It’s time for weekly Rugby League rant of The Gurgler’s angry man Buzz equivalent known only as the NRL Donkey, who provides his NRL Round 15 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.
Winter is here, and no that’s not some secret Game of Thrones fandom, I’m talking about the season and it’s way too cold for my liking. And how do I know it’s winter, well first there’s panicked news reports about all manners of sickness going around and it’s so bad even the birds have the flu which will probably lead to fist fights at Coles over purchase limits on eggs. Secondly, there’s the temperature too, with the official Winter singlet becoming a mandatory piece of clothing until September. Finally, all three Queensland teams lost at home last weekend, all three were hopeless in their own special way, if we were their management we’d make them get public transport home, especially with the 50 cent fares being offered by the Queensland Government ahead of the election. Although, that hasn’t started yet, so the players would have to pay full price, which I guess is more punishment then. Hopefully no one lives on the Beenleigh line, not even a rugby league player would feel safe on those trains on a Saturday night.
Gold Coast especially making the league’s worst team look like Origin specials. But that’s all good, Latrell only plays three great games a season, so as a Queenslander hopefully he is selected for NSW as the % chance the other two great games will come in Origin is slim.
Talking of slim, the Gold Coast are the Seventh Day Adventists of the NRL, as in they really don’t do anything on a Saturday. 12 losses in a row now, means they are becoming a competitive bye on the Saturday for most teams. Just checking when they’re playing this weekend. Saturday? That’s a loss then. Wait a minute….who are they playing? The Wests Tigers? Bloody hell. Get your darts/coins/blindfold ready for that one.
Talking of religious experiences, Moses was not able to save Parramatta, as the weekend ended with one of the great wins of 2024 as the Bulldogs overcame adversity, sin bins, the best home ground refereeing seen this season and getting to the public holiday Monday without off field incident to beat Parramatta. It’s not that we are big Bulldogs fans, but the fact they keep winning means it pisses off Buzz Rothfield, which is entertaining enough for us.
But that’s enough horse play for now, which seems odd because I’m a Donkey, but keep reading for on my NRL Round 14 Expert Tips as well as a one liner for each game.
The NRL Donkey’s NRL Round 15 Expert Tips
CRONULLA v DOLPHINS
The game some are calling the Ocean Bowl or Phins Up Cup. We suggested Fin-ale but were laughed out of the dental surgery. Hopefully the Dolphins will benefit from another post shit Origin form dip from Nicho Hynes. The Chuck Norris of the NRL – Ray Stone is key.
Phins Up by 8
CANBERRA v NORTH QUEENSLAND
After seeing how bad the Cowboys were last week in the Qld winter it’s hard to see them enjoying a Canberra one. Of course they have a better side on paper than Canberra, but Canberra have Ricky Stuart, aka Carlos Smearson. Looking forward to Jordan Rapana doing something stupid.
Canberra by 12
SOUTH SYDNEY v BRONCOS
NSW Origin places are calling, watch for Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walkers one game run of good form double. Broncos form is concerning if you are that way inclined. Plenty of concerns for Rabbitohs as Xavier Willison returns this week for the Broncos, and the man mountain will tear them apart for a while. But Souths key attackers are just better when they want to be.
Rabbitohs by 8
WESTS TIGERS v GOLD COAST
Wests Tigers have lost nine in a row, the Titans have lost 12 Saturday games in a row. What a waste of time this game will be. Wests Tigers by 1
WARRIORS v MELBOURNE
Game of the round for us, and not even Origin period can see Channel Nein putting this one on FTA. Shame, but more for us Fox League snobs. Can smell an upset here, Storm trading on reputation rather than having a better side on paper, and/or playing in fear of rugby league’s angriest man.
Warriors by 10
PARRAMATTA v ROOSTERS
I should care about this game but don’t and won’t.
Parramatta by 2
MANLY v ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA
All of a sudden the Dragons are a form team. That will keep Fox League commentators and writers alike all happy after pushing “Flanno’s” CV for the past two seasons of dullity on Fox League broadcasts. We’re glad he got the Dragons gig to get him off TV. We’re not unhappy they’re going well either. Good on them. As for Manly, the opposite.
Dragons by 4
NEWCASTLE v PENRITH
Rumours that Penrith are just going to field five wingers are unconfirmed. Did the trick against Manly. Newcastle have a great record on a Sunday at home winning plenty in a row. Penrith win plenty in a row anywhere. Looking forward to the Jarome Luai v Jackson Hastings clash on and off the field.
Another weekend of NRL action featuring a lot of points, a few disappointments and one of the great wins for the resurgent Bulldogs. But which players were the best of the best you ask? We’ll let the stats do the talking and separate the Wheat/Chaff to present the NRL Round 14 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 some bite sized points of interest.
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 include the best four interchange players of the week. Seeing who has provided maximum impact from the bench.
Plus we throw in the players we thought were great but the stats did not with Gurgler’s Choice.
2024 NRL Team of the Season…so far
Here is the above but for all rounds.
2024 NRL Round 14 Player Stats
Want to see which players topped the key stats for the latest round of the NRL this weekend?
Daine Laurie’s 344 run metres was the third best individual match effort for the season. Better than any of regular fullback Dylan Edwards efforts this season.
2024 NRL Season Player Stats…so far.
Same as the above stats, but this is for the 2024 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.
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.
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 14 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.
NRL Round 14 Results
Fri – St George Illawarra 56-14 Wests Tigers
Sat – Gold Coast 12-46 South Sydney
Sat – North Queensland 12-42 Warriors
Sat – Brisbane 12-22 Cronulla
Sun – Melbourne 36-28 Newcastle
Sun – Penrith 32-22 Manly Warringah
Mon – Bulldogs 22-18 Parramatta
NRL Round 14 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 / LOSS RECORD BY HOME / OPPOSITION LADDER POSITION
Ladder position from previous round.
WIN / LOSS RECORD BY GEOGRAPHY / DAY / TIME
NRL Round 14 Stats Summary
NRL Round 14 Stats Special – Winning with a Sin Bin
Most weeks we have a special stats that pops up and is worth sharing.
This week it’s all about how many sin bins each team has received this season and how they went results-wise. Inspired by the inspiring Bulldogs on Monday v Parramatta.
Half the field have a better winning record with a sin bin than not.
NRL Round 14 Stats Special – Longer Priced Favourites Losing
Since Origin started to affect squads from Round 12, the favourites with a price between $1.40 and $1.92 have lost 11 of the 13 games.
All favourites lost in Round 13.
Overall, this range of favourites is worth betting against as they lose more than they win this season.
NRL Round 14 Stats Summary – H2H Match by Match Stats and Stuff
All eight games with all the stats you could ever want or need with added barely interesting stats to go with. Giving you a decent wrap up of all that went on in the NRL on the weekend.
Wests Tigers have lost nine games in a row this season and six in a row on a Friday. The Tigers last won a Friday night game in Round 11 of 2022.
Dargons have now won five of the last six v Tigers.
The Tigers 1,144 run metres was the third worst team / round effort this season so far.
St George Illawarra’s 44 second half points is the new benchmark for the season. The Dragons also feature three times in the top eight most points conceded in the second half this season.
The Dragons’ 11 line breaks is a single round record for the season.
Gold Coast have lost 12 straight Saturday games. And ten straight home games on a Saturday.
Gold Coast have now lost nine straight v South Sydney and last won against the Rabbitohs in 2016 in Perth.
Gold Coast have also lost nine straight home games v Souths with a last win coming in 2009.
Gold Coast do have the worst win % at home in the NRL going back to 1998.
Souths have scored 40 points in consecutive games. They haven’t done that since August 2021.
That’s two consecutive games v Souths at home that the Gold Coast have conceded exactly 46 points.
Cowboys have lost four of their last five home games on a Saturday.
Warriors have won four of the last five v Cowboys on a Saturday.
Cronulla have won four in a row v Qld sides.
Cronulla have won the most games after trailing at half time this season with four. Broncos have lost three half time leads now.
It’s two wins in a row at Suncorp Stadium for the Sharks.
Melbourne have won seven in a row at home to Newcastle and the last six at home on a Sunday.
The Storm have also won 15 of their last 16 at home on a Sunday.
Penrith have won nine of their last ten at home to Manly.
Penrith have now won six in a row at Penrith Stadium on a Sunday.
Bulldogs are the only side left with a 100% home winning record, and their opponents this weekend are now the only side without an away win after Souths won this weekend.
Parramatta have lost nine of their last ten away games.
NRL Round 14 Bye Summary
A quick look into how each team is doing after the bye rounds this season.
The world is just a little colder as we approach this weekend’s NRL action, thankfully all that cold is also for a good reason as this weekend doubles as Beanie for Brain Cancer round. Talking of cold, our 2024 NRL Round 15 Tips Predictions & Stats Preview will hopefully warm up everyone’s tipping this weekend.
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 than one could ever need or want. It’s all you can eat NRL stats.
2024 NRL Round 15 Tips – This Week’s Matches
Here are our tips for the week ahead. How did we get to here? By going through all the visuals and stats below.
Thu 7:50 pm
Cronulla v Dolphins
Fri 6:00 pm
Canberra v North Queensland
Fri 7:50 pm
South Sydney v Brisbane
Sat 3:00 pm
Wests Tigers v Gold Coast
Sat 5:30 pm
Warriors v Melbourne
Sat 7:35 pm
Parramatta v Roosters
Sun 2:00 pm
Manly Warringah v St George Illawarra
Sun 4:05 pm
Newcastle v Penrith
2024 NRL Round 15 Tips – This Week’s Tips
Cronulla by 8
Canberra by 2
Souths by 4
Wests Tigers by 1
Warriors by 8
Parramatta by 4
Manly by 6
Penrith by 10
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 Round 15 – Best of Stats
Here are the choicest cuts of our H2H and team stats coming into Round 15 of the NRL.
CRO v DOL – This is the first game the Dolphins have played in Sydney this season. That’s a good thing for them as they have lost their last five games in Sydney.
CRO v DOL – Cronulla have won their last three at Shark Park v Qld opposition on a Thursday.
CRO v DOL – Cronulla have won six in a row at Shark Park on a Thursday with a last defeat coming in 2018.
CRO v DOL – Dolphins have won their last two Thursday games.
CRO v DOL – Dolphins have won the only clash between these sides.
CANB v NQL – Cowboys have won the last four games v Canberra but three of those have been in Townsville. Although, North Queensland have won three of their last four in Canberra too.
CANB v NQL – Of the 21 clashes between these sides in Canberra, none of them have been on a Friday. Nor have the other 23 games played elsewhere.
CANB v NQL – Canberra are W7 L3 at home v Qld sides since 2020.
CANB v NQL – Canberra lost both home games on a Friday last season. This is their first for 2024.
CANB v NQL – Cowboys have lost 14 of their last 16 away games on a Friday and seven of their last eight away on a Friday v Sydney clubs.
SOU v BRI – Broncos have won four of the last five games v Souths.
SOU v BRI – It’s one win each for Souths v Broncos at the Sydney Olympic Stadium on a Friday.
SOU v BRI – Souths have actually won their last Friday game at the Sydney Olympic Stadium.
SOU v BRI – Brisbane have won 12 of their last 14 Friday games going back to 2023.
SOU v BRI – Brisbane have won their last seven away games on a Friday. Plus seven in a row away on a Friday to Sydney clubs.
WTI v GCT – Wests Tigers have won their last two games at Leichhardt by a combined 98-24.
WTI v GCT – Since 1998 the Tigers record at Leichhardt Oval on a Saturday is a respectable 13 wins from 24 matches.
WTI v GCT – Wests Tigers have lost all four games v Qld opposition this season.
WTI v GCT – Gold Coast have lost 10 of their last 12 away games on a Saturday. It’s a more respectable W5 L5 away on a Saturday in NSW.
WTI v GCT – The Titans have lost their last 11 games on a Saturday anywhere.
WAHS v MEL – Melbourne have won 15 straight v Warriors.
WAHS v MEL – Melbourne have won only the last two meetings on a Saturday v Warriors. Earlier this season and in 2019. The Warriors last win came before that in 2011.
WAHS v MEL – Melbourne have won five in a row in New Zealand too.
WAHS v MEL – Warriors only home game on a Saturday this season ended in a draw.
WAHS v MEL – Melbourne have won five of their last six away games on a Saturday.
WAHS v MEL – This is only the fifth away game for Melbourne this season.
PAR v ROO – Roosters have won eight of the last 10 v Parramatta.
PAR v ROO – Parramatta are 5/7 for home games on a Saturday v Roosters though.
PAR v ROO – Parramatta have won 14 of their last 16 at home on a Saturday. One of those losses was in Darwin.
PAR v ROO – Parramatta have won their last six and 7/8 all-time on a Saturday at CommBank Stadium on a Saturday.
PAR v ROO – Roosters have won 19 of their last 23 away games on a Saturday.
MAN v STGI – Manly have won six of their last seven home games v Dragons.
MAN v STGI – St George Illawarra have won seven of the last nine games v Manly on a Sunday.
MAN v STGI – Although, the away record on a Sunday v Manly is a less impressive W1 L3.
MAN v STGI – Dragons have lost nine of their last 10 on a Sunday v all opposition. And seven of their last eight away on a Sunday.
MAN v STGI – Manly have won seven of their last eight at home on a Sunday. Plus they have won 16 of their last 20 games on a Sunday v Sydney opposition.
NEWC v PEN – Penrith have won 13 of their last 14 games v Newcastle.
NEWC v PEN – Penrith have won six in a row in Newcastle too with a Knights last win coming in 2015.
NEWC v PEN – Penrith have also won six in a row v Newcastle on a Sunday.
NEWC v PEN – Newcastle have won ten in a row at home on a Sunday v all opposition.
2024 NRL Round 15 Helpful Betting Stuff
Here’s a few betting things to enhance your tipping.
Note, that 11/13 favourites between $1.40 and $1.90 have lost in the past three rounds….
Caption Text:
MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JUNE 09: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 leads Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL38 Mercedes on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 09, 2024 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Another hit and run mission to North America saw a wet-dry Canadian Grand Prix taken out by Max Verstappen and his Red Bull, but not after a few hits and misses through the field. Talking of hitting and running, here is our 2024 Canadian F1 Grand Prix Result Summary which covers both races and anything else of interest.
This 2024 Canadian Grand Prix Result, Lap by Lap, Review & Summary 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.
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 – Qualifying continues to be the big entertainer in 2024 with a new name at the top of the timesheets in the form of Mercedes driver George Russell, but only just. He set the exact same time as Max Verstappen, but takes pole because he did it first. Behind that samey pair, is the samey pair of McLarens in 3rd and 4th. In 5th is RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, in a decent response to 1997 World Champion questioning Riccardo’s worth to F1 now and ever. The Australian may not have won a Championship but he did win F1 races over more than two seasons, but we’ll leave that grudge match points decision until after the race. Behind the non-Championship winning Ricciardo are the Championship winning Alonso (6th) and Hamilton (7th), with the Aston Martin driver back doing what he does best, and Hamilton wondering why his Mercedes wasn’t further ahead. The disappointment really starts in 11th and 12th as the Ferraris were off the pace, baffling the driver who won in Monaco. But the ultimate disappointment was Sergio Perez, who celebrated his team’s risky decision to re-sign him for two more seasons by qualifying 16th. The Canadian Grand Prix is usually an action packed race, and with a slightly mixed grid it should produce something special.
And raceday is wet with everyone except the Haas cars starting on intermediate tyres. Haas cars on full wets and it proves to be genius. Rain shouldn’t last all race, but looks like it’s going to be wet for a long time.
GRID (Starting Order) – RUS VER NOR PIA RIC ALO HAM TSU STR ALB
Lap 1 – The cars take off soooooo slowly and creep through the first few corners and everyone behaves through the first half of the lap and stay mostly in grid order, with Daniel Ricciardo dropping a few places. The big mover is Kevin Magnussen on the full wets, up six places on the first lap and is 8th at the end of lap one. Only issue on lap one is a clash between Gasly and Perez but both continue. And Perez continues a miserable weekend.
ORDER – RUS VER NOR PIA ALO HAM MAG RIC STR LEC
Lap 2 – It is now pouring with rain and the full wet tyre is the one to be on. To prove this point Kevin Magnussen is up to 5th by the end of lap two, passing Fernando Alonso at the final chicane. His team mate Nico Hulkenberg is now up to 10th as well.
ORDER – RUS VER NOR PIA MAG ALO HAM RIC HUL STR
Lap 4 – A drier line is starting to appear and so the Haas’ premium advantage might be over soon, but they are currently faster than the race leader and sitting in 4th and 8th, a result that wouldn’t happen in the dry or on inters. In non Haas news, Leclerc is getting messages from his team that there is an engine problem but told to keep pushing, not much of a weekend for him so far.
Lap 6 – The sun is out now around certain parts of the track, so the surface will come back to the cars on inters. Logan Sargeant celebrates by missing a corner but avoiding the barrier, for now. Alonso and Hamilton both run wide at the final and first corner respectively battling for 6th place.
Lap 8 – Kevin Magnussen pits for inters. Given how quickly the track has dried here over the weekend perhaps he could have tried to hang on until dry tyres were the bees knees.
Lap 10 – Stewards notice comes on screen that a false start for Daniel Ricciardo is being investigated. That guy has no luck. Or former Canadian World Champion fans. A dry line is increasingly becoming apparent. Looking forward to the first maniac to have a go. Probably Alonso. Closer to the front George Russell has done a super job leading Max Verstappen by a second with the McLarens six then five seconds further back. Nico Hulkenberg is now holding up half the field on the full wets in 7th. Daniel Ricciardo gets past the Hulk at the end of lap 12. He’ll need to get a move on, he receives a five second penalty for whatever the false start was.
ORDER – RUS VER NOR PIA ALO HAM HUL RIC STR LEC
Lap 13 – Nico Hulkenberg comes in for inters, and meanwhile George Russell is told on the radio that more rain is expected in 20 minutes. Making it very interesting as the cars starting on inters will start to struggle as the track get quite dry. The cars will need the dry tyres just in time for the rain to get here. (Rubbing hands in excitement).
Lap 14 – Lando Norris has halved the gap to the leading pair and is the fastest driver on the circuit. He was 1.4 second faster on a single lap at this stage.
Lap 17 – Max Verstappen runs wide at the first corner and now Lando Norris is on his tail. There is quite the dry line appearing at the moment but there’s more rain in ten minutes. What joy as without that threat most of the cars would be in for those dry tyres by now. Oscar Piastri has woken up and sets a fastest lap.
Lap 20 – Lando Norris uses DRS and passes Max Verstappen for second into the final chicane, and a little further behind his team mate continues to set fastest lap just after Lando has set one and has halves the gap to the top three. McLarens on fire right now.
Lap 21 – Lando Norris does it again into the same corner and takes the lead of the Canadian Grand Prix. Inspired by Norris, Max Verstappen takes advantage of George Russell cutting the final chicane and takes second off George Russell, the Mercedes driver dropping from first to third in one corner.
ORDER – NOR VER RUS PIA ALO HAM RIC STR ALB TSU
Lap 24 – Lando Norris is a full seven second in front now, as Oscar Piastri doubles down on the McLaren speed by getting within a second of George Russell’s third place.
Lap 25 – TV cameras pan to Logan Sargeant, who has gone into the wall. Normally everyone would dive into the pits but they are still waiting for this rain…..Lando Norris doesn’t pit but 2nd to 4th do. AS do the cars further behind too. They all put on inters. Has Norris been dudded here? He pits at the end of lap 26 but loses to the lead to Verstappen and Russell. Piastri looks like he could have passed Norris has yielded. Such a team player.
SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED
ORDER – VER RUS NOR PIA HAM ALO TSU STR OCO RIC
SAFETY CAR ENDS
Lap 29 – The Safety car leaves just as it looks like the rain is about to hit. That’s great news for F1 fans longing for more action. That’s bad news for Ferrari who look to have put Charles Leclerc on dry tyres. Enjoy that Charles. The race restart with everyone tip-toeing through the first corners again.
Lap 30 – The rain is here now and poor Charles Leclerc is struggling. He pits at the end of lap 31 for better tyres. Not struggling is Alex Albon who takes both 10th and 9th in one move into the final chicane.
Lap 34 – A look towards the front of the race and the top five all have just over a second gap to the car behind, with Oscar Piastri looking the quicker of the lot. That group of five are approaching Charles Leclerc to lap him. Poor Charles.
Lap 38 – Sergio Perez overtakes Kevin Magnussen for 15th. Which is a timely reminder that the Mexican is still in the race.
Lap 40 – So the track is starting to get quite dry again, and so the exciting part is ahead of strategy and bravery. Lewis Hamilton is now the fastest driver on track. Talking of track, Pierre Gasly is about the become F1’s guinea pig as he puts on slicks. Nothing to lose so why not.
Lap 42 – Lando Norris runs wide at the first corner to no penalty in position. But the group of 2nd to 5th are very tight now. Charles Leclerc is put out of his misery as the team tell him to retire the car. He’ll probably be very thankful.
Lap 43 – Lewis Hamilton pits for dry tyres. Such bravery as he was looking fast on those inters. He drops to 10th as some of the midfield cars like Sainz and Ricciardo also grab dry tyres. Meanwhile
Lap 44 – Oscar Piastri pits for dry tyres but the cars in front of him do not. Now, this could play into the Australian’s hands as the dry shod cars are starting to fly. Piastri doesn’t lose a place and remains fourth.
Lap 45 – Max Verstappen and George Russell pits and Lando Norris doesn’t. The pair stay just in front of Oscar Piastri who has a lap more heat into his tyres. Lando Norris stays out in front on the inter tyre for one more lap. He has a 20 second gap to Verstappen in second so appears that he will keep first place.
Lap 46 – Lando Norris pits for dry tyres. Does he keep the lead of the Canadian Grand Prix. No. Norris nearly loses it coming out of the pits and Max Verstappen blasts past. And now has George Russell and Oscar Piastri on his tail.
ORDER – VER NOR RUS PIA HAM ALO TSU STR OCO ALB
Lap 49 – George Russell passes Lando Norris into the final chicane with the help of DRS, taking second place. Further in front, Max Verstappen is complaining on the radio that he can’t ride the kerbs. So although it appears he is cruising in front, this could still get interesting.
Lap 51 – George Russell runs wide and almost drops it into the wall and loses second place to Lando Norris.
Lap 53 – TV pans to Sergio Perez driving around with a smashed up rear wing. A little later we see Carlos Sainz doing burnouts on the grass and Alex Albon into the wall. Not sure if they are all related, but the combination sees the Safety Car deployed. Replays show Perez losing it at the slowish chicane halfway around the lap and reversing into the barrier. Replays also show that the Sainz and Albon incidents were related. Sainz spun at the same corner as Perez dropped it, but the Ferrari collected the Williams as it rolled backwards. Bad luck for Albon, bad driving from Sainz. Missed in all the action of the above that Piastri is ahead of Russell for third.
SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED
ORDER – VER NOR PIA RUS HAM ALO STR TSU OCO RIC
SAFETY CAR EXITS
Lap 58 – The race restarts and there should be no more weather, so it’s a straight 12 lap sprint to the finish. And nothing of note on the restart as the drivers behave themselves.
Lap 63 – Oscar Piastri somehow stays ahead of George Russell as they battle for third. Looks like contact into the final chicane, or should have been given how close they were. George Russell loses out and cuts the final chicane and loses fourth place to Lewis Hamilton. Piastri was only asked on radio about team orders and speed vs Max Verstappen just before.
ORDER – VER NOR PIA HAM RUS ALO STR OCO TSU RIC
Lap 66 – Lewis Hamilton gets past Oscar Piastri for third place. George Russell double Mercedes joy a lap later. The Mercedes are now flying but maybe too far back to cause further damage ahead?
Lap 67 – Yuki Tsunoda drops in at the chicane before the hairpin. How he doesn’t wipe out another car in the midfield train as he spins backwards across the track is amazing. A Haas goes very close.
Lap 69 – George Russell overtakes Lewis Hamilton in a bold move into the final chicane.
FINAL LAP – Max Verstappen cruises to victory as the Mercedes squabble behind in third, and they almost catch Norris in second.
FINAL ORDER (Across the line) – VER NOR RUS HAM PIA ALO STR RIC GAS OCO
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 – MAX VERSTAPPEN
Still doesn’t get it all his way, as it now appears to be the 2024 story, but he’s still plenty good enough to take the decisive lead and do it easy enough in front when he gets there. The car is no world beater this season, you need only to look at his team mate to see, but Verstappen gets the Max-imum.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
MAX VERSTAPPEN – Still doesn’t get it all his way, as it now appears to be the 2024 story, but he’s still plenty good enough to take the decisive lead and do it easy enough in front when he gets there. The car is no world beater this season, you need only to look at his team mate to see, but Verstappen gets the Max-imum.
LANDO NORRIS – Another second place, and he led for a while too. Looks like he will be Max’s closest Championship contender on all tracks and more wins to come.
GEORGE RUSSELL – He took pole and did lead quite a few laps of the race. And was comfortable in second place after overtaking Lando Norris, Then he ran wide and lost that spot to Norris, dropped behind Piastri, then dropped behind Hamilton. But somehow late in the race made up for all that with some key passes and ends up on the podium. Although, you have to argue, that a better driver in his scenario in the race would have pushed MAx Verstappen for victory.
DANIEL RICCIARDO – Received an all-time spray from Jacques Villeneuve who not only questioned his current value to F1 but also called his entire career into question. Harsh stuff. The RB driver responded with 5th on the grid and maintained a solid 7th during the first half of the race, after dropping his usual spots from the grid. Gave up five seconds and a few places at the first pit stop because of a penalty for false start but at least proved his worth to a few people. Still finished eighth and ended up with a weekend H2H double over his team mate.
ALPINE AND ASTON MARTIN – Double points finishes for both teams a welcome return to some form.
THE GRAPE-EST – SERGIO PEREZ
Do Red Bull have buyers remorse already? They should. Why sign him at all, let alone two seasons, and off the back of Monaco. Maybe they need more money to pay for Christian Horner’s ego. Perez had another shocker in Canada, bowing out in Q1 and making minimal progress during the race. Then his race ends after spinning backwards into the wall. Quality. Another two and a half seasons for Red Bull. Enjoy.
DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS
CHARLES LECLERC – His Ferrari was off the pace in qualifying causing him to bow out in Q2. Then little progress in the race, followed by being put on slick tyres at exactly the wrong time dropping him to last. He is told to retire the car at half distance. Some kind of weekend after dominating in Monaco.
LOGAN SARGEANT – Simply not good enough for F1, and Williams have nothing to lose by putting the young Mercedes protege Kimi Andrea Antonelli in the car soon. Or anyone else. The American did better in qualifying but ended his race in the barrier, after trying to do the same earlier in the race.
CARLOS SAINZ – Didn’t have the headlines grabbing bad race, but it was pretty ordinary. Stuck in midfield racing and running into Alpines and Kick Saubers. Then finishes the weekend off nicely by spinning and collecting Alex Albon and ruining his race as he rolls backwards.
ALEX ALBON – Possibly loses a points finish by trailing Carlos Sianz when he spins off. Pulled off a great double overtaking move earlier in the race, so dishonourable mention not his fault.
YUKI TSUNODA – Not a great weekend for re-signed Red Bull drivers. Outqualified by Ricciardo for the first time. And although he was ahead for a lot of the race, Tsunoda spun out of points and was lucky not to have been cleaned up, while his team mate came 8th.
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
Rain brings action, and strategy of being on the right tyre at the right time. Overtakes for the lead, double overtakes through the field. A few drivers going off track, one into the wall. Just what you expect from a wet race/Canadian race.
ANY SURPRISES? – 3 / 5
The Haas’ surprised early being on the full wet tyres and carved up through the field. But not a great deal of surprise factor after that. Verstappen good, McLarens fast, Perez hopeless…..Although, the Ferrari’s lack of pace was quite the surprise.
SEASON IMPORTANCE – 4 / 5
Max Verstappen coming back into form is important, as again it appears the car isn’t perfect, especially on these non permanent tracks. McLaren’s pace in all conditions is note-worthy as the nearest consistent challengers. Mercedes uplift and Ferrari’s downturn in pace is also interesting in the overall 2024 picture. Wondering if both will continue as the F1 circus heads back to Europe.
ENDING 6 / 10
Exciting enough racing towards the ends as places 2nd to 5th were decided. Some midfield mayhem too kept one interested right until the end. But it was a race that didn’t need too much added to the ending.
OVERALL RATING 22 / 30
A great combination of a good track for action and wet weather. Didn’t mix up the end result too much, but plenty in between to reward those who got up early or stayed up late to watch.
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.
A forgotten ’90s Australian sitcom has received a surprising boost in popularity.
Working Class Men aired for three seasons (1994-1996) and was about three recently divorced men who lived together. The show’s humour was ‘adult’ enough for a late-night timeslot on Channel Nine (anywhere between 9:30pm and 11:30pm) and sparked comparisons to more popular sitcoms like Married…with Children, Friends, Frasier, and Perfect Strangers.
Though it was a sensationalist article on the pop culture website Pop Cool-cha that reignited interest in the show.
“I should have known it was an attention-seeking hatchet job by the article title,” said Peter Marshall, the show’s head writer, “‘I Just Saw the Worst ’90s Sitcom and it Should be Cancelled Immediately!’ Seriously, could they make the rage bait any more obvious? You can tell it was written by some stuck up uni grad who only saw bits of the show on TV and decided to blow it out of proportion because they’re ‘so intellectual!'”
The article addressed the show’s similarity to a number of other sitcoms, its ‘dirty’ humour, the lack of diversity in the cast, the reliance on ‘bogan’ stereotypes, and the constant ‘insulting’ implications about three men living together.
In a reply article on the same website, Marshall addressed the so-called ‘controversies.’
“Firstly, even in the ’90s I made no secret of the show’s inspirations. I grew up on American sitcoms in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. OF COURSE I was going to use those shows when writing Working Class Men. And the title was a tribute to the classic Barnsey song.
“Secondly, the ‘dirty’ humour was pretty mild. Lots of gags about the guys going to strip clubs and the younger characters trying to get laid. Hardly controversial.
“Thirdly, it was the ’90s! Nobody cared about the ‘lack of diversity’, especially on an Aussie sitcom. And what’s wrong with the boys carrying on like bogans? They loved rugby league, Aussie Rules, cricket, and car racing, and they loved a few drinks. Big deal!
“Lastly, we established from the start that the main characters loved women. While there were a few jibes at the boys, we never made fun of actual same-sex relationships or LBGTQIA+ people.”
With the original article and Marshall’s response going viral, interest in Working Class Men grew. Channel Nine took advantage of this by putting all three seasons on NineNow, the show began trending on TikTok, and there’s talks with Stan about a new documentary.
“Yeah, that’s pretty exciting. I’ve been going through old episodes for my favourite moments and am getting in touch with the cast and crew for interviews. Stan suggested a revival of the show, but I was happy with a one-off doco for now. Most of the old sitcom revivals are pretty awful,” said Marshall.
Welcome to our Staturday Night Fever, a collection of pure filler sporting stats stories for our Gurgler website for a Saturday night in between the weekly previews and post weekend analysis. This week we are heading into Formula One territory for a F1 Race Winners History.
Our Staturday Night Fever is our way of diving deep into a sporting stat,
This week inspired by F1 becoming a competitive motorsport category by having more than one winner in 2024, one of them a first time winner in Lando Norris, we’d look into F1 Race Winners and where they come from, which country does best, and how likely a race winner becomes a Champion.
STATURDAY NIGHT FEVER – F1 Race Winners History
For clarity in most of the records below we have excluded the Indy 500.
UK leads the way, but as we’ll find out, they have more drivers and aren’t quite a high for % of champions per win.
Finland is surprisingly high so a small nation. Venezuela took some remembering into how and when they could have happened.
A big surprise that the Monaco Grand Prix as seen the most first-time people.
And that the Australian Grand Prix has seen only one first-time race winner since the first race in 1985.
There’s been as many new race winners in the 2020’s as the whole previous decade before it.
Also, the longest wait for a driver to win a Champion after their first race win is six years. So if the gap between the first win and first race is seven seasons and more, forget about a World Championship. So Sergio Perez is out.
So race wins v starts % is calculating the numbers of wins in total for each country and dividing by the total number of GPs the drivers of that country.
For Race Winners v Actual drivers it is the count of F1 Race Winners vs the count of drivers who have started a race. Robert Kubica helps get Poland across the line in first place for this stat. It’s last place for wins v total starts. A few years injured and in a Williams doesn’t help.
So in the F1 Race Winners History there are 36 one win wonders.
Plus 710 no win slow pokes.
Above that is a list of countries who haven’t won a GP. West Germany is the worst nationality for that surprisingly.
The interesting point here is that if Lewis Hamilton wins his next race he will take over this record. Same for Fernando Alonso but Hamilton is actually likely to win another race.
2024 State of Origin Game 1 – One Minute Match Review – NSW BLUES 10 QUEENSLAND MAROONS 38. The one-minute match report – giving you the bare minimum NRL round up in the bare minimum of time.
Queensland have taken a 1-0 lead in the State of Origin series after a 38-10 win at the Sydney Olympic Stadium in a game that will be remembered for Joseph Sua’ali’i’s 8th minute sending off.
The sending off will be debated for a long time, but in short Sua’ali’i got Reece Walsh late and high in the head after he passed the ball, albeit with Walsh sliding or slipping lower. It took the spark plugs from the game but did drive on NSW who battled magnificently and the final scoreline probably flattered Queensland.
The Maroons had hit the front before the sending off, with Daly Cherry-Evans running blind side from dummy half after a line break and finding Ben Hunt back on the inside.
Despite being down a player NSW had quite a number of opportunities in the Queensland 20 metre zone in both halves, but they only took advantage once in the first half when a deft kick from Jarome Luai found James Tedesco. Prior to this and after NSW blew some good territory with a lack of finesse from the halves and errors.
The Maroons blew the game apart in a short burst in the middle part of the first half with two quick tries to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, who had moved to cover Reece Walsh at fullback after Walsh was ruled to have a Grade 1 head injury. Queensland carved up down their left for this period, but the Blues hung on to trail by just 20-6 at the break.
After half time NSW came out with some real purposes, and really gave it to Queensland. They were rewarded early with a try to the excellent Zac Lomax from a cross field kick, which brought the score to 20-10. For the first 20 minutes or so NSW were the better side and with fewer errors or a half taking the game by the scruff of the neck like Nathan Cleary would, they could have put Queensland under a lot of pressure. One more try could have made it a four point game, and with the Maroon not playing particularly well in the second half it could have been one of the great Blues wins.
Ultimately Queensland broke through with three tries in the last 15 minutes to Ben Hunt, Xavier Coates and the Hammer sealing a great game with his third try, which he celebrated instead of his usual Dolphin-like custom.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Was it a send off? Yes, but we weren’t quite expecting to see it in Origin. The fact he’s looking a 4-5 weeks probably confirms he should have been sent. Walsh looked to be targeted, and rightly so given his sparkling form and hateability, and NSW were lucky not to have been penalised for a Walsh kick in the first set of the game that would have been penalised every week in the NRL. That’s the Origin leniency that people have been crying foul about. But that is letting the more petty, nit-picking decisions go so the game isn’t full of whistle blowing. But if you lead with a shoulder and try and smash a player without the ball then your chance of a tackle worth sending off increases significantly. Origin or not. You can still pull off a great Origin tackle, like when Liam Martin savagely snapped J’Maine Hopgood in half. Legal, hard, legendary. The silver lining for rugby league is it opens up the door for Latrell Mitchell for Game Two. Sua’ali’i’s selection was never popular, given his pending decision to rugby union, and he will now have to live with the fact forever that his night will go down as one of the worst one game efforts in Origin.
If Queensland played like that against 13 players, they might not have won. NSW played with some real spirit, and with one more try in the dominant early part of the second half we could have had a real game. Sadly, as much as we love Nicho Hynes, a better game from another halfback probably gets NSW closer. And during the same period Queensland forgot to play football. It was only when they expanded a little more did they break through with Ben Hunt’s second try.
Billy Slater is either very lucky or some kind of genius. But he must be pretty smug with his selection of Selwyn Cobbo on the bench as the game played out.
At least for the series the next game is in Melbourne where the Maroons have a terrible record. But NSW beware, Queensland conversion of a Game One win to series is very good. Even better when winning a Game One in Sydney.
Courtesy of nrl.com
2024 State of Origin Game 1 Stats
The 38-10 win to Queensland was the third highest margin for a Game One at any ground and equals the Sydney Olympic Stadium record of 28 points, set in 2002 when NSW beat Queensland by 32-4.
It was the Maroons biggest win at the Sydney Olympic Stadium, beating their previous best of a ten point margin.
It was also Queensland’s highest score at the ground, beating the 28 points set back in 2010.
It also equaled Queensland’s biggest score in Origin at any NSW ground. Qld won 38-22 at the Sydney Football Stadium in 1988.
Queensland have stretched their Game One H2H supremacy to 25-21.
NSW still lead 6-5 for Game Ones at the Sydney Olympic Stadium.
Queensland have now won four games in a row at the Sydney Olympic Stadium for Game One of a series. And in bad news for the Blues fans, the Maroons went on to win the series on all three of the previous Game One wins.
2024 State of Origin Game 1 Team of the Match
We’ve borrowed from our regular NRL Team of the Week to come up with a best side for Game One.
This is all based on stats with different qualifying stats for each position, so probably doesn’t tell the full story of the effort put in by NSW.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 05: A general view ahead of game one of the 2024 Men's State of Origin Series between New South Wales Blues and Queensland Maroons at Accor Stadium on June 05, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
A Melbourne-based NSW Blues fan has been underwhelmed by the lack of Origin hype.
Wearing his favourite 2005 Blues jersey, Peter had a spring in his step on his way to work this morning, ready to banter with co-workers about tonight’s game. After moving to Melbourne late last year, this was his first taste of Origin hype outside of Sydney and Brisbane.
But his cry of “UP THE BLUEEESSS!” as he entered his work section fell flat.
“Mate, Carlton don’t play until Sunday!” said one co-worker.
“What’s with the get up? I didn’t know this was a charity dress day?” said another.
“It’s Origin tonight fellas! The mighty Blues against the despised Maroons! We’re gonna smash em!” said Peter, trying to muster as much enthusiasm as possible. “And then I’m going to the second game here when the wrap the series up!”
Feeling downhearted, Peter tried again to argue his case. “But it’s STATE OF ORIGIN! How could you not know? How could you not care?”
“Are you talking about the Rugby?” asked another co-worker.
A frustrated Peter skulked off to his desk, set up YouTube on his phone, put his headphones in and began watching Origin highlights while he got his computer systems set up, all the while muttering “Bloody Victorians!” under his breath.
The 2021 Village Cricket Season Starts
PRISTON,UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 2: An aerial view of cricket being played on the Priston Cricket Club field in the village of Priston, on May 2, 2021 in Somerset, England. The easing of COVID-19 restrictions has meant the gradual return of normality in some areas of life, including amateur sport, which was halted during the previous lockdowns. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
A nickname dispute has caused a rift in a Brisbane winter cricket team.
The WinterPies – the winter cricket side of the Morningside Magpies Sub-District cricket club – have just started their season, with a new member causing the problems.
Gavin McRae is a right-arm leg spinner and handy middle-order bat and has started well in his first season for the WinterPies. Until it came to the nickname.
“Our opening batter is Adam MacInerney. He’s a Magpies legend, having played 20 seasons, every grade in the club, and won three premierships, as well as a recent life member,” said the WinterPies captain Peter. “So obviously he’s been ‘Macca’ from the minute he walked into the club.”
After one WinterPies game resulted a comfortable win over the Bulimba Bullants, the players went to the local pub, where they got to know McRae. It went well, until it came to the nickname question.
“When Gavin said he was known as ‘Macca’ at his previous club, our ‘Macca’ (Adam) started getting cranky. He loves that nickname with a passion and refused to share it with someone else,” said Peter, “I haven’t felt this awkward with the boys since that former grade cricketer came to the Magpies and demanded every side below B Grade be folded because – in his words – they play ‘s**t wheelie bin garbage and don’t deserve to play cricket!” Luckily, old mate didn’t last long, because his constant stories about being this close to playing Shield for the Queensland Bulls was pissing everyone off.”
While the boys calmed down by watching the start of the NRL game in the pub, McRae came up with a solution.
“I’ve been called ‘Macca’ all my life, so I’d like something new,” said McRae. “My name’s Gavin, so how about ‘Party’? As in ‘Gavin/Havin’ a party?’ A bit of rhyming slang?”
The boys agreed that the new nickname was better and ‘Macca’ gave ‘Party’ a huge hug to apologise for getting cranky at him.
“It was a lot nicer ending than old mate the grade cricketer. He cracked the s***s and left when he was forced to play third grade because of a bunch of injuries. He drove off in a huff and kept repeating that ‘Wheelie bin cricket is beneath me!’ and we haven’t seen him since,” said Peter. “At least ‘Party’ will never do that. He seems like a good bloke.”
The Gurgler presents stories of the Park Cricketer, where we explore the lower reaches of the great game of cricket from the suburban ovals and rural grounds across Australia.
