coast
Sun – Roosters 12-14 Canberra

NRL Round 26 Results and Match Summaries

Want or need a quick summary of every game from last weekend? Well here they all are.

Cowboys have won three in a row v Melbourne now – all in Townsville. It was Melbourne’s first loss on a Thursday v a Qld side (ten games).

It was the Bulldogs first home loss of the season. Manly have won ten of the last 11 games v Bulldogs.

Penrith have won 17 of their last 18 games at home on a Friday v Sydney clubs.

Parramatta have won all six home games on a Saturday v Wests Tigers since 1998.

It was the Dolphins first ever win over Brisbane. Dolphins have won their last three home games at Suncorp on a Saturday.

Cronulla have won just one of their last seven games at home on a Saturday.

Newcastle have won 12 of their last 13 home games on a Sunday. Gold have won three of their last 23 away games to NSW sides.

Rooster have won 16 of the 19 games v Canberra at the SFS since 1998, but not the last two games. In fact, it is four home games in a row v Roosters.

NRL Round 26 Stats Season Summary

Some weekly and season stats and additional interesting visuals for the weekend that was and the season that is.

OVERALL LADDER AND FORM

WIN % BY VARIOUS STATS

Ladder position from previous round.

NRL Round 26 Playing Stats Summary

H2H ROUND 26 STATS

ROUND 26 STATS SUMMARY

SEASON STATS

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